February 2009
just started to notice that my steering is feeling loose and not quit right . i have checked the tyres and the car has recently passed a mot . has any one experinced the same problems? Read more
Now established that my oil pressure problem is due to a build up of carbon which is clogging up the oil pick-up.
Is there an engine flush on the market that will loosen AND BREAK DOWN any traces of carbon in the engine?
Thanks,
Stuart Read more
Flushing oil with a blocked strainer = more blocked strainer. It shifts the carbon and other gunk rather than putting it into solution. I know of no substance which will do this, which would be safe to put into an engine.
659.
I've had my 05 reg 130tdci Zetec compression tested at a dealers and got a report giving the compression as 4,5,7,8. Now I am not sure what this represents, I am led to believe this is derived from a laptop? Can anyboby enlighten me on this? what reading should I expect to get if I have it tested mechanically through a glow plug hole ( psi or bar)?
Cheers,
Regards Rich. Read more
I've had trouble with starting, starts ok but struggles to tickover smooth on occassion.
Rich.
I have seen a 53 reg Astra with FSH and on the website the car looks brand new, on the pics I cannot even see a single scratch or mark on it. There are no holes on the dash or roof so I imagine it might have been a civilian car rather than a panda car. The inteiror also looks spotless.
It comes with full police service history, 6 months warranty, four new tyres, 12 months MOT and its £1900 so in my budget. It is the 1.4 16v so cheap tax and insurance.
It has 103,000 miles could this be a problem but I only do a maximum of 3000 miles a year so it in many ways it is better for me to get a newer body which will take longer to rot than an older car with lower milleage where the engine has another 5 years life but the body doesn't.
I am planning of going in about an hour so need some advice before then :). I will be able to read any replies on the bus but can't really reply as its just too much hassle on a keypad.
I realise if it is a panda car it is going to be heavily abused so I am going to view it with an open mind, and there is another garage very close by so its not going to be a complete waste of time. If the pedals all feel loose and the gearchange feels really vague it is probably obvious the car is knackered.
Thanks. Read more
I am forever amazed at people who come up asking how to buy an ex panda. You would have to be mad no one abuses a car like police and cid are no better than response. Smashed bashed and beaten fixed at great expense and bashed again.
According to today's online Autocar (autocar.co.uk):
"Renault is poised to scrap the next generation Laguna and could virtually pull out of the large car market altogether, senior company sources have revealed."
"Production of the current Laguna model is set to end in late 2010 and the factory that builds it will switch to building commercial vehicles in 2011, the sources told Autocar."
Renault chief executive Carlos Ghosn said, "We will have to adapt to new market conditions, rethink individual mobility and adapt to the new trends."
"However, Renault has not prospered in the large car market in recent years and sales of the newly facelifted Laguna have been much slower than Renault predicted."
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HJ praised the latest Laguna model when he tested it recently and gave it a four star rating.
If Renault does drop the Laguna next year then won't it mean a disastrous drop in residual values for the existing model(s) ?
Read more
They must have nicked the design bloke from Subaru
Hello,
I am currently writing an article for a local county council road safety group magazine on Sat Nav survival, with some tips for using Sat Navs safely etc etc.
I would like to include a few funny 'real life' stories in the article from people who have had bad/amusing experiences with sat-navs. So if anyone has anything they would like to share I would appreciate that. If you could leave your first name and city/town if you dont mind that being published in our magazine that would be great.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you... :) Read more
well done for getting the thread back on track.
A good story too PDA.
Well... you know how it is - you keep putting it off waiting for a warmer day...
Put on two pairs of socks 6 fleeces (yes six, could hardly move) the usual fleece cap and latex gloves.
All went well until i was refilling the sump when it started to snow and I had to hunch over the filler cap with my body to stop snow flakes going in with the oil. (ok )
Pic 1, shows the extractor I use - the old oil has just been poured back into the Mobil container ready for disposal.
www.forumpics.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/oilchange1.jpg/
Pic 2, the filter and sealing ring.
www.forumpics.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/oilchange2.jpg/
If you look closely at the sealing ring - you can see the snow `particles`
This oil change is at only 4,000 miles - last changed in August 08.
Images on my own site - valid for 1 week - Photo`s taken with a G600 phone Read more
Many thanks, purchased one from the ebay link as suggested
matt
I notice over on technical that a 4 year old MB needed a new front brake caliper.
Don't know about you lot, but apart from when a bleed screw has broken off in the caliper body i've never had to replace a front caliper yet.
I've overhauled and resealed a few, and had to clean up plenty of grunge and lubricate many, especially the sliding parts of single piston calipers.
Even rears, the only ones that were problematic were those swinging calipers fitted outboard on Ford mk4 Zodiacs (did they follow onto Granada?) where they got all the weather but the same caliper was trouble free on the Rover P6 where they were inboard (thanks goodness, it was a pita just changing the pads)
Why would a 4 year old good quality car need such parts?
Is it shoddy or too long interval servicing where such things are never cleaned or lubricated, or are these parts not as well made as years ago? Read more
Labour rates at a main dealer can make a replacement much cheaper than a rebuild.
When we home fiddlers fix things like this we never seem to price in the time taken and blood spilt.
This morning while driving up a hill i noticed the car seemed to lose power and the management light flashed on went off and flashed back on.
Im taking the car in to the garage tommorow. Any ideas on what this might be?
Read more
My W203 mercedes had a service yesterday and had 4 new brake discs fitted. It also had a front caliper replaced but the other side was left with the old caliper. I thought that calipers should be replaced in axle pairs.
Can anyone please advise?
The car is a lease car so they authorised the work.
Thanks Read more
Keeping it all in house.
I bet there were fun internal arguments about which cost centre was going to pick up the bill!
Browse
Take your car to your local Toyota dealer, your car should be under warranty ok. There are a few issues that may be applicable to your vehicle.
Regards
Dave