March 2009
Dealer near me has some decent deal on Focus 1.6 Zetec's which I may be interested in. I really need cruise control though so the question is, can these have cruise added by the dealer vie a new steering wheel/ and ECU update or not? Read more
I have a Kalos, bought with del mileage in Jluy '08 on a 57 plate. Serviced in December. Yellow engine light kept coming on. Went into garage no fault found, but advised to put fuel additive in, got garage to do it. Fine for 10 days has now started stalling, engine just stops...no jumping or juddering, has happenend twice while driving (scary as you lose power steering) and once while sitting at traffic lights. Went into garage on Friday, again no fault found, however stalled again friday night, and is now quite a rough ride, sometimes purrs along then gets a bit like a kangeroo. Is going into garage again tomorrow for a few days for them to drive it have had to push for this. Am afraid they will find nothing again, anyone have any ideas? Is there anything i should be asking the garage about? Is still under warranty but am afraid they will blind me with science. Any help would be great. Read more
to keep this response up to date, in case it helps you
the engine stalling and surging problem for the Kalos petrol/LPG model I know of was due to incorrect tappet settings. They're manual adjustment for the 1.2, while automatic on the 1.4 and many other cars. The owner needed to do the minimum service including tappets and all was well again.
For those technically interested, when the tappets were hard up against the pushrods without a gap there were leaks of compression which increased pressure in the rocker case. The MAP sensor adds a bias to the calculation (normally based on throttle cable position) to conclude higher pressure means wide open throttle - therefore inject more fuel. In that case the driver can release the throttle to slow down and instead the car accelerates. Quite scary and a problem discussed about other models, notably Toyota. While some continue to believe carpets getting stuck over the pedals or sticking cables it seems that sticking valves or incorrect tappet operation is a much more likely scenario. Disconnecting the MAP is a quick and effective way to see if a marginal situation like that becomes more stable (the engine calculation defaults to throttle position only to decide the fuel injection).
Hope that helps.
Polar
Hi everyone please can anyone help me with this? intercooler pipes have just started to blow off when the first one blew off a fitter in a local garage put wire ties around pipes to hold together untill i could get a new one but since then it has started ti bo=low them off beside the intercooler itself mostly the bottom one. can anyone help me solve this and tell me the cause of it, or is it one of those things? Read more
The pipe that usually starts leaking / splitting first is the one from the intercooler up to the inlet, which is easy to get at and change. It's easy to see and should be easy to obtain from the parts shop.
The other hose is the one from the turbo outlet INTO the intercooler. That's down behind the bumper. Have a look and see what you can find....
Hi, my girlfriend has an 05 Lupo 1.0 purchased from a main dealer a couple of years back. Every now and again over the past year the engine loses power/misfires and they diagnose that an ignition lead needs changing. She has had all four changed during the past year (at no little cost!) and now the same problem has occured yet again! Any ideas if this is symtom of some wider problem please? Also, is lead changing something easily done by an amateur without any particular tools, where could I get the leads and what should they be costing. Yours hopefully. Thanks. Steve Read more
If I remember correctly, the single (shortest) lead was around £12 so a set would be say £50 ish. 15 mins labour to collect from stores, fit and check would be £20+, so £80 is not miles out...!
I'm currently repairing a 1994 Vauxhall Corsa which has the following problem:
When the engine is running and the brake pedal is pressed and then released it stays down for a few seconds and the brakes remain on. If the engine is not running the pedal returns immediately although the travel is less. Also, after the engine is switched off the servo can be heard 'hissing' for approx 15 seconds after which it stops and pressing the brake pedal proves that the servo has lost vacuum. Finally, I have noticed that if the brake pedal is pumped several times with the engine off a 'bubbling' noise can be heard coming from the hydraulics. Note that the pedal is not spongy.
Does anybody have any idea whether the problem is in the master cylinder or the servo.
Any help would be appreciated. Read more
Problem resolved. Old servo contained petrol not brake fluid. Replaced servo and servo hose (non return valve had failed).
Thanks for all the advice.
Question for those who understand railways, how can I find out more about a particular train?
At the moment I travel by train to Wales every Monday morning. Every week when we stop at Bristol Parkway at around 9:00, there is a set of "old" carriages pulled by an EWS engine at an adjacent platform.
The carriages are either maroon or "old BR" blue and white.
Nothing unusual on the live departures or arrivals board online.
Knowing the backroom ability on even the most trivial of facts I just wondered
Any ideas?? Read more
Thanks again all. Ordered a pair of Craghopper Kiwis for £25 last night as a taster. Intended to get a pair of Nosquitos too, but nowhere that sold them cheaper had my size in stock, so they're on the back burner for now.
Other makes will be looked into based on how I find these ones when they arrive (I did see some Rohan Bags, and was interested)
Hi I am looking on buying a 03 plate 2.2 dci expression laguna automatic. Has anyone got any reviews on this car? I would appreciate it if people have had problems that you could let me know. I havent had the best luck with cars (6 in the past 4 yrs lol) and really need a reliable car for me and my growing family. Many thanks lucy Read more
its the only car i know where every trader i know has had one but wouldnt have another
i wonder why
ok its because they sounded cheap under the hammer
Hi All,
I am in the process of buying a Mazda 6 TS2 (facelift) 2006, I heard that rust quite common the pre facelift model, especially around the wheel arch.
Has Mazda sorted out the rust issues on the facelift model? or should I move toward a 2005 Mondeo/Honda Accord.
Read more
Hi issieman,
Did you end up buying the car? How is the car doing? Would you mind updating us, as to how your experiences with the car have been?...
Dear All,
recently I put too much oil in the engine of my Renault Master 1996, 2.5 diesel minibus (110,000 miles). At the MOT check when at high revs the van started chucking out black smoke, when the tester turned off the ignition, the engine still ran. Looks like oil got sucked up into the fuel system. The RAC repair man drained the oil out and the van went through the MOT ok. Now, the van is very difficult to start in the mornings. It takes about 2 minutes of turning over the engine and then it starts with a puff of black smoke. When started, it is fine throughout the day. Just a little more sound than normal (slight knocking). Halfords auto shop told me to drain the fuel, change the diesel filter and flush the system (not sure how). This morning, I cannot start the engine and the battery is slowly dying. Have I totalled the engine? What is my best move now? Thanks for any advice, Matt Read more
Hi Gordon
Thanks for a reply. You are right that i made a mistake without realizing what could go wrong. This is my first car ever. I am sharing this information so that others can learn from my mistake.
But my car has now done about 4000miles after that mistake and i got a main dealer garage and another engine specialist to check my car for any possible problem. They both said the extra oil does not seem to have done any damage. The extra whining noise from the car is from the turbo...refurbished turbo fitted about 4 months back.
To be honest I have taken my car to 3 mechanics all confirmed that turbo is making some noise engine is fine. i need to hopefully get that sorted and carry on.
Regards
Anup
Hi,
The EPC light has flashed up on my polo.
I have done a bit of research but i want to be as sure as can be..
Yesterday, I noticed a brake light was out so i checked the other lights too but left them on accidentally, so i had to jump start the car because the battery was dead. This worked ok and the brake light bulb was replaced and everything was fine. But today i have noticed the epc light is on.
Help would be appreciated! Read more
What? the battery was never disconnected.
I had the brake light switch replaced and it is working fine now.
Browse
Remember if you fall asleep with CC on, your impact is at CC set speed, at least.