March 2009
Ian Edwards[1] has a problem in that his garden fence keeps on being destroyed by people having "accidents" - reported in "The Daily Telegraph" at:
tinyurl.com/be9gxg
I know of a section of railings near a roundabout that are regularly bent - and a wall which used to be crashed into often, but which has been make about 3' thick, and contains all sorts of ironwork and concrete (front garden wall on outside of bend).
Do you know of any sites like these?
[1] Mr. Edwards "says his insurance firm has now refused to pay out for more" - I wonder why he's bothering them. Read more
chap gets 6 months in stir for speeding with 14 year old pillion on board ....
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7918212.stm
his exuse for speeding was it had started raining !!!
Subject line amended Read more
I reckon in that clip he's doing about 40MPH.
Re: my '94 Primera 1.6LX I am experiencing difficulties disengaging third and fourth gear. Selecting a gear from neutral and changing up isn't a problem. Nor is changing down from, say, fifth to second gear (not that I make a habit of this!), whereas changing down from fourth to third is impossible. Just selecting neutral from third and fourth requires brute force.
My clutch has been noisy for a while now (engaging the clutch produces a 'zinging' noise) but until now this has never presented any problems. Given that only third and fourth gears are affected I'm assuming that this is a gearbox rather than clutch issue?
Can anybody help with this?
Many thanks Read more
If the clutch is not disengaging completely it can cause difficulty getting in and out of gear although I would have thought it would have affected all gears. When you engage reverse, does it go in easily or crunch? If it crunches the problem will likely be the clutch, if it engages and disengages smoothly, I would suspect that you have a gearbox problem.
does anyone have tips on how to change the engine on mercedes 308d (not sprinter). 2nd engine dying, last time i had a forklift to do the job, this time a hoist which only reaches forward lifting point. any tricks i should know about? Read more
Hi, just looking for a straight answer really.
For several months my speedo has been playing up; it drops to zero and occasionally mileage shows just a bunch of dashes. The radio volume lowers and there is a slight loss of power, after a about 4 miles it kicks in again and all is well. I understand this is a common fault but my local dealer says it may be the cluster or the speedo sensor, either way I am looking at a bill of around £250, can this be right?
Today the ignition warning light came on, then after I stopped, switched the engine on again it went out and has not come back as of yet.
Can someone suggest what I should do for the best and what is the likely culprit? Read more
Hi all.
To follow on from my last post ref speedo probs with my Focus, all is now repaired thanks to my local auto sparks in Devizes. Symptoms included: speedo dropping to zero then spring back up again after a few miles, radio volume dropping to a whisper, power loss, very lurchy at slow sppeds...is there such a word lurchy? Anyway, as it turns out, t'was the speed sensor, the whole job cost £86 and not £240 as quoted from my main Ford dealer.
My 1996 vectra 1.7 td does not show any engine management light when you turn the key. my question is does it only come on when there is a problem?
if it should come on does any1 know why might might be staying off
thanks for any help Read more
thanks for all your help most usefull what a great site
Periodically there are posts regarding a car buyer's rights. Here's what the Trading Standards Institute says on the matter.
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/problemswithmot...m Read more
When my girlfriend drives her V reg Corsa on the motorway for some time, the ECU light comes on for a few minutes then goes out.
It doesn't do it on short low speed journeys though.
This has been happening for several weeks now.
I have given it a mini service....changed plugs, air filter and oil.
She took it to a garage for them to look at and they claimed it was the Lambda Sensor, and changed it.....but the problem is still happening.
Apart from taking it back to the garage (which we will do), does anyone have any ideas why this may be happening? Read more
Well the car goes back to the garage tomorrow.....and my own car (Rover 25) has its MOT tomorrow also
Any experiences of real pennypinching engineering by manufacturers ?
My own refers to my Honda, a make noted for quality. I have two brake master cylinders on the handlebars. Both have the normal rectangular covers and seal as used by Honda on many models. I needed to change the fluid after fitting new pads and found the screws holding the lid on were rusted.. they are small crosshead screws and , when tight, are slightly recessed in the cover making a little reservoir for rainwater. I had to drill the heads off, remove the covers and take out the shanks with pliers. Surely 4 tiny screws are not a great part of the manufacturing cost...a penny or 2 on a £6500 machine ? Why on earth can't they spend an extra penny or two and fit them in stainless ?
Ted Read more
I owned a Honda MTX125 a while back. The fixing bolts and screws I removed were very soft and I damaged a few.Think it was made in Italy. The Yamaha XT350 that followed it was superb and all fasteners were high quality. As per my series of BMW bikes.
Any idea on the following problem? Temperature gauge on my Focus 1.6 Ghia 03 plate after start up very very slow to reach mid way. Stops there doesn?t go past mid point and occasionally dips back to cool. Coolant level ok, no mayonnaise in the oil filler cap, no blown fuses. Any ideas? Read more
If it is a petrol 1.6, it probably is a faulty thermostat although the electronic temperature sensor can also fail. I have just had both replaced on my 1994 Escort 1.6, with great benefit to its running and also its fuel consumption. I have a very good indy mechanic who changed the coolant completely and charged just over 80 quid including parts to do it. In fact even before the old thermostat stuck open, the temperature reading in normal running varied more than it does now.
Interestingly, even when the car was running too cool for its own good, the interior heater behaved more or less normally. Of course the cooling system is set up to give heat to the heater as soon as possible after starting.
Browse
"It probably won't make any difference."
Less damage to repair.....