May 2009
the car runs 'ragged' at light throttle settings. Is this because the engine is mismatched to the car or possibly dirty fuel injectors, coil pack, lamba sensor or something else
Any advice please
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hi guys,
question on behalf of a friend who has no computer:
He has seen a 1999 v reg ford mondeo 1.8TD for sale. 131000 miles. MOT til Nov 09. Tax end Sep 09. Asking price £495. No service history is present.
Would this car be suitable for him to drive on a 60 miles daily commute (30 miles each way). He basically looking at cheapo diesels?
Is the mondeo a good car? Any issues to watch out for or be wary of?
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I want to change from an Renault Espace 8 seater to a smaller vehicle of quality build with 3 individual seats in the back i.e. not a bench or hard seat in the centre. Looking to spend upto £20000 on a 12 month old vehicle (to avoid massive depreciation in the first year). Looked at Ford S max but seats hard. Any suggestions please? Read more
Kia Sedona? Not too bad a drive, I thought, when we had one in the USA for five months.
ABS light permanently light on 1998 2.8TD Shogun LWB. Brakes seem fine. Have been advised that sensor maybe dirty. What do I do? Any ideas what might be causing it? Read more
hi ,ive replaced engine on my a4 tdi (afn) ,ive put injector pump off original engine on new engine . timeings spot on ,problem is theres no fuel getting to the pump.?
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Im looking at possibly buying a replacement for my 2004 204 1.1 but im unsuyre which car is best to go for in terms servicing or things going wrong with them, theres nothing wrong with the 206 i just want a car with a bigger engine than 1.1, Read more
So my '91 535i was running strong as always. I went to get new tires. while I was heading there, it stumbled twice, but small, just a single missed fire on each occasion which I attributed to the engine being cold and old, but still idled smooth and ran strong. I pulled up at the tire place, and went inside. They came out a few minutes later and it didnt want to start on the first try, which is wierd, then it started right up but idled a bit low(probably around 500rpm). They pulled it in, turned it off, and lifted it. they lifted it a bit off balance though. all pressure was on the back, the front was about 2 inches off the lift, but it was just one of those low lifts that brings the car up just high enough to do the wheels, so I didnt say much. Car wasnt teetering or anything. They put on new rubber. lower it, and it cranks right up. They back it out about 6 feet just past the bay doors and leave it idling, I get in and get ready to backup and it just sputters out. I try to crank again and no start. no spark, no fuel. Starter motor is turning engine over, there is plenty of power from battery, but just no start. I was supposed to be at my grandmothers funeral in an hour, but no such luck. So I started with the obvious.
-Battery-OK(brand new)
-Checked all Fuses-OK
-Checked Ignition coil(new MSD coil) plenty of spark.
-Checked Fuel pump-OK
-Checked Fuel Pump Relay. No ground, but when I jump ground to a nearby suspension bolt, fuel pump fires right up, so PUMP is OK.
-Relay told pump to turn on, so RELAY is OK
-Checked CrankShaft Position Sensor-not sure how to test, but also less than 6 months old and appears fine.
-Checked all connections and wires in both electronics boxes under hood,
-Checked all connections and wires under rear seat and in trunk.
After getting the car towed and getting a ride to the funeral, I dug a bit deeper and started replacing things. here is everything that is new:
-DME-NEW
-Crankshaft position sensor-NEW
-Main relay-NEW
-Fuel Pump Relay- NEW
-All fuses-NEW
-Ignition Coil-NEW
-Spark Plugs-NEW
-Fuel Pump-NEW
-Battery-NEW(and expensive. red top optima battery)
-Fuel Pump turns on when jumped from relay terminals 30 and 87 but still no start.
-Fuel Pump does not turn on without jumper.
-No Spark from coil.
So to me it seems like maybe the DME isnt powering up? Maybe a bad ground somewhere? Gonna check the grounds in the morning, its dark and raining out there now.
Any other ideas?
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How did you get on since Sunday? No doubt you checked fuel was getting to the injectors, and there was a spark at the plugs? Basic I know, but often overlooked..
I see as a result of a crash between a police car on a training run and an ambulance in the highlands the road was closed for nearly 12 hours ,surely this is a bit over the top ,
it was all in daylight hours so no hold up there .
I realise a reasonable time is needed but a closure of this lenth of time which means a 70 mile detour I dont see the need for . what are they going to find after 10 hours that couldnt be found in 6 for example ?
on another closure that was caused by a cycle race and caused locals to be stuck in their own homes for a few hours someone scattered carpet tacks and managed to puncture over 500 of the bikes ,cant say I totally approve but at least their problems will be addressed by the organisers instead of being ignored as before Read more
I believe from news reports here that the RTA was initally treated as an accident by the police, but the usual closer investigation by traffic investigators at the scene highlighted more information, that is now being treated as murder. Certainly highlights the reason why police are rightly thorough at the scene of all fatal accidents
we have 4 cars in the family , all could use new coolant
anyone suggest whats good stuff ? id like a good few years corrosion protection from it, and prefer not to buy ready diluted stuff i see in all the local shops Read more
between France and the England was washed away after the ice age....
;-)
Pot, kettle and black spring to mind oh he who coats everything in grease.
Good tease though..;)
On the subject of leaks and colour of coolant, didn't the problems mainly occur when people bought the much cheaper (orange?) methanol based coolant from their local accessory shop.
I seem to remember that very short life stuff having a habit of searching out any weaknesses.
We were down there by chance in 1993 a week before the race - just as the scaffolding was going up for the stands.
I remember the Maestro Clubman D (non turbo) going up the hill, palm tree (original then?) on the left.. It lumbered up like an old truck with a ponderous gait and a sound like the U-boat diesel on Das Boot. Then down into the tunnel at around 30mph - mixing it with the best.
We drove through the streets of St Tropez a little later - past the pavement cafe with the view of the harbour resplendent with gold coated men and sun tanned women.
Then crept out without stopping or even being noticed - towards the back-lot of the campsite and tea bags in tin mugs in Le- Lavandou.
The Maestro...It knew it`s place.
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Never done Monaco but I've driven Silverstone .....
Same here. It was at the Top Gear live event there back in the late 90's.
Also drove around the Stow circuit in a Ford Puma with an instructor telling me to drive it like I had stolen it. Fastest time of the day got given a Puma (a brand new one, not the ones that were thrashed within an inch of their lives)
Later I was taken round the main track in a 4 seater race prepared Nissan Primera touring car - which was far more enjoyable and breath taking than any ride at Alton Towers. The driver even burnt up one of the Volvo T5 estate police cars that were there.
I bought my one-known-owner 1.8TD MkI GLX estate on 272,000 miles at 5 years old, ran it up to 328,000 miles in under a year and sold it for the same as I paid for it. In that time it averaged 44mpg on busy taxi work, and over 50mpg on a motorway run.
It did eat front wishbones every 30,000 miles or so but they weren't horrendously expensive to have replaced. The fuel pump should be good for around 240,000 miles and the oil and filters need changing every 6,000 miles. I would also drain the fuel filter every 2-3000 miles, as when it's full of water it makes the car very smoky and sluggish.
The only real problem I had with my Mondeo was the breather pipe from the turbo getting clogged up with gunk, but simply taking it off and flushing it with petrol cured that. I'd have another one tomorrow, in fact one of my neighbours has a T-reg on 198,000 miles with worn out glowplugs, I'm just waiting for him to get fed up with it so I can make him an offer....
Dave TD