May 2009
hi. i bought an expert 1.9 diesel about a month ago. topped up oil, but a month later oil light came on , no oil again. no sign of a leak though, suggestions? also van will start fine from cold but once warm will turn over a few times before starting with the occasional splutter. are the two problems related?
regards
mark Read more
The battery had gone flat in a Rover 400 and has been stood for 6 weeks. A new fully charged battery was installed but it fails to fire up. It appears by the small LED in the middle of the dash display that the immobiliser has kicked in. Due to the flat battery the car was opened with the key not the remote. Any ideas how he can overcome this. He only has one key for the car. Regards Peter Read more
Thanks for the link. Method 2 from the top link fixed the problem and he is up and running again. The problem apparently is caused becuase the fob is used when the car battery is flat and the rolling code between the fob and the car ECU get out of sync. Thanks again. Regards Peter
What is the best, most accurate, 12v electric and/or manual, tyre pressure checker and inflator to procure? Read more
Does exactly what it says on the box.
Nifty, light weight, quite fast (around 3 mins from flat to 33psi) a lot quieter than I expected, very compact, very accurate and comes in its own zip up padded bag too.
White light is constant and the red flashes out either 'SOS' or just flashes 1 or 2 times per second.
As per link above £19.99 + £2.50p&p arrived next day delivery 1st class recorded.
Good morning everyone.
I'm sorry for the peculiar thread title it was the best I could think of in my hungry state.
I must confess, after my last car debacle, I am very paranoid about oil. I don't understand my w's from my semi synthetics or my Castrol from my Sunflower but I do know that it's important.
To that end, I checked the oil this morning as I do every 2-3 weeks and I have two questions...although I'm afraid both are as stupid as each other but I rather like this car so I don't want to do something silly like break it.
a) When looking at the dipstick, I can see some engraved markings that look at bit like this..(forgive my horrendous attempts at showing you):
[xxxxxx]
So one would think that that is the measurement for the oil with the topmost x being the maximum. But, a little further up, the dipstick kinks and there are some traces of oil on that kink. Am I reading it correctly or would the maximum be the kink?
b) I moved the car, left it for ten minutes and checked the oil and it covered around three quarters of the X's so presumably I need a little top up. Now then, what do I need? The manual says it must conform to ACEA A1 or A2 but I can use A3 although "this has no bearing on whether it's mineral, semi or fully synthetic." It also gives me a table detailing I need a certain grade if I live in Outer Mongolia or whether I'm on desert patrol and reading between the lines, I *think* I'd be best with 5w40 from looking at the table but what kind? Fully, semi or mineral?
As you can see, I'm dangerous as soon as I open the bonnet but I don't want to mess anything up, so, here I am!
Many thanks for any pearls of wisdom you can impart. I realise I've made an easy subject very complicated and for that, I'm sorry.
Adam
P.S. The car is a petrol.
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>>Better too full than too empty
NO!
The max and min marks on a dipstick are just that. As long as the oil level is above the min and below the max, it's fine.
I never fill above max, and I certainly don't waste my time keeping it on the max like many folk I know. Overfilling can cause damage.
I don't bother too much if the level falls a little below min just before an oil change. Why put new oil in I'm soon going to throw away?
Saw these being offered at a service station recently.
Thought it a strange idea, expecting me to subsidise the cost of feeding other people's children.
Decided not to eat there.
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My son was taken to resturants at an early age and none of this childrens
meals rubbish either all round the world. At home from an appropriate age (around 12)
he had wine with a meal too.
Us too, went EVERYWHERE with us at nearly all times and what dividends it has paid. She is now a charming 23 and quite worldy wise, employed and asks for nothing. Result of using our brains.
MD
It's something I'm sure we have all experienced at some stage, albeit to varying degrees. I make a conscious effort to keep a cool head on the road and try my best to forgive and forget when other road users act unfairly. However, there are always those cases where the red mist takes hold and the temptation to vent one's anger becomes too much to resist.
My questions are thus: How susceptible are you to road rage and how do you deal with it? Also, have you ever let your temper get the better of you on the road only to regret it later? Read more
Thanks for the comments fred. Of course what I'm saying is not new. The thing I have to consciously remember is that, in the interests of road safety, I'll have to be prepared to be the "meek unassertive one". And, with regards the thought processes you mention, in this context, it's possibly a good idea to be satisfied that YOU have prevented a collision by being public spirited enough to put aside your own ego in compensating for someone else's actions.
I have a Renault megane 8v which revs up on its own , I have checked all the vacumm hoses extra and cant find any split. The car also seems to have a miss fire on number 4 pot, I have checked the coil's, plug and ht leads and compression tested but all are fine.
Any suggestions and advise will be gratefully recieved it driveing me mad and that not just the car its the mother in law
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Looking at the contents of my toolbox I have several decent tools which have been found on the road (mostly whilst cycling or walking), the most recent find was a perfect Draper Expert 15mm ring spanner. My most treasured find is a lovely Britool 7mm ring spanner, the oddest find a strange spring jawed one size fits all bodge-spanner!
I guess to get on the road in the first instance they have to be still (loosely) on a vehicle, a friend found a nice quality 10mm spanner in his engine bay quite some time after its main dealer service, amazingly it was still attached to the component the mechanic had been working on!
Anyone else here had any lucky tool finds in the road? Read more
I've got one of these. I'm going to leave it in the road for someone to find
ring spanner the oddest find a strange spring jawed one size fits all bodge-spanner!
Oil is essential not just to motoring as we know it, but our entire way of life as we know it, so its something I take an interest in. I would be interested to hear the views of the backroom with regard to oil prices and peak oil.
Here's my prediction:
The global encomony goes back to growth within the next 2 years. This increases demand for oil, which in turn pushes prices back to new record highs. The new high price of oil pushes many countries back into recession, demand drops and he oil price drops again. This cycle continues for 10-20 years, until the world has adapted to life post peak oil.
Do you accept peak oil? If not, then why?
How will we adapt our current energy hungry way of life? Less demand or replace it with other sources?
Personally, I think that current petrol/diesel prices are affordable. I reckon on around £2 a litre within 2 years, at which point our encomony will start to suffer. Read more
They've been saying since the 1870s that there's only another 20 years of coal left.
No, "they" haven't. More like 200 years.
The amount of anything left increases dramatically as the price goes up.
However, the internal combustion engine fired by oil products is very nearly at end-of-life. It won't exist for more than a couple of decades, at the outside.
Hi,I have just bought a really nice low mileage 1600 16v Vectra (98 S reg).The only fault I can find is the aircon doesnt seem to get cold.How can I tell if its a fault or it just needs re-gassing.Sorry to appear a bit dim but I have never had aircon before.Thanks,Mick. Read more
>>If it won't old pressure then probably not worth fixing as most aircon repairs cost £££s
>>
As a guide my 98 Mondeo non OE compressor was about £200 plus labour plus regas.
As recommended I had the dryer replaced at the same time.
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How many miles has it done and how many miles per litre is it using. This could be a shot turbo and oil mist is being injested. Check in the intercooler and the manifold inlet pipe for excess oil. Regards Peter