May 2009

Ralph Bayley

My Passat 130 TDI which I've had from new is lacking power prior to the turbo cutting in. For example where I would drive up hill in top gear I now have to change gear and get the turbo to cut in to accelerate up the hill. I've changed the MAF, Fuel Filter, Air Filter and the Water Temp Sensor (on the rear of the cylinder head) all to no avail. Read more

craig-pd130


I'd suspect a vacuum leak in one of the vacuum hoses, or a faulty N75 valve (the one that controls the VNT), or a faulty N18 (the one that controls the EGR).

mark999

Does anyone know of a company that will cover a number of vehicles under 1 legal expenses policy.

Thanks,
Mark Read more

rft

Primo plc (primoplc.com) specialise in multi-vehicle insurance and legal expenses is charged per driver not per vehicle.

See www.honestjohn.co.uk/guides_insurance/insuring-mul...m

Petem95

Got a little polo GTi at the moment, and it cut out on the motorway this morning.

Called out the AA, and the cambelt has snapped :(

It's gone into a garage so they can take the head off and have a look at the damage, but even best case scenario is going to be bent valves etc I'm guessing.

Anyone had this before? Guessing as a min I'm looking at some bent valves and prob need a head skim, gasket and new belt?... Read more

Simoncelli58

I had a 2.0 ltr 8 valve Laguna a few years ago.engine just stopped at 30 mph, no noise, I thought it was an electric fault- 4 exhaust valves bent, Head skim (be foolish not too,whilst its off) and a Gasket set -£300 including labour at my local garage. And all my own fault for not changing the belt when I should have done-Big lesson learned. Good Luck with your car.Regards Mick.

softopdriver

I need to have a small patch welded onto one sill, just ahead of the rear wheel and on the lower surface of the sill, so it will be facing the road surface. I know the welder will immediately smother the area with some sort of undercoat, but having not had to have any welding on a car for over 10 years now, what is the best procedure today for protecting this repair, and in fact to be able to paint it to match the body colour?

Do I need to remove the stuff he applies and use something of my own, or do I simply spray over whatever he applies? I'm a bit lost here, any help is greatly appreciated.


Moved from Discussion - and yes jbif the OP knows as do the other mods. Read more

Hamsafar

Use something like POR15 and then go over the top with a flexible sealer such as underseal or dumdum. It may be almost impossible to paint the back of the repair, depending on how it's designed, you may be able to remove a plug and spray a protectant such as Dinitrol Corromax in there.

perro

On Spanish motorway ~ tinyurl.com/qkwfgj
Read more

DP

For those posting on this thread and making out this guy is some kind of
hero the next time you get hit by a driver who is speeding please feel
free to come back and post your thoughts.


Highly unlikely on a motorway, don't you think?
Kildrummy

I am trying to change the rubber engine monts on my 1955 Morris Minor. I have tried undoing the nuts from the mounts and then jacking up the engine (Thinking it would just lift off the mounting brackets) the mount retaining bolt that fits onto the mounting bracket jams when lifting the engine.

Any suggestions

Don Read more

Number_Cruncher

Working on these cars is so different from working on modern cars - while you aren't too troubled by electronics, you face the uncertainty of every nut and bolt you touch being seized solid and rusty.

In practical terms, working on modern cars, where you're reasonably sure that a bolt will undo and unscrew when you use the correct spanner or socket is so much easier.

With the tie rod, make sure that you set it up so that it isn't either pushing or pulling the engine, and don't be tempted to over-crush the rubber bushes. The tie rod should be fairly stress free.

If you mis-install the tie rod, the panels under the battery tray can end up being over-stressed and damaged as well as the tie rod transmitting a lot of noise and vibration to the dash area of the car.

valentino46

I have an acceleration problem with my Focus.

Accelerating in higher gears i.e 3rd, 4th 5th from about 3000rpm onwards the revs rise dramatically but the car is not accelerating. Does not seem to oocur in first gear.

Feels like the clutch pedal is being dipped. No burning smell from it though.

Could it be Electronic ??

Have recently replaced the vehicle speed sensor but not sure if this is connected to the problem.

Would be most grateful if anyone could point me in the right direction.
Read more

Lud

It sounds as if your car's clutch is slipping, and needs to be renewed before it fails completely. If you need to drive it in the meantime, try to avoid slipping the clutch (by being extra gentle with the accelerator, and changing down a gear if the clutch starts to slip) because every second of slippage shorten's the thing's remaining life.

nogutsnoglory413

when the engine is running there is a lot of vibration within the car,if you depress the clutch the vibration lessens, its been to a garage but they cant solve it, they have checked engine mounts, and exhaust, no issues, anyone have any ideas, Read more

madf

sometimes the exhaust pipe attachment to the gearbox fractures.

kj

Hi there,

I'm looking to buy a used car, preferably a reliable brand like a Honda or a Toyota but I can't decide whether I should go automatic or not. I've been driving a manual since passing my driving test a few years ago, but I've been thinking of getting an automatic after test driving a few in the past. I don't drive that much, maybe once a week, it will be mainly my wife who will be driving back and forth to work (about 3-4 miles only) every day.

I have driven an '06 1.4 Jazz, '06 1.6 Kia Ceed and 04 1.6 Civic, all automatics and I think I liked the Ceed and the Civic, but not the Jazz because of it's 1.4 engine.

Recently I drove a '06 1.6 Ford Focus and it felt to me like the Focus needed a *lot* more accelerator when taking off at traffic lights and junctions. This annoyed me slightly and I can't remember properly but I think the Civic and Kia didn't have this problem to the extent the Focus did. Am I mistaken about this? I assume all automatics have this issue to some degree?

The Jazz also felt this way, but it had only a 1.4 engine whereas the Civic and Kia were 1.6. I'm thinking if I should go back to the Jazz and try a manual version? Even though it's 1.4 only it might feel better to drive?

I was also thinking about Toyota automatics but I seem to get the general impression that their MMT is something a lot of people are advising against, what is so bad about this gearbox anyway? I was thinking of getting an '06 Corolla Hatchback.
Read more

Alby Back

Any configuration of car is better than a train. Went on one of those the other day. Expensive, crowded and inconvenient. Guy who would have to sit next to me smelled of BO. He spent the entire journey drinking strong lager from cans and rolling home made cigarettes. Two youths with tattoos on their heads sitting in front of me were trying to avoid paying and had a heated and foul mouthed exchange with the ticket collector and then proceeded to follow me off the train making loud comments along the lines of "let's do the old geezer over for our train fare".......

Manual or auto, either would have been fine.....

lizzylizzy

Can anyone tell me when mercedes benz first fitted an electronic auto gearbox

many thanks Read more

lizzylizzy

Hi Number cruncher

I have posted the latest on the mercedes forum petrol to deisel 7 months on.

I would be grateful for your comments

Lizzy