June 2009
In the last couple of weeks I have been noticing several small round wet patches on the road where I park my car.
My car is a 1999 Ford Focus 1.8 petrol which has done 80k miles.
Today I took the car to a garage for an opinion and he looked underneath the car and said that it was the manual gearbox which was leaking oil. Obviously because there is no way of checking the level of oil in the gearbox, I have no idea about how much has been lost and so am worried about doing irreparable damage to the gears and bearings inside the gearbox from continuing to drive it. I am taking it to the garage on Wednesday morning for the repair to be done. Are there any symptoms to look out for that would suggest damage has already been done to the gearbox e.g. difficulty engaging gears ?
26 minutes ago - 4 days left to answer.
Another concern that I have just thought of is could the oil from a manual gearbox leak get anywhere near the clutch or does this only apply to oil leaks from the main bearing in the engine (which is what I read on the engine oil bible website)
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Hello all
I'm looking to upgrade from my current banger to a Yaris (51 plate). I've been quoted approx 1350 pounds for a 1.3 5 dr hatchback. My only concern is its got 100,000 miles on it. Is this too high for a little car? I don't want to fork out lots of cash for it to only last a couple of years (I've had my E reg Polo for nearly 5 years!)
Many thanks Read more
Couldn't agree more with your last statement DP. My Mondeo estate notched up another several hundred fuss free miles this week. Still smooth, rattle free, pulls like a train and comfortable. The bodywork is in very good order apart from an odd stone chip at the front. The leather interior is unblemished despite the regular abuse it takes from my work kit in the week and our mountain bikes and equipment at weekends. It often ends up half way up tracks many would only attempt in a 4x4 as we seek out new muddy places to use our bikes. By this time next year, assuming I keep on with it, it will be eight years old and heading for 200k miles.
Everything non consumable is still the original equipment. Never had a breakdown or a failure apart from a couple of headlamp bulbs. Clutch, turbo, injectors, exhaust, gearbox, DMF, suspension etc are all as it left the factory seven years ago.
I might be curious enough to see how far it will go now.....( assuming it doesn't self destruct this afternoon that is....)
;-)
I am about to change my vehicle to a new diesel automatic with a raised driving position for ease of access and I am considering a Diesel 180 SE B- Class !! what are your opinions on this vehicle and any known problems
{Typo in header amended} Read more
I have had a B 180 diesel auto for almost 3 years without any problems, on a run I get just over 55mpg.
Ease of entry is important to me, this is good. A bit noisy on start up but it cant be heard inside whilst driving.
MB dealer a bit greedy though, £10 requested for two remote key fob batteries (a few days after a £250 service)
Before the B I had an A Class again no problems.
Being replaced next week by a VW Tiguan with similar spec. Again for ease of entry only, I hope I get the same service from this car.
Can't get the link to work HJ.
H Read more
Two cans of Cataclean and a packet of crisps please.....! :o)
(or whatever the froggie equivalent is over there).
No, I can't see any problems with the filters on those cars either, they must be totally spotless.
When are manufacturers going to realise that not everybody has a house drive exiting onto a race track road?
Going to take myself off to car giant to see what they have got kicking around and if i see something i like the look of does anyone know if these types of places will work with me on the price or are they all working from a script so wont drop below price X ??
Also does it make a difference to them if i PX or not? ie will i get a better 'deal' if i dont PX ?
just want to go prepared
thanks Read more
Experience at the Car Shop was definetely not. After adding in the various admin charges and warranty fees price (for cash) was so close to franchise dealer that I preferred the security of the latter's approved used scheme.
Hi
Peugeot 407 SV Hdi
Just wondered if anyone can help or advise. I am not extremely technical so bear with me.
A few week ago I had what appeared like a fuel starvation problem (erratic response) and a warning on my car - "Depollution system faulty". I took this to my PUG dealer who said it required a new high pressure pump which would cost over £600.
This was replaced and although it drove a lot better it still has a problem with what I describe as lumpiness (fuel starvation?) when cruising. It is only really noticeable when I have been driving for some time (30 mins or so) and only when my foot sits on the accellerator at a static speed as when I depress it fully to increase my speed it is not noticeable.
Has anyone had anything similar and can suggest what the problem may be.
Thanks - Appreciate any help ! Read more
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EGR Valve replaced and garage informed me all was well and 'running like a dream'
but they will keep the car overnight to give it a road test. Garage rang
me first thing this morning to say the car was not fixed and they would
go 'back to the drawing board' to resolve the issue. They did confirm there would
be no charge for replacing the EGR valve.
Frustrated or what !!
Hi, ive got a 407 s hdi 136 bhp with the same problem, the PUG garage said it was the fuel pump too. have you manage to resolve the issue?>> Update
Sometimes I feel that if I have a car large enough, the day trips can be extended into next day by spending the night inside the car.
Ever done it? How practical is it? Which cars are best for sleeping inside?
Obviously I don't think any car can fit more than 2 adults lying straight with seats folded.
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Of course, she could have taken it to trial.
The Act provides (s. 5(2)) "a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1)(b) above to prove that at the time he is alleged to have committed the offence the circumstances were such that there was no likelihood of his driving the vehicle whilst the proportion of alcohol in his breath, blood or urine remained likely to exceed the prescribed limit."
Why didn't she?
My partners '02 1.7Dti Astra LS is showing the dashboard engine management light- its not due a servce, there seems to be nothing wrong with the engine (no problems with engine running and no unusual noises) .
The strange thing is that the light goes out when braking to a stop.
Any ideas what this could be?
Thanks Read more
I'm going to eat my own words here, because it happened to my girlfriend's Corsa 1.7Di when on holiday recently.
Cause was two blown brake light bulbs, reporting the code P0571 Brake Switch Circuit Open....
Ever since I bought my volkswagon golf gt 05 every now and again (sometimes months apart) the radio spontaniously turns itself on usually in the middle of the niight.
I now have to get this sorted as my neighbours are starting to take offence at being awoken at night!
I have telephoned the dealership and they say it probably requires a software update but would have to charge for this as it is out of warranty.
Does this sound correct? Read more
Wish I had read this CD trick a few weeks ago!
My neighbour & pal has just taken his 54 reg Golf into dealer for same reason, head unit replaced by tham on exchange at £300 approx. Ouch.
So i get home to find a NIP from Gwent police to say i was caught on camera doing 68 in a 50 zone that was near the m4 toll plaza. Now from what i can remember i never saw any 50 limit signs at all and the fact that is says 68 indicates to me i 'thought' it was a 70 limit.
I am in no way saying that i was not doing 68 in a 50, just that i was not aware it was a 50. Does anyone know that bit of road at all and can confirm signage relating to limits there, and as far as i was aware you could not have cameras on motorways unless there were variable speed limits in place, roadworks as an example.
Just annoying as first ticket in 15 years of motoring
thanks
{Typo in header corrected - 'i' before 'e' except after 'c'} Read more
gcck
Do write to your MP. Writing to my MP has been very interesting.
I'm amused by those comments from various people who are obviously perfect drivers and take the view that anyone caught speeding here or anywhere deserved it. We can't all be perfect drivers and I accept that I'm not one. But even though I was not perfect I hadn't been fined until this particular spot so I took a bit of interest in it just to see whether I could explain it to myself and as I have said compared with many other instances these signs are poor and I would contend inadequate. Now I could be wrong about that perhaps they are adequate but my point is that the best proof of whether they are adequate is that if they are there should not be a lot of fines in this area, so I would like to know whether there are.
Returning to the subject of writing to my MP. He is doing a very good job of appearing to take it seriously and first wrote to the Safety Camera Partnership Manager in May who palmed him off saying that it was the South Wales Police who would have to give that information. It has been necessary for him to go through the Freedom of Information Act to request this data and the first request appears to have been ignored so he sent a reminder to them which has now resulted in a refusal by the police to supply the information claiming exemption on three counts 1. Law Enforcement (no specific reason why) 2. Health and Safety (No specific reason why) 3. That giving this "detailed" information might enable arch criminals like myself to "identify patterns of enforcement activity".
Well my MP, to his credit without me needing to press has appealed forcefully against this refusal and so I hope that I will find out how many fines there are in this spot.
However, a second approach from another MP would add weight and I can't see really why anyone here who has an interest can't support that.
If you are interested in road safety and want to support the use of cameras remember that safety is only improved if people slow down. If, for some reason, lots of people are still speeding, would it not be sensible to ask why and if a lot of money has been generated could someone not spend a tiny fraction of it on more or better signs to see if that really improved safety by reducing the number of people speeding? The only objection I can see to that is that putting up better signs would reduce the "take" and hit the budget.
It is certainly interesting that the South Wales police seem so reluctant to disclose this information.
For anyone interested in writing to their MP you could make reference to the fact that Nick Ainger, MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire is following this up at the moment.
Browse
We did this job on an Escort RS Turbo a few years ago, and it was simply a question of marking the relationship of the selector shaft to joint, undo the joint, prise out the seal, slide the new one in, seat it using a suitable sized socket, realign marks on the joint and tighten up.
20 minute job IIRC.