June 2009
Hi All
Had the bonnet up yesterday to check oil level etc, and i noticed that the Brake fluid bottle was clear, IE, i could not see any fluid at the Min/MAX levels.
I tried to tap the reservoir to see if i could make the top level of the fluid shake but i got nothing, although the reservoir didn?t move its held in very securely.
I didn?t want to unscrew the cap, as I didn?t really know what I was doing, and it started to rain so didn?t want any water under there.
The low fluid level/handbrake light goes out when the handbrake is released and doesn?t come on when driving and the brakes operate and function fine.
Im going to Bath/Bristol next week and the garage that I bought it from said they would take a look as I don?t want to take any chances.
Im just a little concerned, is it hard to check the levels, and is it normal to go down so much, the car has been serviced but I don?t know if that included brake and disc replacement
The car has all round discs.
Thanks in Adavance
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Brief test here:
www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/environment/5570566/M...l
The tester makes a good point: don't those old 3-series look small these days? Read more
Not that impressive really. Four years of constant running on a rolling road - never cooling down except for a 6,000 oil change. No expansion and contraction of different metals then putting gaskets under strain and no moisture from cold running.
Hydrodynamic lubrication at the crank constantly and only loss of oil pressure through the whole system at oil change. No overnight `dry` starts for the rings and bores and I bet the engine run at its optimal speed for longevity.
It`s nothing really is it when contrasted with a `cheap` family saloon turning in 100,000+ miles of grueling stop start normal use with a lessor non synthetic oil with changes that sometimes run over the recommended interval - and with thousands of cold start expansion contraction cycles.
tinyurl.com/np6zzx
All very well but how long before insurers refuse to pay out because you DIDN'T hide your keys and in their view , where not taking reasonable steps to prevent your car being stolen.
Lets face it, insurers move goal posts more than the Wembley grounds staff. Read more
It's called discussion...... thats what you do on a forum such as this.
I am looking at getting a 1.5lt Mazda 2 automatic but am worried whether there will be adequate performance with the auto box. Has anyone here got any experience with this?
I had always thought that you really needed to have at least 2lt to pull an autobox but maybe that has changed with modern designs. Read more
Unfortunately the chain cam 1.6 motor is not available in the I30 in Australia. I certainly would have preferred it. Belts are too expensive for maintenance if you keep a vehicle for more than 10 years which we usually do.
As an off topic aside I have just been told by the State registration authorities that we can transfer over our cherished number plate - N241 - to the new vehicle for a transfer charge of $13! Basically just an admin cost and no attempt to gouge us. I am very impressed.
anyone tell me why anti-polution warning started coming up, 02 plate,auto 110bhp 76,000 miles Read more
ive just had the same fault on my 2.2 hdi it was a blocked paticulate filter you can remove the cat from thre car and slip it and then use compressed air to blow out all the soot but wear a mask or better still use a sand blashing cabinet as i did because its nasty stuff "toxic" you may also have to top up refill your eiloys fluid as this solution assists the burn of particles in the exhaust again not a hard job but be carefull againthe fluid is toxic you can obtain a refill kit and fluid from you nearest dealer £75 plus vat if you need any more imfo let me know ..
does any body know if a 306 gti6 engine will go into my little saxo vtr 2000 year. i have the full car here (the peugeot) so i have access to all the engine and box ancileries, will i need to get new shafts made up or can i run the engine on the saxo box?
its a little project for the sake of passing time. Read more
lee why why oh why, the engines gr8 in the pug mate if it not broke dont fix it... no offence meant mate and i know its gr8 to have these little projects but a saxo lol
seriously tho i think you will have problems mating the gti 6 engine to your saxo gear box as im sure the fly wheel and gear box foot print were different on the GTI-6 than any of the other pugs and saxo's i think you'd have more sucess with an XSI or S16 engine (same block different ancileries managment and gear box(5 speed) down side is less powerful)
good luck mate :)
Rich
Hi all
I have today cleaned the EGR valve out as the engine was giving me a lot of black smoke and leaking oil from the join just above the EGR valve
I followed a very good article on here on how to do this - the valve was not too caked up BUT the Manifold? where it went into was. Where there should have been a hole between the top part and the bottom for the air to flow between was completely clogged so i cleaned all of this along with the valve etc put it all back together and now after about 5 seconds the limp home light comes ON
I now have hardly any power and am wondering what i have done to warrant this - the car ran better before i cleaned it!!!
I have put the valve back in correctly - it can only really go in one way reconnected the electric plug into the back of it etc nothing seems to be amiss but the limp home mode is on all the time - Before i take a match to it does anyone have any ideas?
I disconnected the battery whilst i did the job - took around 1.5 hrs and i did use quite a bit of WD40 around the valve to get it out - could that have caused a short somewhere?
Thanks for any help rec,d
Harv Read more
Don't need to worry about my old MB, it doesn't seem to bother at all when the battery is disconnected...which with it's previous ECU/wiring loom problems was quite a few times..;)
But i hear that some cars do have problems if battery power is lost, and more problems if you mess up connecting a new battery, yes even if connected correctly.
It'll come to pass probably this winter that the BMW compact battery will die, i shall use my trusty jump pack to maintain constant power to the car whilst performing said renewal..i understand BM's can be temperamental if power is lost for some time.
Do others take similar precautions, or just disconnect/reconnect anyoldhow? Read more
We are a relatively lucky lot to still be knocking about by the sounds of it.;)
From the replies it seems few are bothered about maintaining power to the vehicle whilst a battery change is effected.
That surprises me, or maybe i'm a little paranoid about possible problems.
My sons former neighbour's changed the battery on a 3 series one weekend and the car put the ABS (or was it Traction Control?) light on after that....he ended up going to BMW to reset the thing, something along the lines of turning the steering lock to lock in a certain sequence and other such things for the car to 'learn' the straight ahead position (not sure exactly but it was something like that)
I shall continue to maintain power supply if i change any battery, knowing my luck it will be the world's most expensive ECU that fries.
I am a 1 litre Yaris and have been told of the discussion about mileage and value/reliability. I am 9 years old, have toddled about 23k and feel in the prime of life. I love driving the 2 miles to Waitrose because you meet a better class of car there. Only yesterday I pulled into a space still warm from a MB SLK. Even met a Rolls once. Once a month or so I am taken 60 miles to visit my owner?s grandchildren.
I live in a garage, which I share with some bloke who keeps his lawnmower in there and sometimes plays Jazz Record Requests too loud. But he does keep me clean and makes sure my battery voltage is correct. As a lady I love new things but I can?t persuade anyone to get me a new battery because my original one works fine. I just love it when he switches on the garage compressor because he then messes about with my wheely bits.
Once a year I go to the doc for a check-over and oil change, even if I have only done 2k since last time. I have to go anyway because I am told the Government need to know about my condition. I keep hearing ?no advisories? - I don?t know what it means but my owner smiles so I suppose all is ok.
Can?t imagine I will ever get to 100k, but I might get to 18 if there is enough oil coming out the ground at that time.
All the best,
Ada Lovelace
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Tough luck, little Yaris.
The bankers have fiddled, the motor manufacturers have squealed and the Government (sic) has spoken.
You are destined to die before your time...
A US satirist, PJ O'Rourke, once said that the difference between your own car and a hire car, is that you can shift the transmission in a hire car from forward to reverse without coming to a standstill.
I have been a little brutal with hire cars mainly by hammering them in the lower gears and driving them down tracks previously used only by sheep and goats.
Anyone else want to own up to maltreating hire cars, company cars or whatever?
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Certainly not. What an extraordinary question to ask, and what a more extraordinary admission to make.
When you travel on the bus do you put your feet up on the seats? Or spit on the floor?
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Hi
Just to let you know, thats its all fine - I had another look under the bonnet, and there is plenty of fluid in there.
Its more or less impossible to see the fluid through the reservoir, however with a bit more tapping on the top you can see the level (just)!
Thanks