I get a constant nasty whine increasing in pitch with engine revs. When the car is stationary, moving the steering wheel a gently against the pressure (not turning the wheels at all) to get the PAS to do a little work the noise is a lot worse.

I conclude this is my power steering pump making the noise. I assume the increase in pitch under revs is due to the aux belt driving the pump faster.

I checked the fluid in case it's a simple case of the pump run dry of fluid - there's not a lot of fluid but there's some so I can't see how the pump can be running dry. I'll top it up to see tomorrow.

I haven't physically looked yet and I haven't checked Haynes - am about to do the later, the former will have to wait for the weekend.

Questions:

- Based on the info above am I right to suspect the PAS pump?

- If so is it likely to be the Pump alone or is there a high chance it will need a new rack too?

- Ballpark what should I be paying for a pump/rack/both fitted?

- I quite enjoy working on my cars - is it a tricky task for the home enthusiast?

TIA.
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I'm about to sell one of my toys after much soul searching. It's going to a good home and I was made an offer I really couldn't refuse.
The thing is, do you have to tell the insurance company you no longer have the vehicle? The reason I ask is I only renewed the policy a month ago and if I cancel there is no refund. It's highly likely I'll be getting something to replace it in the not too distant future which would be a simple case of change of vehicle on the policy.
Any suggestions?
Regards, cc. Read more

Help! I've got a Ford Transit Connect fitted with the Ford 1.8 TDCi engine, 110ps.
It's done 10,000 miles.
The response to the throttle when the engine is at idling speed is terrible...I'd say bordering on dangerous.
If you are waiting at a junction, engine idling, in first gear and a gap comes up in the traffic.....put foot on gas and the engine does nothing for a half second, then lazily spools up....dare to let in the clutch at this point and you'll wait an eternity for any acceleration.
Likewise slowing for a roundabout, into first, engine idling, no cars....go!! But no, the engine is lazily lumbering up to 1500rpm again and there's a 2 or 3 second wait for power.
It's been back four times and all Ford can do is "reprogram the PCM". Is this a fault? Will it improve with mileage? (as some have suggested it might) or do I trade it in for a WV Caddy Van before it drives me mad! or kills me... Read more

hi new here, just noticed a coolant leak , puddle under car after doing a 60 mile run, and another running drizzle from under car after 60 mile return journey, the temp guage hasnt been above mid way, no rough idel or running as yet, it did seem a little under powered after about 90 miles struggled a little up hill at 60mph it a zetec engine, auto gearbox cant see where leaking from but seems to be from rear of engine bay, havnt been able to get under it yet co i got a dodgy neck and cant move too well, any ideas? Read more

Hi All.

I've got lease hire Jag. XKR which is about 11 months old (I've had it from new if that helps) and at around 10000 miles I had it serviced, Which could have been just about anywhere and I'm all over the Country at various times.

I was a little bit over on the second service (24k when it should have been 20) this was done in May this year. Up until that point I had no problems with the car apart from a blown valve on the supercharger two weeks after it was delivered, which was duly fixed.

Anyway two weeks after the service I get a warning light (amber, so after contacting the dealer I was told not its not too serious and to bring it in) then the keyless ignition started to play up. So after booking it into the dealer for a quick (I thought perhaps a 24hr repair) I mentioned that it was seemed to be blowing some smoke, also at between 6 and 7,000 rpm there seemed to be a vibration and a metal on metal sound which I hadn?t heard before, so could they look at that as well.

Two days passed without my car back or a replacement (loaner) so after a quick call I found out that they were having problems with some software for the ignition part of the works. They said that there had found a fault and the they needed to install two new catalectic converters. Or so Technical at Jaguar told them as they didn't have a clue at the dealership.?So there was a further two week wait and the car comes back okay'ish with the added bonus of a pretty decent scratch on the roof.


10 days/two weeks after coming back to me, I'm on the M25 doing 70 (can you go faster any on the M25?) outside lane when it sounded like a plane had just gone through the sound barrier in front of me. Except it was no plane, it was me.! Or rather the car.!! At this stage all I could hear, through my still ringing ear drums, was what I assumed was bits of engine bouncing between road and car until it shot out the back at the speed of a scud missile.

Through the smoke and the watering eyes (I wasn?t crying, it was the fumes?.honest) I managed to weave through the now panicking other drivers with no engine to get onto the hard shoulder.

Now this is the thing. Because I failed to look in the service book at the 10k service I missed the fact that the didn?t stamp it (not so unusual I hear you say) as like many others I suspect I had always thought the dealer computer system was national. But I?ll explain in more detail later about this.

Now remembering I?m all over the Country staying in hotels from one end of the Country to the other I could have been anywhere when I had booked it. Of course I can?t remember (odds dictate) where it was done. Its not a simple case of booking one car so I must remember but I manage dozens of cars for the company and booking one is like booking any another.

To move on. The stamp on the second service (the 24k one) wasn?t stamped either but I remembered the dealer the car went to that time so I?m pretty much okay there. Am I right in thinking that once a service is carried out then the warranty will always start again. I think, and correct me if I?m wrong, but the warranty wouldn?t have been available had the car blown up in the time leading up to the service. So within the first 24k miles.

Now I?m in the situation that because I cant prove that the service (10k) was done at a particular place they assume it wasn?t done (perhaps rightly or not) therefore short of phoning every Jag dealer in areas I?ve been to in the last year I?ve no way of finding the details. What doesn?t help is the fact that the computer system they use is local and they have to know the location of the service to either confirm or refute it being undertaken.

Add this together with the fact that quite a few dealers have now closed which means, or so I?ve been told, that they (Jaguar) wouldn?t have the computer details/records of services etc. I should say here that I always pay cash for things, never on a credit card, never by cheque, always cash. So no tracing it location there.


So the end result is that Jag. Are saying that they wont cover the work (a new engine) under warranty ergo I have to pay. But what gets me is that they did the steering and the converters under warranty, and the car had been running perfectly until the service. The official version is this. Due to the non service an d the fact that the engine oil would have caused damage prior to the 24k service they will not be held liable.

As I pointed out. The engine was maintained by myself, oil levels, tyre etc were all checked regularly, and in the case of oil, is it not topped up when needed anyway? Always, as per manufacturers specifications and using the recommended type. Even the replacement tyres were the same make, a tad more expensive but better safe than sorry..

Still no movement.

So I?m left thinking that if this damage had been so obvious surely the technician doing the last service (24k) would have noted some anomalies on the record sheet (which I have). It states that there is no engine smoke, oil fine etc etc. Not a single thing wrong with it.

I might have expected for them to have noted that there wasn?t any oil present in it, or the oil in there was of a poor quality etc, especially as it might affected a warranty. But no notes were made before nothing was wrong.

Personally. And I?ll be careful how I say this but several things are bouncing around my mind.

The two weeks the car was in for the new cats and keyless ignition something may have happened to the car that was done through incompetence or by genuine accident. Why had it taken so long for Jag. Technical to solve a relatively easy problem (this is what I was told when it first went in). One could suspect that the car was (within that difficult period) repaired incorrectly and that caused the engine failure.

Further. You could, if you were a suspicious kind of person, assume that Jag do have the records of the service but are choosing to keep it to themselves. Additionally. Would large firms, even Jaguar, change records?

Just a thought and definitely not an accusation.

Lets just say they made a mistake, would they not be liable for the repair, my trauma in those split seconds (I thought I was going to die.!) lost business to my company for me not being on the road, Paying for a car that I cannot use, paying for the replacement car until this is sorted out. Oh. This is the best bit. Because they?ve said they?re not covering the work then I cant have the replacement car.

So here I am. Car Less, well over £1,500 per month out of pocket that?s before sorting a replacement out and potentially having a bill of over 8k for the engine.

Not bad for a days work. I guess what I really need is the Jag dealer who did the service to step forward and stamp my book to say the 10k one was done.

Anyway I guess the questions I need to ask are these.

1 ? Has anyone heard of this so called oil damage before?
2 ? What of the last service. Should the warranty start again after it was serviced?
3 ? Can they pick and choose what works they do under warranty? As mentioned they had done works on the car only ten days before it exploded.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Tony
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