August 2009
My toyota previa overheats . it is ok sitting idling. When driving it can start to overheat after about 30 minutes or more. Putting the foot down seems to make it overheat quicker , like when driving up a steep hill or mw driving. any ideas anyone. The water level is ok. Read more
hi,
over the last week, changing gear has become very difficult. it requires much more force to move the gear stick into the right gear. also, when standing still, in first gear with clutch pressed down, the revs go down, and it feels as the car is about to stall.
has anyone else ever experienced this? does anyone know what the problem might be?
tia Read more
Your car will not have a cable - its a fluid system. You can test to see if its the slave cylinder by pumping the clutch pedal up and down a few times to see if the engagement is improved. If it is then the clutch slave cylinder needs replacing. Its a fairly simple job to replace. Just remember that the clutch fluid system shares the same fluid container as the brakes - the pipe for the clutch comes off the side.
Hope this helps
Robin the Technician
Today we serviced our cars and redlined to extend ze engines lives before changing the oil. (In line with the new wave of Anglo mechanical sympathy)
tinyurl.com/lb55r8
Goodnight
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The noise is a chainsaw, that the man on the left is holding. You can hear it's a two-smoke when it runs down to a stop.
My H7 dip beam bulbs have only lasted 18 months/35,000 km's. For some reason they both failed within 24 hours of each other. We run DLR's here, so was considering long life bulbs for a mere 50p extra each. So do they actually last longer, or am I just wasting a quid? Read more
For the minimal cost of a bulb, I'd chose a Philips or Osram +80%/+90% bulb every time. I'd rather see where I'm going when it gets dark and replace the bulb every year than have a weaker bulb lighting the road than lasts 2 years.
Good headlight bulbs and windcreen wipers are VERY cheap compared to cut price alternatives if you factor in the extra safety they offer.
I am getting fed up with always having soft tyres.
I am now having to top up my tyres weekly and every now and then I'll drive off and find that a tyre is down to single figures and then after re-inlfating it stays Ok for ages ie not a slow puncture.
Don't know if it's a feature of low profile tyres but can I simply put normal profile tyres on without affecting the car's set up?
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Some maths:
The 55 section tyres increase the diameter by 22mm.
Why are tyres in a mix of metric and imperial?
They're now 21.6" tall versus 20.8" with the 45 section tyres.
21.6xPi gives a 67.82" circumference which is 4% larger than before. That would make the speedo 4% less accurate than before, so it'll show the car travelling slower than it actually was, but the speedo previously showed the car travelling faster than it was (66mph on Garmin at indicated 70mph).
66 + 4%= 68.4. Does that mean that it'll now show 68.4 mph?
Does any of that add up correctly?
I'm starving and haven't eaten since lunch.
I will eat and then go and drive at 70mph and report back.
I'm having problems removing the auxiliary belt from my Mark 4 Astra. The tensioner on my model doesn't seem to resemble the one shown in my Haynes manual. Was it changed in the later models? I've tried loosening bolts, etc, but that doesn't seem to do anything. Any advice would be very helpful. Read more
Hi,
I just had to change the near side headlight of my peugeot 307 because the old one's bracket had broken so it was not attached properly. Now the people at the MOT garage have said (after £60 labour) that there is no kick up on the headlight (ie the beam is flat). Are they correct in that it cannot therefore pass the MOT?
Any answers/suggestions would be appreciated!
Neel Read more
Sorry for the late reply guys thought Id reply being a lighting engineer;
The kick up that you mention is a 15 degree gradient that is there for pedestrian and curb side illumination; it has measured values and is part of the headlamp beam.
The headlamp fitted to the 307 for your age of car is a Valeo unit which will be ECE reg 112 approved; you will need to verify that the lamp is genuine from the person/place where you purchased from or check that the approval marks and manufacturers name is on the lamp.
The manufacturer has a legal requirement to produce COP (conformity of production) lamps which is basically a lamp which meets the original regulation.
If your MOT station has failed you then its time to call the DOT; the equipment that the MOT station have is simply a crude aiming rig and does not measure intensity, glare or colour of light emitted. When the manufacturer approved the lamp they would have submitted samples to an approved test house (such as BSI or UTAC) who use calibrated equipment and bulbs ? the requirement for testing to approval standards.
Providing you have used an ECE reg 37 approved bulb (and I would personally use a Philips or Osram) then you have complied with the regulation.
I suspect that the MOT station wanted some extra beer money!
Steve
I have an 03 406 estate, 50k miles, HDI 90 with a Siemens ecu. No problems until recently , when it failed to start. Engine would turn ok and tried to start, but cut out before reaching idling speed. When repeated later, same again, but higher revs before shut down (2 secs)
Diagnostics indicated a fuel regulator problem and the high pressure fuel pump was changed (Siemens version, no pump in the tank). The contacts for the regulator on the old pump were blackened, which suggested the solenoid had overheated. The car ran for three days, then same fault reoccurred.
Suggestion of dry joint in the ecu output to the regulator (pulsed earth), so ecu was changed for a refurbished unit. Ran perfectly for around three days, then back to the original fault. All wiring has been checked etc, for some reason, appears ecu is shutting down the engine. Any info on the regulator (inside the pump), is it normally shut to increase pressure until earth from ecu and frequency of earth pulse at idling speed.
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i have been told that you can not get big or small ends.that the botton half of the engine is a throw away i have never heard this befor as you can not get the big end or small ends to fix it. is this true if so it seams a terrible waste can any one help thanks. Read more
i have taken the bigend shells to replace them. the main shells are ok but i have noticed
that out of the 10 shell the are only 4 with holes in and a groove for the oil and i have 6 plain ones so i am going to have to put a pair togeather with no holes in can any tell me why and were to put the pair with no holes can anyone help.thanks
Hi all,
i recently saw a 'retro' looking car on a 2004 plate that looked like a Nissan Figaro, but I don't think it was a figaro as they are all registered in 1990-91, and this one looked a bit more 'updated' but still had the looks of a figaro..
can anyone put me out of my misery and tell me some options as to the company/model of the car i saw??
thanks!
{header made less vague} Read more
Nifty Aston Martin-styled one from Japan -
tinyurl.com/lwgs4o
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Thanks guys. i was suspecting a blocked rad. The car has done a lot of miles. has had a new thermostat. so i willl try the cleaner in the coolant.