August 2009
I had my cam belt replaced last week on my Focus as a precaution - I have owned two cars in the past where the belt has failed and I know all to well the damage to the engine and the potential costs.
So...
3 days later - rattle from the engine. I had a look and found one of the bolts on the water pump pulley hanging loose. Took the car back to the garage ( a trusted independent) who apologised and tightened them all up for me.
Then....
5 days later, starting the car up on the drive, a big noise and a clunk.....I am not a happy chappy at at all. Towed back to the garage - and he didn't look to happy either. He's had a look at it and I have just been told the crankshaft pulley bolt has sheared, there's damage to the valves, won't know more until the head is off etc..
So the bottom line is...who carries the can for this one? I have read somewhere that its Ford recommendation for this engine that the bolt should be replaced when the timing belt is changed.
Anybody know anything about this Read more
New episode on BBC at 9pm tonight. I haven't seen it, but know some of the content. I'm reliably informed that I've avoided the camera (threatening the cameraman probably helped :) ). There's one incident I'm particularly interested in and will be watching with interest on what the BBC show and how accurate their commentary is.
Still don't agree with them filming us, but that's way above my pay grade. Read more
Interesting how they again closed the road for a considerable period of time to deal with the fatal. They also built a computer simulation of the crash.
Yet the cause was, surely, obvious? Guy stole a powerful car and crashed it. In the process he got killed. As he was partially ejected from the vehicle I presume he can't have been wearing his seatbelt, but that wasn't mentioned.
It also seemed immediately likely to me that the car was stolen - no seatbelt and the passenger did a runner. Therefore the ID in the car was likely to be someone else's. Was it some kind of sick joke that they didn't check the guys's coat for ID (finding his prison ID card for Goodness sake) until after they'd visited the RK's house?
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>>..headphone splitter..>>
Do you mean one of these?
www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1214
About £1.50 from any good TV or audio retail outlet.
I use one to supply sound output to the computer speakers or headphones as necessary (turn one off and the other on as required); saves having to constantly swap jack plugs.
Jaguar XJ8 3.2 Sports 2001 Y plate 114k miles
Regularly serviced as per book. Only mishap was a year ago when warning light indicated left hand side oxygen sensor fault. Reset and never appeared again. Car runs perfect and has bags of power and sounds sweet in every way until ?..
The Problem.
Car left on drive in rain for maybe 4 days. Started up perfectly on first turn and I drove off. About 60 yds along road engine warning light began to flash and then ?Reduced Power ? warning appeared. I turned around and got onto drive . I was about to shut off engine and engine warning light stopped flashing and Reduced Power warning disappeared. Engine sounded Ok on throttle, but very rough on idling so much that it shook the car violently. Stopped and left car on drive to ring my trusted garage.
On advice, I tried car once more the next day. Same as before in that warning light flashing and Reduced Power warning on dashboard. On a bit of throttle sounded Ok , but on idle very rough.
Carefully drove 5 miles to mechanics garage and on journey car sounded fine above 1,000 revs but rough on idle.
Tests at garage were as follows
Completed OBD2 reading which showed codes P301 and P302 and another code which I forgot but meant multiple misfire.
- Changed plugs?. No difference
- Bought Jaguar Coil and tried each cylinder one by one with new coil. No difference
- Tried compression testing and ALL cylinders same reading of 225. Assumed this was good news?
- Inlet manifold seals checked and all OK.
- All hoses checked and all OK.
- All injectors checked and spraying fine.
- As before runs well above 1,000 revs? But rough , very rough on idle.
Need any help suggestions?
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Hi SteveLee, yeah they were upgraded but seen plenty break, but i guess we will never know as its an old post. i always just err on the side of caution so its one of the first things I would check if I was working on it. Nothing worse than have a car in to fix and be reving it to check for a misfire and have a chain snap ! LOL
Rgds ID
The keyfob wont open doors/boot release. (Yes, I've checked the battery).I can only open the door with key in the lock but this sets off the alarm and doesn't central open the passenger door. Ithink the problemlies with the internal central locking button on dashboard as this stays lit at all times. Can anyone help me please? I dont fancy paying Porsche's hourly rate to tell me! thank you Read more
Do you get the same problem with the other key fob. you should have 2 electronic key fobs plus and an emergency one. The fobs are electronic devices so you might just have one faulty one
The alarm can be re programmed by the Porsche dealer so you can open the door without setting off the alarm but you might have to pay for this.
Good luck
My dealer ordered a Golf 1.4 SE 122 TSI 5 door petrol direct from the factory on 21st May. The dealer rang me on 19th August to say that the computer was showing the car as awaiting shipment at Emden docks - with an estimated delivery date of 7th September. This surprised me (and the dealer!) as this forum was suggesting 5/6 months. The extras are Met. Paint, Luxury Pack and Parking Sensors. Read more
I'll need to check the make, could be Scorpion or Cobra. They're the ones which the supplying dealer habitually fits to its own demonstrators and loan cars, very neatly integrated / colour coded and flush fitting.
In terms of performance, they're slightly better than the dealer-fit Honda system fitted to our previous Civic (Honda didn't offer factory-fit) , OK but not as good as the factory-fit system in my 330d or previous Audi A4....
Being a Taxi driver i dont have to wear a seat belt with passengers, but having to keep
hearing that aweful noise for the journey is unbearable { unless i blast out the sounds }
Someone told me a few days ago to clip + unclip the seatbelt in 7-8 times and it stops..
True enough it worked... But pushing the Red button in-out 5-6 times does the trick to,
Pure bliss to my ears. Read more
I agree that wearing a belt should be an issue. I disabled mine because it was annoying when moving the car on the drive etc. I'd never drive without the belt on.
Hi
Recently bought a use vw polo 1.4cl 1995.
Was running ok but now car seems to judder when accelerating in all gears and sometimes feels like it will cut out. However it has not. Yet. It starts every time and the problem only really happens when engine warms up. Happens more when tank low on petrol. Has been recently serviced with all new parts. Thought problem was sparks which were really worn but still persists with new sparks.
Also engine makes a 'put' 'put' sound even on stand still and while driving and when the car judders also can hear slight mis/backfiring.
Its my first car so not really an expert on cars. Please can someone put their finger on the problem?
Help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Read more
Thanks Bell boy..i did read another post and thought maybe some carb cleaner may do the trick...ill take it down to a garage and get them to look at it. most people i have spoken to have narrowed it down to either the dis cap or the carb, but thanks anyway.
Hi there, was wondering if anyone could help me!
My Fiesta MK4 1.25 has recently starting driving like a dog-when accelerating it frequently loses power, especially going uphill. I have to then "experiment" with various positions on the accelerator pedal until it regains power. As you can imagine this can be a bit dangerous when driving on the motorway/at junctions/roundabouts! As a result it also appears to be drinking much more fuel, presumably due to the uneven nature of my acceleration!
This has only been happening in the last week or so (I drove through a Ford a week ago-will the water have had an effect?) although it has always been a bit dodgy in this respect- for example when I would put my foot flat on the accelerator (especialy in high gears) not much would happen, and it accelerated better when I released my foot from the pedal a little.
Any help would be much appreciated! Read more
the mass air flow sensor needs replacing, its a common fault on the mk4, had this problem the other day literally, its a cheap part, ten to fifteen quid from a scrapyard, two screws and a jubilee clip at the other side hold the sensor on, between the air filter unit and the engine block, justbehind the air intake/pollen filter (rhs of the grille area), take care with the wiring plug under the sensor, best to remove it once the unit is free from the engine.
I sympathise as I was stressing and couldn't over-take anybody. good luck
I know the answer to this question is probably in the Highway Code but I wanted to get the Back Roomer's views on it.
When you're turning right at a set of lights on a single carriage road, logic to me says that as I'm waiting, my car should be in front of the of the car wanting to do the same in the opposite direction. My car turned slightly right and the other car in front of me doing the same.
So why is it so many people will go past you and wait to turn right behind you, leaving the other cars wanting to do the same, behind that car blocking your way to turn right.
I hope you follow my point as it would be easier to get across with a diagram :-)
Would like to know which is the 'right' way..
Cheers,
Nial
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Unless it's changed in the last few years.
For at least 25 years it's been;
181
When turning right at crossroads where an oncoming vehicle is also turning right, there is a choice of two methods
turn right side to right side; keep the other vehicle on your right and turn behind it. This is generally the safer method as you have a clear view of any approaching traffic when completing your turn
left side to left side, turning in front of each other. This can block your view of oncoming vehicles, so take extra care. Cyclists and motorcyclists in particular may be hidden from your view. Road layout, markings or how the other vehicle is positioned can determine which course should be taken
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I've used the same guy for the last 15 years - I haven't had any problems with him in the past.
I found an information sheet on the internet from a company called Dayco. It says....
"FORD Fiesta/Fusion 1.2 16v, 1.4 16v, 1.6 16v. Focus 1.4 16v, 1.6 16v
Crankshaft bolt replacement
When the timing belt and associated components are being replaced the crankshaft bolt
has to be removed to gain access to the synchronous drive.
The old crankshaft bolt MUST NOT be reused but replaced with a new bolt.
Dayco`s timing belt KTB396 includes the belt 94671 (117SP+220H) and the tensioner but
Dayco are unable to include the new crankshaft bolt to the kit due to the differing length
variations available.
The Crankshaft bolt has to be sourced from the main dealer"
I haven't found any other references.