September 2009
I suspect my clutch may be on the way out (75k miles). It's not too dramatic at the moment, and still drives OK 95% of the time, but the biting point is quite high, and it does over-rev occasionally when acclerating in 3rd & 4th. Also it's almost impossible to stall it with the old 1st gear/hand brake test. It just wants to creep forward.
I have two questions -
A. How much should I reasonably expect to pay a good indie garage to replace it?
And, B. if I were to have the cam belt and pulleys changed at the same time, am I likely to save myself much in the way of labour costs, as opposed to doing them on separate occasions? ( Budgetting, budgetting....the motorist's curse !)
Cheers all. Read more
Hi everyone,
This is my first post here, please be kind!
My girlfriend bought a 2002 1.2 (1199cc) Vauxhall Corsa. We collected it today and when we got home, noticed a loud rattle from the engine. I know these are chain driven and therefore slightly noisier than a belt driven engine but this seems excessively noisey. We spoke to a workmate of my girlfriend tonight and she mentioned hers made a loud rattle for a few days before timing chain failure. Obviously, we are keen for this not to happen to ours and would like some advice on how best to approach the garage. The salesman seemed genuine and reassured us that the car is covered by a 3 month/3000 mile warranty but are they likely to refused to investigate/rectify a fault with the timing chain?
Thanks in advance,
Rob Read more
I read somewhere that fully synthetic oil is recommended. Is this the case?
Yes.
tinyurl.com/mur93c (links to Vauxhall's website)
I am currently claiming insurance after my car was hit in the rear by a massive Merc Sprint van 2 weeks ago. It didn't look too bad but yesterday i was told it was a write-off. Now there's something that i've noticed on my Mum's insurance policy on which i am a named driver - the car registration number is wrong. The 2 end letters are the wrong way around. Nobody's queried this or anything.
If the insurance co. realise this, are they going to use this in any way against me? Should i tell them now or just keep quiet? They are claiming off the other guy anyway, so will this affect me?
I'd appreciate some help here, thanks! Read more
One thing which has not been pointed out is that car registrations are flagged up on the DVLA data base so when the car was insured it should have been spotted that the car make and model did not match the registration .!! Therefore that is why I think it was a typing error on the insurance certificate by the keyboard operator
The Timing Chain on my Nissan Almera stretched and now it takes me forever to start it and it's very jerky and it even stalls without any warning.
Google suggested this is common problem with the Almeras and it's very expensive to repaire: Nissan quoted me £900-£1000.
Nissan are still refusing to issue a recall and repair their own defective timing chain and said they are not aware there's any problem with the Timing Chain and no one reported it!
TheAA recommended Nationwide Autocentres who quoted me £530 for non-genuine Timing Chain kit. There's £200 difference between a genuine Nissan part and non-genuine one.
Am I making a mistake by using non-genuine timing chain kit?
The car is only worth 2k or 2.5k max.
Thanks for your advice.
P.s Will never buy a Nissan car again let alone an Almera. Read more
Why the current fetish timing chains, they often stretched and rattled like billio on old designs, i'm perfectly happy with a cambelt, i know it will want renewing at a sensible point and it won't need the engine dismantling to do the job, good opportunity to renew the water pump if driven by the belt.
Buy a north south engine and the cambelt might be an hours easy job anyway...Toyota 3 litre 4 pot Diesels for example.
Hi,
I have a 2.0 TDCI with 94k on the clock (I bought the car in Dec 08 with 90k on the clock). The car has a full Ford Service history, starts first time every time, pulls well in all the gears and generally seems to go ok. However one thing has been playing on my mind. Reviews of the TDCI engine mention how quiet it is. I would not describe the engine on my car as quiet, in the morning it sounds like a diesel (!) and on the move even when it warm you know that you are driving a diesel. On the motorway allthough it goes well the sound can become quite intrusive (however I believe that Focus's do have an issue with tyre/wheel noise and refinement). Question is as my car generally fine is the noise anything to worry about? Is it just me being too optimistic and that I need to realise that a diesel no matter how good will always sound as it does? The other day I noticed some oil on the manifold near to where the glow plugs and injectors are. Is this connected and should I be worried about it?
Thanks. Read more
I've got the same engine with nearly 80k on the clock, and what you've described in terms of performance, economy and noise sounds right to me (although regular focus should get better economy than C-Max due to lower weight and smaller front area). It does sound clattery on cold mornings, but disappears as it warms up. C'est la vie, it was one of the best diesel engines available in 2005.
Also check your engine cover is present and on properly, that may help supress a bit of clatter.
EGR valve getting clagged up is a known issue on engines of this vintage, but appears to have been sorted out.
Hi All.
Im new here and hope someone can help me. My A3 2.0L TDI's turbo just shut down while driving. I have to then switch the car off first, then start it again and it will be fine. I had the car tested and it came up with a turbo boost error. Do anyone know what that mean?
The dealer also told me to replace the turbo, is that my only option?
Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks
Jayson Read more
To get a simple answer on whether your only option is change the turbo - NO. The dealer would much rather sell you a new turbo which takes no more than an hour to replace - this generates much higher profit than taking apart the whole thing as both gentlemen above rightfully advised you. Thing is finding someone kind enough to do it unless you want to do it yourself...anyone would much rather change to a new turbo...this would also mean less chance of further problems in the future, like worn turbo bushes.
Another problem could be that it's the variable geometry mechanism that is sticking (this applies to the TDI 110 mostly)...you may want to check out that too.
I ordered my i10 in July and was told that it should arrive mid September. Mid September came and gone and we are almost end of Sept. The dealer could not commit to the delivery time. I am getting very impatient with the non-committal attitude of the sales team. I saw delivery of several of the ones I ordered arrived before mid Sept. I waited for a call but nothing happen. When I spoke to my dealer a couple days later they told me that they are still waiting delivery. I told them that I saw the delivery. To that he said those were for people ordered way back in May! Is that possible? Is it possible that they have sold mine to another buyer?? Anyone experienceing the same thing?? Read more
Hi PrincessM Can I ask what combination of spec of IX35 it is that you're waiting for. I'm waiting for a right hand drive, IX35, Premium, 2.0 Diesel, 4wd, Black and media pack which I ordered in May....
My Focus has two ways of opening the tailgate - the remote and a button on the boot. I now find that the boot button has failed - so limited to the use of my remote. Having read a few discussion forums it seems it's a common problem with a dodgy seal having let in water to impact the mechanism - a part that has been modified since.
I've spoken to Ford Customer Service with a view that as they have a design that limits the means of opening coupled with the dodgy seal we should perhaps share the cost of repair. They admit the part has been modified but this is for 'continued improvement' rather than a problem.
I'm rubbish at diy so need any guidance on simple things I can try or advice on how I can escalate within the Ford organisation. I'm happy to pay for the part but not the extortionate labour that would come with it! Read more
Try taking the component along to a local garage, they usually do jobs like these for a few quid.
My brother has a Jaguar X-Type 2.0 diesel. Just last week it cut out and he thought it had run out of fuel because it was low. He filled it up and it started straight away. He thought that was that until it happened again after about 25 miles. The engine cut out and would not re-start. He cranked it over, and it sounded like it wanted to fire but it wouldn't. He left it for about 20 minutes and it started again and ran normally.
He drove for about 3 miles and it cut out again. I went out to him and towed him back to my house where I had a look at it. It's a TDCi common rail system and no indication had lit up on the dash. I have VCDS, the VAG diagnostic software which also does OBDII on many other makes, but it will not communicate with this.
I removed the fuel hoses from the fuel filter and drew fuel up with a hand primer. No problem there. I got him to crank the engine while I forced fuel on to the main injection pump and it still would not start. That makes me suspect that the main fuel pump could be faulty, or some other sensor which leads to the ECU switching the pump off. Then it started again. I checked the connections on the main fuel pump and on the fuel pressure sensor. Needless to say it broke down again after another 3 miles.
Any ideas gratefully received...... Read more
I think its quite likely that the fuel filter needed changing anyway, typical symptoms. I have used supermarket fuel every since it was available, probably at least half a million miles or so and never had a problem.
I had a feeling that it would be expensive when the glowplug light started flashing...maybe 400, but not £550.
£250 for the injector (No 2 is beyond calibration limit)
£xx for the diagnostics
£xx for the steel pipe (pump to injector).
Add labour, add VAT.
It would have been £1400 to change all 4 injectors.
I just told them to fix it.
Question: Would it have been significantly cheaper elsewhere? Read more
The car has done nearly 90k miles, so if 60k is the average, then things are going well. The Ford dealer is ½ mile from my house and I needed the car.
Yes, I gather that the very high injection pressures wear the metal away until the bore of the nozzle is too large for electronic calibration to correct with respect to the other injectors.
Someone I know had all injectors changed on his Transit a few months ago for £1200.
I am very wary of reconditioned injectors. They aren't that much cheaper and will probably not last 90k miles either. Looks like injectors are simply a consumable on these cars.
Thanks guys. I have had a quote of £295 for the clutch & slave cylinder, all in including VAT, which I doesn't seem too bad then.
As suggested above, cam belt seems to be around £300, including replacing the water pump which can apparently sometimes then fail under newly increased tension from the belt.
No crossover between the two jobs in terms of engine bay access etc, so I'll just do the belt when I when I have digested the first bill!