September 2009
Bit of advice please, guys.
The coolant expansion tank of my son's Rover 25 regularly requires topping up--at the current rate of loss it would probably go totally dry in a matter of a couple of weeks. There are no other obvious signs of head gasket failure; no mayo under the oil filler cap nor on the dipstick, and the car drives just fine, usually starting first time. Doesnt overheat, either.
When its stood idling, a fair amount of water (which I assumed was condensation till the water loss became obvious) drips onto the floor from a perforated seam under the rear silencer, but there appear to be no water drips under the engine. Theres a sludgy, brownish deposit on the inside walls of the coolant expansion tank, but it doesnt smell of, nor appear to contain oil. He drives about sixty miles on an average weekday.
Could we still be looking at early stages of HG failure, or might there be some other reason for the water loss?
Cheers in advance. Read more
Hi there, my timing belt failed on my 2001 1753cc Endura diesel engine Focus TDDi, car had done 140,000 miles and the replacement belt lasted less than 45,000 miles before half the teeth stripped with the inevitable result, but enough of that, should have followed HJ's advice about changing it every 35k!
Anyway, I am in the process of removing the cylinder head which needs replacing (camshaft in 3 pieces etc etc) but the question is, how do I check the pistons/conrods. I have been told I need to check that piston extension and check they are all the same (using a dial test indicator) but what measurements are acceptable or unacceptable and is there anything else to check? I was going to buy an exchange cylinder head provided the bottom end is OK but am unsure what is acceptable or not acceptable!
Thanks for your help... Read more
UPDATE - just thought I would update you all after your good advice....
In the end I bought a reconditioned exchange cylinder head from a helpful company in Telford (called Head First if I am allowed to mention them). Changed the water pump as well as it was on the original that had done 140K - just as well as there was about 0.5mm of play in the bearing so it was on the way out!
I bought a Ford belt and tensioner and noted that the belt looked a lot meatier than the non-Ford one that had stripped its teeth.
Also worth noting the EGR was very gungy and with the inlet manifold I scooped out several spoonfulls of tarry gunge from each port. After cleaning the EGR with carb cleaner and the inlet manifold with Jizer it was all a lot cleaner!
Anyway with it all back together it is driving sweet as a nut with little smoke and all seems fine.... phew!!
Thanks again!
I have seen a 99 T reg 2.2 petrol 5door for sale. Its done 108k with no history as it was lost. Its cheap. Not sure what the actual MPG will be as i will only be driving it around town (HJ C by C is quoting 19)
Thoughts please? (will i be expecting big bills?) Read more
Rates plumbers charge a Bentley with a roof rack would be quite affordable.
Hi all,my question is does anyone know what message should be displayed on the service interval display after having my Octavia II serviced and the interval computer reset at my local Skoda main dealer.
My display shows a message "Service now". I may be wrong but this seems wrong to me after being reset by the dealer using their vehicle system tester.They did it again in my presense which showed a mileage of "0" ok I agreed that this is correct having been reset but they could not tell me why my display shows "Service now".
Anyone any ideas if this is correct or not. I`ve emailed Skoda Customer service as yet no reply.
Thanks
Mal Read more
Thanks to both Altea Ego and bursty for their replies much appreciated.
Altea Ego,I agree with you about the competence of factory trained engineers.When I was showing him what was displayed on the service Interval computer by "holding the trip reset button in then turning on the ignition to display the contents of the computer "Service now" he said "what are you doing that for?".My reply "because my user manual tells me too".His reply "I don`t read user manuals I only use the VTS.Still waiting for Skoda Cust Service to get back to me,I won`t hold my breath.
bursty, thanks for your istructions regarding resetting "service events".
Similar to what my manual states on page 13.The only difference being your item 3 switching between service events which didn`t work on mine.
I have found that by turning the ignition on, then pressing trip reset for more than 2 secs it now tells me how many days and mileage to the next service which is reassuring.
Why the message "service now" initially displays beats me.By the way my display differs to that shown in my manual probably because mine is the Maxidot version ie no spanner key symbols.
Thanks both
Mal
Dear All,
As I complete technophobe, and being fairly new to car ownership, I would be very grateful for some advice please.
About a month ago, I started up my car and the engine roared with the rev counter shooting up to a little over 3,500 at the usual 1,200 or thereabouts. This problem persisted every time on start up and I had a Ford engineer look at the car ? he attached the ?Ford diagnostic computer? but no fault codes were shown. The engineer decided to reset the codes for the throttle body (forgive me, I?m not totally au fait with the technical jargon) and the problem seemed to temporarily disappear (the engine stopped roaring and over-revving on start up) but a few days later it returned.
I called the engineer again and he suggested that the problem was probably mechanical and fitted a new throttle body, re-programming the necessary codes again. (the Ford computer still was not showing any fault codes). But, just as had occurred previously, for a few days everything appeared to be ?normal? again but the problem then returned. Yesterday I started the engine and the rev counter again went up to about 3,500 revs. I switched off the engine and restarted again, and the rev counter only went up to a little over 1,200. I switched off and turned on again several times, and on the fifth restart the engine again revved up to just over 3,500, dropped slightly to just under 3,000 revs, then peaked again at just over 3,500, before dropping to about 1,200 revs. This all happened within seconds, and would suggest that the problem ? which is intermittent ? isn?t with the throttle body at all?
Do you have any ideas as to what may be causing this problem on start up please? The Ford engineer I have been dealing with has now drawn a blank! The actual drive of the car doesn?t appear to be any different, although I do drive very infrequently so my ?testing? is fairly subjective.
Many thanks!
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As the problem is repeatable, by repetitive restarts, an experienced engineer who knows how to use a laptop & engine diagnostics equipment will be able to analyse and diagnose the problem. The live engine data needs capturing when the problem occurs, a prognosis can then be provided.
Why do (some) diesels have/need DMFs and petrols don't? Or do some petrols have DMFs as well? Read more
"Why would this lead to failure?" - due to the torque reversals the dmf has to absorb between tickover compression (diesel - high cr) and power stroke? (Must say that I've often used the VAG TDi ability to run on tickover - not so much now!)
The gear lever in my Fiesta has, I think, recently lost its spring because when in neutral, it moves left to right quite freely (ie. looser than before).
I believe this in itself is not a major problem, but more recently, I've noticed:
- trying to shift into 3rd or 4th gear can be hit and miss, with grinding / crunching
- the clutch pedal sometimes feel as if the spring has gone (that is, it feels loose until 1-2 inches from the bottom) before I could select a gear
- selecting reverse almost always reaquiring further attempts (pressing clutch pedal down more) and also crunches
Of more concern is the last few hundred yards from my drive home on Friday evening - I had trouble selecting any of the gears, but eventually managed to find second. If of any relevance, the clutch pedal sometimes feel that it's rubbing / clicking against the brake pedal (mechnically, internally).
I got the car checked out yesterday, and was advised the clutch seems to be OK, except maybe the hydraulics. They suggested it's most likely to be a gearbox problem.
Would you guys agree with this diagnosis? Would topping up gear oil make any difference? If so, how would I go about this?
Thanks for any advice. Read more
Thanks for clarifying Mike. I've done a search and found this thread regarding the gearstick return spring
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=34309
Looks like an expensive job just to have the springs replaced. Am I right leaving it unattended will not have any long term adverse effects?
Also, I'm still unsure as to whether to get the MOT done before or after I get the clutch replaced.
SQ
Thinking about changing the car (again) and I've got a preference for diesel (based on driving characteristics and economy) but seriously concerned about DMF problems that seem common place.
Does anyone know of any modern, mainstream diesels (Ford, Vauxhall etc) that don't have a DMF fitted? For instance, I heard the Ford 1.8 TDCi doesn't have one. Anyone know if that's true?
Or should I just go for petrol? Consensus of opinion seems to be that it's a much safer bet.
(To give you some context, I've got a max budget of 7k and don't really want anything much over 5 years old / 50k mileage. Cost of maintenance is also an issue)
Thanks everyone!
*** PS. Apologies if this specific question has been covered before - I searched but couldn't find anything! Read more
opps I stand corrected. Just shows what tired eyes can do. sorry
Been worrying about this. As I approached the lights they had changed to amber but I was still far enough to stop but I must have mid judged it and stopped slightly over the white line. Would I get this done for this? The lights were still on amber by the time I had stopped. Read more
In my experience of observing other people, they only seem to flash when vehicles cross the induction loops with both front and rear wheels. The first flash is usually when the rear wheel is over the line and the second when the car is exiting the junction. Funnily enough, I saw a car parked on the pavement which had been unloading to a shop which was being 'done up' the car then drove along the pavement to be moved out the way and this triggered the red light camera. I presume because the wires go under the pavement even though they are not intended to catch anyone there.
www.howstuffworks.com/red-light-camera.htm/printab...e
When I watch the various police and cars programmes on the TV, I notice how often the driver thought to have broken the law is asked to come and sit in the police car.
Now it may be that it's something to do with the filming, but if it's not, can anyone say exactly what is going on?
Because I must say that I'm not terribly enthusiastic about it (not entirely sure why) and if I were stopped and asked to join the policeman in his car, I think I'd politely say "no, but you can sit in my car with me".
Anyone see a problem in that?
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I think if you refused to do as you are asked then you would not only alert them to thinking you had something to hide, but also fail the attitude test ( nice phrase by the way ), maybe 1 of the reasons they ask is to stop you from adjusting anything in the car that might have made them stop you in the first place.
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Hope you got sorted, Tink.
Just by way of an extremely late update, my son's Rover finally gave up the ghost on a local stretch of motorway about six months ago and we had to bite the bullet and get the HG done. Fortunately we located a semi retired mechanic who works from home and who did the work for a very reasonable price--around a hundred quid less than anyone else had quoted. The car has done around ten thousand miles since and rarely requires a top up....