I can hear the groans already...another tyre thread.

The thread on worst budget tyres had a lot of interest for me, especially when Hamsafar dropped a link in to this years Autocar test of budget tyres.

I had a chat to my son today about the tests, he buys good tyres too.
But he asked a pertinent question, were the tyres tested 'bedded in', a strange term which really more rightly means scrubbing the releasing agent from the tread before the tyre can give it's full potential.

These tests could be flawed in the respect that some tyres will bed in very quickly, whilst others take several hundred or more miles to do so...could these tests be fixed in theory by a favoured tyre being professionally cleaned off?

It could be interesting to hear how long our tyres take before giving the sure footed feel of fully bedded/scrubbed in.

Toyo's on my car almost immediately, maybe 100 miles.
Yokohama summers on the pick up about 2000 miles, Vredestein winter tyres must have been buffed at manufacture, full grip immediately.
Tyres on my work truck about 1 month...say 5000 miles depending on make...drive axle most noticeable.

Have others noticed this. Read more

Hi all,

this is my first post so please be gentle with me.
I recently bought a 1.4 petrol Astra G with 117000miles on the clock. seeing as my 1.4 Astra E had just clocked 201000miles but died of terminal body rot i thought a G would be just as reliable. However, it's turning into a epic saga of 'war and peace' proportions...a bit like this email!

There were a few oil leaks, no probs, just replace seals gaskets etc. but i realised all was not well when the engine number...under 1/2 inch of crud... didn't match the V5 and noticed the water pump looked very new. Also a shed load of silicon sealant had been used to seal the old rocker cover seal and the 3 sump bolts that bolt into the oil pump were in various stages of having been stripped etc etc. You got the idea, the previous weilder of spanners on this poor car was a much closer relation to our neanderthal ancesters than ourselves.

Anyway i decided the reason for the different engine number was that the unforetunate previous owner probably had the classic seized waterpump/valves hitting pistons scenario and got a reconditioned motor which itself had a new waterpump having suffered the same fate before being 'reconditioned' by our knuckle dragging friend....'torque wrench?....wot that then'.

After changing the rocker cover+sump+camshaft+crank seals, cam+ancilliary belts, waterpump, coolant, plugs, filters, fluids etc i thought we were good to go with perhaps the possibilty of oil leaking from the pulley end of the sump,, which i'd remedy with helicoilling the oil pump sump bolts. On start up all seemed fine and i let it warm up until it got to fan switch on time, i took a gander underneath and to my dismay there was coolant leaking from the pump area. on inspection it was coming from one of the holes which are machined into the aluminium body near the seals/bearing. i presume this is done so if the inner seal leaks the coolant doesn't get forced through the bearing and spew out over the belts but is channeled straight onto the floor. Ok, a pain, but after fitting a new pump i was strutting my stuff thinking i'm the mutts...

However, after just 100miles there's a fair oil leak from the pulley end which may start at the crank seal, admittedly it didn't go in as well as i'd hoped and shaved off a thin layer of rubber from the outer circumference. ok i'll change the £12 seal again and heicoil the sump bolts, but the thing that worries me the most is that i noticed the signs of dried glycol on the waterpump an the same place as the previous newish looking one. The coolant level's gone down a bit, understandably, the oil on the dip, filler cap and that dripping on the floor looks spanking new, clear and un-mayo like, the coolant in the header looks ok, a smidgeon dirty but i'd expect that after been spun around a 117000 motor. So you know what i'm going to ask....... do you reckon the head gasket is blowing into the water jacket, pressurising it and causing the inner waterpump seal to fail???? I remember when the head gasket went on my E the waterpump failed a month or 2 later in exactly the same way but the replacement was fine. If it is being over pressured why isn't the cap on the header tank blowing off? or is it only there to let air in under vacum? Any advice would be much appreciated....other than 'drive it off beachy head'....i couldn't do that to the environment...tho admittedly there'd be little oil left in the sump to contaminate the sea due to the leaks ;-(.

Do i:
a) change the header cap in the infantile belief that everything will be fluffy bunnies after...and while i'm at it, hang out my stocking for father xmass?
b) put yet another water pump on and pop down to the bookies and put a tenner on kilmarnock winning the champion's league in 2015
c) bite the bullet and change the head gasket???? bit wobbly about this one because the 8valve carb motor was easy peasy but the 16valve head without any room around it and enogh cabling and hosing to fit out a carrier seems a tad daunting.

cheers all!! Read more

hi all, want to start off by saying excellent site. like it a lot.

however i was dissapointed by your judgement of the lada niva. Everything you said about it was true, apart from one thing - it off road ability. Rather than make a case for this myself, I found an AA review that just about hits the mark.
(lots of bad things about the niva, but off road, it can prettymuch climb tree's). It can be found here.

www.theaa.com/staticdocs/pdf/carreports/AA_REPORTS...F

these cars are insane offroad.

thanks for reading,
ned . Read more

My Vectra (81000 miles) has developed a low pitch moaning sound when running easy at 50-70mph, especially noticeable on the over-run. It is definitely related to road speed, not engine speed, and happens in all gears, including neutral. I have had all 4 wheels jacked-up and all turn freely with no noise, roughness or bearing play. There is no evidence of heat generation in the hubs. I have temporarily exchanged wheels with a friend, but no difference. The drive shaft gaiters appear sound - there is a (very) small amount of play in the drive shafts, but this is equal both sides and I think is normal.
I have a long European trip coming-up and don't want any nasty surprises.
Any ideas/suggestions would be very welcome. Read more

hi. im having a few problems with my frontera.
the speedo isnt working and my perol gauge isnt working either, they come on now and then. ive located the speed sensor in the box ive tried a second hand sensor in to see if that was the problem still no good. the drive in the box is turning so i think thats ok. i took the clocks out messed about with them but couldnt find anything with them, im just wondering if anyones had similar problems? wonder if its worth trying some different clocks. cheers

p.s its the newer model without the speedo cable Read more