October 2009
Just read Honest John's assessment of the A4 B6 and seek clarification of the following point.
In the Recall Section he mentions that December 2005 - The "Dealer TSB to replace current 6 plate clutch of the 2.5 V6 TDI mulitronic with a 7 plate clutch" as their is a known problem with a failing due to torque stress.
Not sure what Dealer TSB means ..... should I have received a recall notice from Audi?????
Cheers
Travelbuddy Read more
In May we had a major service (120,000 Kms - we live in France = 75,000miles), and at the same time, had our cam belt replaced - expensively.
Last week, just 6,000 Kms later, the alternator pulley somehow stopped turning fully, shredded the V belt, which jammed the cam belt, resulting in bill totalling over 2,100 euros, or around £1,900.
Question. Would the alternator and pulley normally be checked routinely according to the Renault maintenance schedule at 75,000 miles. I can't find it in my handbook (but I am not fluent in French), but if they should have been checked, then it is surprising for them to have failed only 6,000 Kms later.
Does anyone have access to the detailed Renault schedule of items to be checked?
Thanks in advance. Read more
The alternator V belt is checked for condition (cracks wear etc) but the pulley and alternator is not as its not a wear component. It failed. YOu cant lay the blame for this at the door of the garage servicing the car.
Hi and would very much appreciate any feedback on the following problem.
The car has 18k on the clock since new (Dec 2004) and is mainly used on long trips (say min 50 miles, max 1500 miles), but on an in frequent basis say 2 or 3 times a month.
No problems occurred at all until 15 months ago when the EGR "soot'ed" up and was replaced at a cosy of £320 by an independent. Now the Turbo has become cake'd up with sooty deposits and needs replacing at a cost of £900, again by the same independent.
When I compare this to my wife's car (Mitsubishi Colt DID 1.5 auto) bought also from new Dec 2004, which has done 15K mainly short 3 mile journeys, the Colt has not missed a beat.
Any thoughts on what could be the cause of the A4 soot'ing up ..... or is it just I should use the car more frequently?
Cheers,
Travelbuddy. Read more
This turbo contains a ring of concentric static vanes whose angle of incidence is altered by rotating a ring a few degrees upon which they are all mounted. Sometimes gentle driving means that they become jammed with carbon deposits due to not getting hot enough and not moving back and forth enough. Sometimes they can be freed up in situ and the car driven enthusiastically at higher rpms will clean it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgVrpiFfp8U&NR=1
I'd be extremely grateful if anyone can clarify for me.
I want to flush and replace the coolant on my 1.6 zetec. But can anyone clearly explain which is the heater hose that I disconnect and use to start refilling the coolant. Is it the one coming off the engine under the coil, or is it the the one that runs under the air filter, seems to have a join in the middle.
How do I lossen the radiator drain plug? Do I need a socket or something else.
If anyone would be kind enough to put a photo on that would be great.
Also if anyone could clarify where the thermostat is and whether it is something a none techy person like myself could chage I'd appreciate it. I have a very slow and erratic coolant leak and that is presumably one possible source. for the cost it might be worth doing it.
I would like to learn how to do stuff like this, but don't find the haynes manual has enough detail for a novice. All I have done in the past is stuff like changing the oil filter and HT leads. The simple stuff really.
Whilst i'm at it, what tools would i need to change the Cylinder head temp sensor?
Apologies for asking a lot! Read more
I had similar overheating problems with my old 1.8 Focus a while back - if you search this forum (>1 year) then you should be able to find my post, I would have thought.
Changing the thermostat and coolant solved my overheating problem - it's certainly going to be the easiest and cheapest thing to try first if you're troubleshooting.
IIRC, the CHT sensor on the 1.6 is on the top of the engine block, so should be fairly easy to change (it's on the back of the engine block on the 1.8, so a lot harder to get to)
On my 1.8, once the radiator drain plug was removed and the coolant was drained, I flushed through thorougly with water and then I think it was just a case of opening the thermostat housing (which involved undoing a few bolts) and fitting the new one. I was able to refill with the new coolant by simply replacing the drain plug and filling (carefully) via the expansion tank - no need to undo or pull apart any hoses. I didn't have any problems with air locks.
No idea whether the 1.6 will be the same, but I found the Haynes Manual explains everything pretty well. That book saved me many, many hundreds of pounds over the years.
Incidently - watch the position of your bowl when you remove the drain plug, as it shoots out with quite a force !
Be aware of this
www.thestar.co.uk/york/Speeding-conviction-quashed...p
dvd Read more
>>The real issue here is that someone who broke the law and sped along a public highway was caught but due to a loophole has got away with it. That is the ridiculous part! <<
If you are going to go for toy town one size fits all automated clockwork law enforcement then you should make sure that all the cogs are engaged.
I suppose that if the postal strike continues then more police time will be wasted delivering NOIPs than patrolling the roads.
hi, got a rover 25 olympic, just paid out for brand new ecm as "the machine" said its what it needed, but car still jumps/judders when travel. can anyone pleeeeeese help? Read more
Had a read about the original Bentley and its history a very nice looking car. Read more
I bet it wont be cheap to run westpig like you say each to their own.:)
Hi,
I just bought a used Focus, and am very happy with it - but the remote fob onlys locks/unlocks the front drivers side door. On other focuses I've seen the fob unlocks all 4 doors with a single press.
I have been told this is a configuration issue - the doors can be set up to behave in either way. But I can't figure out how to change this? Sorry if this is obvious but this is my first Focus experience and I've been googling for a while for the solution to no avail. Can anyone help me out please?
Cheers
Read more
Thanks very much for both replies I will give this a go!
Hi there,,got a 97 Astra 1.6 16v auto,,batt light came on whilst driving,then went off 5secs later.Pulled up at house 2mins later and took key out and it came back on and still stays on with key out.Put key back in but car would not start,,it did for 2secs then died,,few times.After much fluffing about by a "diagnostic guy" says alt is shorting on inside,ECU says no signal from immob,,he says this means my immob has kicked in and car wont start,,was worried that my eml was not lit,,,said he would comeback with right software for wotever,and in meantime i should take out clocks and check eml bulb.Did this,,bulb blown,,others missing,??,2 days later and the "GUY" hasnt appeared,,foned vauxhall and they says due to batt discharge the system had lost its memory and i would have to come in and pay for them to see if this was the case and then pay them again to get its memory back,???,,.I havent lost key chips they have not even been moved from keys or anything so how can this be,,any advice to get my car remembering/starting without getting robbed at vaux would be greatfully appreciated mate as i am going loco,,not much money(benefits)not much hair left either,,,cheers,,sorry for the long speel mate,,
Eddie Read more
had battery off for more than an hour,,,made no difference,,battery in key is fine,,,have changed alternator,fuel pump relays,new bulb in EML,friend droppin new car battery off in morning,will give this a go and see what happens,,fingers crossed ,,eh,,,lol,cheers for the advice sandy,,much appreciated mate,,,eddie
Does anyone have any opinions on the puncture protection product Ultraseal? I was wondering what to do regarding puncture repair kits but this stuff looks quite interesting.
Thanks Read more
Quick search on our club's website (www.hdrcgb.org.uk) reveals divided opinions.
Generally speaking, it works better on tubeless tyres, but is alleged to be detrimental to aluminium rims in the long term; and it's messy. Not recommended as a repair to an already punctured tyre but slows down the deflation if fitted before puncture occurs.
Browse
A clutch is a wear item anyway. So most are only covered for a few thousand miles and then there are conditions on whether it is repaired under warranty or not. I think the best coverage is by Mazda with a 9500 mile limit for a warranty replacement even if it was driver's fault.
So you'll be long past the mileage when the clutch was ever covered. Sorry.