November 2009
How much should it cost for a replacement of a timing belt including approximate labour charge Read more
Hi, After V heavy rain over the last 2 days the Driver side footwell is swamped and seems to be coming from the bulk head.
Any advicea and solving tips would be greatlt welcome?
I don't have a great deal of Mechanical knowledge but do have a haynes so please keep it simple for me.
cheers Read more
Having same problem with my '08 plate Ford Ka - its in the garage and they think its one of the rubber grommets beneath the scuttle panel. Like others said, could be related to the pollen filter. I don't know much about VWs but on Fords, the pollen filter housing can leak. Another likely thing is a blocked drainage hole.
Am I right in thinking that the current £54 fee for cars is a maximum? If a dealer charges more can anything done about it afterwards?
My mum is unhappy that my dad paid £62 for an MOT. I have no idea why it went to the main dealer in the first place. In all likelihood, the dealer took it to a nearby test centre and didn't test it itself - can it charge a handling fee for that?
Chances are that something has been mis-stated to me along the way, perhaps £8 was charged for a bulb. But if the car passed without any issues first time, something doesn't seem right. Read more
My Mazda 6 has had its front end repaired this week by my insurer's approved bodyshop in Reading (Sprayworks). I am delighted with the job, the repair is utterly flawless. And they turned it around in 36 hours. The car needed a new front bumper and a replacement cross beam behind it. They had the parts delivered and sprayed the bumper up in advance of taking the car off me.
Very happy to recommend them.
On the day I got my car back, my wife managed to scrape the side of her car down a lamppost at the corner of our drive way (grrrr). It will be going to Sprayworks shortly to be patched up without the involvement of the insurance company.
hi all what is the best way to change the headlight bulb on my fiesta on the passenger side i cant get my hand down because of the air box and i cant remove it cheers. Read more
its quicker to take the headlight out if all the heads on the air filter box are rusted or you dont have the right tool
be aware a headlamp bracket locates into the inner wing so it needs to pulled (the headlight) towards the radiator before it pulls out
headlight bulb is slightly different to what you will expect by the way so be warned
BBC Reports sale is off
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8377076.stm
Who will buy it now?
Have a look at your "M" key FB - seems to be tyoing "N"s ! Read more
So presumably any new owner would have to pay GM for the right to continue to use the platform and GM could impose conditions on how it was used and withdraw permission if it felt those conditions had been broken.
In effect any new buyer places themselves in GM's pocket.
***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 2 *****
Please post you motoring related photos in here. Feel free to link through to a photo sharing website. No dodgy or "artistic" photos - anything dubious will be removed. No links to other websites if you can avoid it and no video sharing websites please. Usual moderation rules apply.
Read more
Hiya
If I list the symptoms - can somebody check my logic? Also is there a common location where the head gasket fails on the mk3 GTI's? Engine in question is the 8v AGG - about 80k miles.
1) Oil residue in the air box - despite cleaning
2) Oil being blown out of the oil filler cap
3) "Blowing" noise from the airbox when there is any load on the engine. Exhaust has been checked twice and is 100% ok.
4) Gurgling / running fluids sound when the oil cap is removed when the engine is running. By this I don't mean the puff-puff-puff sounds of the compression cycle. Sounds like air is blowing through fluid (oil!?).
5) Possibly a very slight water loss - but this could be a minor radiator leak - so not so worried about this one
6) Lumpy idle
7) Its very hard to drive smoothly when hot and in traffic - i.e. start stop - low RPM. Never sure whether it'll shoot off or stall when I pull off.
8) Cylinder compression was 165,165,145,145 (PSI)
9) No mayonase. No oil in the water. No overheating.
Have checked the PCV breathers - all clear. My hypothosis is that the gasket is starting to give between 3 & 4 and into the oil channels? Is this a common failure?
Local garage is not convinced - mainly I think due to (9).
Cheers much!
James Read more
Sorry about the vacuum pump goof - I've run diesels for so long I have forgotton what a petrol engine is like.
I would appreciate an overview of using Ipods and Itunes. Both girls want them for Xmas and they are completely outside my experience.
When you download music to them can it only come via Itunes of will they load any mp3? When you buy a song on Itunes I assume it goes to the PC first and then to the Ipod? Once you have the song on your PC or Ipod can it be transferred elsewhere such as burning to a CD to play on the hi-fi or in the car? Are there different qualities of file available... I'm assuming the standard one is really too compressed for real hi-fi? Read more
>>CDs are selling to an ever decreasing group of people in the middle...
Quite proud to be in that group holding out with the CD. I honestly believe the CD has been one of the best formats of my lifetime. They lost the annoying surface noise of LPs, were easy to carry and play just about anywhere in devices little larger than their own cases. They were easy to store and have proved (so far) to have a very long life. CDs retain the vinyl benefit in being a physical object with cover and some stuff to read while playing. I reckon they are cheap new for what you get and obviously there is a huge used market out there as they are often a far safer used buy than vinyl.
You can talk about jitter, colouration and offboard DACs etc as long as you like but the simple fact is the CD brought reliable quality music to everyone from the masses to the top enthusiasts.
Much of the grumbling about CD quality by those that do is not strictly the fault of the CD itself. Many old albums were poorly mastered to CD with a quick remix by the tea boy. On the flipside much modern music suffers over compression which makes it sound odd on a good hi-fi.... this in your face sound has become associated with CD when in reality it is a product of an earlier step in the chain.
I worry about our kids and their use of music 90% as a file with no physical presence. I can bore them to death playing the first LP I ever bought plus a huge collection of CDs showing how everything they like has its roots somewhere in the past.
Will they still have their virtual files to play to their kids... I doubt it as music seems much more transient now. Does that matter... well it does to me.
***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 204 *****
In this thread you may ask any computer related question for which you need help, advice, suggestions or whatever.
Usual rules apply,
No motoring related discussion,
No politics,
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which we think is not following the spirit of the thread
Nothing that risks the future of this site (please see the small print for details www.honestjohn.co.uk/credits/index.htm )
Any of the above will be deleted. If the thread becomes difficult to maintain it will simply be removed.
There is a wealth of knowledge in here, much of which is not motoring related, but most of which is useful.
This is Volume 203. Previous Volumes will not be deleted.
A list of previous volumes can be found by clicking Here
PLEASE NOTE:
When posting a NEW question, please "Reply to" the first message in this thread, i.e. this one. This keeps each question in it's own separate segment and stops each new question from getting mixed up in amongst existing questions. Also please remember to change the subject header.
Read more
This programme more or less automates the process Rattle is suggesting:-
www.windowsstartup.com/
My 2003 car had the brake pads and discs changed at the dealers at 44,000 miles - and now after a service at another gargae (non-dealer) I'm told that I need a new set of discs and pads again - this at 75,000 miles (cost around 280 pounds - again!). I used to own a Carina and never had a problem with discs. I think I saw on a previous post that Bosch pads were too hard, so does anyone have any suggestions on a make that won't wear out every 35000 miles?
Read more
Do you wash your wheels with a hose? And then leave the car?
If so the disks will rust more quickly than normal.
Do you brake gently? and never brake hard? If so, your disks may ppit with rust.
Lots of variables.
Are you near the sea? If so salt corrosion...
Do you drive on muddy roads? If so, you will get disk erosion from grit..
Browse
.jpg)
At the last count I think a Honda main dealer charges a reasonable £190.