December 2009
hi all .i rebuilt a 1.6 focus engine renewing all piston rings and replacing 2 burnt out valves.it now runs smooth but uses quite a bit of oil.now and again it emits a cloud of smoke james bond style but most of the time the exhaust is clean .any ideas why it smokes intermittently and any suggestions as to slowing down oil usage.currently using 5/30 semi synth Read more
Inspired by the Driving Home for Christmas thread, what music will you have playing in the car this Christmas ?
Like a lot of things most stuff has changed for me this Christmas, not least the choice of music in my car, beyond what the airwaves have to offer...
Two CDs in the car at the moment -
Only Men Aloud - Band of Brothers
and er....Band of Brothers the soundtrack of the HBO series (bought in error when looking for the above) cracking driving music though. Read more
one for the road....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIu0jQ5TaRQ&feature=related
As in at 13.45 today, while in a queue of 4 vehicles on a very narrow country road within 500m of the bypass, I was overtaken by a Citroen C4.
The reason? I was driving into the low bright sun and had left a good clear gap between myself and the Discovery in front.
This in the sure & certain knowledge that when we all reached the bypass in a few seconds, I would have to wait for the other three vehicles to get out onto the main road.
Did he intend to overtake all of us?
Did he not even realize there were other vehicles in front of me?
I do dispair. Read more
>>75% of drivers overtake whenever they can
From what I've seen on A roads raound here its nearer the opposite - only 25% even try to overtake, many the time I've had to "hop" to make any progress...
Sid, thats often my thinking as well... only trouble is if you get one who objects to it and then proceeds to stick to your bumper, usually with their headlights on full beam... BMW drivers, for instance, take great offence at being overtaken by a Roomster... Don't know why... ;-)
I spotted a V reg Corsa the other day and thought it was quite old for a learner school vehicle. I guess there is no reason why a driving school can't operate a fleet of bangers if they wanted providing they are safe and practical but I am curious to know how long a car used by many different people can keep going.
Have you seen anything older?
I wonder if there is a niche market for a school using old Ford Cortina's or similar? Read more
There is several threads on this already, maybe it would be a good idea if they were merged?
I have 1.4 R reg vauhal corsa automatic. The sports mode light keeps flashing when i turn engine on and there is hardly any power in pulling away. In the past, i used to be able to turn engine on and off again to sort the problem out, now though, if i switch the engine off while this problem is occurring, it wont start up again until a long time has lapsed. Please help!!! Read more
As per my reply to your other post.
M40 is 10 miles further than the M1, and has only 3 lanes. IIRC the M1 roadworks are pretty much sorted.
IME Christmas Eve is a good day to travel, and I'd hope not to see any traffic. Leaving about 2.30pm.
What do you think?
(The train is sadly a non-starter.)
There are those roadworks on the A40 somewhere around Ealing which are miserable. Alternatively one queues on the A41 up Hendon Way.
Is anything happening on the M1?
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Thanks, Avant - I did look for last year's thread! M1 I think it will be.
Car running strangely. Engine being hesitant, also seeming to rev when engine running at standstill. Has been into garage twice already, first time yelow warning light reset. Still problem so Pre Cat 02 sensor replaced but still same problem and light came back on again, any ideas what it could be please. Only done about 7000 miles and purchased from Nissan dealer this January. Only three years old at end of September.
Any advice gratefully received thanks Read more
genuine nissan sensor fitted. Garage are going to re-fit the old sensor and investigate further. Wondered whether this was a common fault as there is an older post with a similar sound to it.
If you have your car serviced at an Inchcape main dealer it may be worth buying some of their shares - they give 15% off for servicing and parts.
You need 1000 shares, at about 28p each plus buying costs (ie. about £300). Note that you could potentially lose all your £300 if something happened to the company.
I'll leave you to work out whether its worthwhile for you, but I reckon it works for me.
The full rules are here: www.inchcape.com/investorrelations/shareholderinfo.../ Read more
Hi all
My saxo keeps cutting out. There seems to be no pattern It can happen when warm or cold. I can be at 70 on the motorway or at idle at a junction. It will simply stop. It will then start again on the turn of the key or if travelling faster pick up again after a couple of seconds.
I know this is very vague. has any body heard of this before? Or give me any clues as to where I might start? Inertia switch? pump (LP or HP)?
Thanks in advance for any ideas
Jason Read more
Hi guys
The plot has thickened?! IUt now wont start at all. The keypad immobiliser is now showing both red and green lights on at the same time? Usually switch ignition on and only the red light shows. Punch in code and green light comes on and red goes out. The two lights now come on together when I turn the ignition on and if I punch in code nothing changes.
Is this a job for a main dealer of is there something simple that I can do to try to correct it.
Thanks for any advice
Jason
At the beginning of 2009 a prosecution lawyer was found in her car - she had drunk alcohol. The keys were on the floor on the passenger side. She was found not guilty of DUI as her lawyer argued that she did not intend to drive but was merely sitting in the car.
Roll on to mid-summer and the said prosecutor crashed her car, resigned her job and yesterday was banned - full sentence at a later date.
She is now attending alcohol classes and the crash awoke her to her problems....................she is now unemployed and on benefits.
www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2009/12/17/newsstory14...p
Did the 1st lawyer do her overall cause any good or would she have been better off pleading guilty on the 1st occasion (she was found not guilty remember)
Read more
;-) Apparently she crashed in to a "stationery car". I wonder if it was delivering to a branch of WH Smith, tobacconist and stationers?
p.s. On her first arrest, apparently it was important and relevant for us, the public, to be informed that she was in a BMW!
("She had parked her BMW in Ferry Road and drunk a quarter-bottle of vodka, before calling her brother on her mobile to ask him to come and pick her up.
She told the court she deliberately placed the keys in the car’s footwell to make it clear she had no plans to move the vehicle.").


I didn't think (according to the workshop manual) that it was recommended to attempt to rebuild the bottom end of these engines ?
Could it be that one of the new rings has broken which is causing the oil smoke ?