December 2009
Oh no, not another DMF question!
I've been asking around this site while trying to choose some sort of car to buy to replace an Omega with something cheap to tax and run. There are specific interior space needs, I want diesel, and ideally would prefer auto, but probably can't afford it. Above all, I want to be get something that will be reliable for as many years as possible.
I also have a scrappage vehicle, but the only new small vehicle big enough, the Nissan Note, can't take a proper spare wheel and anyway comes in just a little too expensive. Older ones are higher car tax, so I've moved up in vehicle size to Focus or Skoda Octavia.
I'm waiting to have a test drive in an Octavia. I hope to try a manual, which I understand has a dual mass flywheel, and a DSG automatic, which I have been told does not. I am a bit worried about the DSG gearbox because of my drive, which involves backing out uphill through a 90 degree turn. My current car withits torque converter is fine, but I worry about having to slip the clutch(es) in the DSG or on a DMF car.
Today I visited the local main Ford agent to look at a Focus 57 reg, just 2 years old, that they had advertised. When I arrived, I was told it was in the workshop 'being prepared'. It turned out that they were having to replace the DMF.
So, the question is... What actually causes these flywheels to fail? If I know it's a specific driving technique and there is a clear procedure to keep one reliable, I'd probably be happy to get one, but nothing I've read seems to give a specific reason for failure.
As it is, it seems really dodgy to buy any modern diesel car, yet it seems that DMF's have been used in industrial vehicles for ages. Is there any clear guidance anywhere on this? Also, is a newly fitted replacement DMF in a Focus likely to have an improved design, or is it the same as the one that has just failed?
I really am sorry to raise this same old question, and have made such a long post. V. grateful for any help.
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Junior is just about to start practicing on the Smart Forfour, and I want to be able to apply and remove L plates, rather than use adhesive plates and have to cover them when I'm driving. Panels are plastic: I can put a rear plate onto interior of rear screen using suction cups (won't obscure view). I was going to use magnetic tape and magnetic plates on the front, but they don't stick to each other. So I guess what I need is sticky tape with plain metal on it. Does anyone have any ideas?
Tim
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and the prize for the most innovative idea goes to FT! mind you, at this time of year, attaching and removing anything is going to result in playing with a lot of road muck!
Hello!
About a month ago I bought new Berlingo first multispace 1.6 HDI with 75 HP.
Anyway, there are some issues: Steering is not entirely kosher, servo is working but after turning it would not center steering entirely by itself - > I have to turn it to the center myself. Didn't have time yet to take it to the service.
The other issue is harshness. Engine pulls very good for 75 HP, but it is kind'a harsh, contrary to popular opinion on HDI engines. First, on idle, apart from normal diesel sound (that I don't mind at all), there is a low frequency boom - audible from inside and also fgrom outside, especially if you stand aside, about 2 to 3m from the car. Then, pulling from idle, I don't mind that he doesn't pull below cca 1500 RPM, but this is accompanied with really strong vibrations. Even when coasting with very little throttle, I can always feel engine strugling.
After that things get better, pulling very strongly from 2 to 3 thousand, but vibrations are allways there.
Is this normal behavior for this car?
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Hope some one can help ,
We have had this car for 2 years as a winter / lugaround car and it has been reliable untill now. The car will start to missfire ar random ,it feels like the car is cutting out momenteraly rather than one cylinder cutting out. I have fitted a new rotor arm and found the black anti interference cap that fits over the dizzy cap was causing a missfire ,so removed it and the car ran fine. A week later The missfire is back ,so i replaced the dizzy cap ,no difference ,i swaped leads and plugs with a known good set ,still missfireing .
The strange thing is i can watch the injector (single point )pulse extra fuel when it missfires at idle ,but cant see if this is a cause or the result of the missfire .It happens too fast. ??? Read more
you need to measure inline fuel pressure with engine running, fuel pressure on an SPI is usually between 18 & 30 psi. i would need to check my data on Monday to give you a figure. can't remember of the top of my head, must be an age thing!
I trust you have checked the servo elbow on the inlet manifold, normally melts through underside.
Are you using sechondhand leads & cap etc ? quality of leads & cap etc crucial. Have you gotr a cap with male pins in the cap where the leads plug in ? if so are the right leads fitted to the cap ?
my 318 missfires when cold seemed to clear when warm now car wont rev past 4000 rpm when warm and really bad when cold. management light on code says oxygen sensor would this be possible or is this fault code because of missfire (sooted up sensor) and i have another problem with missfire? Read more
I had an engine warning light come on several months back - steady light rather than the PULL OVER light. Took it in and it was diagnosed as a faulty EGR valve.
Being tight I bought a second-hand unit off of ebay for about £12, fitted it and everything seemed to be fine. About a month later the light came back.
Now not only am I tight but I'm also lazy. To be honest I don't like working on cars, my hands always come out from under the bonnet with less skin on them. Anyway, the EGR valve I'd put in would probably have benefited from a clean and I put the light coming back on as being the valve sticking. The car still drove normally.
As what I thought might be proof, I disconnected the battery to reset the light and looked to see how many miles I could go before it came back. I figured if the valve didn't work at all it would be back in a few miles. It was over 1000 miles before it came back so I felt happy with my diagnosis. I assumed that the valve probably stuck some days and worked others but once the light was triggered it would stay on until someone reset it again. I realised that with the light permanently on I wouldn't know about any other faults but hey.
So finally...
Several months down the line the light went off by it's own accord (no the bulb didn't blow). So what does this mean? The ECU is ignoring it based on some sort of time elapsed function or the fault has gone for long enough for it to decide to stop reporting it? Read more
www.tispol.org/quizzes-and-competitions/quizzes/ti...z
i got 5/10 :-( Read more
9/10 for me :-)
I tripped up on the effects of fitting snow chains to the rear wheels of a FWD vehicle - I thought it would at least assist grip with braking, the quiz thinks otherwise.
I wouldn't fit snow chains to only the rear wheels of a FWD vehicle anyway ;-)
Which of the cars you have owned would you rather use to make a journey in virgin snow?
I would say probably my first car, the Aggro, for its skinny tyres and lack of ABS. Although its lack of lots of other things, such as heating or crash protection, would put me off.
I drove from Gt Yarmouth back to Cambridge in January 1992 through a heavy snowstorm in an 81/W reg Cortina, along with a friend in his 89/F reg Astra SRi. I know who had more fun ;-)
Hi,
Our ford fiesta zetec climate is always steamed up, to the point that the inside of the glass is soaking wet! - the only way to clear it is to have the heated screen AND A/C on, this takes about 15 minutes.
Now, I have this weekend to look in to it so I'd like as many suggestions as possible :)
Things I am checking;
- Coolant level (may have dropped due to possible leaking heater matrix)
- Blocked vents (leaves etc)
- Pollon filter (known issue but passenger footwell is dry)
If anyone can add to this list it would really help, additionally if anyone can give me some links to guides on how to fix that would be great!
Also, there seems to be lots of water that sits in the door plate, is this normal??
Thanks. Read more
It could be you do lots of short trips & you are creating condensation. If you have access to a mains dehumydifier then leave it in the car over a whole weekend, this may remove a lot of the moisture. i would also change the pollen fiter or take your one out dry it. Turn the air con off & leave off. Whilst the air con is running it does dry the air but leaves a lot of moisture on the evaporater causing condesation on the windows when you park.
Rule of thumb with air con, when its running if the low side pipe ( the larger one ) is running with condensation ( Cold & wet) the gas charge is about right. Low gas will just make the compressor continually cycle but won't cuase condensation other than if the Ac is not working it won't remove it iether!
Back in the 60s even the most luxurious cars [Jaguar, Rolls/Bentley] had no need of V8s. The only non-niche car that did was a Rover [bought in from Buick].
If there was no need then, why are they 2 a penny now? I suppose the iconic Hollywood car-chase growl has a certain boyish appeal but the extra iron carted around plus the double exhaust system which wipes off at least 10bhp keeping an inherently rough engine smooth makes neither practical nor economic sense.
Nowadays they are clearly a triumph of marketing over common sense - or am I missing something?
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On the Discovery channel those car programs in the Usa on turbo channel all seem to use v8 mopar engines big juicy 5.8 ltr noisey monsters & bigger.
Thank goodness they don't fit a 1.3 16v fuel injected catalitic converter modern design rubbish engine that we have to use!
The future won't be v8 petrol in the uk but there is nowt wrong with them sweet music.
Hi HJ,
I hope someone can help, my 306 rear heated windscreen stopped working, so i checked the relay to see if it was that, when i prised it out, there was a spark, saw there was scorch marks to the prongs, put it back in and since then my indicators and hazards dont work, when i lock the car the indicators still flash though.
I have checked all the fuses under the dash and one had burnt out i changed it and the heated rear window works but still no luck with the indicators, i tried my brothers relay, from a 306 thats 3 years older and that still didnt work, there is burn marks to the socket where the relay plugs in, so thought maybe the problem could lie there.
If someone can help i would be most appreciative
Many Thanks Read more
Browse
I too would not be happy relying on a can of gunk to repair a puncture. You cannot practice fixing a flat using gunk when you are at home in the dry, the first time you have to do it will be in less than ideal conditions, and if you get a puncture which severly damages the tyre, gunk is useless. Assuming the puncture is a very small hole in the tread or a leaky valve and assuming your gunk was not already out of date and you managed to reinflate the tyre, you then still need to get the tyre properly repaired or replaced, plus you need a new can of gunk.
A space saver spare is better than gunk because you know you have a new wheel/tyre that is good-to-go even though there are limits to how fast/far you can use it. And where do you put the punctured wheel/tyre to get it to a tyre place?
Best of all is a full size spare fully inflated.
I suspect gunk/space savers are more to do with manufactures saving money and weight than providing a better solution for the car user.