January 2010
New car was delivered yesterday and the dealer hasn't made a perfect job of removing all the protective wax. They did offer to get it done locally but I said it was probably easier to do myself so they're sending a litre of "tar and glue remover". Does this sound the right stuff and is it rubbed on neat or added to a wash?
Is there anything else less fierce that would do the job? Read more
A friend is taking delivery of a new car on 4th March.
The current tax runs out at the end of February.
If he 'forgets' to renew the VED on the old vehicle but trades it in on the 4th, will this be picked up by the DVLA?
Read more
At the moment i'm not having much luck trying to locate a second hand ecu unit no 0281 010 779 bosch plus bsi unit &key chip
i sent the ecu away for checking (repair) got reply back can not be repaired. If anyone knows where i can source this unit it would
be much appreciated Best Reguards Mickey bo
{You don't need to repeat the make/model in the subject header as your selection from the compulsory drop down menus automatically do it for you. ps, regards doesn't have a 'u' in it ;o) } Read more
Last night the toerags struck! My car was one of the victims and the rear wiper arm was forcefully removed. I didn't think this would be too much of an issue and I have a replacement part on order. However upon removing the retaining nut I discovered that the wiper arm remains resolutely fixed to the spindle. I don't want to apply too much force as the spindle penetrates the rear screen. If anyone's encountered this problem before and found a solution I'd be grateful for your advice. Read more
Proper puller example here www.avenue35.co.uk/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=17949
trying to change the crank pulley on a 2.2 diesel frontera - does anyone know if the bolt is left hand thread or right hand thread - its damn tight either way! Read more
tried that allready with no success!
when veiwed from the front the engine turns clockwise which would suggest to me that the bolt is a left hand thread?
Hello all,
I'm having a bit of bother with my 1.7td (low-blow), I noticed it overheating at the start of the week....when driving about it seems ok but when in traffic or pulling hard the temp can rise steadily.
Firstly i flushed the system and put in fresh coolant which helped but didnt solve then i noticed that i dont think the fan is operating. Using some wire i connected it directly to the battery and it still spins so i know the motor on it is fine.
I have since changed the thermostat and the coolant temp switch but it still gets hot when left sitting and i think the fan still isnt trying to cut in???
Have thought about installing my own switch for the fan but has anyone else got any ideas on what the problem maybe?
cheers in advance for any advice Read more
Cheers for the info, i'll check both these suggestions out first chance i get.
Is it me, or is there a huge number of roadworks on the motorway network at the moment?
Most of them are 50 mph, no workers, and enforced by average speed cameras. They all seem to be for totally pointless schemes like sign replacements and changing the central barrier to concrete. Drove me nuts last week after I came across what seemed like the 30th set.
As a side note, I didn't see a single police car and this was nicely evidenced by the surprising number of people cruising in excess of a ton. Read more
It's a nightmare for us at the moment. Virtually the whole of the hard shoulder from J5 of the M5 to J16 of the M6 closed off. (With the odd gap in between). Impossible to pull anything! And it's in both directions as well...excellent planning.
It took me 4 hours to drive 130 miles when I went to visit family last week. Artificial congestion caused by the constant 50 mph limits. wish I'd invested in firms that manufacture cones!
Hi,
Our xsara is the 1.8 16v exclusive model which has air con and climate control (not the digital version though), we no longer get heat from the matrix yet the pipes are hot on both sides of it. I downloaded a BSI technical manual that explains the temperature is controlled by mixing the hot air from the heater matrix and the cold air from the condenser to get the required temp. This mixer flap is controlled by a stepper motor, could it have failed. Also our fan does work on several speeds but when it is turned to max the engine temp gauge rises even though the engine temp isn't. I checked the block temp with a laser thermometer. When the fan is switched off the engine temp immediately drops to it's usual temp of 90.
I haven't got lots of cash to throw at the car so don't want to keep replacing parts on a "could be this" basis. So far I have replaced thermostat as that was found to have a fault, I have also tried a replacement dashboard control unit.
Could a faulty fan motor/resistor pack be causing the temp gauge to mis-read and the stepper to malfunction. All help is gratefully received, thank you. Read more
I would say the flap motor is the most likely suspect, its quite a common fault on XMs of the same era. If you can get at it and remove it you can move the flap by hand for a temporary cure, or it could be a fault in the control panel, I have had to replace one of those as well.
The strange temp gauge fault is probably being caused by either a poor earth connection or supply line which is common to both the blower and instrument panel. If you can get to the motor connections, connect a meter between the earth lead of the motor and another earth point and see if any voltage is indicated when you switch the fan on, then try between the + connection on the motor and the battery+ and see if anyvoltage difference develops.
A front spring has finally broken on my 2001 Berlingo. I see no point in fitting another geuine one to suffer the same fate. Is there a pattern spare that has a decent reputation?
Thanks Read more
Well, I am going to be a bit of a heretic here, because the general wisdom is that the newer Peugeot 2.0TDCi is nice than the 'old' 1.8TDCi, but I have just test-drove a low-mileage 2.0TDCi, and, erm, sorry, this is an inferior engine!
OK, hit your foot down in 4th & above, it does have a bit more shove, but:
The 1.8 is far nicer 1st-3rd - a real surprise to me - the 2.0 is really gutless, not unless you really hammer the throttle. And at speed, the throttle response of the 1.8 is nicer, for normal driving - you really have to shove your foot down in the 2.0, and it's not that linear.
The only place I would prefer the 2.0TDCi, is 80mph+ on the motorway! Oh, and it's no more quieter or refined, either ....
Just thought I'd post this up - real world driving vs test! Read more
Totaly different engine the Focus has a joint Ford/PSA engine Type DW10 BTED4.
Depends, Mondeo MkIII auto diesels were made for a short while around 03 / 04 though if it is a Mondeo MkIV then it is the Peugeot/Ford engine. Should be changing up at around 2000 in normal driving.
Browse
It would be interesting to hear from someone involved exactly what the position is on the wax. I've read that the French are still using it and that it would be "hard wax" not the old soft wax. That fits with how it looked. I've also heard that cars are de-waxed in bulk on arrival in the UK.
Regarding the pressure washer I'm happy with an initial use on a clean new car where valeters are 100% liable for any damage. I don't like them for grit blasting a dirty car where I'd be picking up the tab for any problems.