January 2010
I'm wanting to fix a leak in the heater matrix of my Volvo 740. I've read about K seal - which actually claims to effect a lifetime fix. There are lots of glowing testimonials on the maker's site but am wondering if anyone in here has tried it and with what results... Read more
Just bought a 2001 Lupo,1.7 sdi,38k. My wife's dizzy friend filled this with unleaded last week & drove it less than 6 miles till it came to a stand.She hasnt even had any proper mechanical advice yet & just simply listened to the various horror stories about.Result was her hubby has gone out & bought her a new motor (more dosh than sense).So shes round tonight asking what to do with the Lupo,I asked what she wanted for it,replied 200, I choked on my whiskey,ran upstairs & came back with 10 twentys.Will tow it up to my indie 2morrow for the once over,im hoping for an easy fix as remember being told that the sdi type wouldnt be too affected by this.Hoping that ive got a real bargain here,will really get me loads of brownie points with the wife if she gets this little runaround.So what do you all out there think the worst diagnosis could be,im no mechanic & simply took a gamble,here's hoping!!!!!!!
Also its got that bright red vw paintwork,looking a bit weathered,never been handwashed or polished for ages.Any recommendations on what to use to bring it back to its former glory,so many polishes & cutting products available now,don't let my taxi's get to that stage,there clayed & polished 3 times yearly,usually use autoglym,but am currently using this new Turtle Wax ice stuff,although will be no use for this job.
All advice greatly appreciated,& a free dram for you if you ever visit the Isle of Man or a pillion ride round the TT course on my CBR600 Read more
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/Kent/factsheets/FS40NE...f
Appears it is 20 litres (~4 gallons) in approved metal/plastic containers
This thread has been removed for now as it contained significant details which could compromise an ongoing Police investigation. All of you will recall the thread and the OP today posted a comprehensive update. Read more
Hi,
Whilst I was changing my Rear discs and pads, I found that I did have to remove the calipers to allow the disc to be removed from the hub and undo the 2 very tight bolts that hold the calipers to the car (M9 bolts about 6 inchs long made of high tensile steel 10.9 stamped on them), I did manage to do the passenger side ok, the bolts do have lock tight on them and because the caliper is alloy and the swing arm is steel there was a built up of about an 2-3 mm of white corrosion behind the caliper which has been making the pads wear at an angle which had to be cleaned off.
Question is, I have broken off just one of the bolts flush with the swing arm, do i use an easy out or do i drill out the bolt with a colbolt drill to the correct size to tap a new thread into it? does any body know the Tap & drill size i would need? any ideas would be helpfull and has anybody done the same in the past!
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i have Cleaned off all of the corrosion on both faces and applyed grease to the faces to stop it happening again, suggest people do this as the corrosion & lock tight on the bolts would of caused any bolts to shear & weakened. Thanks Brian
first of all i would like to say thanks for the helpful replies i have recieved over the past couple of months regarding cars ( almera and astra) i was looking to buy , cheers backroomers.
my dad has offered me his x reg 1.4 5 door civic , its done about 70k , timing belt has been done , the car is in really good condition apart from the heater only blows on speed 3 and 4 does anyone know if this is expensive to fix also what is it worth , it has service history till 59k when he bought it
thanks mark Read more
thanks Lygonos help very much appreciated looks like this is my next car
Does anyone know anything about sumps as we have gone over a rock in the road and smashed a hole in it the size of your fist in the bottom of it. It looks like there are bolts on the bottom of the sump, maybe it has a bottom plate but i don't know anything about it. If i can just take off the bottom plate can i buy this seperately and can it just be sealed and replaced. Where is the best place to buy one. Any suggestions gratefully recieved!!!! Read more
is it made of alloy?
if it is then you unfortunately cant get to all the bolts without splitting the gearbox from the engine (so i seem to remember and been told)
if its a steel sump then they are fairly easy to take off
im pretty sure yours is alloy though so either a scrapyard part or main dealer
have you considered claiming on your car insurance if you can ?
hi
i bought a used Ford Focus recently (couple of weeks ago), 2001 reg, 70k, and it has been back to the garage twice to fix issues. I have had the car in my possension for 3 days at the most.
I first took the car back because I noticed the carpets smelled really bad after collecting the car. When I viewed it, the cleaning products they had used covered the smell. The water level was also very low. I took the car back and left it with them for a week. They cleaned the carpet and replaced the water pump.
After picking the car up the following weekend, the car broke down. I got the RAC to tow the car back to the dealer. I told the dealer it still smelt and the RAC said the thermostat had failed. I left the car for the week. They fixed the thermostat and cleaned the car again.
After another week, I picked the car up. When driving the car home, I noticed three other issues:
- the accelerator pedal feels sticky and is not smooth
- sometimes when changing gear, as I clutch in, and foot off accelerator, the revs to not always drop to idle immediately - this is an intermittent fault
- there is a creaking / knocking sound as I turn corners, particularly at low speed and hardish lock when pulling off
The car also still smells.
I want to return the car for a full refund so would like to get an inspection to properly diagnose the issues with the car and provide a report for the dealer.
Does ayone know the best place to get this done? Would a Ford dealer be best, or the AA/RAC? Or another insepction firm?
The AA/RAC inspections are only visual so I worry they may not pick up more serious issues such as head gasket failure which could be tested for with proper equipment. Also they do not get the car on a ramp.
Any advide would be appreciated.
Cheers! Read more
thanks. or maybe water damaged (as bathtub tom suggested). would be consistent with the smelly
carpet as well since this is only in the driver area
Yes, the leak could corrode the tracks in the pedal sensor.
was fine when I test drove the car - maybe it had been lubricated and
now that is wearing off. Could water damage also cause issues here?
Not really. More likely that you didn't notice it during the test drive; easily done as the symptoms only appear at certain circumstances.
I have been looking for a family hatchback for my wife for a while and spotted an 09/09 Ipreza 5dr hatchback on the forecourt of Bristol Street Motors this morning. Took it for a test drive this afternoon. It's a 1.5 R base model but comes with A/C, electric windows all round, AWD and seems would do the job. Cheap plastics and noisy engine with 5 speed manual gearbox that would appear to be difficult to get above 70, but the right amount of space, doors and a bit different from the obvious alternatives.
I've left a £250 refundable deposit on it and arranged for my wife to test drive tomorrow first thing. I'm paying £7,500 for it with tax until April. Three questions...
1) Is this a sensible purchase, particularly in this price range;
2) Is this the latest model (registered May 2009)? Why is it £3k less than the cheapest equivalent showing on Autotrader?; and
3) Will I suffer any problems/unforeseen costs servicing, running and reselling this car at a later date?
Thanks in advance
bazomis Read more
Not if it's the 1.5 petrol! I struggled to get to 70 and found myself revving to 4,000rpm in every gear to get there.
had been considering focus or jazz and majority of advice left me favouring the focus. Like the look of the estate zetec. We have one toddler and another due any day. My wife had been checking out MPVs like scenics and Picassos as we've been driving about, attracted by the high up driver position.
Which would be a better purchase (got about £6K, looking for a 2006 with 30-35000M on clock)
All advice/experience appreciated Read more
Thanks for replies.
Would be looking to hang onto the car for a good few years, so not overly concerned with depreciation, more running costs and reliability. Main difference I can see would be comfort and ease of use - sat in a focus estate, liked boot but felt low down infront of wheel. Haven't sat in a Cmax yet
Searches so far today have indicated more Foci on market, but similar price/milage on offer for both.
In the handbook that came with the car, it says to simply remove the car battery, removing the NEGATIVE wire before the POSITIVE wire.
The wires are slightly oiley and do not simply "remove"
The battery is flat and I want to take it out to charge it.
The clamp has been removed, I just don't know how to take the wires off.
Any help would be much appreciated.
(I can't take it to the local garage because it wont start, so don't suggest that.)
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Most batteries have a 10 or 12mm nut on the terminals, simply unscrew and wiggle them off.
However some french cars of the ZX's era had wee screw terminals that looked like a water tap, once again, undo and pull off, except no tools are required!
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Its the best stuff on the market.Nothing else comes close.Best £9 I ever spent,once on a Vectra, once on my wifes Micra. Good Luck !