January 2010
Standard car,standard tyres.
I nominate my Wife's elderly Peugeot 106 1.4 diesel.Not got stuck so far and leaves behind all the BMW's and Mercs stranded at the roadside.
Light,simple and most of the weight on the front driven wheels.
Is this the best formula? Read more
We have been posting in the backroom recently about Winter tyres & Battery charging. Just thought those who are interested Lidl are having a bit of a motoring week starting from Thursday 14th Jan. I notice on the brochure you can by a wheel stand at a resonable £4.99p great for putting your winter tyres on when its spring. They also have a battery charger at £12.99p, i don't know if this is any good please report backanyone. They also have a few other items BR's might find of interest. The website offers. Read more
Went to stock up on espresso/pasta/olives and also bought a Car Boot Organiser from Lidl today. Super bit of kit for £3.49. Much better than the cardboard box it replaced.
has anyone use this?
www.pelapumps.co.uk/default.aspx?orig=ga
If you have used, in your judgement, are you able to drian approx 98%+ of the opil out of the sump? (if not, a bit of new oil and suck again should clean up the oil that is left behind.)
Imo, saves a lot of time for the diy Read more
Bought one last year for the Panda, left about a litre in the sump, so next time I'm going to give it a wiggle on the way in. placed the missed oil in the Pela, and marked it on the side of the pela with a marker so I know if it's all out, next time Very easy to use bought mainly for my Octavia which has a huge undertray and a zillion fasteners. What no one has mentioned is that this makes it so easy to
take the old oil to the recycling centre to dispose, as it's already in the unit which comes with a top to stop it coming out.
First post here. We recently bought a 1.4tsi DSG. It is a joy to drive, as widely described, and definitely not underpowered. But I have been disappointed in the fuel consumption. Anyone else have any experience?
Background is we live in the country and I regularly match or exceed the extra urban figure in my car. We were way off that with the Skoda, but I figured it was stop-start winter motoring and we needed a run to form a true impression. Xmas brought trips to Bournemouth and North Wales. Long runs on A roads, few traffic lights, average speed between 40 and 50. Result - 43 mpg. Not bad in itself, but the claimed extra-urban is around 55.
Golf drivers who have had the same engine for longer appear to be reporting similar figures. Anyone differ?
Jon Read more
I have noticed a significant drop in economy this winter. Far more than previously. Must
be due to very low temps at start up and worse traffic.
Not just startup, atmospheric air becomes more dense the colder it gets, the fuel injection system senses this via a ambient pressure sensor and adds duration to the injectors (fuel to compensate for the denser air) in order to maintain the correct fuel/air ratio. You will also notice your car will perform more eagerly in colder weather as it will be making more power for the above reason.
Hi Folks,
I am the latest in the line of unofficial development engineers for the famed Espace 2.2DCI, however I will not be beaten by a mere machine (hopes).
In six months I have been through two EGR valves, prior to the last change oil was finding its way out of the valve connection to the induction pipe/hose and of course was loosing oil though not at a tremendous rate - also along with this the management light would come on under mid to high load and the turbo would cut out until the engine was turned off.
Took the car to a specialist and eventually to a main dealer who both diagnosed that the EGR valve (the second by this time) needed replacing as this was causing oil to be drawn through.
Valve changed pipes cleaned and all was well for about 1-2 months then exactly the same problems happen again with the adde bonus of oil appearing somwhere out the top of the engine as the underside of the air intake box is covered.
I have booked the car in at a different garage (one with a lot of experience with diesel engines) for Monday but wondered if anyone could add to the list of things I will ask them to look at below:-
Clean EGR valve and pipework as required (possibley replace)
Oil and filter change to fully synthetic
Check breather pipes (top near injectors)
Check turbo, bearings seals etc.
Check turbo hoses
Check inlet manifold
Check and replace brake light switch and reset
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Read more
I have the exact same problem with my 04 Espace 2.2 dci. Occassional Big and i mean BIG puff of blue smoke. Car drives perfectly otherwise. Did notice , when i serviced it, EGR valve was stuffed with oil sludge. Removed and cleaned it. Not sure what probable cause is? Can faulty EGR valve draw oil into induction pipes? Is Turbo most likely problem? It seems to be working fine, no fault codes. I know inlet manifolds can give trouble, doesn`t have any crankcase pressure issues. Any suggestions would be appreciated
I've been driving my daughter's Fiesta this week with its quick clear windscreen function. Just brilliant in these extreme conditions. The ice breaks up literally in seconds and makes the de-icer sprays and hand scrapers look like museum pieces.
These systems should be standard fit all decent cars these days. Read more
I remember the works rally car Cooper S Mini's had them on the Monte Carlo.
IIRC they were made by Triplex and were offered as an expensive extra.
The heating wires were pretty coarse though.
The rear boot open light is coming on in my golf. It certainly aint open as it doesnt beep and flash on info screen luggage compartment open. Its just the red outline of the car with boot open type light thats being displayed. It doesnt appear when I first turn over engine, more so when car has been driven for a while.
A mate suggested a loose earth connection on the switch at boot area but my golf doesnt seem to have one of those.....
Any other ideas?
Read more
Hi Tmak
I am also having this problem with my dashboard light in my Golf.
Have you managed to fix the problem yet? If so, could you let me know if it was simple?
Thanks
Scenic 1.9 dti, after a recent head removal due to a timing belt failure, the cabin heater system is not working. This apparantly was because the matrix was not fully bled. This was done repeatedly via the bleed screw on the upper matrix hose. This results in the matrix working for a period but will then become 'air locked' again. Also the bleed point on the thermostat housing, when opened after the engine has been running releases a fair amount of hot air and steam before water appears. The level in the header tank drops simultaneously as the air is released.
I have bled the system numerous times..both with the engine running and not running. There is coolant loss....about a litre in 40 miles. There is no water in the oil. The engine temp gauge is always normal...but an engine warning light comes on occasionally. There is no sign of leakage around hoses or at the water pump.
My questions are (!!)
1) what is the correct procedure for bleeding the system
2) would a faulty thermostat fixed in the closed position cause the coolant to superheat and vaporise causing airlocks
3) could this be a head gasket problem...the car runs well. Read more
hi
not sure about the scenic cooling system layout but on a pug 205 i was owned the procedure i adopted was.
set heater controls to max heat
lift the header tank temporally to a higher position (tied to the underside of bonnet.
fill with water/antifreeze mix).
open air release valves till water runs clear. close valves.
start engine with presure cap removed, run engine to operating temp and till fan starts, top up header tank if required.
recheck air release valves (carefull scalding water/air). refit pressure cap.
let engine run till fan starts again.
shut off engine
replace header tank to original position.
re start engine run till fan starts again.
take for test run.
after cooling down recheck header tank level and refill as ncecessary.
hope this is of help.
www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORIAL/CARS/news/new_insur...l
My 1.3 Ka has gone from insurance group 3 under the old scheme, to 11 on this new scheme. I really hope this doesn't hike up my premium - this year finally looked like the first year the insurance would actually be a reasonable amount for me! Read more
Just did another quote, £913 fully comprehensive with £150 excess from Admiral with legal cover, courtesy car, etc. No different than when I did a quote before the new year out of interest. I guess this confirms that in most cases the insurance groups really are irrelevant.
Can anyone help with the problem i have with my Passat .I get a vibration through the whole estate when accelerating up to 60 mph and then it smooths out .could it be a bent drive shaft or gearbox problem . I Feel it will damage other components if i leave it . The estate has covered over 100000k .I purchased it from a car auction with a good service record .Any thoughts anyone .Martink Read more
Thanks for your input .i shall reluctantly have to get some help from a vw garage which sends cold shivers down my back after experiencing the the bills received from servicing my vw golf over the past few years . Martink
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