April 2010
Those of a `certain age` will remember what happened if you were caught rustling brand X. A very young looking Rowdy Yates and Gill Favour would hang them from the nearest tree - or at least force them to drink some of their coffee . Funny remembering Clint Eastwood when he was a nipper - but that`s memory for you.
The E63 also came branded (let`s call it `brand x` ) and it`s memory was pretty full of stuff such as `games` - whatever they are.... Read more
Asked for some advice a few weeks ago on this issue.
Had the car into the garage and they told me the diagnostics indicated that the turbo boost switch was faulty. They replaced this and the car was fine for a few days. Took it back and they are now saying it is the air mass flow meter which will be covered by the warranty.... Read more
I own a 1.6l Petrol 05 Plate Mazda 3 with just under 60,000 miles on the clock that over the last few months has been causing a few headaches:
Recently whilst waiting at lights or in traffic jams I have found that the engine seems to be vibrating a lot more than usual, to the extent that at times it feels like the engine is about to stall, this occurs whether the car is in neutral as well as it's in gear with the clutch depressed. Whilst I've owned the car for nearly 2 years I've only really noticed this over the last 2 months or so. Sometimes it's fine and other times you can feel the car moving quite violently under the load, not a dissimilar feeling to being out at sea on a small boat bobbing around. Whilst this is happening there are no unusual sounds coming from the engine other than it sounding like it's 'searching'. Its got to the state where the headlights now occasionally flicker whilst it is doing this. I had the alternator changed over Xmas as that was making a noise, when the mechanic replaced it he told me that the bearings were running out of alignment, the recent vibration is making me wonder if I've only just noticed the car does this or whether it is a new fault? Some ideas I have had are that if its got an exhaust gas re-circulator then it is becoming sooted up? Open to any other ideas though. Car seems absolutely fine once it's past 1500 revs and I cannot detect any other signs of faults such as slower acceleration or a lower speed to revs. Engine temp is steady at around 1/3 the limit of the gauge.
Anyway, to further complicate matters as I was driving up the M1 on Friday my ambient temperature reading displayed on the dash vanished. It re-appeared occasionally on the drive back earlier, but reading ambient temperatures of between 0 and -12C, which is very inaccurate. I'm thinking that if the thermometer is a thermocouple there may be a loose connection not passing enough current to the guage. Does anyone know where the outside air temp thermometer is located so I can check the wiring husbandry? If it is a loose connection I'm wondering if its related to the vibration issue? Read more
I seem to be able to replace the banger with a nice sports coupe - and am looking at a Merc c180 coupe or Volvo c30. I've seen a few c180's with 20k on the clock for 12k, and its not dissimilar on the c30.
I've never had a merc, and have little idea about the running / servicing costs - did once have a smart car and it was expensive.... Read more
Look for a good indie, very reasonable servicing on mercs
I just watched HJ's video review of the new Nissan Micra at a show i Thailand.
I did notice that almost all of the cars are going for chain cam now, Why ?... Read more
What confuses me is when engine designers use both belt and chain together. The 1.8T VAG engine in my Golf uses a belt to drive the exhaust cam, and then a short chain to drive the inlet cam off the exhaust cam. I cannot see why, from an engineering viewpoint, you would use both systems.
Perhaps they wanted to release space on one side of the cylinder head to bolt things to? Hence internalising the drive to the second camshaft? I presume it simplifies the run of the cam belt too.
Our lad passed his test wednesday, first attempt, next day i sourced him a Ford KA, seems a poorly maintained motor but hey ho, 1st car and all that, but it came with only 1 key, black with 1 corner red, im a bit confused how he can generate a spare key, and is using the red key liable to compromise the cars alarm system?
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can anyone with a diagnsotic code a key?
Hi everyone,
I have a rover 75 cdt and it just started hic cupping and pouring out black smoke so dis connected the MAF sensor and it ran better but not as it should, fitted new MAF but no difference, dis connect the new MAF and it ran better again but not as it should, can something else affect the MAF?... Read more
Hello, my brothers Focus suddenly started firing on 3 cylinders. Thats how it seems anyway.
Plugs, leads, coil-pack all replaced (they were over-due anyway) still the same :(... Read more
Thanks. It's been to garage and diagnostics found problems with number 3 cylinder/valves. Compression test then showed cylinder 3 was reading 0.
He said dodgy valve......Cost £400 to repair....
HI
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It could still be out on the crankshaft pulley, it should be on TDC when the other pulleys line up, I don't know how you do it on your particular car but on Citroens there is a hole in the back plate that you can insert a rod, when on tdc this should slide into the flywheel and lock it. Your symptoms certainly suggest that the timing is out.
Just shy of 80k miles, my Mondeo has developed a high-pitched whine on the steering, particularly noticeable in confined spaces like multi-storey car parks and which rises and falls with engine revs. Would this be a belt problem ? Any ideas on severity of problem and cost of solving it ? Thanks, Edders. Read more
First thing to look at is the fliud level, if it's well down top it up and see if that stops it, i doubt if it's the belt it could be the pulley on the pump itself dry bearing which could result in a replacement pump.If you do need a new pump they range between £40 - £100 depending where you look, E Bay sellers have them new from £70 + delivery.
Hope this helps.
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Sorry to be so slow to respond Avant, I missed that.
I`ve never been a fan of Apple - Apps being allegedly quite restricted, but in particular with the Iphone`s built in battery and it seeming half the cost of the device to replace the it....