March 2011
Hello all, I have noticed an odd fault with the temperature. The gauge is no longer climbing, well it does move a little off bottom but only by a fraction about 8 miles into my journey to work. Normally its up at middle after about 3 miles.
I noticed this last night on my way home, I did a DIY oil change on Saturday but cant be sure if this problem is related or has been happening for a few weeks. The temp gauge isnt something I normally look at.... Read more
Any clues how to remove & fit rear bumper for Towbar emplacement? Read more
Note the method of bumper attachment has now changed on the latest face lift model.
the sides are still attached with torx screws but the fiddly expanding clip has been replaced by a normal torx screw.
The torx screws behind the rear lights have been replaced by clips which have to be lifted carefully with a screwdriver.
After unclipping these the bumper is still retained at the side by another clip which is not visible.
Apply a steady pulling motion to the bumper at the same time carefully pull the side of the bumper outwards from the side of the car and the clip will release.
Shogun went in for minor fan belt squeak. Garage resolved but noted that the Cam chain was loose and noisy. Advised not to drive it or face engine failure. Took advice and left it for investigation. garage found that cam chain tensioner was broken. They suggested new tensioner. Authorised that. They replalce the tensioner and returned car. £400.
I was very happy that we had escaped disaster... or so I thought. 3 months later cam chain jumps off bottom end and car stops with several broken valves and fingers up top.... Read more
Thanks for coming back and telling us the result. So many people don't bother to do that.
Hi I wondered if anybody has any suggestions regarding the above fault p0505 (idle control voltage high) have had this problem for a while .I have changed the throttle bodies twice and had the values adapted to the ecu but the fault still remained, next course of action was to have the ecu sent away for test was told fault on 5volt side authorised repair .On refitting the ecu I decided to put a code reader on before starting the engine so that all was lit was the dash lights the ecu still had p0505 fault still present which I found odd after the ecu was supposed to have been fixed and tested and also I would have thoght the engine had to be running to trigger the code.I reset the light and tried starting the car and it ran ok for about 5 minutes and then put the light on.Are these simtec 70 ecu worth repairing or would it be best to replace it with a new one . Any thoghts and replies regarding this fault are very much appreciated has I am lost with where to go next.The car has also been in the dealers who are not sure but think it could be the ecu.
Thanks Nigel Read more
Hi Nigel
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Cam belt changed at 46,000 miles on purchase of car. 5 months later and 4000 miles, water pump seized and shredded the cam belt causing £2000 of damage. claim against finance company was not up held as independent engineer reported that I should of heard a noise prior to the water pump seizing. Also the bearings would be put down to fair wear and tear. never heard any noise, I have heard that they can seize suddenly. The car was bought from alfa specialist and they insist that they would not normally change a water pump when changing the cam belt. I find this hard to believe as the water pump is driven by the cam belt, wouldn't any good garage recommend the change? any advice would be grateful. Read more
Maybe you were overtightening them.
We have 2 cars, a newish Ford Focus and a 3 year old A4. Both cars are well cared for but even though only the Audi does a lot of motorway miles, both have perenially smeary windscreens.
I have tried everything I know to cure this as follows :-... Read more
Although poor water quaIity has been mentioned, I'm surprised that in the last six years no-one has mentioned rainwater from a drainpipe butt for the windscreen wash bottle and the very occasional (once or twice in 13yrs for our Focus) coolant top-up. It is the purest natural source of water there is. I also use it for washing the car. It doesn't smear so no need to wipe clean and dry which inevitably dulls paintwork after a few years. It's also free!
Rain water quality does vary according to where you live - the clouds dispense consistent quality but the rain will wash pollutants out of the air so if you're in the prevailing wind shadow of a large town/city or a major industrial centre then the rain water quality won't be as good....
Hi Guys,
... Read more
New 3 door 1.4VTi Sport from driverthedeal.com - £10,500.
Don't think the 1.4 petrol engine has any big issues - is normally reserved for diesel engines that pootle around too much....
CAN ANYONE CONFIRM ON HOW TO TIME UP THE CHAIN ON THIS VEHICLE AS I HAVE COME TO MY WITS END AS THERE IS NO TEQHNICAL DATA AVAILABLE AND SSANGYONG THEMSELVES ARE NOT WILLING TO COME FORWARD WITH THE INFOMATION. Read more
YOU ARE RIGHT WITH IT BEING A MERCEDES ENGINE,THE ONLY PROB IS THAT ALL AUXILLARYS INSIDE ARE DIFFERENT, SO IF I LOOK AT 2.7 MERCEDES IT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. THANKS FOR THE REPLY. THIS IS GOING TO BE A HARD ONE FOR ME.
Folks,
Some advice would be appreciated. OK, so i have an intermittent problem with clutch, it went soft for a day or 2 and then went back to normal a couple of times, the last time it went soft started only engaging half way until it wouldnt almost engage.
I took car to local garage, mecanic could not find (external) leaks, so he bled it and car seemed good again.
Short lived however, 2 days later the clutch gone soft but then went back to normal. This seems to happened if i press de clutch for along period coming to trafic lights and it starts to get worse over time until it is almost impossible to engage gears.
So i rang the garage they told me that either the master or the slave cylinder has internal leaks but not sure which one. He said most common is the master going bad but could not guarantee that was the master, warning that could be slave.
I have a Y reg laguna 2 1.6 petrol, so if i have to change slave it is a lot of money for this model.
The car is parked on drive away and not sure if i want to risk to replace the master and then later realise that it could be the slave component.
So, what are your opinion? Does this sound like the symptoms of a bad slave or would i expect other symptoms too.
Please advise, thanks. Read more
If its the slave cylinder thats faulty you will be loosing fluid, if its the master cylinder probably not as the fluid is escaping past the seals back into the cylinder. If the disengagement point gets nearer the floor each time you use it, or if you keep your foot on the pedal - that points to the master cylinder.
Looking at getting a minibus for us to use. Both me & my husband are reg childminders, and currently have to use 2 cars, so thought about getting a minibus to make life easier. It would be a personal minibus, which we would also use weekends etc...
Then someone pointed out the legislation... Not sure where we stand. I have spoke to insurers we got a quote from, and they are happy to insure us based on all info I've given, and told me that business ins is fine for us, and they have that we are childminders etc.... Read more
If you want to operate a smaller vehicle, up to 8 passenger seats, then the Department for Transport's has some guidance which states you don't fall into the category of having to get a PHV licence http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/taxis/rsa06privatehirevehicles?page=4#a1012. This would be much better for you as operating under an 'O' Licence is very expensive, apart from havin to obtain a Restricted 'O' Licence there are a lot of other things that you have to have in place, like a Class VI MoT for the vehicle, access to money for repairs - Google PSV437-01 (revised in 2009) for further information.
:-)
Browse
For reference the car is now fixed, the thermostat was indeed the problem. I can only assume the electronic readout was from a cylinder head thermometer that the car isn't alledged to have.
The thermostat is inside the thermostat housing meaning the whole thing needs to be replaced at a cost of £62 for the housing. On inspection of the old unit a rubber seal had come loose and jammed the thermostat open.