July 2011
Our Mitsubishi Space Star 1.9 diesel was ageing (nine years old) and was starting to cost money, so the time had arrived where we had to think of a replacement. Mitsubishi do not have a car in their range that is suitable for us and another minus is that spare parts are very expensive. Living in Spain, we thought that we would look at the "local" manufacturer but before doing so we hired several cars - Seat Ibiza, Renault Megane, Citroen C3 and C4, Fiat Punto Eco, Ford Focus. All diesel. In May this year, after considerable deliberation, we purchased a Seat Ibiza ST 1.6 diesel. With varied driving conditions - short journeys plus motorway trips of 200kms+, we have used:
40.7 litres diesel over 748 kms; 38.6 litres diesel over 718 kms; 42.1 litres over 789 kms. Travelling a total of 2255 kms on121.4 litres of diesel in comfort! ... Read more
Hi anyone out there that can give me some info?
My 2.0 tdi just stopped ,called the aa who after a quick look towed me home.Put car on vag monitor no codes showing.After many more checks done a compression test which showed very little compression on2x cylinders and none on the rest.Took head of after checking timing etc,which was spot on.Head of no signs of any damage or marks barrels perfect.Tested for bent valves and not seating right every thing spot on.Camshafts look good all lifters look ok,although not yet removed.Lifters are one set sold when pressed and one set soft.... Read more
Thanks for the reply
the car is a 2.0 sport 04 with the azv engine.I was going round a corner 500 yards from my home in 2n gear when the dash lights all came on and the car stopped.The aa said timing belt when they turned the engine over due to the sound .If theres no vvt all points to the lifters that are hard, Could this cause the valves not to close fully?
My van has failed it's MOT on the copper/nickel brake pipes (all of them!) and I am considering doing the job myself. I am a plumber by trade so know my way around a bit of copper and am contemplating doing this myself. Aside of the pipe itself, a flaring tool and the correct unions do I need anything else? Maybe a small hand former for the bends?
Basically if the garage do the work it will make it uneconomical to repair hence the reason I am contemplating doing the job myself!... Read more
Brake pipes are pretty thick and unless they're really bad, all you normally need to rescue them is a good supply of wire brushes, a load of emery paper, cloth is better, some gunky waxoil, some goggles and a day of your life.
I think the thing to aim for is 'no visible signs of corrosion'. You may find a place where corrosion is quite bad, extra thick and murky waxoyl is deployed here....
Hi. We have owned a Nissan Note 1.4SE 2007 for about 3 months and throughout this time when locking the doors remotely there is a very loud buzzing noise which comes from the drivers door (doors do lock and unlock ok). Is this noise an intentional audible confirmation of locking or is it a potential problem? The owners manual does not mention it at all. Car is still under warranty at the moment but not from a Nissan dealer so they dont know the exact details of the model. Cheers, Ian. Read more
I have a Mk2 Golf with a 1300 engine. There is a moderate coolant leak from the sidewall of the radiator, where the mesh meets the plastic sidewall. The radiator is a replacement from the first, it is 6 years old.... Read more
I used Radweld a few years ago on an Austin Allegro - fixed the radiator for a few weeks but the heater never worked again!
i have a 51 plate vauxhall combo it dont seem to pick up much speed when i go through the gears and will only do 65~70 on the motorway any suggestions please
... Read more
yes it does kick in at 2000 revs but its not turbo its a 1.7 di
I have just bought c3 and noticed when I turn the ignition key to position 1 it beeps at me and on the digital display it say f_ _ _ _ _ _ I've looked in the manual and it says flashing of the display bars indicates a malfunction, Consult your citreon dealer.
Can somebody please tell me what this means and is it a serious fault. Any help would be appreciated as I know nothing about citreon's
Many thanks
Lisa Read more
It's just the oil level sensor malfunctioning, as long as you check your oil manually occasionally using the dipstick - don't worry about it.
Hi, my car was overheating and I took it to a local independent garage two weeks back and today I got a call saying it is repaired and emailed me the invoice. here is the breakdown. Please let me know if it is reasonable. apparently the head gasket is blown up and other parts also needed replacement due to this according to the mechanic. their customer service was very poor and they were very rude whenever I called them to get an update. they gave very high estimate initially and I made a mistake of not getting quotes from other garages.
Please let me know if there are any parts in this bill that aren't anything to do with overheating, so shouldn't be included, or if the parts charge is high or if the labour charge or effort is high etc.
(all amounts rounded to nearest one). the estimate was £1200 and the total to pay now is £1365 out of which warranty company agreed to reimburse only £450 (for head gasket alone). the timing belt is also covered under warranty, but they said they don't pay because it isn't broken. they said the same when I had to replace my clutch and fly wheel earlier and they didn't pay a penny for that saying they will pay only if it is broken.
my car is Ford Focus 2003 diesel £70K mileage
1. labour = 8 hours = £400 (£50 per hour)
2. Cylinder head work = £260
3. head gasket = £44
4. head gasket set = £40
5. head bolts = £27
6. timing belt kit = £70
7. Engine oil = £6.25 (quantity 5)
8. oil filter = £7
9. environmental disposal = £6
10. car anti-freeze per lt = £7
11. Fote water flush = £13
12. Forte oil flush = £12
13. Drive belt F1133960 = £24.36
14. Exhaust studs & Bolts & sundries = £45
15. Pulley (belt tensioner) F1473384 = £140.96
VAT = £227
total = £1365
Thanks in advance. Read more
9. environmental disposal = £6
11. Fote water flush = £13
12. Forte oil flush = £12
These are the only ones that are not really needed and there is the labour for them but it's still not much really....
Perhaps only appealing to we cat lovers? The music is also quite lovely, by Mara Carlyle who I'd never heard of. http://youtu.be/Z7vXP3tHzhA Read more
What i dont get is the "you wouldnt behave this way on foot..." bit. They clearly have never been to Merseyside on a saturday night.
*waits for Bobbin to attack me :P...
Hi - I can't unlock a Nissan Micra that has been standing for about a year. Neither of the keys will unlock the car remotely or manually (via passenger side door). Do the batteries in the keys need to be 100% to unlock the car manually ?? - I am pretty sure that the car battery will of course be flat but I would have thought that would not have affected opening the car manually ?
Any thoughts or suggestions would be gratefully received!
Many thanks Read more
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I make that about 52mpg is UK units-about right for a small diesel car.