August 2011
Next week we’re driving, over 2 days, from Hastings to Crieff in Scotland. The route as far as Edinburgh is as follows: A21, M25, M11, A14, A1 and A1(M), A68.
We need to stop quite frequently and I’ve found or know service areas, transport cafes or supermarket cafes over most of the route. I’m really stuck, though, on the M11 section – we found out, last time, what a disaster the Birchanger Green services are. Any suggestions?... Read more
23rd Consecutive rise in GCSE passes. A levels up.
What do we think, are kids getting brighter year on year (in which case , extrapolating back, I must be a real duffer), or is something amiss with the exam system? Read more
As much as I hate it my dear, we are in agreement on all of this. And like hell was 97 random.
You still make me laugh which today is very welcome. ...
Hi,
I have noticed that the car is loosing coolent water, because I have to fill it up every day or 2. The car never overheats on long drives, but the coolant warning light come on when I drive in heavy traffic.... Read more
Look for teltale signs of coolant leakage around the filler cap and overflow, if there is no sign of leakage anywhere else the chances are that the head gasket is leaking and pressurising the system and blowing the water out. You could try leaving the filler cap not screwed down tight. if the leakage is not to bad this could stop water loss but it also lowers the boiling point so don't thrash it.
The gaskets seem to go at around 150,,000 miles on the 1.9 engine the Hdi's usually last longer.
Hi, I’ve recently bought a Mk4 Golf 1.8T Gti (2000). I’m getting the following problem:
When in first gear, crawling along with no pedals engaged the car instead of crawling along smoothly the revs drop a little, and then recover, then they drop a little more, then recover. This causes the car to start to ‘kangaroo’ quite badly after two or three cycles of the revs dropping and recovering. I would have expected the revs to stay ‘dropped’ and pull the car along.... Read more
I'll reply. Some cars just seem prone to this most un-European behaviour. I've never had a VW but it's either a fault in the ignition or the sensors that feed it. Not a fault with the injector side.
Given the age I'd be looking at the distributor and searching for vacuum leaks....
I know naming and shaming businesses is not permitted on HJ, but could we have a name and shame board for duff drivers. ie you post the registration plate and a brief description of the transgression?
I know the answer is 'no' and Avant will give me a withering look, but I thought I'd ask anyway! Read more
Hey! Ive had some violent fiesty lasses in my time. One chased me with a knife once (essex girls are mental!) im sure Pat'll be no prob :P
Can you tell me why the rear window wiper will not turn of at the switch. I have a Rover 216 si R reg (Bubble). Read more
I will do as you say. I think it might be sticking because its working again. Thank you for you help
Regars,...
I heard about a rather disturbing motoring in incident in town the other day.
A car was parked on a steep hill in a shopping street, and there were 4 children in it.... Read more
More importantly perhaps, who was the idiot who parked it there in the first place?!!
And why was it not parked in gear?
Been reading a discussion on the chevrolet captiva forum (where the diesel has the same engine as in my epica), and a bit surprised to see how many people did not know for sure what the correct grade of oil is for their car/engine combination.
I know it sounds daft, but I specifically request 0w40 or 5w40 for my own oil changes as that is what is required, and i notice in the press that a certain french manufacturer refused a warranty claim as the dealer incorrectly filled with the wrong grade of oil, and the elderly couple "did not check", result engine failure and a big bill. Read more
"The Range" do VW 505 spec fully synth dirt cheap.
I have a small wall enclosing my front garden and drive. We have lived here for six years and in that time we have had the wall rebuilt five times. Where the wall is getting hit is access to my neighbours garages and a few parking spaces. People are reversing out and hitting the wall. It has been re inforsed the last two times. I have reported the worst incidents to the police but no one has been caught. The annoying thing is i know it must be the people i know and live near. The insurance company will now not pay for the repairs anymore. I have put polite and not so polite notices outside. The wall is getting hit on a regular basis now and it is getting me down. i love the house and the area but i cannot deal with this anymore. Where do i stand? Anyone any ideas? Read more
I would have thought you'd be best off 'reconfiguring' your wall layout so that it is shielded by some heavy duty metal of some kind. Simple uprights constructed of short lengths of girder embedded in concrete should do the trick. No doubt they will still get whacked, as it sounds as though your neighbours are totally incapable of negotiating the same bit of road without getting it wrong time and again, but it will do a damn sight more damage to their cars than it will to your girder! They're not overly pretty, but if you paint them white they'll look passable and nobody can complain that they aren't visible. Job done!
A tip for anyone taking their car in for an mot, should your car have plastic covers as most do these days then over time they may become discoloured due to the plastic oxidising effects of sun weather etc. This was the case when my wife took her Toyota Prius in to her local dealership in Bedford for its annual check up and service, it failed the MOT as the lights were not making the correct pattern on their testing equipment, of course the dealer wanted to fit new headlights at considerable cost, fortunately my wife didn't agree and brought the car home where upon I promptly got some t-cut and spent a few minutes applying with a cloth and a quck buff and they are as good as new again. My wife took the car back to them for the retest and ten minutes later they gave her the MOT certificate. As my wife had been a customer there for quite sometime she was a little upset that they didn't do it or offer it as an alterntive but hey you live and learn, think we'll stick with an independant garage next time. Apparantly there are a number of headlight restoration kits readily available on the market specifically designed for this problem. Read more
Maybe suspended animation.
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Thanks for the good wishes, BT and Avant.
I’d already done what you suggest, Avant, before my initial post. Using your search terms, however, rather than mine, got me the website 5minutesAway, which I’d missed. That listed service stations just off J8 and J10, which could useful. Thankyou.
I really like the A68 too, but this is the first time I’ve driven it south to north.