November 2011
Evening everyone.
Its come to that time when I feel like a change of car. Nothing wrong with the current one, its not worn out - to be honest its probably only just been run in, but would like something a bit more - well exciting and involving.... Read more
Can you advise which models have chain cam engines Read more
Hi All,
I have a 2009 Focus mk2 Estate 1.6 TDCi, the standard fitted tyres are 205/55-16
I want to put some snow tyres on the car with different rims for the winter
Does anyone see any problems with fitting 15" rims and 195/65-15 tyres instead of the above? - the overall rolling radius is pretty much the same (within 0.5% difference)
I guess I would need to check that the discs and calipers are OK with 15" rims
Anything else?
thanks! Read more
Hi all,
On the passenger side door sill of my mondeo there is a plastic strip that clips into the metalwork of the car (presumably as a form of weatherproofing) one of the little clips on it has become bent and as a result the whole thing falls off whenever passengers accidentally knock it with there feet. I obviously just need to replace this, problem is im not sure what its called so i cant search online for replacements. ... Read more
its my wife,s ,i put 4.54ltr in a can and drove till the fuel light came on then zeroed the trip meter and put the fuel in ,it only went 31 miles ! jeez its only 1.4 ,i have a 22year old ford escort 1600 auto that does a lot more to the gallon than ,i would have thought that in 22 years things would have progressed not gone backwards ! Read more
I can understand filling up at the same garage although fuel is fuel as far as im concerned, but why the same pump specifically? Ive always wondered that. Like why does the 'angle' of the car matter? Surely the fuel either goes in or it doesnt?
I was changing my door yesterday and when I took the window regulator mechanism out On of the clips that are connected to the window runners snapped. Does anyone know were I can by these from? Can I just buy the clip or have I got to buy the whole regulator? Read more
See what your local Nissan dealer's spares department has to say on whether it's available as a seperate part.
Sounds like the sort of thing that may be had for pennies at a scrapyard........
I have a Renault Megane Dynamique 1.6 16v on a 54 plate. In the 2 years I've owned it I've replaced: gearbox, window motors, all fuses x8, shock absorbers - all of them - twice, battery x2 (not with cheap ones either), complete brake system x2, all bulbs at least three times each, and now today I've had the AA out AGAIN because the camshaft sensor is broken.
It never starts first time from cold, although it generally starts second time after leaving it for 10 secs, in very cold weather it cuts out when I put the clutch in for the first 1/4 mile or so too - I've been told this is either a faulty sensor somewhere buried deep in the engine? or a broken wire to the clutch pedal?... Read more
my heart goes out to you ,it seems that if you read these collums they are full of what i call new wave problems [cars with more sensors than sense ] the manufactures make more money out of diagnostics and selling sensors than selling the cars ,imm old school and decided to sell new wave and buy a 22 year old ford escort ,=no diagnostics no little screen telling me limp mode on ,and no sensors ,result if it goes wrong i can fix it i get 40 mpg and no problems plus its cheap on parts and insurance ,but its dear on road tax £200 plus pa but it pays for its self because if you tote up all of the diagnostics at a £80 /£100 a time and then cat converters ,it has saved me a fourtune .
...
What on earth has happened to second hand car prices? Last time I was considering an upgrade I could pick up a low mileage 3y old Grand Picasso for about 6k. A year later it's more like 7.5k. Is this the same across the board?
My guess is that this must reflect price gouging by retailers in the face of lower volumes. In which case does it make more sense to buy at auction? Read more
'All Labour's fault' is getting very boring now. Pathetic excuses with Cameron offering no reason why anybody should vote for him, of course he doesnt have to give anybody a reason to vote for him for quite some time yet. However not being Labour isnt going to be enough for 2015, he couldnt beat Gordon Brown last year which should make him feel embarassed to show his face in public so it wont work in 2015 either.
still he ploughed on claiming to have banished boom and bust......
I was ding some research into oil and what to get for my car when I stumbled by the whole zinc/phosphorus issue.
If your car has flap tappets then it is wise to stick to an oil higher in ZDDP (Zinc Dialkyl-Dithio-Phosphate) - and not the newer synthetics which only have a fraction of the older oil (to preserve CAT life). Any new oil which carried API spec only has 400 ppm of ZDDP, older oils or those not speeced to API should be fine... Read more
API gradings have no place in Europe, we all use (or should use) the ACEA grades - the clue is in the name American Petroleum Institute (API).
Quoting viscosity grades on their own also has little place here - both viscosity and ACEA rating should be specified....
Browse
My Mercedes indi charges £37.50/hour which is the same as the general indi I used for my Skoda.