January 2012
Any Tribologists out there?
The oil in my engine appears to be suffering premature oxidation (indicated by low Interfacial Tension in contact with water). I don't think the cause is overheating. This leads me to suspect that there is a coolant leak into the crankcase and the glycol based antifreeze is oxidising the oil. The coolant does require topping up occasionally.... Read more
Hello again!
I passed my car test in 2003 so I do not have the entitlement to tow a trailer.... Read more
Absolutely perfect, many thanks.
Here is a link:...
I'm looking for a cheap estate to replace my old Octavia TDi hatch. Has anyone any experience of the 406 diesel estate in either HDi or XUD form? Read more
I looked at a 406 estate a couple of weeks ago and have rejected the idea of going for one. The seat at 156,000 miles was very saggy whereas my Octavia at 215,000 is as good as it was at 95,000. The rest of the car wasn't up to VAG quality.
I expect it will be another VAG 1.9 diesel for me as my budget is £2000. Unless anyone else has any bright ideas?
I see that the traffic warden who lost his job in chelsea for not issuing enough tickets has won his case at an employment tribunal. Despite there being evidence of internal e-mails giving targets his employers NSL denied there were targets.
Well if there are e-mails and proof of this they should lose the contract! better still take it back in house to westminster and chelsea council. Read more
Local councils do seem to go a bit mad on revenue collection, in fact try to exceed their real democratically elected powers whenever possible.
Look at the bus lanes.
My wife's Micra has developed an intermittent fault where the drivers door release handle inside the car does not work.
There is no resistance when it is pulled out. The same way the interior handles pull out when the car is locked.... Read more
I have a accident where I have gone out the road and have gone over stones .
Insurer told me that car is total loss and wants to take it for a scrap .
Nothing mentioned what exactly was damaged . I drive the car for a 1-2 minutes when took the car to safe place and was driving well ( although there was leaking machine oil ) .
How could I get information about their assessment and stopped my car sent for the scrap before I know should I decide to repair it ?
Is it more expensive to have it insured if it passed MOT again after repair ?
How much could be the evaluation if its Zafira 2.0 dti manual Com , with mileage over 110 000(ABOUT 114 000).
THANK YOU! Read more
My job for this weekend will be changing the passenger side front suspension leg on my daughters Clio. The leg appears to be broken, somewhere in the middle around the bottom of the coil spring. it looks like the shock absorber has failed but the coil spring is ok. I can move the whole leg by pulling or twisting the wheel.
Any tips would be very welcome e.g. do I need spring compressors, can I change leg without removing the hub, driveshaft & track rod ends etc.... Read more
Just a reminder folks
The driving licence trap: 1.6m drivers at risk of £1,000 fineHere's another nice little earner for the DVLA.
Over 1.6million drivers could be at risk of a £1,000 fine because the photograph on their driving licence has expired, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
Sainsbury’s car insurance discovered that many motorists are at risk of a hefty fine because they may not be aware that a photograph on their driving licence needs to be updated every ten years at a cost of £20, as set out by the DVLA. Those with old-style paper licences are not affected.
As well as 1.6million drivers’ photographs that have expired, a further 2.9million must be renewed by the end of 2012 - and over the next five years, almost 13million drivers must renew their photograph to abide by the law.... Read more
AS
I believe you have to ask..........
Interesting to see the American advert for the Dodge Ram on HJ. Pre-tax prices range from £ 16341 to £ 20,400 for basic vehicles. Fuel consumption figures range from 11mpg for City to 16.6mpg for Highway (converted from US to Imperial). Read more
Both Cadilac and Mercedes were using cylinder de-activation years ago and still do,
Does the new Vauxhall Zafira Tourer replace the old Zafira? It is just that on the website both models are listed. Read more
And I would still have an S-Max
Browse
'''The oil is only 6 months old and has done 5000 miles, and it was a good ACEA rated synthetic so I'm not concerned about its quality.'''
Don't be so sure, i put some household name engine oil of the correct spec in my Landcruiser years ago, after one thousand miles the engine sounded like every bearing was rattling or rumbling, terrible and expensive noise....