May 2012
Hi to all,
I am thinking of buying a VW Passat estate. It will be used as a daily communter for work and Long weekend trips with the family. I want a reliable car (Otherwise I would have got a discovery 2!!)... Read more
Assume I'm a bit dopey - last time I saw inside an engine and understood it was a 1952 197cc 2 strke Ambassador. So I'm depending on you bright lads. Have bought 2004 van for daughter for camping after much study of web sites. Looks good in respect of usage (95K) condition, service history, ownership (1) . Why didn't I leave it at that. I read the car by car breakdown and now expect the water pump to sieze, ripping up the cambelt (replaced as part of purchase) and destroying the engine. Am I being unduly pessimistic, are there warning signs and what preventative action should we take.
(PS as an aside I hope it's pessimism - after all I drive a 2004 Peugeot 1.6 - I can here you hissing- and it's been as good as gold for 7 years Cheers and thankz in advance for any warming words. Colin S Read more
Would be really interested to hear (as a vivaro/van novice in the same situation right now!) what tips you've got when looking over these vans as I'm also looking for a sub 100k model for about £3k but fearful of the gearbox horror stories I've read so far! Not sure what to expect from an engine that's done close to 100k even if it has been well serviced. James
I bought a car via private sale on Thursday last week. All VIN's on the vehicle had been changed and where engraved on the chassis it was filled and a new number engraved. On close scrutiny of the V5 log book on Saturday I noticed a few odd things and determined it fake. All this was reported to the police and the TAX and MOT appeared fake as well.... Read more
Hi,
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Just bought an 07 Golf TDi. Heater works fine initially ( temp turned fully up, air con light off ), then when I turn it down slightly it goes cold and when I turn the dial back up to the max it remains cold. The fan works ok on all speeds. Has anyone experienced this problem & is it expensive to fix? Thanks in advance.
Read moreI assume you have climate control, and if you set the temperature to be 21 degrees for example the hot/cold servo motor will move as required to maintain the interior temperature at 21 degrees. Now obviously when the engine is cold this temperature may not be reached, and the servo motor will probably be in the hot position until the engine warms up. It will move to a cooler position as the temperature increases, and 21 degrees approaches. Whether the A/C is on or off will not affect this at all. The heater will still be hot if it's demanding hot even if the A/C is on. The inside air will be conditioned and humidity will be reduced. If you set the system to 'HI' then the servo motor will stay in the hot position and the interior will be hot. Similarly if you set it to 'LO' it will stay in the cold position and the interior will be cool.
The most likely reason for your heater being cold is a failed water pump. Many have plastic impellers that break away from the steel shaft allowing them to spin freely. You may notice your engine temperature gauge increasing too. This is another sign. A new water pump and cambelt may be required.....
A old contact told me about these vans today.Finally someone has brought out a replacement to the Suzuki Carry. I must say, needing a nimble van, these look ideal but being a new franchise I have some big reservations. What will they be like for parts? What will they be like for reliability? Where is the 1.3 petrol engine sourced from? Will they be hard to sell? I seem like I am asking alot this past day regarding vehicles, but the business would benefit from at least 1 slim van, this really fits the bill. I looked at a Nissan NV200 instead of another Peugeot Partner or Citroen Berlingo, but the NV200 is more akin to the Toyota Hiace and the list price is expensive for what it is. Again, any advice welcome. Read more
WhatVan say it is the same engine as the Suzuki - see the Loadhopper review: http://www.whatvan.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1294&Itemid=54
I'm having a huge problem removing a rear drum.
The shoes are causing the drum to bind a little so something is amiss? I've used a puller without success,... Read more
I've always got round the problem by tapping the drum while pulling and rotating it.
I won't deny using a damn great hammer on occasion..........
Auto takes to long getting into 4th gear,but is ok done manually. Have been told to change transmission fluid ? Read more
I am sorry to interrupt but I have an issue with my 2002 peugeot 607 2.0 litre petrol manual gearbox.When stationary the second gear engages normally.upon moving(even at low speeds),the second gear will never engage and makes the noise synonymous to shifting to the reverse gear whiles the car is in forward motion.initially,i thought it was a problem with the gear oil so i took it to the mechanic and he drained about 2litres of dirty gear oil.we replaced that with 5L of gear oil from TOTAL lube bay(there is no ESSO company in my part of the world)After this ,the problem still persist such that from 1st gear i have to move to 3rd gear because 2nd will not engage.I would like to know what could be the possible cause of this defect and also,how much volume of fluid (in litres) should be put in the gearbox and what is the recommended gear oil.?
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No suprise it's a 206 with electrical problems. A 1.6Hdi to be exact.
Basically, when driving, strangely normally when slowing or coming to a stop, there is a complete loss of electronics. All dials zero, all dash lights come on, clock resets (so complete power loss somehow)...... Read more
Haven't tested it moving yet, but had it running - and yup you were right. There was only about 2 strands of the earth left joined from the gearbox to the wing.
Not got a spare joiner, so took an earth of an old 407 and just joined it from the negative terminal to an earth point next to the battery =)...
Having read on here about issues arising with the chain slipping on VW 1.4 Petrol engines, does it also effect the 1.4 engines with turbos ie TSI?
Is it case now of avoiding ALL chain driven 1.4 engines, irrespective of power output, aspiration etc? Read more
It sounds odd doesn't it? Basically, antifreeze is much worse at cooling than water. For a given coolant temp, the higher the proportion of antfreeze, the hotter the temperature of the cylinder head.
This was well established in WW2 when they were trying to get sustained high outputs out of piston engines and cooling was the big issue. It has been reaffirmed many times since.
Hi all, found the forum after a google search and hoping you can offer me some advice. I have set out the situation below which is causing me a great deal of stress so hopefully someone can help me to resolve this.
Recently decided to buy my dream car so got the finances together and started looking for a BMW Z4 Coupe. Decided on the BMWAUC route to ensure peace of mind when spending so much money.... Read more
I had a similar situation with a Lexus . It transpires that a 'Lexus approved' service history doesnt mean its has a FULL service history....(its in the small print.)
My situation arose when I wasnt supplied with the service book. When they did it had simply been stamped up with one date (the date I received it) and mileages put in retrospectively. This showed a missing service but despite this missing service it was still 'Lexus approved'. It was laughable - this was a major dealer - the salesman was moved on afterwards....
What is your budget? I ask because the original Superb is the infamous Passat in drag and suffers many of the same water ingress and electrical problems. I don't know if these were rectified with the Mark 2, so be careful.
There's no doubt the Passat is a bit of a dog, countless tales of woe on the forums. A friend of mine has a tdi at work and it is a nightmare car, leaks water, random electrical gremlins etc....