June 2012
I am currently suffering an intermittent problem with my mk5 fiesta flight (189,000 miles 1.3 Endura engine). After being sat in traffic for greater than 10 minutes when progress beings to be made there's an intermittent grinding that's both heard and felt through the gearstick and steering wheel. It starts off sounding similar to a rubbing brake (in so much as it happens regularly, like it's happening every revolution "of something") then progressively gets louder and for a "longer" duration until there's a grinding sound all the time, akin to duff bearing (ie there all the time).
I've done some first principals diagnosis but am still confused:
1. It occurs when the car is moving regardless of whether: the is engine on, off, clutch engaged, clutch disengaged, brakes lightly applied, brakes off, handbrake applied, handbrake off.
2. You can hear it with the window open and closed - it's a rhythmic (and eventual constant) grinding / vibrating noise
3. It can be felt through the gear stick (the whole thing vibrates) and also can be felt through the steering wheel.
4. The gearbox has plenty of oil (I've checked by undoing the allen key bolt in the front of the transmission housing)
5. It's just had its front lower suspension arms changed as the bushings had disintegrated.
Given 1 and 5 in particular coupled with the fact it stops when the car reaches over 30mph I'm thinking it's got to be either related to the trackrods/drive shafts or the front diff. The diff, however, is in the gearbox and has plenty of oil (as far as I can tell) so I don't think it's that. The trackrods shouldn't have been touched (aside to drop them out for the arm replacements) and I'd have thought if CV joints etc. were not lubricated properly it would a). be a different sound and b). not cease when the speed was over 30 mph(ish).
To be honest I'm stumped! However, I haven't got the 3-4k for a replacement car so it's make-do-and-mend.
Thanks for any help.
Al.
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I recently had a pair of RUNWAY ENDURO 606 tyres fitted to the front of my old VW. They have done about 1000 miles now but the tyre noise is really loud and seems to be getting worse. I can also feel vibration through the steering wheel. Not the out of balance sort but more of a buzz???---I've checked the wheel bearings and they seem ok.
Has anyone else experienced this sort of problem or got any ideas? .....apart from different tyres. Read more
I had 2 replacement front tyres Runway 606 fitted to my Scoda Octavia hatchback 5 months ago. Don,t do much mileage and short trips and seemed okay but did longer A road and motorway trip recently and road noise has got so bad excessive! Wondered if the car but this review explains it. I think they were okay when new but a few months down the line really noisy! Handling seems poor like vague but not noticed any safety issues.
Perhaps I just have to keep to short journeys around town? Or ignor noise until worn down then avoid the brand next time....
I bought the car in Feb 2012 for just over £5000 and was offered a 3 month or 3000 miles guarantee (whichever is sooner). However within the 3 months but over the 3000 miles limit it developed a fault and I took it back to the dealer I purchased it from. It is apparent that the ECU could be at fault as is being tested now. The car dealer lent me a car until the tax expired at the end of May when I had to hire a car - leading to more expense. I currently have another loan car for a limited time.
I am lead to believe that the 3 month guarantee is invalid as it should be 6 months . Could you please clarify the situation Read more
Thanks all for your comments/advice - it seems it's a minefield and it may rely on a court case. I'll have to see but will post result
Thanks to all who replied to my recent post. I now have a very different issue.
I am convinced I have purchased a cloned car. This has come to light when the DVLA sent through a logbook which had a different previous owner than the one who i bought the car from. The person who i bought the car from has gone AWOL. I googled my number plate and subsequently found a similar car of the same number plate in a garage in cardiff. I called him up and he said he had bought the car in part exchange from the person who was the previous registered keeper as per my logbook. Both of us have logbooks for the car both of which match up with the car VIN numbers etc... Both the previous registered keeper and the car are in cardiff. There are a few suspicions because my seller has gone AWOL, and on top of this he lied to me on numerous occasions saying that he bought the car from new (clearly not the case). The transaction was made in cash.... Read more
You Googled your no plate.
Why would the other cars' no plate be listed on google unless it was a cherished plate or was on somewhere like Crime Watch web site?
Yes I agree with the article. At an outler near me people are paying £15 for a 175/65x14 with 2mm of tread on when for £40 they could have a new tyre with 8mm of tread. Some people are to stupid to see that part worn tyres are a waste of money. Read more
Now look, this is just scaremongering, yes there can be really bad tyres out there fitted by unscrupulous places, but if you're cutting corners and stupid enough to be taken in by them you shouldn't be behind the wheel.
Have your wits about you, get an understanding of what you need to look for and part worn are fine. If you're not trying to get the cheapest barely legal peice of tat, then bargains can be had. Premium brands, with three quarters of their tread, no damage or repair for half new price. Buy them on eBay, mail order, with buyer protection, then have them fitted and checked by your local garage. I've been using them for some time, as long as you focus on value and not just to replace the last set you wore to the canvas.
It's a horrible generalisation to make to say that any used tyre is dangerous. Think of it this way, you buy a used car and as such used tyres, how do you have any clue what condition they are in or how they've been treated. But mail order some, you can clearly see all the tread, inner and outer walls, telltale signs inside the tyre or having been driven when flat of of repairs not obvious from the outside. You can fully examine a tyre ONLY when it's not attached to the car. Any tyre can fail, new or old, any can get punctured.
Common sense and the desire to understand where to look for potential problems and you can safely reduce your vehicle running costs.
Tyres, food sell by dates, all the 'occasions' invented by retailers to sell you more stuff, manufactured music bands, Fashion, gambling websites. All part of massive ploys by big companies to hold consumers to ransom. Come on guys, use your heads and beat the big boys before they take over the world!
I just bought a 2012 polo match edition and no bluetooth Read more
Hi all - anyone have any experience with towing with Merc's CVT auto box as in the A180CDI? I feel it probably isn;t advisable, but all the books and data suggest the opposite. Braked towing limit of 1500kg is stated, and my caravan is around 1000kg. So should be fine, but before i go to the lengths of installing a towhook, grateful for any real experience please?
Cheers... Read more
there is a known issue with splines shearing off on the CV joints so whether towing may shorten their life its difficult to tell,
Used this 255 off voucher earlier today XVISION25 , bought a spare as well . I subscribe to their site. Read more
I have been using Philips X-Treme for 5 years now with no failures.
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please could you find what the price was to buy new in 2002 Read more
Have a look on the Parker's website.
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I like the engine mount idea also. A broken engine mount can cause a hideously rough noise and clunks when going from on-throttle to off-throttle.