February 2013
Hi all. I have a 2006 Citroen C8 2.0Hdi (NON-FAP) that has never returned fantastic fuel economy. It has always had an issue with black smoke on acceleration. I have blanked off the EGR valve at the inlet end and this has reduced the smoke slightly, although the fuel economy only ever returns 27-29mpg around town and on a long motorway journey never gets above 30mpg. I know black smoke is the sign of unburnt fuel, but can anyone recommend what I look at next in an effort to a) reduce the smoke and b) improve the MPG. I have also had the codes read and there is nothing logged to indicate a problem.
Thank you for your help/advice in advance Read more
What's the most reliable engine in a 3 year old VW Golf / Audi A3?
Is the 1.2 TSI proven yet? Read more
The roads are awash with both various models of both cars, so I guess they all are reasonably reliable, unless there a VAG super-store somewhere with an even greater number of broken down VWs and Audis.
They sell millions of them each year. What's suspicious?
Having real problems starting on cold days. Usual scenario is.... engine fires and runs for a few seconds then cuts out. Second attempt is the same except frequently the temp gauge will go to HOT then back to COLD within the space of another few seconds, Also the digital clock re-sets itself to 00.00 and flashes.
The trick seems to be to give a little throttle on the first turn of the key and then get the revs up to around 1500 and hold it there until the engine speed stabilises. This usually takes around half a minute whereupon the engine will then run normally. Starting from warm or hot is normal with no issues.... Read more
Well, it's been far too cold to be messing around with cars outside for at least the past 5 weeks so no further investigation was done. However, now the temperatures are on the rise, I decided it was about time to continue trying to find the problem. So, a few days ago I removed the battery from the car and did a major clean up of the main terminals and 'negative' connectors. The battery posts were quite dull with oxide as were the terminals so these were given a good going over with emery paper back to bright metal. As the battery was off the car I thought it might be a good idea to give it a top up charge on the bench. I connected the charger and lo and behold the ammeter went straight up to 5 amps (max) and stayed there for the best part of 5 hours ! After that the charge rate gradually dropped to just under 1 amp at which point it didn't seem to want to take any more. Conclusion for all this.... the battery was almost flat.
Question though...... why was this not picked up on the garage's battery test equipment? All indications were about normal according to them. Also why was the battery capable of cranking a freezing cold engine without failing completely? Very odd in my book....
Hi all,
Long time no speak. I've got rid of the Mondeo and got an02 Plate Focus from an old lady I knew, 1 owner 31,000 miles, full service history and the cam belt changed at 29,000 miles. In great condition. (got the auto as the mrs is learning to drive and will only drive an Auto box!).... Read more
Cheers guys,
I leave it set to on, unless I ever tow a caravan! :)...
I own a 12 month old Ford Fiesta with 195/45/16 tyres. I keep reading that moving to a smaller rim with more tyre profile will improve ride comfort and tyre wear.
To ensure that speedo etc works correctly, what wheel and tyre combination should I be looking to buy when the tyres wear out? Read more
If you are changing rim diameter, moving to a smaller rim with the higher profile tyre, be careful to maintain a diameter and circumference the same or approximately the same as it is for the original equipment(OE) tyre....
Car started overheating a couple of weeks ago, came in to me I changed the thermostat then had a big problem bleeding cooling system. Anyway the long & short of it is no heat from heater & radiator not getting hot & car will start to overheat again. Cylinder temp 97 Block temp 67 Heater hoses temp 13. My next idea is water pump impeller failure. Read more
You need t remove TB to change water pump also the car has done 104k and no history of TB change
Hi Everyone!
I just bought this car and the dealer said the Cambelt was changed but theres no proof on the service history or in the car. I havent checked yet the status of the current belt but I will call back to try to get it done under their cost. In the case I have to sort it out does anybody knows the best place to take it for a replacement?...as my previous garage stop trading.... Read more
Might be a bit too west for you but I can recommend Autopool in Iver they've done several belt changes on our VAG cars and know what they are doing.
A good independent will 9 times out of 10 do a better job than a main dealer and at a lower cost. I had a main Skoda dealer completely mess up a belt change I negotiated on buying a used Skoda diesel and they even suggested the water pump and aux belts only needed an inspection and were ok so they didn't do them.
Which oil should I use for my 2012 Swift 1.2 ?
The handbook is rather vague. It recommends a 0W-20 viscosity oil as it's "preferred" oil .. BUT ... also claims other viscosities such as 10W-40, 10W-30 or 5W-30 can also be used .
Then in the "Warranty and Service" book it recommends using 10W-30 .. in this case it stipulates Shell Helix HX7 oil.
So which one is it ... 0W-20 or 10W-30
Further confusion is that if I check the lube guide on the Castrol site it recommends Castrol Edge 0W-40 or Castrol Magnatec 10W-40
Simple way to find out. Go to your Suzuki dealer and ask, they will know better than 1000 "experts" on a web forum who don't actually own a 2012 Suzuki Swift but think they do. Take a suitable bottle with you and they may well give you some if you only need a top up.
I have a MY2003 Zafira 'A' with a locked tailgate, and wondered whether there was a way to unlock it from inside? It's a replacement tailgate from a breaker's yard so the ignition key won't unlock it.
I have tried the remote central locking and liberal amounts of WD40 to no avail. I have checked the operation of the washer wiper mechanism, which works fine and shares the same fuse i believe.... Read more
Glad you got it open.Not sure why it failed the mot on this.It is only the passenger doors that need to operate correctly.
My Mondeo loses most the power occasionally when I accelerate hard, particularly up hill and the glow plug light flashes until I turn the engine off and back on again. On the diagnostics it says Turbo Boost problem. Is this likely to be the turbo hoses or does it mean a new turbo. Can the turbo be repaired or would I have to buy a new unit? I would be grateful for any help please. Thanks. Read more
They are produced by Garret for Ford and the actuators are produced by Marnello most turbo reconditioners will not touch them and I can understand why as they need to be matched together according to Ford,I have had some success putting two 500ml bottles of Fortes commercial only turbo cleaner into half a tank of fuel.When the problem is in the actuator then its anybodies guess to what to do.I have replaced umteem combined units on Jaguar X type diesels and used to have a good supplier of units from nearly new crashed cars but this supply dried up.Early Mondeos used a vacuum actuator which was problemless but they changed onto electronic actuator when the produced the X type to try and gain some extra BHP .
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I presume the obvious diesel conditioner / injector cleaner has been used? If not, it can have a noticeable effect.