July 2013
I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath, and they talk about "raising" and "lowering" the spark. What does this mean? Is it talking about advancing and retarding the ignition timing?
The book is set in the 1930s dust bowl, and the cars were old, so probably 1920s models. One car that's mentioned is a Hudson Super Six.... Read more
My step-daughter's VW Polo suffered a loss of power and the emission control light on the dash came on. The local dealer diagnosed a siezed turbo charger. The car has only 56,000 miles on the clock and has been dealer serviced since new.
Is turbo failure a known problem on this engine?... Read more
>>>Am I right in thinking that the build quality of VWs is not what it used to be?
Yes and you're far from alone. Luckily lots of very good former VW technicians also know this and as dieselnut says should be able to do confirm or deny your dealer's opinion and if necessary do a better job than the dealer for considerably less money.
I have recently bought a focus 1.8 TDCi on an '03 plate, the car would only only start with easy start and then run rough with a loss in power. I changed the fuel filter (was full of dirty fuel and bits but not metal particals), air filter (distorted beyond recognition) and the flexi pipe on the exhaust (it has a big hole in) and still nothing changed. I had times when it would run ok for a mile or so and then suddenly lose power an limp everywhere again. During this time there were no warning lights on the dash which i found odd, then a week ago the car suddenly started to stall every few miles. The glow plug light came on and the car just cut out, it started up on easystart straight away so i drove it home. Since then the car didn't even have enough power to get off of my driveway.
I decided to remove the injectors and have them tested, they all failed and i forked out for them to be refurbed which cost over £500. I fitted them back into the car in the same sequence they came out and primed them with diesel before connecting them back up. The car started straight away without the need of easystart and i got my hopes up thinking the problem solved, then i got in the car and reved it, it still has no power at all and struggles to rev above 3k. All the time billowing white smoke out of the back??? ... Read more
They have not logged in since the original post so I doubt we will find out. A '03 Focus has probably met its maker by now, unless treated well rust usually gets them.
After the injector seals replacement on my 50K Fiesta 1.4 TDci, the car lacks power.... Read more
Thank you very much for all the answers. It is clear this job hasn't been done properly, which is not totally uncommon nowadays.
As the car is already 8 years old, so I'll replace it with a petrol version after the holidays.
I was contacted by easi drive after a car owned by westminster council ran into me = it had been hit by another vehicle from behind as well. They gave the impression they were handling the accident on behalf of Westminster council.
They hired a car for me and sent my car off for minor repairs. Despite numerous phone calls the garage kept our car for a very long time - well over the time need for the works required.... Read more
I agree with previous one.You need to speak to insurance company.
Hi all ,I've just been watching the BBC program about the dubious sales practices ,and ludicrous pricing policies of carcraft .
I'm constantly amazed how naive the British public is when it comes to buying cars ,or borrowing money for that matter ,wonga .
You wouldn't think an adult would be foolish enough to pay in the region of £2500 over retail price for a used car ,but they are .Carcraft have grown quickly over the last ten years and are successful .
I've written and commented in previous posts how little research buyers do before they visit a car showroom .The information buyers need is all available on sites like honest john , parkers etc
.Buyers look for a good deal! without knowing what that is .
If they just did the basic checks they wouldn't waste car dealers time looking for impossible discounts or unrealistic part exchange valuations .
Perhaps the car buying public gets the dealers it deserves ? Read more
... the dealer, a supermart in rural Cheshire, delivered the car without the remedial work and then refused to do anything ...
I would be pleasantly surprised if any car supermarket, never mind that one in rural Cheshire, would be willing or able to do more than a thorough valeting and perhaps a basic oil change. It may be unrealistic of buyers to expect a good cheap deal (that is why they go to such places - and to have a wide choice of most marques) AND a good level of servicing. You buy the car pretty much as seen, plus perhaps the simple jobs I have mentioned. These days most supermarket stock is not yet due for its first service, so they don't expect to do any. If a lot more needs doing, that may explain why the car is a bargain - and you get the work done later by 'experts'.
Hi.
I was stopped by a police van on A4 after the Hammersmith Flyover last week for doing a u-turn on a signal that had ahead-only and right-only filter arrows. It did not have any 'no u-turn' sign.... Read more
A few examples of roads where I drive regularly and which led me to this confusion:
I've lost / mislaid the service history for my car, no doubt this wil be an issue when coming to sell it, is there any way I can obtain the service history, Is there a national database similar to MOT, car was not serviced at Nissan dealerships. Read more
"I've recently come back and see that the children still haven't grown up yet."
True, though it's a small minority that either provokes it or actually dishes it out....
I have recently bought the above vehicle with 60k on the clock.
Hot or cold the clutch judders I understand that this may be the flywheel at fault.If anyone has had a similar problem and they have changed the flywheel did this cure the issue?... Read more
1) Clutch judder due to oil blowing past oil seals and contaminating the clutch plate
how could a clutch plate get oil blown past oil seals? crankshaft oil seal if leaky only contaminates small area inside nowhere near cluth plate....
hi, my air conditioning had stopped working a couple of months ago, but as the weather has now changed to a lot warmer, i thought i would have it checked for regassing, it was empty, so had it regassed, worked fine for 2 days, now it has stopped again, if i put air con on it seems to blow warm air , if i turn it off, it blows cooler air with normal fan on ?...any ideas would be grateful . thanks..my car is a 51 plate saloon...2.0 giah x Read more
thanks for the info , will get it checked out , many thanks...
Browse
I had a Rover 110. Nice but undriveable in snow. And very very heavy. And it wallowed round corners and 22mpg...