December 2016
The owner of the Hilux Surf, take heart, assuming you have the 3.0 Diesel engine the cambelt is one of the easiest and quickest to change you can find (all cambelt designs should be like this), any competent garage can do this for you in around an hour at the most, a good quality, eg Gates, belt kit comprising belt, idler pulley, plus new automatic tensioner will be around £80 the lot, so the whole job should be under £150 all in.
Get that chassis steam cleaned in the spring then coated in something like Bilt Hambers underbody waxes and you will still be driving that old beastie round in 20 years when almost all cars made today will be heading back hence they came in cube form, you will struggle to find an ecu anywhere on it and they were built to last and made to be serviced easily and worked on, so easy to keep them running. Read more
Thanks for the info. on hybrids. I will be looking for a raised height , preferably 4 WD , auto, similar to my Honda CRV , or a little smaller. Am I asking for the impossible ?
Austin Read more
hi all,just a queery if anyone can help. i bought a mk3 clio(55 plate 3 door)2 weeks ago.i bought some speakers for the rear,as im putting them in today,i pushed the excess wiring to the bottom of the panel.on doing so i could feel a plastic type bag with something in it,i didnt pull it out incase it needs to be were it is.im just wondering if this could be some form of insulation(padding)...anyone have any ideas...i want to pull it out to see what it is but thought i would ask on here first...many thanks. Read more
Looking at buying a towbar - and everyone keeps asking me if I have the Mk2, or the Mk2 facelift, both of which also get referred to as the 7N facelift. I had no idea there even was a facelift in 2013, and googling has yielded absolutely nothing. Car is a 13 reg. Is there an easy way to tell which I have?
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I am considering buying a used 2012 BMW 320i with around 28,000 mileage.
The dealer is offering an 18-month warranty with Safe and Sound mechanical breakdown insurance for £495.... Read more
Dosen't the car have a warranty anyway? Car like that surely has at least 6 months on it...hopefully a year. If not the dealer can't have much faith in his cars.
I think thats how some dealers hook in unsuspecting punters, priced at £x999.99p it looks a bargain compared to the £1500 more expensive approved used model down the road, but by the time they've talked said punter into a worthless warranty, overpriced GAP insurance, pointless snake oil polish worth about 1/200th the cost etc etc, its near enough the price of the approved used which included a proper warranty in the advertised price....
I am looking for a 12v tyre inflator that as well as being reliable ( for a few years) has two things a) a long tyre connector hose eg 24" and b) a screw on valve connector ( instead of the quick release type that start to leak after a year or so). If anyone has a recommendation please let me know,thank you Read more
I've got a Ring RAC600 - it's ok for small top-ups but overheats if putting all 4x SUV tyres up to full load pressure and can't cope with 65 psi my caravan needs. So ok for small cars I guess.
My current VW has a compressor as standard equipment because of the "collapsible spare wheel" - it inflates much quicker,. doesn't overheat and easily copes with 65psi - it has crocodile clips for direct battery attachment as it draws way more current that a 10A cigar lighter socket can provide.
My car is a 2006 Ford Focus C-Max, had the alternator changed and now managed to get the serial number for the radio; 6000cd with great difficulty and now it seems that because its a v serial you cannot get it online because its not an M serial. Help...The serial is V226554. Read more
To get a code for a 'V' serial number, you need one of the paid services or a Ford dealer.
With the family growing we are looking to upgrade my wife's Honda Jazz to something bigger for trips to see family. I fancy an estate, she prefers a MPV...anyway most of the driving is short urban driving in south London but then every 6-8 weeks there will be 500 plus mile round trips for seeing family or holidays. I have been advised that diesel isn't suitable for so much short driving but then most reviews suggest the diesel engine option!
If I get a newish diesel am I just going to end up with problems? Read more
Yes - sorry, and I completely see your point for this usage. I drifted a bit from the question!
Hi there,
I recently purchased a 2008 Ford Focus Estate 1.6 from a local garage. It had 111,00 miles on the clock and I thought it best to get the garage to get a new timing belt on her. The mechanic said it would be straightforward and it would be ready later in the day. However when I called back the car wasn't there...
Long story short, the mechanic had no idea what he was doing and hadn't set the new belt correctly. The outcome, the engine is destroyed, not just the valves but pistons and spark plugs! He has ordered another engine and has offered his car until it is fixed.
The engine swap is being done by another garage and hopefully all should go well. Still, this has left me at my wits end. I only had the car for 10 days before this!
The 'new' engine is a 2007 Ford Focus 1.6 engine with 72,000. Is this engine compatible with the 2008 Focus Estate model? Are there any other concerns I should have?
Thanks in advance Read more
Can't see any major issues here,as long as it is a like for like engine.Get the timing belt and water pump changed prior to engine fitment,preferably by someone that knows what they are doing.
Someone I know has a Mazda hatchback under a year old. The aircon has a leak so back it went. Mazda want a payment of nearly £200 for'special' air con gas to check the problem but won't do it under warranty. If it were me I'd be raising the roof but this person is unsure of how to proceed. Garage reckons 'a stone may have damaged the system' Read more
A new low emissions gas - HFO-1234YF - should be used in new vehicles for the EU since 2013. It is currently a lot more expensive - hence £200.
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I got round to ringing up SEAT, who looked it up and told me it was early 2013.