September 2019
I’ve had my Toyota Starlet GLS ‘98 automatic for 16 years and she’s been an absolute trouper!
However, just out of the blue she started making a noise, what I originally described as sounding like a spoken dokey on a bike (remember those days!). Anyway in she went to my local mechanic, it’s been a month now and he just can’t figure out what/where the noise is coming from, he’s a pretty cautious mechanic and is reluctant to ‘throw parts’ at an ‘old car’.
So far he has:
- checked and greased the cv boots
- cleaned off the brakes and checked everything to do with those
- replaced the wheel bearing on the drivers side.
- drivers shaft has been removed and the car pushed - the noise is not present.
The noise which can be heard now quite loudly from outside the car sounds like a click or a dink. It is intermittent and not constant. It sounds as though it’s coming from the driver’s side although mechanic is now wondering if it’s the gearbox.
The noise is not present when the car is in neutral, when turning left or when it is on the lift making it difficult for mechanic to pinpoint where it’s coming from.
The noise is present when the car is idle in drive, when driving straight and when turning to the right.
Not sure if it’s worth noting that the day the noise started I was carrying an extremely heavy load in my car.
Has anyone any advice/experience on this? I would be very grateful for any responses.
Sorry if I’ve gone on a bit but wanted to give as much info as possible? and I really don’t want to sa?y goodbye to my car (it’s lasted a lot longer than anything else in my life)!? Read more
I have read your excellent post. This is a great job. I have enjoyed reading your post the first time.
(Link deleted) Read more
my thoughts exactly, go away you silly person....
Bothered by a local idiot in a whamed-up chav-mobile who thinks it's clever to wake your kids at 2am every night by doing 60mph up a residential street in 2nd gear with a cheap bean-can silencer?
Simple solution if you live in the UK and know the registration of the offending vehicle...… Go to askMID.com (the Motor Insurance Database), pay £4.50 to run a search on that reg number, and you'll receive the details of the insurance company and the policy number related to that vehicle. ... Read more
Serious post BTW, no trolling. I'm throwing this out there as a legit question. A used bike I bought years ago had an undersized number-plate fitted. 100% safe, but when insuring it, I declared it as a mod and was refused insurance on the basis that it didn't meet legal standards. Was told that for it to be properly insured, the bike must comply with the law otherwise I may be at risk of them refusing a payout / having my policy cancelled.
I have seen this come up on HJ's Q&A a couple of times but had no idea it was so widespread. I have no sympathy for them whatsoever.
https://www.hypermiler.co.uk/volkswagen/deliveries-of-half-all-new-vw-cars-delayed-as-they-fail-to-meet-emissions-standards?fbclid=IwAR3S4RBOR01BD13MQG5-1hjC-Tp1bJeaQPcrWvEOUBKY2Ichm31mdvJTfJs Read more
This problem has to be taken in context of the EU emissions targets for CO2. Car makers need to keep their average CO2 across their whole fleet to 95g or less or they face an EU fine on every car they sell and for every gram they are over. From next year these fines become punitive at 95 euros for every gram of CO2 times the number of cars produced in their fleet. Scary amounts of money.
Without this hanging over them VW would be able to sort the problem with their 1.0L and 1.5L petrol engines simply by run slightly richer but as these are the mainstay of their fleet and sell in big numbers they can't afford to let them produce even 1g more CO2, so they are having to try to do the impossible. So its not just that there is a backlog at the testing stations its the cars are not ready for testing....
Looking at changing the coolant on my car, and it seems to be a bit of a minefield! The existing stuff is yellow and 'looks' healthy.
The service manual states:... Read more
It has an expansion tank which allows air in so is open to air, so the water going through it must oxygenate........
Nonsense. It's not 'open to air'. The modern expansion tank has a pressure cap which only allows steam out in the unlikely event of the coolant boiling. It does not allow air in. ...
Reported 16:35 15/Sep Read more
I have a problem with the gearbox. The car will run In 1,st gear (low) no problems. But when I drive it runs great until it shifts up to 2nd then it feels like the engine loses power and starts running as though the engine is seezing up. Any thoughts? The fluid is new, car revs great up to second gear change. Read more
I seem to remember that there was a filter inside the gearbox that needed cleaning from time to time. Removal of the gearbox sump pan - remove filter and give it a good clean. From memory this cured most ill's with this type of box.
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My quad is registered on a PLG it has a 653cc single cylinder engine sports quad under the new TAX rules it should be zero tax.... Read more
You can't benefit from the new rules if the car is already registered - we'd all be trying to benefit from £140 for our gas-guzzlers!
If a quad bike was imported and registered in UK and was never designed with a number plate light can they force me to install one. Read more
Probably yes - cars built and imported without a rear foglight needed an aftermarket one to be legal.
My car is getting a new water pump. The mechanic says i should get rid of the car, the engine is running fine but as i ran it on low coolant for a few days, he thinks the engine might be troublesome down the line, though no overheating light came on.
Any opinions on whether he could be right?... Read more
The mechanic is probably going on experience. Old BMW diesels have a poor reputation for reliability and as yours is currently 9yrs old and probably approaching a six figure mileage he’s advising you correctly. I certainly wouldn’t tell you to buy an old BMW especially a diesel.
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Removed you say, does that mean he only regreased that one driveshaft i wonder?...