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• Vauxhall Corsa C (2000 - 2006) - 02 1.2 Timing chain 8 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  How likely are these chains likely to fail? Could they stretch or wear? I imagine the results of one failing are catastrophic leading to major work & expense. I thought the advantages of timing chains over belts was no maintenance.
• Petrol into diesel - whoops 30 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  It's about time the someone came up with a device for preventing this. I guess the car manufacturers are not going to take the lead since they would argue it's not their fault. But surely some clever person must be able to come up with a method of preventing petrol being put into a diesel. I am putting my great mind to work. Well, my mind anyway.
• Ford Escort (1993 - 2000) - 1994 1.8 Intermittent starting problem 22 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  Usually starts fine, but when it doesn't and you crank it too long it really shakes engine about and just won't fire. However, on these occasions it will start immediately if you use jump leads, or bump start it, which seems to rule out fuel supply problems. Anyone any ideas? robertk
• Mazda Mazda 2 (2003 - 2007) - Poor spares availability 25 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  Has anyone else experienced problems in getting spares for Mazdas - especially Ford based Mazdas and specifically the first generation 2? We have been waiting 8 weeks for our Mazda dealer to get an HT lead for our September 2007 2 (1.4 petrol). Mazda Customer Service aren't interested Our previous Mazdas (a 323 and a Premacy - both on 53 plates) had no such issues. Seems especially curious as the 2 is based on the Fiesta/Fusion, uses Ford mechanicals and was built on the same production line as the Fiesta/Fusion
• Lexus LS400 (1990 - 2000) - 94 4.0 petrol, bad misfire - front 4 cylinders 28 May 2008 (Forum)
  hi my bosses lexus has done about 149,000 miles, and its now misfiring extremely badly on the front 4 cylinders, after driving it in and out of the workshop every day for 6 months, we've put new plugs and leads on it had the inlet manifold of and nothing seems like nothing was blocked, but very coked, we thought it may be something to do with the E.G.R. valve (exhaust gas recycling), please can some one help?
• Renault Clio 1 Petrol (1991 - 1998) - 96 1.4 crank shaft sensor 13 May 2008 (Forum)
  Can anybody please help as im trying to locate the crank shaft censor on my little clio as i beleive this is the cause of my car not startin. Reading a few of the stories on here leads me to believe this could be the thought. Could some body help? Looking foward to any replies, yours thankfully matt {typo in subject header corrected, and some words more associated with MSN or txt messaging replaced for proper words in main body of post}
• Vauxhall Corsa B (1993 - 2000) - 1999 1.2 (petrol) running very rough 26 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  I thought the battery in FiL's Corsa (1999) had died when no electrics worked. Used jump leads to start it from my Mazda 323TD and it fired up first time. However, engine management light in the Corsa lit up and the engine is now revving up and down of its own accord and kangaroos trying to drive it.
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 2000 (x reg) 1.6 zetec missfire 25 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  I have engine management light on took it to 1 garage and they detected 4th cylinder missfire. so changed coil pack, leads and plugs. still no joy missfire still there so taken it to another garage and they've detected 1st and 4 th missfire. they have done compression test passed and all plugs are sparking. i have no idea of the codes detected at the minute but second garage are thinking it could be the ecu. any ideas would be greatly appreciated many thanks
• Charging car battery from a car 18 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  He's wondering whether there's a quicker method of charging this than connecting it to a mains-powered charger. He's thinking in terms of using jump leads to connect it to the battery in his car. If he does this, will it charge from the alternator if he runs the engine for a while? Swapping the batteries isn't an option. The car in question is a '97 Ford Escort if that has any bearing on the answer.
• Leaving a 'iffy' part-ex, honesty the best policy? 10 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  hi all im new here.i need some advice if you would.im about to trade my current car in for a new un at the weekend.the dealer has seen my car and offered me a decent p/x against a new one.problem is my current car has developed a juddering!!?? whilst accelorating,i believe it could be the cat or possibly the spark plugs and lead have blown.now should i tell the dealer or drop my car off and run when i take my new one.YOU DECIDE!!!! help me please
• Prescription drugs and driving 28 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  I have just come to the end of 4 months of chemotherapy (thankfully with very promising results) but the following question occurs: the (oral) drugs in question are effective but severe, leading to anaemia, and thereby, to considerable fatigue (until corrected by transfusions which I have had regularly). At such 'fatigue' times I have always used my judgement as to when I'm OK to drive, or not.
• Renault Clio 1 Petrol (1991 - 1998) - 1997 1.4 Energy 8v - Misfire in cylinder No. 1 19 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  Hi, My Clio engine is playing up. It is misfiring on cylinder 1. My local garage has checked leads, replaced spark plugs, swapped coils 1 & 3 for 2 & 4. Then checked for compression, checked injectors for fuel and finally removed head, where a fault in inlet manifold gasket was found. Reassembled engine with new gasket in inlet and head gasket, BUT still misfiring.
• Ford Focus problems. 30 May 2007 (Forum)
  I have a 52 reg Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi Ghia and recently it has cut out twice due to it over heating. I put some water in the water bottle leading to the radiator and it ran fine for a couple of days. Now for some reason the water bottle is continuously empty but I don't know where the water is going. Also white smoke is coming from the exhaust and the temperature gauge pointer only moves half way up the gauge.
• 240v tyre pump. 7 May 2007 (Forum)
  One of these has just timed out on Ebay. It was a grey plastic case incorporating a carry handle, with the lead and hose stowed within the case. The name on it was " Boxy " and it was produced in Italy. The Ebay seller stated that these were available from B&Q under a different name but my local B&Q deny any knowledge.
• Nissan Sunny loss of power 23 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  I've got a 1400cc Nissan Sunny (1990 model with 12v carb engine) which has been running poorly for a while. The engine began misfiring, so I changed the distributor cap & rotor arm, and checked the leads (which are fairly new anyway). The misfiring problem seems a bit better now, but the engine still feels gutless, and has started backfiring under acceleration at low revs (1500-2000 revs). This seems worse when the engine's warmed up.
• Peugeot 106 - occasional starting prob 14 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  Up to now it has always started eventually ,sometimes after a few minutes or even the next day. Althought HT leads etc have been changed, no real solution has been forthcoming, the usual response being that there is no fault to find when the car is driven into the garage after it has atarted! It has now packed up completely but needs a tow away for diagnosis.
• Mr. Flatcap's helpful comments. 22 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  Here are some of his more recent public-spirited comments made in car parks: "Excuse me, but I don't think you're bonnet's shut properly." (To owner of latest Vauxhall Astra) "Nasty misfire you've got there, plug lead must have come loose." (to owner of Subaru Impreza) "Looks bad but I know a chap round the corner who can knock those dents out cheaply." (to BMW Z4 owner) Does anyone have any more Flatcapisms?
• 1996 Rover Mini stalling when cold 23 May 2006 (Forum)
  The car can be restarted OK, however it sometimes stalls a couple of times when pulling away. One warm, everything is fine. I've recently changed the plugs, HT leads, distributor cap and rotor arm. I've also checked for splits in the vacuum hoses, and didn't find any. Any ideas? Thanks, Tom
• Carlton gearbox noise 7 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  The box works fine (grabs tree), and is silent in drive or through the gears. I am happy to live with it so long as it doesn't lead to something sinister. With the car on 115,000 I was hoping for quite a few more miles from it given their high mileage reputation. Thanks in advance.
• smoke gets in your eyes 5 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  Has anyone found a good additive or mixture that can be applied pre MOT to cut smoke- particularly from a diesel engine. All leads gratefully accepted!