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• Nissan Almera - Nissan Almera Oil Service 16 Nov 2011 (Forum)
   In the workshop we always change the sump washer: the torque is: 25 nm Failure to change the oil will drastically shorten the life of this well built strong motor and lead to a degree of sludging which in modern close-tolerence designed engines is a bad thing.  Get into the habit of checking the rear exhaust of your car to see how it's running: in a well maintained petrol engine it will be fairly clean with very little oil deposits: if the exhaust is very black with alot of oil,  it perhaps shows signs of internal engine wear: such as the big end bearings or valve stem seals worn or oil control rings on the pistons.
• Peugeot 306 Engine problems 25 Jun 2011 (Forum)
  Engine never seems to settle to idle, it always drops down to 500 rpm and revs back up normal idle speed. Sometimes it even stalls and take a couple of attempts to start again. I've changed the HT leads and had new battery, I'm starting to think it might be the alternator as it seems to be whirring a bit. Any ideas and costs? Sorry about the lengthy post, just want some advice so I can weigh up my options.
• BMW X5 - compensation 19 Apr 2011 (Forum)
  Not long after we had it, things started going wrong, battery, electrics, catch on boot, etc......this soon lead to major things like, gas suspension, drives, fuel pumps etc. After investigation we discovered it had been clocked, and that it was an ex police vehicle. All of which we did not know when we bought it.
• Ford Fiesta 1.25 - Unstable / wobbly engine or wheels? 13 Apr 2011 (Forum)
    I thought it was dirty injectors, having used various injector cleaners like Redex and other  fuel cleaners to no avail.  I tried these having had spark plugs and HT leads checked. It turns out it was coil pack related, which has now been recently replaced.  However I now feel when under acceleration, the engine seems flappy / wobbly.  It may be worth mentioning that prior to the coil pack change, I had work done on the front left coil spring and the droplink replaced on the front right .
• any - 80 mph limit on motorways 20 Mar 2011 (Forum)
  I read HJ's article on this siteabout the proposed increase in the motorway speed limit and Brake (the anti motoring charity) saying it will lead to more deaths etc etc. When i am on the motorwayhere in West wales(M4)  doing a true 70mph i am still being overtaken by lots of cars, many of whom are doing approaching 90mph and the odd lunatic having fun at the ton!
• Citroen saxo 1.4i auto - Sluggish acceleration problems 8 Feb 2011 (Forum)
  It has a multi point injection system of which I have removed all the injectors and fuel rail and cleaned them all, but i'm sure if these were the problem it wouldn't run ok in idle, I have also removed the throttle body and all the accompanying sensors, and cleaned them but still to no luck. I'm lead to believe in thinking it could possibly be the Throttle potentiometer, as these can wear out??? Any thoughts from anyone would be a help...O and also I have had the ecu checked out and plugged into a gizmo, but no fault codes were shown.
• Suzuki Wagon R+ 1.2 - Vibration under load/misfire 17 Jan 2011 (Forum)
  Ive put some injection cleaner through which makes a temporary improvement ( but not a fix ), but im unsure if its the cleaning effect or the octane boost the stuff sometimes gives. Its had new plugs and leads in the last month and the EGR has been cleaned out. It does have a pattern part exhaust section which sounds a bit throaty, not sure if that would cause such an issue. My instinct was its either a fuel delivery issue or a sensor, but I may be way off and I dont know enough about modern engines to be any more specific.
• 1989 ford escort 1.6 CVH - Engine trouble 23 Nov 2010 (Forum)
  Now when I parked up I turned it off and then tried to start it again and it would not turn over fast enough to start (as if the battery had gone flat). I left it for 10 mins and went back, i noticed that one of the HT leads was loose so connected it back up and tried to start it again. This time it started no problem but now it runs very lumpy as if its sometimes running only on 3 cylinders and sounds very tappety, also the light are still dimmer than they should be.
• Zafira 2002 1.8 - Strange power loss on motorway - left curves only! 27 Oct 2010 (Forum)
  Effect is more pronounced on longer or sharper left curves. Applying a bit of logic, I thought that the petrol tank must have two supply pipes leading out of it, one on the left and one on the right, and that the right hand exit had become blocked with crud. As the petrol swills to the right side on left curves, the left pipe loses supply and the right pipe, being blocked, can't compensate, hence temporary fuel shortage on prolonged left hand curves.
• Ford Fiesta 1.25 Zetec (1997) - Fiesta 1.2 Uneven Idle problem 18 Sep 2010 (Forum)
  We have changed the temperature sensor , the plus and HT leads, and finally the Mass Airflow sensor. It is fine sometimes, but then the problem reappears.   Can anybody help, please???
• Car technical advice - Tech Section V Magazines 20 May 2010 (Forum)
  Then you find yourself reading  questions and answers and thinking I`ve paid for this... And of course here it`s free on seemingly the internets leading website on tech and car related issues. What might still draw you to a Mag then? With it`s often wrong tech advice? Pictures perhaps.. Something for forums in the future perhaps - for example who saw those pics of sludgeon the US BMW forum?
• citreon synergie 2.0 petrol and lpg - Engine running problems on lpg and petrol 21 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  When the engine has reached its normal operating temperature for this time of year (according to the temperature gauge – about 80-90 degrees Celsius) all the problems will go away on both petrol and gas and no longer stall at junctions or race. The car had a full service including spark plugs, HT leads and brand new coil pack Another piece of info which may be relevant: The yellow petrol low warning light stays on far too long before the needle moves up and over when there is enough petrol in the car – when you start the engine initially.
• Ford C-MAX (2003 - 2010) - 04 1.6 - Flashing management/battery lights 1 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  My car started juddering and had lack of power and was like a knocking sound, so my Dad took the car to a garage and he was told the HT Leads so we changed them. The noise hadn't gone completely but was quieter!.Because the noise still remained we took it back to the garage and we changed the Spark Plugs and also changed the Coil Pack. The car worked fine for aprox 3-4 week.
• Ford Probe (1994 - 1998) - 95 2.5 Electrical / water short 20 Nov 2009 (Forum)
  I noticed that the fuse box in the N/S engine bay was making a buzzing at the time of the problem, so maybe this could be a lead culprit? {shouting in header amended. Welcome to the forum, btw}
• Volkswagen Passat (2001 - 2005) - 01 2.8 Exhaust white smoke after 2 months left sta 25 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  My first post: I need to sell my beloved VW Passat 4motion but it has been SORN off road for a couple of months - I have started it every 2 or 3 weeks for a few minutes during its time on the driveway but today when I checked its battery was flat. It started immediately with jump leads but there was a fair bit of white smoke coming out of the exhaust at all revs. I thought it might clear as the engine warmed but 15 minutes later it was still there (including 5 mins at 3000 revs).
• Drivers should pay up even if they win at court 21 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  Peter Roberts CEO of the Drivers' Alliance said "it is fundamentally wrong for the state to financially penalise innocent drivers who are simply seeking justice against a faulty conviction". Jeanette Miller, of Geoffrey Miller, a leading motoring law firm has raised a petition on the Downing Street website and the Drivers' Alliance urges everyone to sign it. If the principle of innocent until proven guilty is to be upheld in this country then it is imperative people who win a court case are not financially disadvantaged for defending themselves.
• Vauxhall Cavalier (1988 - 1995) - 94 1.8 misfire/judder when idle 12 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  hi new to forum recently bought a old cav as a winter hack while motorbike comes off the road for the winter.was running perfect when i bought it.parkesd it on the drive about a week later replaced rocker cover gasket as it was leaking,topped oil up with some 15w40 semi synthetic.started it up and now there is a horrible vibration when inside the car and the engine is slightly misfiring.removed plugs to find out which cylinder was misfiring seems to be no.4 as plug is a soot black colour where the other 3 are tan.replaced all plugs and leads but still with no joy.is it just co incedence that this occured when i changed rocker cover gasket.also cyl no.4 lifter is tappy which it wasnt before i changed gasket.the old gasket was a cork one and had to be scraped off,if a bit of old gasket flung intothe top of the engine.could this cause the misfire.or is it a sticky lifter as it had sat for 2 weeks before i bought it.i have put some hydralic lifter treatment in incase it is a sticky lifter but cant drive it as am not insured yet so can only rev it on the drive to work the treatment round. any help suiggestions greatly appreciated as unsure what it could be it is a 94 lreg cavalier 1.8 auto fitted with c18nz engine and it has the ignotion where there is no dizzy cap.thanks
• Body assembly 29 Sep 2009 (Forum)
  Went to see our American lady friend yesterday and for the first time saw her Mazda 3 (saloon not hatch) in a fetching shade of kingfisher blue. I noticed immediately that the shutline at the leading edge of the bonnet lid was too wide, and wider at one side than the other, ruining the look of the car. Suspecting poor crash damage repairs I looked uner the bonnet. Couldn't see any evidence of a serious front impact, but looking closely could see that the front panel, all plastic, which is quite complicated and has the headlights inset in it, needs to be refitted by someone who isn't a chimp.
• Volkswagen Polo III (1994 - 1999) - 95 1.0 Engine not firing up 26 Aug 2009 (Forum)
  I'm not convinced, especially after googling around, because of the symptoms, such as the engine turns and turns but won't start at all (not the "classic" firing up, then cutting out). He checked the HT leads and said there's no spark from the coil but didn't think the fault was with the coil itself as there would still be a weak spark? Well I've had a better look in daylight and taken some pictures, the coil looks knackered to me (cracked/charred plastic, light corrosion within).
• On transient human motoring time - toads lost... 30 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  Now the hills are dark at night - a larger, nearer, Moon casts shadows as golden irises move down over the hills, still following the beat - the internal tune of amphibian calling.. The Pied Piper leads, over the ancient battlefield, a road, now deep below, under 30 yards of peat . There had been a distant, distant, call...the call of natures fortune now restored.