Showing results in  Forum [Show all channels]

Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first

• Cherished Registrations. 5 Sep 2001 (Forum)
  Turns out it was withheld and came up for auction ar Ragley Hall 8/9th June 1999. That's enough to tell me we were never in the running for it! Good detail for a free on-line search. Also their FAQs have some of the best explanations I have ever seen concerning the tenous rights we have to cherished numbers. In particular the section on stolen/scrapped/written off cars is worthy of very close scrutiny if an owner is to avoid the indignity of buying his own number back from the insurance company.
• Smoking Micra Conundrum 27 Aug 2001 (Forum)
  My brother's low mileage (48K) 1988 Micra has started bellowing thick bluish smoke from the exhaust over the last couple of weeks but otherwise runs ok. I did a compression test yesterday and No.1 cylinder was 10 psi down on the others. Suspecting either bore damage or valve stem oil seal problems I removed the cylinder head. No.1 piston was totally clean and carbon free whilst the other 3 pistons showed the expected build up.
• not a good start to my day..... 22 Aug 2001 (Forum)
  How to be cool (Lesson 1): 1) Drive along Copocabana Beach Road in the Sun 2) Window down, elbow out, stereo on 3) Impressively screech to a halt outside beach cafe full of scenery 4) Strut in leaving car running, stereo on 5) Nonchalantly buy cigarettes, greeting cafe owner as friend 6) Strut back out to car and athletically leap in 7) Sit, ponder on apparant geography issue with missing steering wheel 8) Notice similar steering wheel to my left 9) Quietly get out of car, walk around other side and get back in where steering wheel is, amid hysterical laughter echoing from Cafe Slink off, window up, elbow in, stereo quiet, wondering where to get cigarettes in future
• Citroen AX cracked windscreen 22 Aug 2001 (Forum)
  However, I returned to my car in Bristol after having been at home in Somerset for the weekend, only to find a large 5-6 inch crack running from the bottom of the driver-side area up for 3-4 inches then along 2-3 inches. I've no idea what happened, whether someone knocked it or maybe it was caused by the tropical rain Bristol suffers from...
• cd multi players 30 Jun 2001 (Forum)
  Anyway can anyone tell me if its just the Sony CDX-646 that I will need ? (can I go out and shop for the cheapest one I can get ?) Or do I need some convertor and lead to run to the head unit ? Will any other Cd players work with minimal work ? Where is the best place to fit the thing, in the boot ?, where ? Is there a cheaper source than the dealers for the Toyota original kit ?
• vibration in gear lever 98 Audi A4 25 May 2001 (Forum)
  Someone thought that there may be a fracture in a pipe, I have watched the reve counter when this vibration appears, but the engine appears to be running smoothly. If I increase the reve on the enging very slightly the vibration stops, also if the steering is turned ever so slightly again the vibration dissapears. I have contacted the Audi dealer but they are unable to shed any light on the problem.
• Land Rover crank re-grind. 18 May 2001 (Forum)
  Soon to "minimum cost" rebuild a Land Rover Series III diesel engine. This was running well until a long motorway journey with a low oil level (not me!). The No.1 big end failed, picking up the bearing shell and spinning it round in the con-rod. Otherwise the engine was dry and oil tight at a genuine 80,000 miles.
• Fuel Additives 19 Apr 2001 (Forum)
  I have over the last month switched to Shell after reading advice on these pages but I wondered if any of these products would help as well with the rough running from cold we are suffering on our 94 20i Astra? Any advice gratefully received from somone who used to fill up at the cheapest garage or the one offering the most "points" until joining this site
• More on water in the gearbox 20 Mar 2001 (Forum)
  There have been no ill effects until yesterday when gear selection became really difficult after a 40 mile run. What do I do; is there a magic additive out there or do I write off the gearbox? All suggestions from the team would be most welcome.
• Cooking oil 23 Jan 2001 (Forum)
  On sunday morning on Sky news I saw an article about using old oil from fish and chip shops.One man on a small scale collected from his local fish shops and then filtered the oil added I think a drop of sodium sulphate (not being a chemist I do not no what this was for)) and then to proceeded to run his car without any problems .He had quiet a cottage industry in his Garage. The second ran it as a large business collecting old cooking oil and refurbing something like 40000 litres a week I think .He also had a webb site but was unable to jot it down.It was something like www.oldoil.co.uk I am sure somebody can find it.
• Removing Catalysts 19 Nov 2000 (Forum)
  What precisely are the rules on this, and has anyone any experience of a) MOT testers' reaction, and b) cars running, performance and fuel consumption after modification? You said reduced back-pressure might be a problem, and in one case recommended an intermediate silencer in place of the catalyst, in another re-chipping.
• Just for fun II 1 Mar 2020 (Forum)
  The perfect minicab or rep mobile, designed to cover vast mileages. I’ve seen 2.0 HDi’s with a million miles up and still running. Lovely big armchair seats too. 106 - Nimble and fun yet cheap and reliable. Particular fondness for the original 1.4 XSi and later 1.6 GTi 16v. Lasted well too with loads still running around.
• Car for a vicar and his family! 5 Jun 2019 (Forum)
  He would want this vehicle to last a long time, at least 5-6 years. Their annual mileage is around 11k miles now. Journeys are a lot of short-ish runs with at least monthly longer runs. The Picasso has served them well, it's a bit creaky and plasticky but basically reliable and has the distinct advantage of a relatively small footprint and 3 full separate seats of the same size in the rear- as they have 3 children of 15, 13 and 10.
• Fords - Warning dont buy off xxxx 3 Oct 2013 (Forum)
  Lovely looking car strait all the way around nice solid paint stunning example very happy upon purchase. 2days later there is a very annoying tapping noise coming from the alternator pulley area of the engine. Sounds like running a stick along a corrugated fence the sound gets faster as you pick up revs. Thinking I've got some warranty I take the car back. The proprietor doesn't no a touch about engines all he does is sell cars.
• Peugeot Citroen in trouble 1 Jul 2013 (Forum)
  City sources have already warned that PSA could get close to not having enough free cash to run the business by the end of 2013. A report from news agency Reuters suggests that if GM were to take control of PSA it would want to shut down factories and make redundancies in France and Germany, something the French government is unlikely to let Peugeot family do in its home market.
• Which car to choose....... 12 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  Currently run a 130K miles 1.9Tdi 5 year old Fabia Elegance which I've had from new and it?s brilliant but it?s corroding and it?s got 130K on it! My wife runs an Aygo. Not much more to say about that.... Work 1.6 Focus Zetec may necessitate sale of Fabia.
• Buying My First Car - Need Advice 26 Apr 2022 (Forum)
  I know oil leaks are usually a instant no go.. the engine cap having a mayo like substance usually means the head gasket has gone etc.   If the car runs fine and has no knocks or bangs coming from the engine, no smoking and seems completely mechanically sound.. then how much do you guys think I should realistically pay?.. seller has it listed at £1495.
• Ford C-MAX - DPF replaced, rotten egg smell and amber light 14 Apr 2021 (Forum)
    Codes said DPF was at fault.  On Saturday I fitted a brand new DPF and took it for a short run to enable the car to register its replacement.  All codes were cleared. Haven't used the car until this evening.  Took it for a spin out on the bypass (I live less than 1/4 mile from it).
• EV versus PHEV 5 Oct 2020 (Forum)
    It seems to me that it'll take forever for the slightly lower fuel costs of a PHEV to compensate, whereas an EV will cost quite a bit less to run if I get a wallbox and shop around for a suitable tariff.  And we have a petrol car as well, the A3 convertible, which can do any really long journeys. I found the E-Niro very persuasive this morning, both as an EV and as a car that was good to drive.
• 2014 Vauxhall Astra GTC J 2.0L Diesel - MPG suddenly dropped by 30-40% 3 Oct 2019 (Forum)
  So I just did a service on my car myself (oil, air & and fuel filters) and took it for a test run to make sure it was all good and I was getting good MPG, 60-65 throughout my 20 mile run, I then parked up at Tesco and brought some bits from there. I made a phone call for an hour and a bit whilst charging my phone and battery warning eventually came on saying power save active.