December 2001
I have recently bought a high mileage (know the driver of the company car) '96 2.0Di Vectra. It has proved reliable and trouble free apart from one issue.
Some mornings when starting the car it will drive very (and I mean very) sluggishly for the first few miles - very much like you'd imagine the car to run if it had no turbo and twice the weight.
This seemed to go away after a few miles until one morning when it resulted in the car stalling when doing 70 on the motorway and failing to restart. The AA were called and they suggested I'd run out of fuel. I knew the level to be quite a sizeable amount above the red so insisted it must be something else. They investigated a little further and said fuel was in the tank but not getting through too well so it must be the fuel filter. This was temporarily cleaned, the system bled and more fuel put in the tank and the car started fine. I replaced the fuel filter the following day and we've not had a problem for a few weeks now until a couple of days ago.
Upon starting one afternoon the car ran sluggishly (and sounded more diesel like!) for a good few miles, worried the same would happen again I instantly filled up with fuel and within a couple of miles the car was fine.
Any Ideas what it might be?
It appears to be happening more frequently when there is less fuel in the tank.
People have suggested it might be the Injector seals but I've been told they were replaced recently.
Could it be I have a load of muck in the tank, and would this only be and issue when the tank runs lower? I've not run it into the red.
Could the fuel filter be getting blocked again or the fuel pump be on its way out?
Has anyone had a similar problem or care to suggest what it might possibly be?
I would be most grateful for any advice.
Thanks, Phil Read more
I'm reasonably pleased with my passat which I bought a couple of months ago, but am irritated by the useless screenwashers whose nozzles are fixed to the underneath of thew bonnet. The manual says their position is non adjustable, but the jet of water is aimed about 5 inches from the bottom of the screen.
I'm used to getting a pin out and changing the direction of aim on previous cars, but this doesn't seem possible on the passat.
Has anyone else had this problem, and can anything be done about it? Read more
It's just possible that the fixed washer jets on the Passat are the same as those on the audi TT. They, too, are under the bonnet. They are black plastic, and look like a short tube or barrel. Close inspection shows that they have a cam mechanism whereby to adjust the squirt angle - though not by very much. But with a screwdriver, and much nail biting in case I broke it, I was able to lift the contact point on the windscreen from about the height which yours are to something higher.
Long shot, but maybe the Passat and TT share the same parts?
As we approach both, a forecasted cold snap and the peak Xmas travel period,
What would you reckon as a safe lower threshold temperature (ambient ) for travelling on UK motorways / A roads ?
(I say M?ways and A roads, as on "smaller" roads the conditions may vary due to road surface, surrounding areas - i.e. rural/urban etc. etc...)
I?m planning to do London to Inverness in my trusty Xantia TD Estate(M1-M6-A74-M80-A9) over the coming weekend and it may involve some night driving, but the weather forecast is giving me serious doubts about it ....
I know that countries that experience extreme winter climates such as Northern Europe and Northern North America are more geared up for travelling in sub-zero conditions. Motoring seems to grind to a halt (or at least become dangerous) in the UK when the thermometer reaches below -1/2°C.
Chad.R Read more
good point; thanks for advice
Does anyone remember when HGV's were limited to 20 mph? I was chatting to a retired tanker driver yesterday and he reminded me of the limit but could not recall exactly when it was abolished.
I wonder why, with the abolition fo the 20 mph limit and the present limit of 56 mph, there has not been a huge rise in accidents, as predicted by those with power to abuse? Read more
In last weeks Motoring Telegraph there was an article about somebody who has a scrapyard near Peterborough. He has built a 'special' using this type of engine in a vintage Bentley style chassis (actually from a lorry). I met him at an autojumble last summer and the car sounded amazing when he started it up.
Jon
Hi,
A simple query. I recently bought a '93 Xantia which is now rising rear-first, instead of front first. What does this mean? What needs fixing? Do I need to remortgage?
Thanks
Simon Read more
Simon Collier wrote:
The car runs fine once up, it's
> just that we actually have 2 Xantia TDs (His 'n' Hers - quite
> sad), one rises front first, the other rear.
>
Sounds interesting, Simon. Try parking one behind t'other and see if you end up with an extra Saxo!
Ian
Is it just the cars I've had - Peugoet/Citroen/Ford/Volvo - or do other cars have washer nozzles that freeze up. It sure isn't rocket science to use some of all that spare heat under the bonnet to keep things warm. It's dangerous to have a dirty windscreen on the motorway that you can't wash because things are frozen up. The washer bottle is ok and has a strong measure of windscreen washer fluid but it seems to freeze at the nozzle. With gritted roads there is more muck than usual being thrown up and it dries to a white film that is very difficult to see through particularly when it's sunny. Read more
I suppose that one could think that the jets are frozen, when in fact they are partially blocked with dirt. Tree sap can play absolute havoc with the jets. Point taken though .I am sure they must freeze on certain cars in certain conditions.
Regards, mike
Is it true that all RHD current model Mercedes and BMW for the UK market are manufactured in South Africa? When did this start? Can I get a Mercedes built in Germany if I collect it personally from the Sindelfingen plant? Is there any way of telling where a car was built from its chassis number? What about VW and Audi? Read more
Many many moons ago I bought a new Fiesta. In the dealer's shed (behind the showroom) were two of the model and colour that I wanted. One was made in Germany the other in the UK, the better quality of the German one was (alas) glaringly obvious....
There are several operators offering 'paintless dent repair' for small dents and scratches. They seem to charge about £70 per go. Anyone had any experience with these? Does it work? I am thinking of getting a couple of door' dings' done before selling the car but would like to know if its worth it . Read more
Thanks for the info everyone, and Phil Goodacres e-mail. I'll give it a go!
I have an early 2.0 sharan GL. In the writeup on this site it give as a bad point water entering the car via the heater system. Is there a cure?
In addition I have another watery problem. The offside drainage tube from the sunroof appears to be mostly blocked. I have pushed something down the tube and it goes to the same point on both sides, the nearside is draining OK. Is it possible to get to the bottom of the drainage tube to see what the problem is?
Regards
Andy Thorne Read more
There were all manner of leaks on these from weatherstrips to body seams. The most common one early ones though is blocked drains in the pollen filter frame. This can be correctd by using a new frame, filter, and bloser resistor. Sounds expensive to me, so remove the pollen filter and clean the drains yourself. You may also need to use some sealant around the frame.
I'm not sure how the sunroof drains run, but the recommendation from Ford on the Galaxy, is to simply 'renew the drains pipes as they could be blocked or kinked', unfortunately they don't tell you how to do this, but I would imagine the roof lining would need to be removed, and it isn't particularly easy, as it's one piece.
If you can see where the water is coming in, then let me know and I'll search the disk for the remedy (if it isn't the pollen filter frame).
This may save Mondy owners some grief. If your screenwashers stop working, it's probably because the pump is clogged up with slime lurking in the bottom of the screenwash reservoir. Don't attempt to dismantle, which involves unfastening the wheelarch liner and undertray. Simply take a bamboo stick or similar and give the screenwash a stir. Keep the stick in the car in case it happens during a long trip. I learned this after being quoted £35 last February to have the screenwasher pump filter cleaned, then last summer being told they'd done it for nothing during a £40 oil change.
HJ Read more
Don't know how you could enjoy a pot noodle in OR out of an airport carpark to be quite frank...however, I couldn't agree more with the idea of a heated bottle. Thing is, how much would you pay for it...? Would cost the earth to build ..... at least that's what Ford would tell you...!!
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Phil,
I'm a new owner of a 120k 1997 2.0Di, I'm having no end of bother with it.
I'm told that the lower inlet manifold has a set of butterfly valves on one of the 2 inlet ports per cylinder which open up at high rpm. Due to a combination of high miles and inferior fuel, these can 'coke' up and not operate properly. It seems relatively simple to remove the upper inlet manifold and take out the lower one with the butterflies to give them a decoke.
Please note this is third party info, I am not a mechanic. But I will be attempting this procedure myself unless any one has any better ideas.Phil Dando wrote:
>
> Further to my previous plea.
>
> A few days ago the car drove very sluggishly (could not hear
> the turbo) for a good half hour, on a near full tank. I put
> my foot down at one point and the the pipe that goes from the
> turbo to the engine blew off, which I've since secured but
> the sluggishness is still there sometimes.
>
> This has led me to think the sluggishness might be something
> to do with the turbo.
>
> Is there a sensor/valve that could be faulty/sticking and
> therefore causing the turbo to not function. This
> sluggishness has never occured mid journey so it would be
> something that sticks from startup then frees itself later.
>
> The car has done a few mile (143K) but has been well
> maintained so could it be a warn out turbo?
>
> Thanks, Phil