Hi there, I have just fitted a cigarette lighter into a 12v car which picks up a constant 12v feed and is protected by its own in-line fuse. Does anybody know what would be a suitable rating of fuse that it should be protected by?

Any thoughts are welcome. Read more

My neighbour's Omega ('94, 3.0 elite) has just had a coolant leak sorted out by replacing a leaking 3-way heater valve. It was also serviced at the same time. The mechanic (a Vx specialist) noted that the car had more than it's fair share of oil leaks (none of which were serious - rocker cover gaskets?) and that oil leaks were quite common on the 2.5/3.0 V6's and his advise was just to keep an eye on the oil level as fixing them would be fairly expensive.

However, one annoying and sometimes embarrassing leak seems to dribble a few drops of oil onto the manifold (drivers side bank) which results in smoke appearing from under the bonnet similar to a "boil". This doesn't happen all the time, only when the engine has got particularly hot, not overheated though and wasn't happening when the car was being serviced.

Apart from being a pain in the neck, is this dangerous?

Chad.R
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I own a Peugeot 306 1.6 XS (96N). I was wondering if anyone could help to identify a noise that appears to come from the front of the car.

The noise occurs when turning at slow speed with about 3/4 lock or more applied while accelerating (eg car parks, mini roundabouts, etc. The noise is a continuous, whining/grumbling noise (ie not a clicking CV joint type noise). It never occurs when the accelerator is not pressed, regardless of speed or amount of steering applied, and this applies whether the car is under engine braking or coasting. The volume/noticeability generally increases as the amount of lock and/or speed increases. Interestingly, the noise also only seems to be present once the car is warmed up.

When driving in slippery conditions recently, the same noise was made when the front wheels accelerated at different speeds without any steering lock applied - so it may be related to the front wheels turning at different speeds, just as they do when turning, particularly in tight circles.

The noise has been present for the last 10k miles (done since early February, until then it had covered 38k miles) but has not increased in severity over that time. There are also sometimes slight hesitations when accelerating through the rev range in 2nd, although this is still brisk and torquey from low revs and I do not believe the performance or handling characteristics of the car are impaired. The hesitations may or may not be related but I thought I would note them.

After a test drive, a Peugeot dealer suggested it was the power steering pump but I am dubious of this as the noise is present under certain conditions when there is no steering and it is only ever present when the car is accelerating.

Any help appreciated, many thanks in advance,
Keith Read more

I have a three month old C5 with automatic gearbox which is the third auto car I have driven. I find the changing down from 4 to 3 and 3 to 2 very jerky at times as if I was changing down, in manual, to a lower gear than intended.Citroen tell me the car is in standard condition but I find it hard to believe that such a less than smooth change down can be acceptable. I am coping by changing gear manually. Has anybody come up against this one? Read more

I have a 2001 Volvo V70 2.4 and when checking fluid levels I noticed that the power steering fluid was a little low.
The dealer has fluid but it is about £18 for a 1 lit bottle.

My query is, can you use any power steering fluid in this car, the dealer implies not and that it must be Volvo fluid.

As I only need about an eggcup full I'm not happy to spend so much on a whole litre. Read more