October 2002
I guess this is going to make me look a complete Noddy but since that has never stopped me before... I am the only person to get confused between Offside and Nearside? I am prompted to post this by a sign on the M1 near Sheffield which says something like ' Meadowhall: use nearside lane' (or was it offside??). It was obviously the left most lane that was meant since there are not too many motorway exits that go from the right hand lane so why not just use 'left lane'? Equally, why do garages insisit on talking about off- and nearsides as well. What is wrong with driver's and passenger's sides?
Where is the logic in offside amd nearside? Near what? Off what?
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Cambelt life.
Having done some evaluation work for a belt manufacturer, I thought it might be interesting to apply some belt life factors to actual applications, as the vehicle manufacturers recommendations seem to be so inconsistent.
My formula works like this:
Take a petrol engine with a belt working under ideal conditions, ie correctly tensioned, no oil, no disintegrating idlers. Take a belt base life of 60,000 miles.
Now apply the following factors as multipliers:
Crank pulley teeth (half cam pulley number) 19t 0.7; 20t 0.9; 21t 1.0; 22t 1.05.
Next, apply the following factors as multipliers:
Fixed tensioner 1.0; Undamped sprung tensioner 0.8; 3/4 wide belt 0.75;
1 wide belt 1.0; Diesel engine 0.85.
As an example, the old Ford CVH 1.4 engine had 19 teeth on its crank pulley (0.7), a fixed tensioner (1.0), and a 3/4 wide belt (0.75).
Change interval becomes 60,000 x 0.7 x 1 x 0.75 = 31,500 miles.
This is necessarily a simplification, because other factors such as wrap angles, peak loads and engine expansion cannot easily be accommodated, but if you try this on a few known engines, the results are interesting.
The quality of aftermarket belts is variable. The worst are made by a well known USA tyre company which may cause you to have a bad year financially. The best are Italian and will give you a good day.
Any comments welcome.
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Cliff thanks for doing that calculation, if I had known that at the time I would have changed religously at 48k!
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pmh (was peter)
Some advice please!
I bought my (used)Mondeo from a dealer who supplied the car with one remote key and one ordinary key.
My questions are:
1 - Is this the way the car would have been supplied new?
2 - What happens if I lose the remote key or flatten the battery? Can I obtain a new one easily, or is major dealer expense?
3 - Can I change the battery without messing it up?
4 - Is it easier and cheaper to get a spare remote key rather than await the inevitable loss or flat battery?
Thanks all
Andy Read more
Thanks DD
Has anyone been stranded when the immobiliser/fuel cut off has been triggered on their Focus? Read more
It will still turn over but no fuel, you will still have a spark thou if it is the fuel cut off switch that has been triggered and no spark if the immobiliser is shutting you out. Regards Peter
Sorry if this has been discussed before - I searched and couldn't find anything.
I am considering buying a 10 year old car with full dealer service history in mint condition. I have test driven it with a list of pointers to look for and am satisfied that it's okay - I'm no mechanic so that probably counts for nothing though! I have double checked with the dealer that it was serviced at and they have confirmed the servicing. Do I really need to part with £250 for an AA/RAC inspection? Read more
Why not ask the garage if they'll let YOU take the car to an MoT station of YOUR choice for an MoT. Go to the place you normally go to. Tell the inspector what you're at. Should make a good second opinion and only costs £30.
Hi,
my mate has a Nissan Micra 1.0 (M reg) and the car was working fine one evening, then the next day he goes out and the car wont start - we dont know anything really about fixing cars so any ideas are much appreciated....
There is petrol in the car!!, when turning the key the engine is trying to start but just is isnt firing up. Could it be the distributor? Can I just take a spark-plug out to see if they are sparking? Any other checks to make...???
Cheers,
Murray Read more
>> not that I would ever suggest fraud, but if someone
with
>> RAC membership was trying to drive the car and it
wouldn't
>> start...
That's not fraud. Both AA and RAC cover the person not
the cars. You don't have to own it or even be
travelling in it.
I would be if the member was only asked to "want" to travel in the vehicle because it was knackered!
I have a hesitation/small hiccup issue when putting my car volvo480T under load, all is well otherwise.
Could a worn cap give a bad spark to one or more cylinders?
I have also noticed that the chrome exhaust tip seems to foul very quickly with darkbrown/black exhaust residue on its rim. Could this be the result of unburned charges ending up in the exhaust?
Note the car runs slightly rich on a dyno run but because the acceleration is progressive rather than sudden the hiccup problem does not occur.
What symptoms would you normally expect of a worn dis' cap?
Regards,
dan Read more
Well l got it replaced and in the short journey back to my house from failing its MOT, it has a shedload more torque at low revs (hurrah - nearly caught me out though) although l didn't get to properly boot it (can't in a 30/40 really) did seem to come on boost without problem.
My son has a k reg Clio 1.4RN and it's proving a problem to start. Battery turns over engine OK but for about 10 attempts nothing seems to happen - no indication of firing & smell of petrol from exhaust. Then it starts, but will stall if throttle is touched. After a couple of minutes it runs fine. Have taken it to garage but of course it always fires up immediately. As a diesel driver for many years I have forgotten how these petrol things work!! Any suggestions as to what it might be ? (Apart from the usual "It's a Renault ain't it!")
Thanks
PhilW Read more
Ricky's not been anywhere near us since 2005, I've emailed him for you to get in touch
Hi all,
Has anyone any experience of stepping, eneven wear, on the inside tread blocks of Continental tyres. This isn't caused by the suspension being out and is possibly a tyre related "fault".
The car in question is the Omega and the front tyres are the ones in question.
Probably one for the tyre experts amongst you.
Regards ...... Robert Read more
"as the car had done about £130,000,"... I can't afford THAT!! LOL
Ok thanks for advice. Funnily enough I was out today and was wondering to myself whether the front wasn't feeling a bit harsh.
I also analysed the noise a litle more. It is entirely consistent with wheel rotation, sounding like something is slightly oval when it should be round - it's not a whine at low speed at all. It's more like the kind of regular noise when driving over that raised yellow paint lines before a roundabout. As speed increases the frequency of the noise increases, making it into a whirr, or semi-whine...sooo hard to explain!
When it goes in @ 80k for cambelt I think I will get the bushes and o/s bearing done, unless anyone (incl credit card company!) persuades me otherwise...
I am thinking of selling my Carlton and getting something that doesn't gobble as much fuel. Also the complexity of the carlton and stuff going wrong is beginning to scare me.
So, having sold my trusty Golf CL, I want to return to the fold but with more power and luxury. Clearly a post '90 car is the one to go for, but should it be 8v or 16v?
The 16v costs more to insure and some parts are considerably more than for the 8v. Also there seems to be an issue on with its suitability for running on unleaded - a problem the 8v doesn't have when fitted with digifant fuel injection.
Of course, there is more cache and power with the 16v. I have also heard people say the 8v is better to drive around town and not at full bore because more torque is produced at lower revs. Anyone got any real world experience to share? Read more
Theres no reason why the 8v should be more reliable, both the 8 and 16v have the same engine block, 16v has multivalve head.
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I don't get confused between nearside and offside, but I do get my left and right mixed up. Strangely, when driving in France I have no problem with driving on the other side of the road, but my mind seems to automatically flip left and right too, so that a left turn means turn off on my own side, while a right turn means turn off on the other side, giving way to oncoming traffic.