February 2004

Victorbox

With previous discussion of the use of new red (pink?) antifreeze or the older blue stuff, I was interested in this e-mail from Vauxhall Trade Club received today: "Trade Club launches bulk fluids campaign: A new product initiative from Vauxhall Trade Club sees the launch of long life red antifreeze - available in one, five, 20 and 205 litre sizes. Primarily designed for post-2001 models, red antifreeze has a higher super-additive content than traditional blue antifreeze and will potentially last up to five years. Blue antifreeze, which has a two year service life, will still be available to Trade Club members in the same range of sizes. Customers will pre-2001 vehicles can also take advantage of the longer service life afforded by the new red product, provided the old antifreeze is completely drained and the cooling system flushed before refilling." Funny that they now say the old blue stuff is only good for two years as they didn't specify a service change interval as far as I'm aware for this type of antifreeze. Of course most sensible people asked for it to be changed every two years. Also I note they say the new red stuff can be used in older vehicles once the system has been flushed. Read more

henry k

My Rover has green antifreeze, and after reading what you wrote
I understand I should have topped it up with blue (the
choice available in Halfords being blue or orange). The chaps
in Halfords told me to use orange, which was (they said)
the same as the green already in there. Do I
understand correctly that what they told me is wrong?

I drained and flushed my old Sierra the other year only to find that Halfords had only the "new super stuff" in stock.
I used that and have had no problems. I have a slight leak so when I came to get another bottle of the same stuff they had changed its colour to pink.
I know it is the same stuff as I have the original bottle and it is much more expensive.
So bottom line is do not trust the colour.
Only sure way is drain and flush and start again
HectorG

Many Japanese engines these days seem to have cam chains rather than belts which seems like progress to me.(I see that most of Audi's new engines now have cam chains!)

Can anyone tell me if the 2.0 i-VTEC engine fitted to the Honda CR-V is belt or chain?

Many thanks

HectorG Read more

Happy Blue!

Regarding the economy, I may have some bad news....

We bought a 2 1/2 year old CR-V auto in November. It had only done 3,800 miles so we needed to run it in properly, which we have done, by giving it some good trips to the red line and it has definately got smoother and faster over the last few months.

However, the maximum economy we get, even on a run is about 25mpg, with around town reducing to 20-22 at best. Good car though and SWMBO will not not give it up without a fight.


--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?

MB

My Toyota needs a little oil and coolant - it has semi synthetic oil. My question is can I put 100% synthetic oil in (300ml) to top it up?
Also can I put in another make of coolant in or should I use Toyota\'s own stuff - again it is a small amount but getting the dealer is a bit of a trip...

thanks
MB Read more

RichardW

The biggest question here is why does the coolant need topping up? Find out before something lets go big time and lands you with a big bill!

No worries on the oil front as long as the top up oil meets the required spec for the engine.


--
RichardW

Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....

C5owner

Does anyone have my problem?

I have a C5 2.2 HDi SX auto, 2 years old, 42,000 miles.

For the last 3 months I have been plagued with ESP warnings. It has been back to the dealer 8 times and although a lot of parts have been changed the problem remains. The warning happens when accelerating at speeds between 40 and 60 mph and is quite repeatable. The problem with the warning is that it cuts down the engine power to a fraction of normal. Typically it happens when overtaking and the manoevre then has to be instantly abandoned, not a happy event!

The dealer has tried very hard to fix it but can't find the cause. I suspect that this is not a unique problem.

Can anyone tell me more?

C5owner Read more

snakecharm

hi i see the post about rerouting the air filter, this is exactly the same prob i am having is there any chance you can tell me how it was done, as citroen themselves will not change the car from standard

thanks...

xsaradriver

Just had car back today after two weeks being repaired after accident. Got insurance, car tax and current mot. Mot runs out at weekend and can't get it in to be mot'd until early next week. Does it matter being few days late on the mot ????? I know you can legally drive without an mot as long as it is to an appointment for it. Because it is a citroen it is going to a main dealer for service and mot and as something ALWAYS needs replacing it isn't straight in and out like a friendly back street garage. Is it a case of fingers crossed and hope don't get pulled between mot expiry and date of new mot ?????????? Read more

Stargazer {P}

I had a reminder from the local volvo dealership in the post exactly one month before the MOT ran out so within the window allowed for a retest and getting a certificate valid for 13 months. I rang up to make an appointment for the MOT but "sorry Sir no free
places for 4 weeks". Have now booked into my local garage...same price and not as conveniently located but a lot more flexible with timing.

What is the point of sending out MOT reminders if you havent the capacity to deal with them.

Ian L.

pullgees

Can domestic heating oil be used in diesel engines without wrecking the injector pump etc? Read more

Peter.N.

And its cheap at the moment! You can use it for running old engines by adding enough lubricant for it to feel like diesel does when rubbing it between your fingers.

I wouldn't use it in my car but I do have a diesel generator.

arnold2

Obvious question, I suppose, but since I know a thing or two about electronics, how does one test a car battery ? Presumably under full load (engine, lights, rear screen heater), and then measure the voltage drop ? What should it be, given that it's normally 12v ? Read more

liammcl

Just for info...My car wouldn't start last month ..

Called the breakdown, and the guy turned up with a new fangled electronic tester and said the battery was "A" ok, perfect...and thaty it must be something "major"

The battery had the "green" through the plastic "condition" window
and at home , a smart charger gave it a green light as fully charged too..

A plug in cig lighter voltage from ebay £5 showed the voltage dropped to 7v !

bit confused... I got a 100amp tester coil from ebay £18...

carled

Hi All,

I have a "W" reg Vectra 2.5 V6 CDX Estate that has been fine for years. In May this year, the 3 year exemption period ended and I took the car to a small local garage recommended by a friend where I had it serviced & MOT'd - no problems. 2 weeks later, I notice the onboard computer come up with "Coolant Level" warning. When I checked, the level was low, so I topped it up and sighed about the service people missing it...

2 weeks later, back came the warning again. I checked and the level had, indeed, gone down again. I took it back to the garage and accused them of muppetry and they had a quick check, then said there were no leaks and that everything looked fine and I should keep an eye on it. For the next 2 months or so, it did the same... "coolant level" warrning every 2 weeks or so.

Took it back tot he garage again and the bloke said, again, that he could see no leaks and that it could only therefore be the head gasket starting to go wrong, which in the V6 would be expensive to fix. He also said that the coolant system was a sealed system so shouldn't be going down so fast!

Anyhow - it's starting to get worse - it only takes 7-10 days now to lose around 1/2 a pint of fluid, so I'm beginning to get worried. Whereabouts would a leak most likely manifest itself so I could look around and see if I can see anything they've missed? If it is a head gasket job, what sort of price am I looking at for repair?

My other problem is the flipping garage - it seems too coincidental to me that it's fine for years, they get their hands on it and it goes wrong straight away... would I have any chance of proving misdoings against them, do you think? Read more

carled

Latest on this thread is that I was in Masterfit on Saturday getting the airbag light reset. I mentioned to the young lad about this coolant leak and he asked if it was the V6 model (he was sitting in it at the time so couldn\'t see) and when I confirmed it was he said \"it\'ll be the heat exchanger that\'s causing the problem... seen it a hundred times on Omegas and Vectras when I used to work in the repair centre. A pain to fix, very expensive, get rid\".

Fortunately I am in the process of getting rid right now!

Steve G

What is the safest way to drain petrol from a car?
Machine mart sell fuel transfer pumps but these are for diesel type fuels only.
I'm not particularly keen on the sucking on a rubber hose technique !
There must be companies who sell pumps to do this job.
Any ideas apprieciated.

Steve

Read more

TrishRich

Don't know how to - but found this on how not to:

youtu.be/hn08MlVqf_I

Peter C

The drive/fan belt on my Astra 1.4(power stearing) is looking very worn. Friendly machanic said "Easy to change levering up the pulley with a 15mm spanner." Off I went yesterday and bought the belt. Today had to buy a 15 mm spanner since it is a odd size and not in my cheap selection of spanners and sockets. Managed to lever up the pulley but then found a problem. What do I do to get the belt free from the engine and put the new one in place? Do I have to take the water pump off or some other part of the engine?

There was I thinking it was easier than when you had to slacken off the alternator. I am a little embarrassed to call the mechanic and ask for more free advice and I hope to go to work in it tomorrow.

Cheers

Peter Read more

Peter C

Thank ou very much to No Dosh for looking up previous posts and to Dynamic Dave for explaining that I need to undo the engine mount. Will set to tomorrow night and keep the old belt on until then.

Cheers

Peter