December 2004
Hi,
Having had no luck from an earlier thread on the hot running of my brothers 1997 ZX 1.4i (60k miles)I have another concern.
The original problem was that it ran between 90 - 100 degrees all the time (nearer 100 on motorway). The owners manual says this is correct, and indeed the fan cuts in at 100 degrees. But I would have thought with a new thermostat (88 deg) that it should run cooler, especially when the ambient temp is only 3 degrees.
The reason I am concerned about the head gasket is that while changing the coolant over Xmas I noticed some brown mayo/sludge in the header tank. I am usure whether this is oil deposits or just from the previous owner doing short didtances.
Everything else seems fine, it runs smooth, pulls well, has no sign of water in oil, and water level stays constant. Cuold it be remains from an old gasket problem, and how can I clean it out, and engine flush with a hose failed to remove it.
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Neil T
Mondeo Ghia TDCi 130 Estate, SEAT Toledo 20VT Sport, Various Montegos... Read more
I am at my wits end here. My 95 Omega V6 estate has an odd problem in that it slowly wanders to the right when braking gently, holding the wheel still. If you do it not holding the wheel the wheel steers slightly left and the car pulls up straight. Even stranger when you brake really hard the problem disappears! Have stripped down and checked the calipers and changed pads, replaced both front wishbones 6 months ago. Checked tyre pressures etc and had tracking done in September when I replaced a track rod end. Only things left, could it be a rear brakes problem? Any ideas? Read more
Maybe an MOT test would be best to eliminate the brakes, does anyone know if these machines will test imbalance between both sides of an 'axle'?
have a T reg Polo up to now I have had it serviced in VW garages so have a full VW service history, but at a price!! is it worth keeping this up or should I get it serviced somewhere cheaper?
Angie Read more
I've a five-year-old Bora and, since I got it nearly two years ago, the basic work such as MOT tests and oil and filter changes have been entrusted to National with complete success; even more importantly, the cost is a fraction of the local VW service centre with MOTs, for instance, at half-price.
www.national.co.uk/
Original Equipment parts are readily available and, again, at greatly reduced costs from G(erman), S(wedish) and F(rench) Car Parts:
www.gsfcarparts.com/
You can order online or visit one of its outlets - a catalogue can be ordered online and you can find out for yourself just how reasonable its prices are for various marques.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
I have recently bought a 52 Laguna 1.9, It has just had it's 36,000 service. When the engine hits just over 1000rpm there is a very loud, and worrying, vibration this vibration subsides as soon as it passes this point. This vibration is at its worst in slow moving traffic when the engine is constantly at about this speed.
Is this normal or is there some underlying problem?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Read more
I've a 1.9DCI with 96k, had a similar buzzing vibration and traced to the front section of the exhaust. The front pipe has a convoluted flexible section which is covered with a supporting mesh, the joint seems to sag and cause a vibration. Not wanting to replace the front pipe just yet, I wrapped the flex joint with a stainless repair sleeve from Halfords which gentle grips the outer mesh to the convoluted section. Noise now stopped, and its been fitted for approx. 6months & 10k with no problems. Its worth checking. An easy check is to get someone to hold the engine speed at approx.1000 -1200rpm, (until noise develops) and grip/apply side pressure on the rear silencer on its flex mountings, on my car the noise would disappear, this action tensions the afore mentioned front flex joint.
My wife has a T reg Polo when there's a frost the lock freezes and can't open doors or boot is this normal for polo's? any suggestions to stop this?
terry Read more
Careful spraying too much oil into the locks. You'll end up diluting and washing out the grease that's been put there during assembly of the car.
This thread should help you. Pay particular attention to Cyd's comments.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=8483
Also read this thread:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=19068
Here's the list of prices:
62.232.35.97/pls/thurlby/site.view_specials
See if you can find the car that's half price ... Read more
The ride seems fine, although I haven't thrown it around yet. It does have lowered suspension and 17" rims.
Just bought a 51 reg vectra estate with 100,000 miles on the click and I'm wondering what I should keep an eye out for?
It's the 2.0 DTI engine and it's been serviced at the 20k interval by a main dealer. Everything seems to work ok (yet to test the ABS) but as I'm new to these cars, after a few years of xantia ownership, I'm keen to know if there are any problem areas I should keep an eye out for. Read more
hi,
ive got a problem with my heater in my 216 sli (n reg)
had the car about a month now and it was running perfectly,
but just over a week ago it went on its 1st motorway trip,
after about an hour i noticed i couldn't get any heat from the blowers,
i got off the motorway for 30 mins then it started working again,
however over the last week, i very rarely get heat out of the car,
the temperature guage is showing normal and the car runs fine,
is it just a new thermostat needed or could it be more serious?
thanks, korky Read more
"Do you mean. it cools down while driving.When you sit in traffic/idle its warm?"
no,it will work occasionally when driving, not sat in traffic, but then it shuts off, as far as im aware, im sure the guage is fine too,
the water level is fine too, ive proberly checked it half a dozen times in the past week or so, as i say, i'll flush the system out and ive just ordered a new thermostat for it too
I have a problem with starting my '93 reg Fiesta in that the engine will turn over but will not actually start. Started fine one morning, problem occured the next. Could this be the starting motor?
Read more
Hi Matt
Thanks for coming back with your outcome. I guess my first question should have been "is fuel getting to the plugs" and "are they sparking"!
Hi
Got a really strange problem I need help with.
Whilst driving along my airbag/seatbelt light comes on and then all of a sudden my dash lights and external lights dim, i have no brake lights or hazards and the car slowly comes to a halt. I got it going again just by pumping the throttle? the car kangaroo hopped for about a min then all of sudden everything came on full blast, lights an all and was back to normal.
This has happened to me twice now. The first time was on a cold morning, I had heaters and everything on in the car full blast whilst I was scraping the ice of the outside. As soon as I got into the car and stuck it in reverse it died. I had to jump start the battery to get it going again that time.
Seems like an earth problem but no idea where to start looking! Read more
think have solved the problem. We had checked all of the cables between alternator and battery etc and all were clean and looked ok. Tested alternator and it was charging battery ok too.
I read on another site about a similar problem. Guy checked a cable between the alternator and the starter motor. The cable inside the insulation had snapped, so he had not noticed it at first.
Checked this cable on my car and was very very loose. Took 3 good turns on a spanner to get it tight.
Fingers crossed thats all it was!
Thanks
Browse
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Almost certainly an indication that the head gasket is in distress and allowing oil under pressure to leech into a waterway. Less likely is a crack between oil gallery and water jacket in the head itself. It wont show up with a coolant combustion leak test. First priority is to flush out the system and see if sludge returns. Best product for this is Forte Bio degreaser, used it several times on K series rover when the inevietable gaket failure fills the sump with water which turns to yogurt!.Only available to trade so try a couple of workshops locally or email me for supply.
Andrew
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Simplicate and add lightness!!