June 2005
i have a 99 vectra and had the aircon regased three times in the last nine weeks.there must be a small leak somewhere but finding it is impossible.it has been injected every time with a green dye but no trace of it.the gas will last around three weeks at a time. is there a place on the car im not lookig at to find this ...please help...
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If a Notice to Owner is issued after 6 months is invalid, can a Council then go and issue another one? I have had this happen to me. thanks.
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Can anyone please tell me how to adjust the clock? Read more
In Discussion it wouldn't have been but at the time the thread was in Technical Matters. And in TM we limit the chat and comments.
One could get caught out. Like claining one's been off-roading near Dawlish (where the mud is red) while the RAV4 is covered in brown stuff.
SS
I just bought a "very clean" two and a half year old Rover 25, with a few nice extras, for just over £3000 from a good local dealer. Great deal I thought. The same car age-wise, from a nearby supermarket (NOT a "leg-breaker" finance place) was six grand. Why are people so mad? These places look very nice and they give you a cup of coffee, and the sales staff have nice smiles, but...
OK, I've heard that some places are cheap, but other places in the North are horrifically expensive. yet they thrive. Why? I think it's a shame.
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Carcraft in Leeds had a three year old MINI One with no extras for £13,600.
The same car brand new from a MINI dealer would have been nearer £12,000.
That, combined with the skin-crawlingly irritating salesmen make me wonder how they stay open.
-- Lee Having a Fabialous time.
I hit a speed hump (the tabled kind with entry and exit ramps) a bit too hard on Thursday. It was early morning with the sun shining straight at me, so I didn't see it until it was too late.
As a consequence I have cracked the sump
It is made of die cast alloy rather than pressed steel, which would have just dented, which I guess has shattered / split. It looks like I have just caught the back of the sump where the drain plug is.
Car has been recovered to the nearest Skoda dealer, as it is still under warrenty. They can't do the repair for two weeks as they are too busy. The nearest other dealer to them has recently burn't down, so they are rammed with work.
Dealer is quoting £200 - £300, with 1.3 hours of labour. Has this happened to anyone else with a similar VAG car? and can anyone give a definite cost (London labour rates)
I know that the Octavia rides very low, as does the Mk IV Golf which it is based on, and also that VAG sell steel underbelly's which replace the existing plastic cover. Is this a common problem???
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Over the last couple of years I've had to replace three VW caddy van sumps. The damage on all three was the same, the sump plug takes a knock and the sump cracks around the plug. On two of them the plastic undertray was ripped off, but on the last one the tray was intact and undamaged. Whatever hit it caused the damage by forcing the tray into the sump, the tray then returning - unmarked, to it's normal position. The VW parts delivery girl reckons she delivers a couple of sumps a week.
Thinking of getting some sat nav, a portable one. Has anyone any suggestions or good/bad points to consider about any of them out there, any good/bad shops or software?
I'm considering Go/Tom Tom, just because its been advertised recently. Possibly will go for something from halfords. AM also looking at getting a PDA with some kind of software, or even a phone (O2 XDA or other networks' equivalent...).
Any thoughts? Read more
I use Tom Tom Go and have just upgraded to latest map and software.
I like it - it will do 5 - 6 hours without recharging so no need for cables and wires most times and looks neat and tidy on the dash. To save battery it can be switched off on those parts of journey you do not need it.
Some built in sat nav I have heard of are rubbish but whilst Tom Tom is not absolutly perfect at times I find it very very good and handy - and ypou can move it from car to car.
You can have a version with camera warnings and with bluetooth you can link to your mobile. worth thinking about - for me I would not go with PDA unless I was doing a lot of walking or cycling.
an oil change is well overdue on my T5 that i am about to sell. Volvo will do the oil change when it goes in for a service in 3 weeks but i need to go down to norfolk a few times, so i'd like new oil in, you know how it is. anyway, i have purchased an oil filter but now need the oil - 5w-40 fully synthetic. During the last service volvo changed my oil and repalced it with 'Shell Helix Ultra 5w-40 fully synthetic'. I need 6 litres of the stuff but i am wondering wheather i need to buy the shell stuff or morris oil - i was wondering whether it would work the same as the shell oil or is there some difference, as the shell oil is so much more expensive!! Should i re-fil it with Shell or Morris oil? Any help is appreciated Read more
I have used their semi-synthetic oil for many years, wonderful stuff. You will have no problems using the fully syntrh from Morris' - a very well repected company that doesn't spend a fortune advertising. They have an excellent customer servce division too - email them your car details and they will email back their recommendations of which oil to use. Give it a try.
2001 Vectra. I have a slight weep from the low pressure pipe that runs across the radiator where the flexible pipe is crimped onto the solid pipe and have been quoted £250 to replace. Is there an alternative repair possible?
Chris M Read more
Thanks. I thought I was clutching at straws.
Chris M
I had an earlier post about oil levels and smoke in this car...
I have changed the oil and fuel filters and also replaced the oil.
Now my car wont start. I think it is an airlock. I have filled the fuel filter with diesel prior to fitting. The engine ran for a short while then started to labour before cutting out and now it wont start.
does this sound like an airlock and if so, how do i bleed it?
Ta Read more
I have had a few diesel's, latest is an AX 1.5d. You have air in your fuel system, and it needs to be bled free of air. I have had this several times and every time I have cleared the air from the system simply by continually churning the engine over on the starter,throttle to the floor,it does take some time and you need a good battery. When it does eventually start it fires intermitantly,just continue churning continuously.It will stop fireing,just continue churning.Do not stop turning the engine over until it runs continually. I know it takes forever, but all my diesels have 'self bled' this way.
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Compressor front seal is very common.
£250 sounds a bit cheap for a new compressor, fitting and a recharge. Where's the compresor coming from, as they're normally about £250 just for the part. Takes about an hour I think.