August 2006
Just got back from a long wekend away in Berlin (i.e. early am Friday to late am Monday)
Was amazed that such a large city had such light traffic, even during the rush hour. Could it have been something to do with an efficient and easy to use public transport? Bus/train/tram services were excellent and clean. Several times, actually saw people swigging drinks (including beer) then leaping off train at next stop to dump bottle in waste bin, then jump on train again! Witnessed train platforms being mechanically cleaned. Paid 22 euros for a three day hop on and hop off ticket which took me on all trains, trams and buses in Berlin centre and suberbs whenever I wanted. What an excellent city! Read more
Hi
Can anyone give me some advice on how to avoid getting air in the hydraulic system when changing a push type clutch on a 406 please? Read more
Hi all,
a description of my holiday motoring woes will follow in discussion (probably after being run past DD for naming and shaming clearance), but...
The voltage regulator failed on my alternator, and was boiling the car battery, venting into the engine bay and (at lower speeds) through the ventilation system for about three or four hours of high speed driving on French autoroutes.
The alternator and battery have been replaced under warranty, and I plan to get the manufacturer to change the soundproofing on the bonnet as you can see where the fumes have melted the insulation.
My question - what else should I be pushing to have checked or changed? What else could have been damaged by the over-volting or the fumes? The car is only 8 months old and I'm planning to keep it long term (>200k miles). It's a Japanese 2.2 common rail diesel.
Cheers for your thoughts.
Gord. Read more
Quick followup. The car's been taken in by the manufacturer to be completely checked over. I'll follow up once I get the findings back
Problems in the meantime have been restricted to a period of a week or so a couple of weeks back when the alarm would sound whenever a door was opened (although indicators and lights wouldn't flash, it could be locked and unlocked normally and would start without problems while alarm sounding). Alarm has sounded very intermittantly since.
Here's hoping for no other damage...
Hi!
My mitsubishi carisma 1.8 gdi 51 plate (bad engine i know) seems to have developed a really bad tappett tick.
At first it was only noticeable when it was cold (to be expected) and that didnt last for long, however recently this ticking has become more constant regardless of engine temp. The only time it settles down is when the car is idling, and even then not all the time. I am using quite a good quality oil and have also tried a hydraulic lifter additive to no avail. Obviously i will be carrying out another oil change now but im wandering if this is a common problem and if there are any known cures.
thanks
stu! Read more
One of the buttons you press to release the locking mechanism prior to folding the back seat of my car has stopped working, the button doesn't now seem to be connected to anything, very loose action. Has this happened to anyone else - is there a way to release the mechanism to fold the seat without it - I've tried some gentle prodding with a screwdriver with no success. My car is 14 months old, Fords 3 yr warranty excludes trim - are they likely to knock me back if I try to make a claim? ( Before I ring Ford I hoped to get some idea if they're going to wash their hands of it ) Read more
The same thing happened on my Focus and the dealer sorted it at service time without any hassles.
Cheers
DP
Hi All,
Was listen to the radio the other day (forget which station) and caught the tail end of a conversation about what steps we as the car using/buying public can do to reduce our emissions (so to speak!) and environmental impact.
In this conversation, a workman was praised for trading in his old van for a new one (a Transit Connect TDCI) and the gist was that the new van has much cleaner emissions and we should all be doing that as manufacturers have made big strides in cutting pollution.
All true, except this Guy (who was doing the praising of the workman) was from the SMMT which for me made me suddenly cynical and I thought well he would say that wouldnt he - not biting the hand that feeds and all that.
Okay, this got me thinking.
I always thought that its better to soldier on with an old car doing it up when it needs it than waste world energy/materials regardless of wether the old car chucks out more emissions because your'e saving the manufacturing process and everything from ore to finished car.
Using the above theory, If you only changed your car when absolutley necessary, then at least over your motoring life you might save the production of thee or four new cars even if you only buy secondhand (cos its a knock on thing).
However, being a petrol head and a classic car enthusiast (I have an Allegro- I know, I know), I then wondered is there such thing as a point in time where a car drops out of the used car cycle i.e unwanted/old >10 years nowadays/unfashionable that you could buy with a clear concience knowing that your purchase of it is not causing the knock on effect of someone buying a new one at the other end of the market?
I'm asking cos I fancy and want to justify in my mind a pre cat 4.0 Sovereign Jag over a brand spanking Focus which I conceivable should buy (If the man at the SMMT is to be believed).
Sorry if its rambling
Cheers,
David
Read more
It's certainly not everyones cup of tea and I've never liked to follow the crowd.
Funny thing is the more she nags me to get rid of it, the more I want to keep it....
On another note - is it possible to find out how many of particular type of car are on the road? I seem to recall that someone (possibly on this forum) managed to get some sort of report from the dvla.
I'm just curious from a design point of view what backroomers think of the new square format Car magazine. Somebody just pushed an issue under my nose and asked me what I thought and what the UK market would make of it.
Firstly, I'd love to know the rational for the shortened, square format. Great way to lose your mast-head behind all the other mags on the shelf.
It's nice to see they've cleaned up the Bulletin pages and got rid of the uneccessary design flourishes but when I got to the first feature i.e. the Veyron... well I'm shocked quite frankly. I'm staring at huge golden, elegant serif drop caps that seem to have been lifted straight from Vogue or Elle. By the time you get to the American muscle car feature, they've grown to about 10 cm tall. The Renault article and Bentley article have superfluous drop caps i.e. a large cap plus the first word in full - Nnever Sseen that before.
Excessive use of gold, lots of white space and women's typography. It's just too pretty and effeminate. Perhaps I'm too set in my ways in believing car mags should look a bit butch, but I'm looking at the cover with it's white border and artsy photography and it's just screaming "interior design/photography magazine" at me.
Barlow makes a comment at the bottom of his intro "You will not be able to confuse CAR magazine for any other title out there" Damned right, boyfriend. Read more
Perhaps the format will look better and more appealing lying on the coffee table at a dealership with all of its square-cut brochures.
My daughter's headlights are very poor. They have been fitted with uprated bulbs by boyfriend but they are still pertty hopeless. She tends to drive on full beam. Taking them apart the reflectors do not look overly dull and the glass is not dull or marked. A new seat would be hideously expensive but the danger of getting s/h ones from a breakers is no telling if they will be ok ,bearing in the mind the current ones appear to be fine.
Any suggestions ? Read more
If the headlamp reflectors have become dirty and dull over time, you can try removing the headlamp units and washing them out with plenty of clean soapy water.
Remove all bulbs and pour the soapy water in through the headlamp bulb aperture. Shake well and rinse out with plenty of clean water. Afterwards use some dishwasher rinsing aid, such as Finish, to prevent streaks etc.
I tried this on a Golf III once and the results were brilliant (pardon the pun!).
What with the latest petrol engines with direct injection, seems nothing is really new...
Rolls-Royce Crecy - 2-stroke 90 degree V12 26L liquid cooled, direct petrol injection, stratified charge injection, variable blade superchargers .... Crecy number 10 achieved 2500 hp on 21 December 1944. Subsequently single cylinder tests achieved the equivalent of 5000 bhp for the complete engine ... that's 190 BHP/Litre !
That'll do in my Skoda ! Read more
detroit weasel by any perchance? starting backwards occasionally if not careful
Posting on behalf of a friend. He has a 54 plate ZR.
The drivers side door lock sometimes makes an awful grinding noise when locking or unlocking.
It sounds like cogs grinding but he's been told that they use a solenoid and if they don't get enough power they make a noise similar as they fire repeatedly. (This is the jist of what I was told, I've slept since then ;o)
Any ideas? He's had the door cards out but it's just a sealed unit... Read more
Thanks for that sgreenwood - less encouraging but worth knowing!
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Amusing story off the Britboard:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5275866.stm
Not particularly motoring related, sorry Mods.