May 2009
Hello All,
Owner of a 1.4 HDI 307 Estate with 114,500 "roughly" on the clock. Owned since new and do about 100 miles a day.
A few weeks ago, the car went into limp mode "as far as I know" a few times but was every so often but never brought up a warning light.
Had it serviced then was fantastic for a week, then kicked into limp mode and never recovered.
Then finally the dreaded "Anti-Pollution" and engine management light popped up one day I used my DIY Diagnostic tool to find one fault.
P0401 - EGR Flow Insufficient.
So I got the EGR valve replaced and cleaned out all the tubing free of carbon build up.
Got it all back together, ran fantastic for a day or two.
Then it went back to the same symptoms as limp mode but its not limited as much at the revs (ie I can get it over 3k this time in 1st 2nd and 3rd) just takes so long, feels like the turbo doesnt give any boost.
No faults are being shown on the dash or on the diagnostics.
All I notice is that the engine bay is extremely hot because of the turbo.
I am now stuck as to what the problem is. Ive been suggested to put in 1/2 a litre of T2 oil?? Another suggestion was that the turbo wastegate is stuck?
Any advice as to what to do next is much appreiciated please :).
Regards,
Pete. Read more
I really need to start thinking about replacing my old car, and with the new government scrappage scheme, this seems like a good time. My current small car is a 1998 Nissan Micra 1.3 GX, but it really is starting to get old. It struggles to hit 60mph, it has a very poor safety rating, the fuel economy can't be brilliant, and the central locking is now completely bust.
I've narrowed my choice of a new car down to the brand-new 2009 Ford Ka Style, and the newly restyled 2009 Toyota AYGO Blue, but I'm really unsure which to get, because the reviews they get are quite similar, and they seem to be getting 4/5 stars everywhere.
The Ka Style costs £8,595 whereas the AYGO Blue costs £8,835 (5-door), but the AYGO has £20 road tax because of its CO2, cheaper insurance across the board, and a much higher MPG of 62.8 combined (compared with the Ka's 55.4). It also seems that the AYGO comes with more equipment as standard - Bluetooth Hands-free and iPod integration (£200 on the Ka) and Side airbags (£150 in the Ka) for example.
My anticipated annual mileage would be around 10,000 miles - mostly around-town travelling with the occasional motorway journey.
I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas? Thanks in advance! Read more
I drove ours on Sunday for 140 miles of rural roads and enjoyed them all. The fuel gauge finally moved a mile from home!
I estimate high 60s mpg for that trip and the aircon was on all the time.
My Almera's lower front crossmember is gradually going the same way as many a Micra crossmember. There's a couple of small (1cm ) holes rusted in it, and one of the drainage holes has gradually been rotting away. The latter is now a ragged hole of about 6 or 7 cm in max diameter, and the surrounding metal is very weak.
Questions:
How bad does is have to be before it goes from pass to advisory to fail? I went through my last MOT fine, though the hole was smaller (about 3 or 4 cm). I've also used underseal on the crossmember to try to slow things.
What are the merits and costs of reconditioning it? I assume this would be by welding a plate over the damaged area. How much would this be for labour?
What about having the crossmember cut out and replaced? Anyone have an idea of how much a new crossmember would cost, and an idea of labour time?
Finally, would it make sense to have the entire front panel replaced? I can find this as a pattern part for about £65 quid. Or does the labour involved mount up dramatically?
Many thanks for reading this.
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Thanks very much for this link. I've now posted pics of the xmember in their forum, to ask for opinion. It seems to be that it's at the advisory stage, not so far gone as to fail.
If I can, I'll have it patched, given the age and value of the car.
I have just bought myself an 02 325i Touring. Checking the plate inside the door it advises 2.3 bar on the front and 2.8 on the rear. When this converts to PSI it seems an awful lot compared to any other car I have had. Now whilst I'm sure that they know what they talking about, can anybody advise if this usual for BMW/e46 s or is it because its the Touring ?
PS I had to put a lot of air in the rears especially.
Many thanks
P Read more
The definitive answer will be in the Owners Guide.
I posted a while back that my engine sounds a bit tappety. I had soem spare time today so began to have a good look down the oil filler and I could see quite a lot of sludge on the engine block wall, the camshaft area looks ok but there was a bit of sludge on one of the of camshaft bolts.
I am suspecting this sludge is blocking a yet or something or just stopping the oil from properly reaching the tappets so it does need removing. However what is the best way of removing this? I have always been warned against engine flushes but in this case is it the best cause of action? Should I just get another oil change done (as suggested once on here).
Oil was changed 480 miles ago but I suspect before that it had done 15k without a change. Read more
I am suspecting this sludge is blocking a yet >>
Oil was changed 480 miles ago but I suspect before that it had done 15k without a change >>
IMO, your engine could have suffered some serious real damage. I think you should get a new engine fitted before you go on your long journey to the wild frontier. ;-)
Doing a few routine service items on the old Corsa. Easy access to everything so far.
But the fuel filter is something which appears to be a little different. I guess it is under the fuel tank somewhere- is it easy to reach?
Haynes says to depressurise the fuel system by dismantling the front parcel shelf , removing door seals etc etc. before removing a relay. Is this absolutely necessary and would not the relay be powered down by disconnecting the battery?
All comments welcome.
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Think I'll quit while I'm ahead with step sons banger. Plugs, air cleaner, oil and filter done. Access is superb to all these items- unlike my last VW.
I'd to ram a screwdriver through the oil filter ,twice, to remove it. A tip I think I remembered from Practical Motorist back in the '60s. The new Mahle filter went on using my BMW bike tool a spare BMW sump washer also went on. I now claim we have a BMW - Vauxhall hybrid.
***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 24 *****
***** This thread follows on from VOLUME 22 *****
Another thread for commenting on rare, unusual, old or just plain daft cars etc.
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868158 Read more
A Bugatti 4 door saloon - a quick Google reveals it may have been a type 49. No idea how much this is worth as websites all state POA which suggests if you have to ask you can't afford it!
Driving through Stuttgart yesterday I overtook a driving school car. Nothing unusual in that except it was a Mercedes CL500 complete with the driving school sign on the roof, stickers on the doors, and all the little additional mirrors that commonly adorn driving school cars. I've no idea whether it had dual controls or not, but it certainly puts the Fiesta 1.1L that I learned to drive in to shame. Anyone top that? Read more
HUGE discounts, my dad's an instructor and has recently bought a new Corsa diesel when he knew the new fiesta was coming out i think he's missing out on an extra 12mpg or so which with the miles he covers would be paid in about a month for the extra outlay on the comfortable, practical non-annoying indicatored fiesta...(my mum has his old fiesta mk6 and i actually want that with it's 90k miles on it more then his shiny Corsa and he's confused as to why.)
Nicest i've seen was a 1st lotus driving school elise :)
Hi all, need some advice.
I brought a secondhand rx8 from a mazda dealer under their ZZ scheme last feb. (34, 000 miles, full serv hist, 192 bhp)
Essentially in Aug 08 the engine warning light flashes up on the dashboard and local dealer diagnoses lambda/oxygen sensor fault and replaces it for free under my 1 year extended warranty.
In Jan 09, same story again, another dealer replaces another oxygen sensor for free.
In May 09, guess what??? Yes you guessed it!! Another dealer diagnoses oxygen sensor fault, the warranty has expired so they want to bill me £350 for sensor plus labour plus VAT!!
So this is my scenario, I have a few questions about what I should do.....
a) I have confirmed by speaking to all 3 garages that the same pre catalytic sensor has failed 3 times in 10 motnhs...why??, mileage has been no more than 11,000 miles in that time??
b) yes i do drive the car enthusiasticly but only when warm, is this normal?
c) why is my mazda dealer saying to me that anything repaired under their extended warranty scheme carries no warranty what so ever and that that when the warranty expires i am liable for full costs, is that fair or nonesense?
d) should i expect an offering from mazda, i.e. push for whole payment or partial or are they likely to shaft me!
Any ideas would be most appreaciated!!!! Read more
Thank you-both N_C and mjm.
hi i was really hoping somebody can help me out here, im busy restoring my 205 1.9 gti 1988 model. i currently banned form driving so its my project, i have bean strating it up and letting her run for about 10 mins a day, but one i ran out of fuel, i filled up my petrol can before i put it in the tank i was doing a bit engine clean up making all the metals shine again, i had the fuel rail off ect. and clean it up with a wire brush, any way i put my petrol in the tank and started it up the car was ideling at 2000 rpm and eventually dropped to normal and started missing hugely when i rev it it wont go past 4000rpm and when it hits 4000 it misses hugely and you can hear popping in the exhaust and it stinks which leads me to belive its over fueling ive checked the spark and they seem to be working fine. also i should say that since this is happening my fuel pump has gone mega loud i thought it was starving of fuel but i dont no any more..... please help, thanks. lee
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oil or water i mean sorry
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Not sure if this thread is still going, or if there is another one that someone can direct me to? Having the same problem, I serviced the engine today, flushed the oil, changed the oil and filter, put a new airfilter in it. Noticed the breather going into the turbo was a little oily so cleaned the pipe and sprayed some cleaner into the turbo on idle to try to push a little of the muck through. Now im getting the antipolution warning and the car will rev as described above. Any advice on how you guys got over this would be great, can ran great before i serviced it!!!