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• Battery testing 21 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  [Exide] lead plate batteries in particular the text book correct way of initially charging prior to selling to a customer and the correct way to diagnose a battery failure. Initial charge: From what I can gather first I need to fill the dry cells with 1.260 electrolyte [dil. H2SO4], let them stand
• Parts for Older Japanese cars 30 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  I currently have an old Toyota Corolla (1994), it is a UK car, have found it a real problem getting spares, even service items such as HT leads, drive-belts, from motor factors. They never have any items in stock, it always takes ages for them to lookup and find suppliers/equivalents
• Vauxhall 14XE engine - a lemon? 10 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  up without the bother of a real effort to get the internal engine design right. To cap it all, the engine suffers from an intermittent and dramatic loss of power, almost stalls, accompanied by smell of burning then suddenly it's ok again. No sign of burnt components visible, have changed ht leads
• Breathing problem?! Golf Mk4 9 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  the throttle body pipe was completely squashed. It leads directly into the engine just below the oil filler cap. I inspected the oil cap and found it coated with a creamy substance. I took the car to another garage to get a battery check but this is going to take about 5 hours, the garage guy said the battery
• Audi FSI - Thinking of a new one? 27 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  one of these DO NOT ACCEPT high oil consumption as normal!!! It will lead to an overheat of the ignition coils, spark plugs, EGR valve and ultimately the exhaust valves!!! Second hand - avoid them totally as the cost for all the above AND a contaminated CAT would not be worth the hassle!!! Good
• Main dealer - is this ethical? (prize!!) 3 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  putting a new one in, nor did they tell me what they had done leads me to wonder whether this is ethical. I mean, if it didn't serve a purpose, then the manufacturer wouldn't bother fitting them would they? * XXX I've not disclosed the make or model because I don't want to prejudice any responses! I'll
• Peugeot 306 transmission failure 8 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  the left wheel move at the same speed. Spinning the left wheel never makes the right wheel move. However the fact it fails when turning a corner leads me to think its more likely to be an outer CV joint or the differential? Now if the problem is with the diff or gearbox the car will probably be scrapped
• how to get a refund due to dodgy car 3 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  a bend. Furthermore, driving at JUST 40mph down country lanes leads to a feeling of the front bobbing up and down, and you do not feel that the car is planted to the road at all. Incidentally, I took my 160 quid ebay banger with 200k miles down the same route 2 weeks back, and it stuck to the road like
• BMW 528 exhaust / cat hot tick problem 8 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  which seems to be the likely culprit for the ticking noise are the catalytic converters. They have a shield on each cat which seems to be a different metal to the exhaust, they are welded to the exhaust on the leading edge, but not at the back of the shield. They also seem to have some packing material
• Ford Fiesta MK4 12 Jun 2005 (Forum)
  been removed by the previous owner so all i have is two bare wires. The plug it should connect to is still there and connected to a wire that runs under the carpet towards the front of the car. The bare wires are black/white & purple/white and the wires that lead off towards the front of the car
• Renault's insane design 12 May 2005 (Forum)
  that the crank has excess endfloat (presumably due to thrust bearing wear - at only 60k miles) - someone else can break that news! The slight missing seems most likely due to the car needing new plugs and possibly also HT leads. Snag is that the rear plugs look almost impossible to reach. I thought there must
• New engine - who pays? 13 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  that the cooling was impeded leading to terminal overheating. They say his warranty does not cover this, the engine is wrecked and would he mind stumping up the multi-thousands required to replace it? Today, he is due to visit the servicing dealer for a cozy chat. Whilst he has had a good relationship
• Astra diesel (Isuzu) cold starting probs 19 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  that it was very common on higher mileage (mines is 144k) Isuzu engine TD Astras that the valve clearances go out, and that this leads to poor compression when cold. When things heat up, things expand and the gaps are filled, so all is fine and it runs OK. The solution is to have the tappets adjusted and maybe
• Did he really think this through? 26 Aug 2004 (Forum)
  themselves pushed along at 70 whether they wanted to go that fast or not! How can frustrating drivers help road safety? It is a well known fact that people drive more dangerously when they are stressed so causing people stress will just lead to more incidents of dangerous driving. I also find it ironic
• Renault To Go 10 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  by Renault and have been used as management or press demonstration vehicles by Renault UK, or they are cars and vans that have been used on short term contracts with some of the countries leading rental companies. Either way, we know the full history, we can validate the mileage, we can vouch for the quality
• Daily annoyance 2 Nov 2003 (Forum)
  missed three consecutive opportunities to turn as the lead vehicle isn't dealing with the junction properly. Am I expecting too much common sense or does that not come into play on the roads these days?! I can't find any reference to this particular scenario in the Highway Code - not that anyone would
• messing about with engine air intake 21 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  when the engine itself is hot. If the air is warm the engine is very nice, quiet and much more smooth. However when the air is cold, it sounds like a tractor engine, and is as smooth as an elephant?s backside. This lead me to think whether if I `heated? the air, or at least part of it, going
• New Speed Limits 21 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  none of the electronic braking aids available today. Their own tests showed a modern Mondeo was able to stop 22 metres shorter than a 1960s Cortina. Thie suggestion is that we follow France\'s lead and have an 80mph limit in dry, clear conditions, dropping to 65mph in rain, ice or fog. All sounds
• Speedo broken/poor performance/h. gasket 20 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  2500 revs and needs to be revved quite hard for a diesel on hills. Is this just a characteristic? Being an old design id guess the turbo provides most of the power. Also he thinks he is getting poor economy; what are the main causes on a diesel? His right foot is heavy but not made of lead. Finally I
• Prang-how to convince insurers? 7 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  it comes down to the insurance companies, how can I persuade them that it wasn't my fault (without lying, obviously!) As I say, the distance I travelled and the time elapsed between me starting my manoeuvre and the distance he travelled before he hit me does lead me to think that it must be his fault