johnswlondon

no probs,i thought it was interesting and wanted to share it,after all this site is all about technical info and development of systems. time to move on i guess. bye folks

ok first the short answer then the long answer the short answer is that a h cooke,later warden of new college (my old warden),worked for what is now the m o d in london and helped in radar equipment for use in bombing raids during ww2.so `on my radar` is a term we can thank him for,although magnetron would be a better term. I have replaced the next bit with the link to the page he copied from.mumof4 http://www.vectorsite.net/ttwiz_03.html

when you say the means of wealth creation are owned by a few,i assume you mean large companies. large companies tend to be owned by institutional investor shareholders who seek to maximise profits for their members,such as pension fund members,life assurance schemes,etc.so as often as not these stakeholders are the likes of you and me,not multi millionaires.so if these large companies do badly we all do badly.wanting to close down profitable companies can only make sense in a victorian society where there are `wealthy mill owners` or `country squires`. we all live in a quasi corporate state form which we all benefit,not just a few

the misfire is caused by water entering the combustion chambers

misfire and losing water sounds like the head gasket.the head will need skimming and a new head gasket,probably 350-400 pounds

when you press the brake pedal it puts pressure on the caliper piston to press th pads against the disk,think of it as an on /off switch.if the brake fluid is contaminated it may interfere with the correct operation of the pads,so bleeding the front of the car s brakes may help. also,it could be that the caliper pin(within the rubber bellows)is partially seized and needs greasing meaning the pads are not fully disengaging when the pedal is released.the bleeding and greasing should take about 2 hours or less

i have heard that going past high powered transmitters can wipe the memory from chips,such as mobile phone and police transmitting masts

i had a similar problem once with an old volvo. i know that the idle speed is electronically controlled,but on the fuel injected volvo there was a screw to raise the idle.engines contain a knock sensor which raises the idle speed to prevent damage to the engine and an anti stall valve for when the revs drop low. manually raising the idle speed by turning the screw on the throttle linkage should solve the problem because the engine will no longer be hunting for the correct revs,and it costs nothing to try

well now kevin,youre saying you have what we used to call a `flat spot` up to 2000rpm. i have never really spent a lot of time with fault codes. a fault with the maf unit would reduce the power output a lot,but sometimes something as simple as a bad tank of fuel can be responsible,the use of cheap oil can make the valves stick or a blocked or faulty fuel injector(redex sells an injector cleaner to mix with the fuel),so too a blocked air filter i suppose what im really saying is eliminate the obvious first

claire,is your speedo is reading km not miles?

i have experienced similar problems on other cars and it is usually a blown fuse.what happens is that when one of the fuses blows it causes malfunctions of other dash display items eg rev counter,lcd readout or even indicators.if not a fuse then a relay.sometimes fuses look ok but change them anyway

my sister had an engine fire while driving along the m2 a couple of years ago. the fire brigade put the fire out and the aa towed her into the services at about 2am in midwinter,it was about minus 4 that night. she only had roadside assistance not relay so the aa man....left her and the car at the services on the m2. i had to drive round the m25 /m2 to rescue her and tow the car back. i think it is just common decency not to leave a lady at a motorway service station in the middle of the night with a car which could never run again(the fire brigades words). so before you are too quick to join the aa,think of this tale....when you see the adverts saying ...its cheaper than you think to join the aa...just 39 pounds. yes,if you like your family stranded in midwinter at the motorway services. if someone reading this works for the aa...great work

sounds like a transponder fault-have you tried using a different key,or seeing if the problem occurs between locking/unlocking car,suggesting an alarm fault

linkage problem i think,quite cheap to fix.

in general terms,the cooler the air surrounding the engine the better the fuel economy and performance of the engine.this is because a cold (air)induction charge is more dense than hot air induction,making the combustion process more effective. so removing items which insulate the engine from cold air(especially ram effect cold air as you accelerate) will help the engine breathe 1.remove the plastic sump tray which doubles as a splash guard,how important this is to you may depend on how much deep water you regularly pass through,but for townies it is of limited use 2.on the 2.0 and 2.3,remove the front pipe in front of the air filter box completely to aid ram effect,the air will then be drawn from around the base of the passenger side headlight. 3.remove the base of the air filter housing,and make 3 half centimetre holes by sticking a screw driver through the dirt collection cones moulded into the base there will be a slight increase in induction noise but this just tells you the intake is less restricted

some models have a wear indicator on the pads and some dont.the brake pad suppliers say cut the wires if your car doesnt require them! one reason why the higher spec models can cost dearly to service.regular greasing of brake parts (pins,the caliper bracket contact point with pads,and electrical connections should be done every 6 months to avoid huge bills. you were very lucky the sliding pins hadnt seized,did they regrease the sliding pins when fitting the new pads because the corrosion you mention is a clue that the pins may need service also.some people recommend coppergrease because it cant damage the pads,but regular grease just means more care is needed

sounds a bit like the belt going,the engine will race if there are no valves! it is tempting to throw good money after bad, buying and having a reconditioned engine fitted is no guarantee that it will go well.often these replacement engines have led very sorry lives.between galaxy owners(and just my opinion)these replacement engine fitters are a load of cowboys,who cut corners on the service items like new head gaskets and long bolts,reuse shells and bearings and leave all sorts of debris floating round ready to finish off your reconditioned engine.in other words,if the existing engine cant be repaired cheaply,scrap the car. i would buy another galaxy right now,dont even wait to deal with your old one. i would avoid the v6 and the deisel and go for the cheap and cheerful 2.0,preferably without airconditioning because this can cause problems,also avoid electric rear windows,and ex mini cabs sell your old parts on ebay,or the whole car for spares or repairs on ebay.i would sell the whole car for spares or repairs and expect to get about 180 pounds

the 2.0 galaxy can return excellent fuel economy with sufficient attention to detail 1.avoid roof boxes at all cost,they add huge wind resistance. 2.avoid roof bars and if possible remove or dont fit roof bars 3.remove mud flaps 4.avoid low profile tyres 5.if you never carry more than 4 passengers then remove the extra seats accordingly 6.avoid going above 50 mph,driving at 60 will use one third more fuel over the same distance as at 45 7.avoid the lead foot syndrome-you`re not in a ferrari! 8.anticipate road conditions,needless braking is wasted fuel 9.check tyre pressures weekly 10.lower viscosity oil reduces engine internal friction,especially in winter 11.drive with the windows closed at all times,use the fan to cool the car 12.avoid the air conditioning where possibe the 2 litre can crack 44mpg with care on a motorway

i was always a bit disappointed how many fords had drums at the rear,to me it made me question the quality of the ford badge,so it was great to see that even the aspen has rear discs.

hello amanda, very interested to hear your problem,thought i would give you my 2 cents. i notice you have the ghia model,so it would have an alarm,immobiliser and remote central locking,yes? now,i suspect that when you have locked the car you have activated the alarm,and when you open it the alarm has not deactivated,and this has immobilised your car.so i am guessingthat it is not an immobiliser fault but an alarm fault.if you can deactivate the alarm temporarily you would be able to check if this is true,pull out the alarm fuse when the car is starting ok,then see if the immobiliser problem persists.

very interesting problem,i really dont know if you have one sliding pin or two. brace yourself for a big bill if the part has seized onto caliper bracket-must be about 60 minimum for the new bracket and sliding pin(s) and bellow(s) dont forget that when fitting the new pads you need to open the bleed valve at the same time as using a brake winding tool to wind the brake piston back into the caliper,because the new pads will need more clearance

quoting you per wheel is bizarre because pads should always be replaced in axle pairs to prevent pulling to one side during heavy breaking.i am humming that song `how bizarre` to emphasise how bizarre the quote was-im assuming it wasnt a ford dealer that said it!

the audi a8 has this fitted,it is really spooky!not sure how practical it is but a lot of fun!

if these really worked the manufacturers would fit them

roof spoilers may improve performance by generating downforce but ,like most exterior modifications,they will increase fuel consumption.if you have a roof box,it is wise to take it off when not in use for this same reason