Ivor_E_Tower

:P Worn in a bit now, and am still impressed with them.

Aircon failed when car about 27 months old, battery failed at just under 3 years, drop links failed at just over 2 years old and about 20,000 miles. None of these should have happened. The Honda I had previously owned for 18 years suffered from a few faults but nothing that I'd consider to be "premature". Worst, most expensive failure on that was a brake calliper seizure after about 7 years - suppose it was partly my fault for not using the brakes enough ! The pads on the other side to the one that failed were so little worn that the garage doing the repair didn't bother to change them despite ordering a set in (the new calliper came with a pair of pads).

If I had the money, I'd already have been down to my dealer to place a deposit :lol:

Dread to think what size this will come out; think it was posted here before...

...and how many of us use our cars to draw coal up from a pit ?

Personally I have never seen the point of opening tailgate glass - what I would like is where the metal lower part opens and the glazed top bit stays put - like Renault have recently done with the so-called "boot chute" on the Modus. I first suggested that Austin-Rover did this to the Ambassador when that evolved from the "wedgie" Princess, but I never got an answer to my letter, despite providing a sketch or two :rolleyes:

I've seen a few reports that say that the 2006 Galaxy is much bigger than the current one. Anyone got anything definitive on that yet? Dimensions, weights etc? Also at present the largest diesel is supposed to be the Ford TDCI 2.2 litre, not the Volvo 2.4 D5 or Jag 2.7 V6 twin turbo. So again, anyone know if these engines may be fitted a bit later on in the model's life?

PS is a sort of German metric horse-power, against HP or BHP which is good old imperial horsepower. Why do we have metric horsepower ? I don't know; do metric horses have 10 legs ? :rolleyes:

You have switched the sidelights on first, before trying to get the glovebox light to work again, I hope ............

:huh:

FWIW I can remember when 12,000 service intervals were introduced, I read an extensive technical article that said that the limiting factor on oil change intervals was the filter. Oil technology has improved greatly over the past 20,000 miles however filters still work on the same basic principle of little holes in paper elements (simplification). The filters for 12,000 mile intervals were significantly larger than those for 6,000 mile intervals. Over the last 20 years though, filter size has reduced again so there has been some improvement in filter technology, but nothing like as much as in the oil technology. So in fact, it may be better to change filters every 6,000 miles and just top the oil up, rather than doing a complete oil change every 6,000 miles. On the other hand ....... Basically you pay your money and take your choice.

No obvious visible fault with the bulbs - all were working OK but last night I changed the brake/tail lamp that I changed a few months back for another new one, and fingers crossed, the problem has not re-occurred this morning on my way in to work.

Wasn't the interval recently revised upwards, back to 60,000 ?

Had an oddd fault start yesterday. Went shopping, got into car to go home and switched headlights on. Half way home, the bulb failure light came on, but went off every time I applied the brakes. Got home and checked - the brake lights were on all the time with the sidelights. Switched sidelights off, brake lights went out. Brake lights work normally when sidelights are out. this morning, all was well (no lights on) until half way to work, when bulb failure light comes on again, but only when the brake pedal is pressed (last time a brake bulb blew, the failure light stayed lit until the bulb was changed). However, when nearing work, everything returned to normal again. Am hoping I just have a duff rear bulb where the tail and brake fillaments are touching. But if you've ever had this problem before,.......

He did say 75 mA, not 750 mA - 0.75A is definitely too high ! You could try a current probe rather than having to disconnect each major wire in turn and wiring in an ammeter. It may cost a few quid to buy one, but still cheaper than one hour's lanour at a Ford garage. Try Maplins or RS websites/shops.

So how far down the M3 from Sunbury do you want to travel? Jct 4? I'd recommend my local NW-autocentre and another independent garage, but I do not know if either actually has experience of doing a Galaxy cambelt change.

The Ford dog guard for the Galaxy is not designed to be removable. It requires bits of the trim to be cut away, and is secured IIRC by some large screws/bolts. The recommendations nowadays seem to be to go for a dog cage that can simply be pulled out of the car when not required, but of course this dooes not serve as a barrier for luggage/loads in the back. Suggest that you try local accessory shops etc if you do not get a good response here.

Inbuilt hydraulic jacks to stop the garages and tyre fitters from creasing the sills (and to make it easier to change a puncture :rolleyes: ) Aux input for the audio system Satnav as standard Oil level indicator (if Renault can do it, so can Ford) Minidisc player and DAB tuner as standard

There are apparently around 25% fewer filing stations than when the last protests took place. Even then, once supplies had resumed it took 2 weeks or more for all stations to be back to their normal delivery routine. Having been caught out then (just got back from holiday having left both cars with almost no fuel), I do not intend to have to drive with crossed fingers this time - have filled the wife's car up to the top on Friday (well, it was 2 months since I last had to put fuel in it for her). The Gal is about 3/4 full at present but I intend to go to Silverstone on Wednesday to the F1 test, so will fill up when I get close to home in the evening, assuming I can find some diesel (no queues locally yet .......)

Problem arose after a service - first thing I would do is pop the bonnet and check that the MAF wiring hasn't been disturbed, and that the air cleaner assembly looks like it has been re-assembled properly, with the correct air filter fitted the right way round. Garages have a nasty habit of not doing simple servicing tasks correctly.

Shouldn't be a pig to get to if the dealer has the correct kit (some ramps/4-post lifter).

I've had a problem in the past on a previous car with "old tyres" causing odd vibrations; they balanced out OK and I had begun to suspect the CV joints. However, as the front tyres needed changing and the backs were reasonable but several years old, I went for a new set all round and the vibrations were cured instantly.

These blades appeared after the Mark 2 had been out for a couple of years (or more). Certainly X, Y and 51-plate Galaxys have the "traditional" type of wipers, a pair of 28 inch ones which may be curved. I bought a set of Bosch ones just after I got my Gal, about 2 and a half years ago now. Last time I looked they were about

28Nm is socket-wrench tight, definitely much more than hand tight. Good luck.