Ivor_E_Tower

Sorry - not got one; don't have to worry about springs with my home-made alternative version :ph34r:

Yes - I called it "abacus" :ph34r:

Sounds just like the problem I had when I bought mine (second-hand) - drop links almost certainly.

Ooops :lol: Sorry - my mistake - brain in neutral over lunch-time I fear.

Fingers crossed - hope all goes well; when you collect it, ask him what state the innards were in. With modern fuels, maybe there won't have been too much "coke" to de-coke! - and so long as the bores and rings are in reasonable nick, it should run like almost new after the re-build. Just remember to take it easy for the first couple of thousand miles after you collect it.

Grrrr - that means that you must need a computer to be plugged in to silence the wretched thing :lol: Can't make one out of wood :lol:

...this is why you will see some new cars advertised as having "Bi-xenon" lamps - usually only main beam units are upgradeable to xenons, but "bi-xenon" means both dipped and main beam are xenons.

Yes - just so - haven't you noticed before now - if you look through the lens covers you see two separate bulbs in each lamp unit? The inner ones are main beam and the outer ones are dipped.

What happens on the Galaxy though? If the pads wear to the warning limit, does the light only come on when you brake, or once lit, does it stay on until reset, irrespective of whether or not you are braking?

Ghia-ing up for Christmas? :lol:

This was covered some months ago - you need to check under the carpets to make sure that all the fixings are in place to take 7 seats - chances are that they are not, unfortunately. If they are, then you just need to buy the appropriate bits and another seat; really would be better to get a "proper" 7-seater in the first place.

If the gearbox ECU isn't getting the correct speed info, it may be changing up too late hence the extra fuel use. Could also be increased internal friction in the recon box, which may reduce over the next few thousand miles (but unlikely to be this).

....or pull it off and use one of the suction-cup jobbies instead!

Wise move - there is a price below which the job simply cannot be done properly and corners will be cut.

Does the Galaxy have dual circuit brakes (does any car nowadays with ABS)? When I was younger I remember dual circuit brakes being plugged as a real safety advantage; is it now law to have them? Reason I ask is because if the fluid has been moved around when the pads were changed, it may have disturbed a sensor that monitors the level between the 2 circuits and caused it to trip. This will require a re-set. I can remember having to sort this for my parents' car back in the 1970's when the local garage changed the brake fluid and activated the brake circuit failure light. They spent an hour trying to sort it and we collected the car with the red lamp glowing and a sorry excuse that they couldn't turn it off. Got it home and 10 minutes later I had it fixed. Mind you, that was in the days when you had room to climb into the engine bay alongside the engine. Modern transverse stuff all squeezed in tight, I don't know....

...from the factory. If the dealers don't sell it, then it is not available. My replacement rear wiper also misses the top part of the rear screen, and trying to bend it hasn't made it any better. Have to say that it doesn't really bother me, but maybe I'll try to make my own out of wood one day.... ;)

Have you been to the Jim Clark museum/trophy room in Duns? I went there when nearby on business many years ago now - signed in the same visitors book as Ayrton Senna.

May be worth changing the thermostat? - or is the temp sender faulty? If you go on a longer journey, does the gauge move further? On my 5 mile drive to work, the temp gauge usually moves but doesn't get to "normal" but on way home, 7 miles including 1 mile of motorway, it does get to mid-position on the gauge.

Lumpy idle, disappearing water, no sign of leak - all signs of head gasket failure. Get it done sooner rather than later to minimise consequential damage. Know of a good local garage? Shouldn't be too difficult a job; maybe 4 or 5 hours labour at most...but why did the gasket fail? Just age or something more sinister? Was all OK prior to this?

Maybe it'll tell you that you've chipped it to 143bhp and you should remove the modified chip ASAP! :unsure:

One of life's little mysteries, but they do!

Go on, Fredt, say it.....Another whining TDI owner! My aux heater's unpredicatable at the moment with the variation in temperatures that we are experiencing. Front screen heater has been used a few times these past few days too. Got a strange "meeeow" from the car last week when I parked up - the cat had jumped onto the roof and walked the entire length of the opened tailgate! Interesting trail of muddy paws when the tailgate is closed now......

Check your brake lights are working. Failed brake lamps cause the orange coil warning lamp to light up and can confuse the ECUs' (computers).

The mudflap saga: My Gal is in dire need of a wash - was going to do it on Saturday but too busy buying and fitting new kitchen tap (oh joy! Hot and cold running water again in the sink), running kids to parties etc. Just had my lunchtime walk around the site where I work (around 2000 people) and there are a number of much dirtier Sharalaxies. I can confirm that the Ford mudflaps as fitted to my Gal are a definite improvement on keeping the level of grime down. Some of those without flaps have several square feet of mud along half the bottom of the front doors, and the rear bumper sides. Mine just looks dirty grey all over and in need of a clean! The standard Ford flaps for the Galaxy do not have any logos on them and clip in place, as stated above. They should fit facelifted Alhambras and Sharans too.

Plugs/plug leads and coil/coil packs? If the temperature gauge is indicating that the water temp is not getting up to normal, this can affect performance - but then I'd expect that the ECU would let the engine run rich, as it thinks it is still warming up. Best to get the thermostat and temp sender sorted first.