MrT

Just buy any suitable sized metal safe or locking box, two 10mm thread rawlhooks, two 10mm, wing nuts, two 10mm ID x 25mm OD washers and two compression nuts from a 15mm plumbing fitting. You cut the rawlhooks back so there is around 3cm of thread left on the hook. You drill two 12mm holes in the strong box to match the spacing of the seat mounts. The rawlhooks hook under the seat mounting bars in the slots in the floor, the threaded part passes through the base of the secure box. You then put a plumbing compression nut over each thread where it acts as a spacer and allows the curvature of the rawlhook. You then put the normal washer and wing nut on each rawlhook and tighten it down. The secure box cannot be removed without opening it to remove the wing nuts and it is as strong as the box and the floor mounting bracket. All you have to do now is disguise or hide the box so some idiot does not break in to try and open it. Car carpet or a rubber mat works quite well. Or if you have a rear compartment cover, that is fine. I use one for my laptop and in-car gizmos. Then Ford do an under seat (driver or passenger) secure box for about

Engine Torque alone is pretty meaningless when talking about performance. Torque is merely the rotational force, the important measure is the rate of how fast work can be done which is Torque x Angular Velocity (force x speed). A 100g Hamster in a 700m diameter wheel could produce around 330nM of torque. 330nM at 2000 rpm is the same output as 110nM at 6000 rpm.

Get one of the better models where ESP and traction control will prevent the wheels from slipping.

Why worry about slight differences in MPG unless you are a high mileage user? The difference between a 50mpg and 40mpg is less than

Are you sure this wire runs to the clock connector? You may well be right, but on some Galaxies, there is an extra wire that connects to the two-diode protected earth signal on the internal light. This earths when the light is on by either the integral switch or the courtesy light system. This extra wire is to stop the auto-dim function on the mirrors (where fitted) whilst the internal light is on.

45Kg for four off road bikes plus locks plus carrier is not particularly heavy at around 10Kg per bike. The tailgate cannot be opened, well I have not tried it. My concern is whether the load is limited by the roof bars strength, the roofs strength (it takes the weight of the tailgate load and the roof load), or the stability.

The Galaxy manual states that you can carry 75Kg on the roof bars. I also have the Ford Galaxy bike rack that mounts on the tailgate that weighs approx 45Kg with three bikes. Can I carry 75Kg on the roof plus 45Kg of bikes on the tailgate or just 45Kg of bikes plus 30Kg on the roof?

I get over 300 miles on the V6 Auto without the warning light coming on. Average consumption is about 25 mpg on long trips and about 22 in town. You can push it to 28mpg with slow driving, but you don't buy a V6 to drive like that. Mind you last week it sustained 8mpg for a few minutes or so, fully loaded with 4 bikes on the back, going a little above the speed limit on the long climb shortly after leaving Dover on the A20. The Mk1 V6 Auto got around 16mpg in town and 21 on long trips, quite a bit more petrol with 25bhp less as well.

Surely it needs a wastegate to dump the pressure when you lift off to change gear etc?

Just a thought, how does the ABS system release pressure on a wheel? It must somehow allow the fluid to "pass back" to release the pressure on a particular brake cylinder? Perhaps this "pass back" is allowing the pedal to drop?

Ford disabled from the remote about the time of the facelift as this was perceived to be dangerous. Apparently is can be re-enabled from the cars ODBI system.

That's because they are not the proper wipers. They may be OK for the metal frame type replacement, but they are very poor cousins of the Aero.

Mnay eBay sites claim the latest Galaxy wipers but if you look at the pictures the blades have the metal frame, these are not the proper frameless Bosch Aero Twin Wiper that the later Galaxies use.

Also you need to check which model the Ford radio came out of. There are various versions of the same model, as an example my wifes Fiesta and my Galaxy have the same number radio, but on the Fiesta the front of the radio is curved to follow the dash contour whilst on the Galaxy it is flat.

If you have a friend who works for BT, they may be able to get your car serviced at their fleet workshops at a competitive price and a high standard of workmanship. My wife get her Fiesta done there and I have been impressed by the work.

I have found that the Ford clips will fit nicely around the handle bar or seat stems. The lower clamps have long tongues so that you have to open the boot to fit or remove them. I have not checked if the hole body will pull away from the tongues if you unscrew it enough. There are some holes in the side of the main mounts, not sure if they are for some form of security. I have found that if you join two cable locks together they will fit through the cars tow hook and the bike wheels. The clips that fit into the top hinges have plastic strips to protect the top of the tailgate, but you will also need some additional plastic strip on the very rear of the roof panel as you are bound to bump this with the clips when attaching them. I have not put the plastic strips on yet, but I really don't like the idea of their appearance when the bike rack is removed which will be most of the time. They are not very sticky, but then again they are not surface held like tax disk holders. I wonder where you could get soft clear plastic that you could make disposable protective strips from? I have wondered if it is possible to change the rear sensors distance triggers in the management system as there appears to be a lot of variables in there. One day if I get time I might write down the settings and try and adjust them. If you are reversing up to another car, the bike rack would probably clear their bonnet!

Which gives me an opportunity to ask again, how do you enable the light using diagnostics? I have diagnostics, but no light!

I see that FordPartsUK (Edwards Ford) now do a chrome upgrade kit for the Galaxy for

Engine bay light? Not got one of those or I have never noticed it, where does it sit?

There is a large grommet about 10cm above and to the left of (looking from the inside) the steering column shaft where is passes through the bulkhead. The main cables run through this. It is difficult to reach from the outside and you will need to take the airfilter cover off (depending on model). On the inside the clutch pedal could possibly make it difficult to access but I don't know as I don't have a clutch pedal.

After reading this forum thread and getting my ear bent by my wife I have just bought the Ford bike rack and I am not comfortable about using it. I have not put it on the car yet, but I have quite a few questions/concerns that are probably easy to work around, but others may have found simple solutions before I start modifying things or spend a few days re-inventing the wheel. 1. The rack comes with some stick-on clear plastic strips to protect the car paintwork. I assume that these strips are semi-permanent? I don't like the idea of bits of sticky plastic left all over the back of my nicely polished car when I remove the rack. What has anyone else done about this issue? 2. Do any of the clips scratch the adjoining areas such as bumper or roof? 3. The two spacers that separate the upper half of bikes on the rack by attaching to the cross-bars of the bike appear to be designed to fit round 25mm circular tubes. Some of our bikes have oval cross sectioned frames about 25mm x 45mm. How do you space these? 4. The rack is built to take 3 bikes, can you squeeze a fourth kids bike in between adult bikes or are you betting sticking this inside the car when the rear row of seats are out? I did not want to fit a towbar just to go for a four bike rack and I don't really want to use the roof and it would cost a lot just to fit one extra bike on the roof. 5. The tray part of the rack folds up when the bikes are not on the rack, yet the clip in the outer wheel tray will not clip to the frame as the grey foam gets in the way, is this normal or have I a problem? 6. Visibility; I assume you can see nothing out the back window when the bikes are there? 7. Security; How secure are the bikes and rack on the back of the car against theft? I would hate to go into a service station and come out and find the whole rack and bikes gone. 8. Can you open the rear hatch with the rack and/or bikes on it? Any other usage tips would be appreciated.

Why should Ford provide a free service to look up a database for those who fail to look after their information? Needless to say the idea of a security code is to lessen the risk of the radio being stolen and the damage being done to the car in the process. By making security codes available, this invalidates the benefit of having one. This benefits Ford as they can sell new windows, wiring and radios.

As the programs are not written by Ford and contain Ford copyright algorithms, I don't see how the programs can be copyrighted without Ford's consent.

It really annoys me to see people who have downloaded this, selling it on eBay for

Who's talking about flogging it, if it was sold I would retain the number? Leaving the social wrongs and rights out of this, many people want to have the latest car and be seen in it. A car is a status symbol, it is perceived to reflect your success and wealth. Some people spend a lot of money to try and achieve this, eg BMW drivers. So if you want to look like you have the latest car, you don't want your number plate to give away the fact that it is several years old. It's a lot cheaper to buy a plate that hides the age than to buy a newer car that will do nothing that the existing one does not. This works fine and well until they bring out a new model. The drive to make your car look new is so great that the DVLA will not allow number plates on car that make them appear newer than they are, so you cannot put a 54 plate on your 51 reg car. If this was allowed people would buy new plates in preference to new cars and the motor industry would get most upset.