MrT

So a head on between a Gal and a Smart Car, which one would you rather be in?

Even if you don't claim, you still need to inform your insurance company otherwise if she claims against you, you could end up personally paying, even if it was not your fault. If she claimed for personal damages due to real or fake injury that could be very expensive. If you do not tell your insurance company and they later find out, you could find any insurance is invalid as you failed to inform them of a material risk that could affect your current policy. If you did not declare athe accident when applying for a renewal or future policy, your failure to disclose could mean that your current/future insurer could refuse to pay out after any future accident. She can never prove you were speeding or otherwise. You would have to have been going incredibly fast for her not to see you or not to be able to judge your speed and from the damage described you could not have been. You don't exactly drive a boy racer car. Your witness could be unreliable if he said he saw you skid into her, doesn't your car have ABS? If you want to claim from her that would probably have to go through court, if is a clear cut as it seems, your company will probably claim against hers, knock for knock is no longer practiced. Is yours a no claims policy or a no fault policy? Do you need to inform the police about the accident or as you both swapped details and no-one was hurt, is that not necessary, I really cannot remember on that one?

I had a coil problem and it was in the early Mk2s that the coil packs were of poor quality and recalled by VW but not Ford. In the thread Faulty Coils I had a similar problem and if you go down that thread you will find some links to VW forums where the details of faulty coil packs were discussed. If yours match the poor versions, I would recommend that you replace them.

For the fusebox there is normally a fuse layout picture on the cover of the fusebox which is more accurate than the manual as they seem to keep changing the layouts and the manuals do not always reflect this, but the one in the box usually does.

You need to check that the compressor has not seized as it is often a seized compressor that causes the clutch failure. When my clutch failed, Ford were quoting around the same cost for a new clutch as for a re-manufactured compressor. Depending on the compressor and clutch, setting up a clutch can be tricky using spacers to get the correct clearance. I went for the compressor change in the end.

Can you let me know exactly which was the correct plug? I repaired one of my plugs a while back as Ford told me I could only get a complete harness.

Early Mk2 V6s and Golfs/Passats had faulty designed Bosch coil packs and VW recalled them, however Ford chose not to. I replaced the lot. If you go to a scrappy you are likely to get one from the early Mk2s which could cause the same issues.

Some V6 VWs use the same coils so I would assume the same plugs. You cannot buy the plugs, only the complete engine harness which costs a fortune.

I had a Mk1 2.8 GhiaX and it did not have rear ceiling vents, dual air conditioning was an option when I ordered it.

The tank gauge is also badly affected by the angle of the slope the car is on. If you are facing downhill on about 10% or greater, the warning will come on with half a tank and the gauge will also show a nearly empty tank. It takes quite some time before the reading gets back to normal.

On the MkII 2.8 it is fitted with ESP and traction control. The ESP can be turned off but I am not sure if that also disables the traction control. If the traction control operates when the wheels are pointing straight ahead, it feels like you have run over a load of bricks left in the road. This can happen quite easily even at 20mph and putting your foot down hard. If the wheels spin at a slight angle, the ESP cuts in and that is silent, the light in the clocks will light and it is like someone has cut your throttle cable.

Is there any difference between the Mk1 &Mk2 on NCAP? The Mk2 has more air bags. Another thing to remember about safety is that in NCAP the car is chucked into a block of steel & concrete weighing many tons, like hitting a wall. In a Galaxy if you had a crash with a typical sized car you would be better off than being in another typical sized car due to the Galaxys size and weight and your higher position.

I have never heard of a coil removal tool, but that does not mean that there is not such a thing. The coil is held on to the spark plug by two things, there is a metal clip that grips the nipple on the end of the spark plug just like any spark plug cap and there is a rubber sealing shroud that fits around the ceramic of the plug, either could have stuck, but it should just pull off. I have just checked my broken one and there is nothing else to hold them on. Three things you must be aware of: There was a faulty batch manufactured around 2001 which VW recalled and these crack internally so they could come apart if you pull hard. You must very carefully remove the wiring connector plug from the coil pack before you pull the coil. If you break a wiring connector, unless you can glue it back together, they are not replaceable apart from being included in a very expensive engine wiring harness. There are two plastic sprung locking lugs that need depressing to remove the connector plug. Finally don't drop the rubber rings that clip the engine cover to the engine, they will fall onto your undertray and can be difficult to find.

Just for those who did not know, the early MkII V6s (and other VW cars) were fitted with poorly manufactured Bosch coil packs (one per cylinder) which were recalled by VW but Ford failed to recall and refused to replace them. The exact details of the faulty parts were posted by myself and others somewhere on this forum in the past.

Which is what gives it far more power whilst being more economical.

I had the leak in this area but it is not the actual cartridge that leaks, it is the condensor where the cartridge fits and this needed a whole new condensor.

I know the Mk2 uses a different coilpack system of one per cylinder, but when one of mine failed, it brought on the warning light and the error was detected as "misfire cylinder 2".

I usually get around 25-26Mpg and on a recent trip to France with the very rear seats removed and that space totally full with heavy items, a large roof box and four adult bikes, this fell to about 22mpg. Mind you coming up the hill out of Dover at a little over 70mph the instantaneous consumption dropped to around 5mpg. I am pleased how the Gal manages such a heavy and wind resisting load with little effect on driving. It is only handling on roundabouts where you need to watch your speed or it rolls a bit.

Seeif you are getting 12V to the compressor when it is meant to be running, it only has a two wire connection. If you have 12V, the clutch has failed and it will probably be cheaper to get a re-manufactured compressor than a new clutch fitted. This happened to me.

Unusual but make sure you have all your seats in, I usually have the back row out. The seats form part of the seat belts which are tested in the MoT. It would not fail the MoT but you would be issued with an advisory.

These guys were very helpful and reasonably priced when I used them. They worked with my local specialist to supply and collect parts. Been OK for two years now. http://www.compressortech.co.uk/

I had a very similar issue around two years ago when I bought a new aftermarket MAF sensor. My engine warning light would come on, the ESP (or similar light) and the auto gearbox lock into gear. I had errors showing on VAG COM (words might not be exactly right) - MAF sensor Implausible reading, Engine Torque out of specification, Gearbox Speed Sensor and a few others. These were all caused by a dodgy MAF sensor, I could not see how they were related or affected by the MAF sensor but it must have somehow been screwing the engine management system up. Put the original back on, cleared the faults and all was OK. So it could be a totally non related sensor or just a wiring fault.

You can also get leaves getting into the area at the top back of the engine compartment at either side and these can rot and block the drainage holes here. This can cause a build up of smells.

Why is this in a technical section?

These sorts of errors together usually point to a battery on the way out as once the voltage starts to drop the sensors see this as shorts, open circuits or out of range readings. Poorly fitted connectors or a dying alternator could also cause these sorts of errors. Of course they could be real faults so don't ignore them, especially when one of them is the ABS.