dipsomaniac

moved to technical: as you are all aware you don't find many of these cars down your local 'scrappy'. does anyone know what other cars (apart from sharan/alhambra) are fitted with the same expansion/header tank? have now ruled out expansion tank as i don't appear to be losing any coolant with cc switched off

how much did the gearbox cost? I had mine re-conditioned a year ago and don't think I will go through that again because it has been back 4 times and I am still not happy.

off to clarks for a pair of leather soled flip flops. thanks for the replies. thought i would ask the question as someone tried to convince me i had a dodgy earth on the car

i am getting some huge shocks when i get out of car and touch any metal. i suppose it would come in handy if my heart was to stop at any time but at the moment it is annoying. can anyone suggest a cure or cause?

For the record - My local Ford dealer quoted 1.5 hours (72 + VAT) labour to change thermostat on V6

final question - did you need any special tools, allen keys?

thanks 3.5bullet. when i get some time i will replace the housing, thermostat and 'o' rings. will have a stick with a lump of mastic on the end just in case i drop one of the bolts.

just popped down to Ford. none of the mechanics have ever changed a thermostat on v6

what did you have to remove 3.5bullet?

thanks masked marauder - it looks like the housing could be the problem. has anyone managed to replace it with only removing the coil pack?

I have a similar problem to matrix (recent post on overheating) and am considering changing the thermostat. Temperature gauge goes to the end of the 'M' when going up steep hill or in heavy traffic. The fans do cut in when in traffic, bringing the gauge back down to halfway. Is this normal? As far as I can see there is not much room to work in. Looking back at previous threads you need to remove the whole housing. Has anyone done this recently? If so, can you list what you had to remove to gain access? Have been losing coolant ever since I bought the car 3 years ago. Ford had the car for 2 days last year but could find no evidence of coolant leak??? There is no evidence of any internal water loss -no steam, no mayo. Can anyone solve this mystery???

thanks Phil. the cable I have should work and give me basic diagnosis functions. thought $20 was a good deal at the time. for $229 you do get all of the functions and customer service from Ross Tech - trying to cut costs is not always wise

bought a cheap serial cable (without dongle) from usa about 12 months ago. downloaded free edition of the software but can't get VAG-COM to communicate with car. car is switched on but winxp shows an error box saying device is inexcessable or words to that effect. has anyone else had similar problems or does anyone know if I can test the cable by doing a simple continuity test?

solved. the contacts were bridging. It was the contacts inside the holder touching. thanks for the replies.

the only way to be sure the leads are ok is to fit good quality new ones. if that still doesn't correct the problem some kind soul on here maybe able to read any fault codes. If no codes are stored then it could be an injector problem.

thanks El Dingo. The bad earth on the rear light cluster makes sense. I will have a look when it stops chucking it down.

no i'm not scrapping the car.... yet. when braking - the headlights and intrument panel lights come on. when the main lights are on - the brake lights stay on. Can somebody please advise.

what pictures do you need? it is located on inner wing near battery.

not yet. laptop would not recognise the vag-com interface. also tried connecting a spare pc up to the car but the cd drive would not recognise the cd so could not load the vag-com software. i have given up until this weekend - will let you know if I find anything. the system should be re-gassed every couple of years. If yours hasn't been, I would start there.

my cc started flashing again this morning. it hasn't done this for 18 months. 5 months ago i had new condenser and the system re-gassing. cc is working ok, so it is a mystery why it has started flashing again. i have vag-com but haven't used it yet, will have a go with it tomorrow and let you know is any cc codes are registered.

if the leads are 10yrs old and were arcing a couple of years ago, i would start there and replace the leads. while replacing the leads i would also replace the plugs as they will need changing shortly - you are half way there while you have the leads off. if that doesn't solve the problem i would then look at the coil packs before reading any fault codes and a possible blocked injector.

could be a blocked or partially blocked injector.

try to get a quote for a low mileage replacement box (ideally with a warranty)before agreeing to have the box reconditioned. you can then weigh up all options. I have taken my auto back 4 times since having the box reconditioned - it is still not 100%.

i am not an auto electrician but i would think that a faulty crankshaft position sensor could explain why you have no spark

experienced 5 beeps recently - mine was due to a duff battery. was told that 5 beeps can also indicate a faulty crankshaft position sensor.