dellybeanhead

Rear springs/shocks seem OK. Not professionally checked though, just by me. I have found a major problem though. When I bought my MKIII Galaxy I discussed it with Ford and the delear and opted for the 1.8 diesel. This is nearly as powerful as the 2.0 but is more economical. I have since read of many people with thsi engine who get clutch burn when towing or hill starting. SMax and galaxy owners. I have also found on teh v5 that depsite what I was told about it being OK for my car that, for some strange reason, the 1.8 has a max towing weight of 1400. My MTPLM is 1460 and we struggle to stay within that. This is really weird as the maximum train weight of the car is very high. It gets weirder still as all other variants of the MkIII the 2.0 and above all ahvea max tow weight of 1700. And the 85% rule is still well within range. However, the 1.8 and the 2.0 have very similar train weights. This suggests that with the 1.8 variant you shoudl load the car up to the gunnals to achive the max train weight whereas with the 2.0 you can distribute the weight more across car and trailer. Yet the only difference is the engine. Very weird. So, I wonder why the 1.8 has this seemingly abitary figure of 1400 as a maximum when it has the same chassis and (almost) same kerb weight and train weight. Either way, it is illegal to go over the manufacturers max tow weight so I am going to have to change the car. I am not sure if I will change it for a 2.0 MkII or not as thsi still has the 80Kg noseweight limit. If I go to 1500 in the caravan then using the 7% rule I should have a nose weight of 105Kg. Does the MkII Galaxy have a higher nose weight capability???? Could anybody recommend any other car. I need 7 seats, good tow capability, high kerb weight and as good economy as possible.

Ah, ignore last post. I hadn't read this long thread to the end and I now see that you went for a Gal. Hope you're happy together.

You've added the Sintra to your list. This car is a cracking car and it was an awful shame that they stopped making it. I think it was ahead of its time being an MPV before the UK market was ready for it. It is IMHO better than the rest as the seats are lighter than the ford/nissan/VW range and it is a proper engine and size. However, I wouldn't get one myself as it will be a cow to get parts for since it is not manufactured anymore. Somebody mentioned Zafira. I owned one. I loved it (and hated that I loved it). Very very practical, very economical (get the diesel), back seats are not really young adult size, no lifting seats in and out, cheap to tax, cheap to insure, but won't pull a decent size caravan (as it istoo light (it is not a power issue of shich it has plenty)) which is the one and only reason that I sold it. I would buy another one if I didn't have a caravan. Hope this helps.

The pads are still very new. Only used for 3 trips so far. So have loads of live left in them. I wouldn't say that they are squeeky clean but they are as clean as I would expect. I have just spoken to my dealer who has a similar problem with another customer where his car (and his car only) has snaking problems yet everthing is within correct parameters. he also said that this is not teh first time he's heard of a car/caravan combination that just do not co-exist well. I am going to borrow a friends car just to prove this and I expect the problem to go away (as with my old car). I am coming to the conclusion that I need to change my car. AGAIN!!! aghh... And I am terrified of buying another car that does not work with it. If only all cars came with a tow ball and we could test tow them before buying.

Thanks Purple, yes I'm aware of that. I checked with an engineer to find out what the towbars have been tested at. I am within 80Kg which, yes, is very hard to achieve. But I want the added comfort that the towbar (and ball) have been tested way over that and capable of more than that just in case. I also found out that there is a fairly large margin left in Fords tests but the 80Kg is a very safe limit.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, Checked all of those things. Including the tow bar nut/bolt torque settings. Except the wheel bearings (will check those tomorrow) and the chassis being straight ( I think I can assume it is as it worked on my old car and hasn't moved since then).... unless somebody sneaked it out and crashed it and put it back.... thos epesky kids! I'll check that too!. Yes I do use an Alko stabiliser and I did remove the paint from the new ball.

sorry. Yes it's a MKIII (3). I reposted the topic as I could not edit.

Sorry reposting due to confusing comment about Mk2 (II) in previous attempt. I have just been on my first caravan trip with my MKIII Galaxy I experienced my first (and many) snakes. It occurs if I go over 55mph and somebody overtakes me. Almost everytime. The rear of the unit get sucks out. then the front (as expected) but then it begins to snake. If I am over 60mph then the snake possibility is much higher as is its effect. I solve it by gently reducing speed and keeping the car in a straight line. This is of real concern as my unit has not changed at all. My unit never ever snaked (not even a hint of it) with my old car (a Hyundai Terracan). The only thing that has changed is the car. The load is good. both weight and distribution is good. I am perplexed and concerned. Am I just an unlucky bugger who has found an incompatible unit/car/speed combination? You may say, well stick to 55 mph, but that 5mph makes a lot of difference when you're on a long journey and when I am in Europe I tow a lot faster than 60mph. I have another EU trip planned later this year and am now in 2 minds as to whether to change my car (again!!!!) before I leave. I really don't want to and hope that somebody can point out what is causing the problem. thanks, James

I have just been on my first caravan trip with my MKIII Galaxy I experienced my first (and many) snakes. It occurs if I go over 55mph and somebody overtakes me. Almost everytime. The rear of the unit get sucks out. then the front (as expected) but then it begins to snake. If I am over 60mph then the snake possibility is much higher as is its effect. I solve it by gently reducing speed and keeping the car in a straight line. This is of real concern as my unit has not changed at all. My unit never ever snaked (not even a hint of it) with my old car (a Hyundai Terracan). The only thing that has changed is the car. The load is good. both weight and distribution is good. I am perplexed and concerned. Am I just an unlucky bugger who has found an incompatible unit/car/speed combination? You may say, well stick to 55 mph, but that 5mph makes a lot of difference when you're on a long journey and when I am in Europe I tow a lot faster than 60mph. I have another EU trip planned later this year and am now in 2 minds as to whether to change my car (again!!!!) before I leave. I really don't want to and hope that somebody can point out what is causing the problem. thanks, James

All, I am very confused. Either my car has a problem, all Mkii's have a problem or I don't know how to drive it. The problem: Clutch burn (a very smelly problem that even makes you choke in the car for several days afterwards.... or do you just get used to the smell after a few days??) It occurs when doing a hill start on a steep hill. The car does not seem to have the power to get up until it is revving and you are forced to ride the clutch to get it up to speed before letting the clutch fully up. If you do let the clutch up before the power is there then it stalls. It also occurs when reversing with a trailer (caravan). Exactly the same issue as above resulting in clutch burn. I have also found in general that it is very easy to stall this car even on the flat with no trailer. I.e. normal driving. And it's not just me. My wife stalled it on almost every junction on her first day of driving it. It is an aggressive snatchy clutch (or is it just mine?) We have both now 'got used to it' and can get the revs up before we fully release the clutch. However, my question is: Should we get used to it. Are we just compensating for a malfunctionin or poorly deisgned car. Has anybody noticed an ease of stalling/ lack of power / clutch burn problem on their MKIII. I am seriously considering selling it and getting a MkII or something else completely. But I don't want to sell it as it is such a practical versatile car. Thanks James

See mmy other post in "Towbar Module And Light on Mkiii Dashboard" for the solution.

Thought I would feedback to you all. Towbar: I finally fitted a Bosal removable towbar to my MkIII Galaxy. I went for this as the Bosal is the only one that gives me a 100Kg nose weight. (the ford one and most others are 80Kg). I needed the extra noseweight as my caravan is large. I went for a removable as I did not want to risk a towball interfering with the reverse sensors. The kit was easy to fit myself (My Ford dealer would not fit it for me so I had not choice)). You have to take the bumper off and cut a hole under it (whcih can't be seen) but for the moderatly skilled DIY er thsi is not a difficult job. A tip I would give is to fit the boot trim and shut the boot before you torque the bolts as there is some give in it and you need to make sure that the boot trim fits nicely for the boot to shut nicely. Eletrics: I ordered the Ford 13 pin kit. You have to order 2 parts. One is labelled as the 'relay'. This is misleading as it is the CAN module which happens to contain the relay. The other item is the 13 pin wiring loom. You don't need to order the bracket as the kit contains one. I went for the FORD 13 pin kit as all caravans will be manufactured with 13 pin as standard from Sep 2008. Also the 13 pin is a much better connector than the twin 7 pin. The ford wiring kit was easy to fit. It comes with a full instruction manual. It benefits from, permanent and switched live feed (for fridge, etc) in the 13 pin kit. No external relay required as it is in teh CAN module. It will swicth off your reverse sensors, disbale your foglight (but enable it on your unit so that you don't get foglight reflection in your rear view mirror). Warn you if a bulb has failed (in the same way as the car does; doublw indicator speed). The FORD 13 pin kit was also no more expensive than any 3rd party kit and keeps your warranty in tact. However, you do have to get the module enabled. Without it enabled you will not get anything at all out of the socket. To enable it you have to take it to a dealer and hand them the manual (well at least the last page which has the CAN module codes). Some dealers are much more helpful than others. Evans Halshaw in Milton Keynes were rubbish. It was becuase of them that I was forced to fit the electrics myself. They said that they woudl not fit a Ford part onto a non ford part (towbar). CRAZY! it's like saying I won't plug in one vendors 13Amp plug into a another vendors 13Amp socket. Anyway, it was very easy to fit. RGR in Cranfield were exceptional. They charged me the minimum 1/2 hour labour charge to enable my module and did it the same day. Cost me

sounds liek it coudl be the clutch burning to me. When I tow my caravan I get an awful smell from the clutch burning when I reverse.

I'd really like to know the answer to this too please. I have a 2nd hand MkIII galaxy and took it into the garage to have some bits fixed and blue tooth fitted. They didn't fix anything! terrible service. And also said that teh bluetooth is already availble in teh radio. The radio is a CD6000 I have gone through the menu's and under adv menu there is a option for BT on/off I assume this is bluetooth on/off I have set it to on and tried to pair my phone but it doesn't find anything. Although it sometimes finds a device called unknown but fails to pair with it. Also I cannot see a microphone anywhere in the car so I am not convinced it has bluetooth. The delear that I bought the car from said that their is a module that needs to be added to teh back of the stereo and a software chnage is required. Nobody else at ford knows about this. So I called the dealer back and he now claims that the only option is to add a parrot. Nobody at Ford seems to know anything about their own cars. .... I am having similar problems trying to get a towbar as nobody knows the software codes that are required.

I have decided that I will get a genuine ford wiring kit so that there can be no argument about warranty. However I cannot find a Ford dealer that knows how to do this. They do not know what code is required to get the towbar CAN module to work with the dash board. Also, I want Ford to fit the 13 PIN socket to a non ford towbar (as the Ford towbar does not take the weight that I need). But they say they will not fit it to a proprietary towbar as it won;t work. This is complete nonsense as the towbar is a lump of metal with a hole for the 13 pin socket. Anybody have any suggestions? Anybody know a nice Ford service centre with a sensible and reasonable manager close to Milton keynes? I think my last alternative is to buy the Genuine Ford kit and fit it myself and just have Ford update the computer to make it work. Does anybody know the part number for the Ford kit (I need a 13 pin socket version and also need teh permamnent live feed too (i.e. equivalent to a 12N/12S twin electric sockets) Thanks James

Is there one. I've looked in the manual and cannot see one. The MkII has one on the rev counter. I am about to buy the MKIII towbar electrics but if it does not have this light I will go for a different manufacturers kit. Does anybody know if the genuine Ford towing module requires a software code or does it just work? Do the towbar light failure warning messages get received and displayed without having to update the main software. Thanks James

Sorry for repost but teh forum wont let me edit my post. Corrected post follows: Hi I am about to take delivery of a MKIII Galaxy and need to get a towbar fitted. I can't go for the genuine Ford towbar as the nose weight is only 80Kg and I need 100kg so will go for a Bosal. However, I want to install the genuine Ford wiring so that - the trailer connected dashboard warning light works - the flasher/indicator working dashboard light works - the rear parking sensors are disabled when trailer attached - It will detect if a bulb is faulty on the caravan by indicating in the car I am attaching a caravan so will need a twin socket connection but the standards are changing in September in the UK so that all cars and caravans will have a 13 pin scoket. So, I am unsure as to whether to order a 13 pin kit or a 7 pin kit with the additional socket for fridge, power, etc The 13 PIN socket is better as it is water tight and a better connector. I am thinking that if I get the 13 pin socket then I can get an adaptor cable for the caravan to convert it to the twin 7 pin sockets. And I think that this will mean that I do not have to run a seperate feed for the second socket. Am I right? Alternatively I can adapt my caravan to a 13 PIN socket (which is was originally before I had it converted to UK spec!!) Also, I understand that the mkIII Galaxy uses CAN_BUS protocol to detect light failures etc. I assume this is also used to detect if towbar electrics are connected? I assume that this means I will need a dealer to connect a computer to set up the cars electronics so that the various dashboard lights work. Is this true. Or can I do this my self? I've seen USB plug in cables on eBay that seem to be CAN-BUS compatible and able to plug into a CAN-BUS diagnostic port. Many thanks, James

Hi I am abou to take delivery of a MKII Galaxy and need to get a towbar fitted. I can;t go for teh Ford one as the nose weight is only 80Kg and I need 100kg so will go for a Bosal. However, I want to install the genuine Ford wiring so that - the trailer connected dashboard light works - the flasher/indicator dashboard light works - the rear parking sensors are disabled when trailer attached I am attaching to a caravan so will need a twin socket conenction but the standards are chaging in September in the UK so that all cars and caravans will have a 13 pin scoket. So, I am unsure as to whether to order a 13 pin kit or a 7 pin kit with the additional socket for fridge, power, etc I am thinking that if I get the 13 pin socket then I can get an adaptor cable for the caravan to convert it to the twin 7 pin sockets. And I think that this will mean that I do not have to run a seperate feed for the second socket. Am I right? Also, I understand that the mkII Galaxy uses CAN_BUS protocol to detect light failures etc. I assume this is also used to detect if a towbar electrics are connected? I assume that this means I will need a delear to connect a computer to set up the electronics so that the dashboard lights work. Is this true. Or can I do this my self? Many thanks, James