Andrew T

3 Years ago I was quoted

I was looking through some 15 year old Car Magazines last night and saw a Michelin advert from the introduction of the Pilot MXM. It wasthe same tread pattern they are still using for the Galaxy, suggesting they are rather behind cutting edge technology.

Are you sure this job needs doing at all? There have been a few cases (including me) of Garages who don't understand that the design has a lot of freeplay when the weight is off the wheel and advising excessive play or failing the MOT for the same reason.

Looks like the Hamster's been taking advice from James May on how to cut his hair.

My Tyres amongst many others will provide them from about 20 different manufacurers (make sure you tick the box for reinforced). Or ring up any of the big chains and tell them you need re-inforced tyres, they will happily sell you them as they cost more. If they try to tell you that they're not neccesary it means they don't have any in stock.

The ISV sticking would certainly allow the engine to rev to 3500RPM, but in my experience would not account for the other symptoms; mine still dove smoothly

Official combined consumption is 26 for a V6 against 28 for a 2.3. The Auto version does 2 MPG less in each case.

I agree with you. In the 80s when manufacturers to began to take Aerodynamics seriously they tried fully enclosed underbodies to smooth out the airflow. Although they worked well they found that much of the improvement was due just from sealing the engine cavity and satisfied themseves with doing just that. Imagine what driving with the bonnet off would do to the Aerodynamics and you get the picture of what removing the undertray would do. I suppose that at 50 MPH it would not make a huge differance as aerodynamics only start coming into play above that speed. Here's an interesting bit of trivia. VW's box-on- wheels Kombi actually had a lower drag co-efficient that the E-type Jag, and a lot it was due to the smooth underbody of the Kombi compared to the Gaping chasm of an E-types engine bay.

Another reason to use the door locks regularly is that the key gets a little bit worn every time you put it in the ignition. After many years of this, and of never using the door locks the key can become so worn that it will no longer operate the door locks. I have this problem on our other car, but luckily it rarely needs to be locked up. I use the automatic window opening and closing facility (operated by the door locks) quite regularly which should stop this happening on the Galaxy.

ssssshhhhh!!!..i was trying to keep that quiet!!..some peeps take exception to me being from Pluto! According to a Famous book all Women are allegedly form Venus....... But back on topic. Ola, there doesn't seem any particular reason for this to happen except perhaps improper tightening of the connection bolt during installation which allows heat to build up inn the connection over the months and years slowly buring the fuse box out. Having replaced the fusebox and Alternator cable I've not had any trouble since. The garage showed me a neat trick to see if the connection is getting hot, which is to put a droplet of water on it and see if it evaporates.

It's quite correct that the Key will always open the boot in the event of power failure, but if like me you'd never unlocked it manually you may find that it's seized solid and you'll need to spend half an hour on you knees with a can of WD 40 trying to untick the bloody thing. Under those circumstances hacking your way through the tailgate trim may be quicker!

I'm Guessing that it wasn't a Ford Dealer, it was a Garage using a Generic Engine Fault Tester ? I'm out of my depth offering you advice on this as I know very little about diagnostics.........but my feeling is that if it wasn't a Ford dealer it may be worth getting one to do a test and pinpoint the fault rather than start changing expensive components in the hope that is does the trick. You may find that changing the MAF sensor makes no difference if the fault is in the loom leading to it. I'm not sure what the VSS is - Vehicle Speed Sensor ? Maybe a good Auto Electrician would be more use than a Garage ? What do you mean by digital speedo' BTW ? have set the Climate Control panel to work as a speedo' ? It's also worth knowing that you can "re-boot" the ECU by disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes or so, it may put the light out but will leave a fault code stored in the ECU. Make sure you have the Radio code before you try this though.

There are dozens of things that could put the light on, but if the Airfilter was changed I'd put a small wager on the MAF or it's integral intake air temp' sensor. If the air filter's been changed then this wiring could have been disturbed and given the frangible nature of Galaxy wiring this could have resulted in a broken wire. When the same thing happened to me the dealer quoted around

Well.................I've read a claim on here of 380,000 miles on one chain and still going strong !

If they've not declared the mod's and their insurance is invalidated will the Police take any action even when they cause an accident ? From experience I very much doubt it. My parents were the one of the innocent parties in a 3 car accident. Because of the ammount of damage done the police were called to the scene and insurance details were taken. The guilty party satisfied the Police with his insurance details but afterwards his insurance company found he hadn't declared previous convictions and cancelled his insrurance. As this meant he was driving without insurance, my parents contacted the Police who didn't give a toss, leaving my parents and the other party to claim on their own policies for damage totaling over

You were caught on camera taking a test drive............

I think a ten year old Galaxy could still be more reliable than a new Espace based on a Fiends experience. A few days out of warranty it's diesel engine "let go" big time resulting in a

Just come back from France in our Gal' only 6 six years old but 153,000 miles on the clock. Didn't have any problems, but I'd given it a good check over before. I'd look very hard at your cooling system. Running with a full load, at high speed in high temperatures will find any weakness that may be there. Radiators are prone to silting up as they get old so it could be worth flushing It out before you go, replacing any hoses that look even slightly suspect and chucking a can of radweld in the coolant when you refill it as a precaution. Good luck and enjoy your holiday.

Welcome, Ours is an import 2.3 as well, although a little less exotic than yours (Irish market vehicle via Belgium). As all Galaxy's come off the same production line I'd be surprised if there are any major differences, just minor spec' changes. If yours is a Ghia does it have Cruise Control, power rear vent windows, swivelling seats etc ?

Amazing, and contradictory to the widely held belief that A/C systems need to be used regularly to prevent deterioration of the seals. I had the opposite experience with diagnosis though, after two garages had failed to find the problem, I went to what was held to be one of the areas best specialists who after a days work (and lying that they had the correct diagnostic equipment) suggested I took it to a Ford dealer to get the fault codes read. Within the cost of doing this the dealer rectified a broken feed that had eluded three garages, and got the system running to identify the real fault which was a leaking condenser.

Look through the FAQs.

Evening leaving aside the likelihood of inferior braking performance with cheap copies, I

I left my Civic parked in the Sun yesterday with the Sunroof on vent to stop it getting stuffy. While I was away the heavens opened and behold.....a soaking drivers seat. Unfortunately Mrs T has the Civic today and I forgot to warn her. Judging by the text on she sent me I better not go home tonight.

Going down to Western France a couple of years ago I tried to avoid Paris by going to Rouen and then South on the old Routes National to emerge on the Paris-Bordeux Autoroute somewhere near Chateau Reneault, and I certainly wouldn't reccomend it. S.Rouen was a bottle neck and once clear of it you are slowed down by a Village with a 40KMH speed limit and pedestrian crossings every four or five miles. It was pain in the arse of a route which I will never use again. By contrast we came back through Paris (at 10.00am on a Friday) and it was easy. A hint for Navigating around paris is look for a long distance destination and just keep following that at every junction. If you're heading back for calais follow "Lille" If you're heading anywhere West use "Bordeaux".

My dash lights are on the same fuse as the rear number plate lights (Fuse 28 IIRC) but aren't mentioned in the handbook. See if those are working and you may have your answer. However if that fuse has blown it could well be because the wire to the no plate lights has broken or chafed where it passes into the tailgate.