Andrew T

It's a long shot, but have you tried contacting Volkswagen customer services and asking for one ? I know from expreience that Citroen will send you one free of charge. I suspect that is where a lot of the unused ones on E-bay come from.

We changed from a Diesel Xantia to a 2.3 Petrol with 90,000 miles on it last year. I would have no worries about the integrity of a regularly serviced engine at that milage, it should be capable of at least double that. Ours has over a 100K on it and doesn't use a drop of oil. Cam shaft is chain driven and should last the life of engine. Diesel needs a cambelt every 40 to 60K. If you are looking for a petrol I would go for a 2.3 which has 145BHP compared with the 115 of the 2.0 but the fuel consumption is identical. Goverment combined MPG is 28 for both, you would get about 350 miles per tank at that rate. I guess compared to a super economical 406 HDI you would be close to doubling your fuel costs.

Sounds like you have the computer without the control stalk. Perhaps a previous owner had a broken stalk and elected (on cost grounds?) to replace it with a stalk off a lower spec variant. If you don't want to fit a new stalk try disconnecting and reconnecting the battery until your chosen information comes up, as it seems as though the computer is cycling through its range of functions each time you do this.

OK, so the main fuse to the Alternator has blown, this is an integral part of the fuse box so you need a new assy before you can do anything else. You can fit a new one yourself in about 10 minutes. Unbolt the 5 wires that come out of RHS of the fuse box and make a note of their positions. Unplug the connector block at the bottom RHS. (it has a clip on either side and takes a bit of wiggling). Unbolt the flylead on the battery post. The new assy comes with a new lead. Unclip the unit from the bodywork on the LHS. I seem to recall that the mounting plate does not come with the new unit and needs to be swapped over (2 nuts). Refitting is the reverse etc, and this should get you running again. Look at the condition of the Alternator cable at the fuse box end, if it is blackened you should think about getting it replaced. I had a garage do this because I don't have a crimping tool to fit a new terminal. Cost

Sounds similar to my problem. Are we talking about the fuse box to the left of the washer bottle neck ? The battery feed goes forward from the top left corner. On the RHS are fusable links to various components (notice that although it is all one piece of metal the thickness reduces as it reaches the terminal bolt to form a fuse). The top one on the right is the Alternator feed which had blown on mine, removing the alternator from the charging system and meaning the engine could only run with whatever "juice" was in the battery. About about 5 mins on a dark rainy day. The whole assy including battery lead was less than

Services are Annually or 10K miles. Is your car six years old ?

I have had similar problems. Have a look at the condition of the fuse box to the left of the washer bottle neck. It's actually the main fuse for the Alternator, rated at 150Amps it just looks like a piece of steel plate. So far I've replaced this (

Yes, second belt is due.

I thought I'd solved this problem but I'm not sure now. I fitted the new distribution box (the invoice called it a fuse feed) with no problem and the car has run fine for the last month. Sunday night after a brief stop in the middle of a North Wales Forest it refused to restart, the dash lights went dim but the starter wouldn't turn. A quick push from Mrs T and it bump started straight away. Lucky because it was a very isolated spot and I wouldn't like to break down somewhere I couldn't even pronounce. Anyway it ran fine for the rest of the 2 hours home. Did a check and the Battery was at 12.6 V static 14.6 V running. I opened the new distribution box and found that the top was slightly stuck to the alternator cable again, suggesting things were getting warm again. I 've taken it to a trusted local garage who is going to replace the main alternator feed cable tommorow. Whist I can see this needs doing I can't see how it would prevent the engine from starting ? He's also suggested that the Alt' may have some sort of cut out to prevent overcharging which may have failed (and contributed to the failure of the original battery last Autumn?). Your thoughts ?.

I think that would be the Chrome Grill and Fog light surrounds, plus the overhead rear air-vents.

Is the weather a factor? Old HT leads can start to exhibit problems in the wet, but be OK when its dry.

Fit a sunroof ?

The 3 point belt appeared with the postMK2 facelift in late 2001. Our early MK2 only has a lap belt on the centre seat. We have used a Britax freeway with the lap belt and it fits very well, provided you use your knee to push the child seat and compress the middle seat a bit while you pull the lap belt tight. I don't think retro-fitting a three point belt would be possible because it would require a new roof lining and the mounting point wouldn't be present above the window. There were rumours on this site of a seat belt maufacturer developing a retro fitting 3-point belt kit. I suspect such a kit would entail bolting a reel through the floor behind the middle seat and then running the belt up over the seat back (as is done in some minibus seat -belt conversions).

It cost over

This came up the other week

Try a search, there has been a detailed explanation of this in the last few week.

A number of us have used the Airing Cupboard method successfully. I recall someone (VR6 Galaxy ?) saying recently that you can break the box open to dry it more thoroughly.

There is a lot of conflicting information on this but ultimately it comes down to complying with the manufacturers specifications, or negotiating any deviation from that spec with your insurers. What does your handbook state? The Tyre pressures list on the inside of our (MK2) fuel filler flap lists three different 16" tyres as "RF" but not for the 15" sizes. Our office Has two Sharans, a TDI on 16" Reinforced and a new 2.0 on 16" non-reinforced. Confused ? Maybe the original spec is defined by the Kerbweight.

Before we bought the Galaxy I looked at quite few imported Japanese MPVs. One of these was fitted with a stick (about 18" high with a small globe on top) on the front nearside bumper corner, for exactly this purpose. The globe even came on with the sidelights so you can see where the corner is at night. The thing was these vehicles were straight off the boat and had not ben SVA tested. I suspect such a device would have to be removed for the test because of its potential to injure pedestrians.

I think you're right, this engine replaced the Pinto unit in the Sierra and Granada in 89. Although it was always DOHC, was it an 8-valve / Hemi head in its early days ? Given that it was mounted longways for the RWD Sierra and Granada would that cause problems fitting it transversely in the Galaxy ? It seems odd that Ford decided to engineer this engine to go in the Galaxy when they already had the 2.0 Zetec engine mounted sideways in the Mondeo.

Fords Galaxy Spec says you only get this on the Ghia where it gives you both an orange symbol and an alert on the warning panel accompanied by a stupidly load beep. When it gives you the rather more important ice alert it is accompanied by a rather pleasing airport style bonging noise, strange priorities indeed.

I've done it on mine (2001 Post Facelift).

Our office Sharan 2.0 Petrol Auto Rice Pudding Skinner suffers from the same same fault. It has obviously got on someones nerves judging by the variety of bits chewing gum and silver paper wedged under the edge of it.

If there is a damp smell in the car it is worth checking under the carpets for leaks. It's only when the leak is really bad that the carpet itself becomes wet. Under the carpet is a thick acoustic mat with a rubber membrane on top. This underlayer can absorb an incredible amount of water. Carefully prise off the plastic capping trim between the door seal and the carpet, and put your hand underneath the acoustic matting to check for damp.