Andrew T

Well, I don't recall anyone saying they've done it and a recent thread said it wasn't the MTX box at all but a VTX. However I was looking at a article in Car magazine form the launch of the Galaxy and it twice refers to the MTX box in Ford engined variants. There again, magazines sometimes make mistakes.

Sloper, if you've tried everything else have a look at this it may be another line of investigation. Or a sign that it's time for the car to go........

I have brochures for the Galaxy, Sharan and Alhambra and all quote 310 NM for 115 and 130 engines. I 'm sure that when the 150BHP Diesel was on Fords website it was 310NM as well.

For want of a better term, it's a battery health indicator. The greener the better. The tamper proof cover can be removed and the levels topped up as normal, but it's not necessary for the first few years of life.

There was a rather heated debate on this which I think concluded that Diesel versions were most likely to be afflicted.

No relay 30 on Mk2s (nor on Mk1s after 98?), the FAQ above says it's replaced by relay 27, but that's listed as "Fuel Supply DOHC only" in my handbook and therefore shouldn't be present on a Diesel. Anybody give a definitive answer?

Yes the 2.3 should have a undertray. Perhaps the owner has flogged it on E-bay to raise funds for Christmas?

Many thanks for bringing this to our attention Teresa. We also had an argument with a leading telephone bank (that may have a conection with Hong Kong). After a long battle I only succeeded in getting a partial refund, so they'll be getting a letter from me shortly.

Did you ever change the fuel pump relay ? Does your handbook list one ?

What message appers on the head unit when this happens? It sounds like there is no power at the remote changer as mine will load and eject the CD cassette even with the keys out of the ignition. Not sure where it's fused though.

On the MK 2, 2.3 the light is orange and stays on for a few seconds after ignition while it self checks. If there was a problem it would be on all the time unless a previous owner has removed the bulb (has it ever worked?).

The full story is that that the design and developement was done by VW and the production engineering by Ford. All three versions (inc the Seat Alhambra) are thrown together in the same factory in Portugal. If you're sad you'll recognise bits of the Galaxy turn up all over the Audi, Skoda, VW and Seat range, most parts having a VW part number. The only true Ford engineering is the 2.3 and 2.0 engine and their Gearbox.

It'll be a cold day in hell when I buy an Auto! Just going from my own experience when my cars have developed clutch judder it's been worst setting off in 1st and then lessening with each change.

A good point. Perhaps M4 can open a thread for this purpose and pin it? Although looking at Dannyboy's cd changer thread it would seem that new members can still start topics.

I believe what we are talking about is called Risk Compensation Theory. The idea is that we "need" a certain amount of risk in our lives (from our Hunter ancestors?) and for every risk taken away we subconsciously create a new one, i.e I've got ABS so I'll brake harder and later. Seeing that a lot people don't even know they have ABS I'm not sure about this. 20 odd years ago when seatbelt wearing was made compulsary the widely predicted huge drop in road fatalities never occured, because a decrease in driver/passenger fatalities was largely offset by an increase in pedestian and cylist fatalities. What supposedly happened was that deprived of the opportunity to kill ourselves we went out to kill others. Hmmmmmmm....................

Wouldn't you expect clutch judder at every gearchange though? I also wonder about a broken roll restrictor bolt (see FAQs) but again I would expect it in every gear and particularly setting off in first. What revs does it happen at?

If you leave it on Auto it will make your demisting far quicker as the air is being dehumified .

Souns like you've got some crossfeeding going on, and I think your problems may be coming from the tailgate wiring, where the cables may be shorting into each other. Start by pulling the fuses for the various components affected and see if any still work when the fuse has been removed. If they do, remove the conduit in the offside taigate door jamb and you may find bare wires where they've chafed on each other. If it's not there you will have a nightmare of a job trying to find it. There's miles and miles of wiring in a Galaxy!

Remember when discussing VR6s there was a big step up in power from 174BHP in the MK1 to 204BHP in the MK2 (Autumn '00 on). FWIW Ford claimed 0-60 in 9.9 Secs for the Mk2. The big change was due 4 valve heads in the MK2.

This may help. Although it's for replacemnet of the AC evaporator it involves removing the dash.

At the risk of being pedantic I make the savings

It's rather a generalisation to say Diesel is the answer, nobody would argue that a Diesel is cheaper to fuel than a Petrol, but if you look at total cost of ownership the picture is far less clear. I even did a thread about it Before I bought a 2.3 I did a cost benefit analysis for my own circumstances and concluded that over the 5 years I intended to keep it I would be lucky to see a saving ( and I was unaware then that a petrol wouldn't need a cam belt every 40K). Whilst I often regret having bought a galaxy I've been very happy with the 2.3 bit.

Selector cables can cause problems, but it's usually total loss of gears in a certain plane, i.e. 1/2 or 3/4. crunching into 1st is unlikely to be cables though, and rolling back to select reverse does support box problems rather than cable. If you're pulling the 'box out though it's probably worth replacing the cables. I seem to think gearboxes are available at about

If the main alterntor fuse has gone (under the battery cover by the washer bottle neck) it would start with a charged up battery but quit as the battery ran flat, worth checking, but I think your problem is immobilisation.

Mikey, I think you need to get your fault codes read. If you disclose your approximate location maybe another member who has VAG.com can help you. As an alternative there are mobile diagnosticians (not sure if that's a real word or not) who may be able to help you by at least diagnosing the fault code. Better still find a mobile auto electrician with diagnostics. The back pages of the Autotrader should throw someone up. Don't assume your Ford dealer will solve your problems, unless you have previous experience of them and confidence in their abilities. They are capable of spending large ammounts of your money without knowing what they are doing. Does this sound like your problem ? It's possible that the PCM is not fitted on the 2.8 - does anybody know?