Andrew T

I have a 2001, 2.3 still on its original driveshafts (including gaiters) at 144K. If they failed tommorow I would have to say they had given reasonable service. Actually no, I wouldn't, I'd moan.

Your handbook will say replace only with Calcium............

From a cold start the car takes about 3 miles on country lanes to reach the exact mid point of the gauge where stays regardless. Perhaps you have thermostat problems ?

Here is a post claiming just that, although not on a galaxy. How's your fuel consumption? is the engine smooth? idle steady? oil consumption acceptable?

Blocked injectors? cam chain jumped and thrown timing out?

Total failure to start by immobilisation has also been linked to failure of the PCM (Powertrain control module). Pray that it's not that, because it's a

Although you're correct in as far as there has been a post saying relay 30 was replaced by relay 27, Relay 27 in my handbook says "Fuel Supply DOHC only" nothing to do with the mysterious powerboot relay 30 and surely a relay not fitted to Diesels. As this problem has affected both Petrols and Diesels I'm not convinced, although a problem with the fuel supply relay 27 on the petrol engine would give all the symptoms associated with relay 30 failure.

Contrary to info recently posted on another thread, I have a June '95 article from 'Car' magazine on the launch of the Sharan/Galaxy stating that the Ford 2.0 (and later the 2.3) uses a (Mondeo) MTX transaxle, whereas the VW engined variants used a transaxle of Volkswagen design. Is there a theme emerging on age/milage of driveshaft failures suggesting when a batch of substandard components was fitted?

Are you sure you have a Relay 30? It disappeared around '98.

All driveshaft issues have been on Diesels, never heard of problems on the 2.3 which is a different transaxle. No booster heater on 2.3s nor does the MAF cause problems generally, don't let let a tyre fitter near the spare wheel winch and you're gauranteed 100% reliability(by Galaxy standards).............unless of course you've got Airconditioning. Also, if you want to be really paranoid whip the Battery cover off and look inside the Fuse box by the washer bottle neck. Check for any charring on the connection to the (top) 150amp alternator fuse. Oh and look at the condition of the wires in the offside tailgate boot which may be chaffing.

ISV sounds likely, but how does it drive otherwise? I would have thought that a blocked cat' would strongly affect performance and economy. MAF problems are unusual on the 2.3 and I wouldn't expect it to cause such problems.

The "Power Boot Relay" is often said to be the culprit but is not listed in the handbook. Have a look through the pinned FAQs. I think it was relay 30 until '98 when it moved, possibly to relay 27. If you follow the photo guide to accessing the relay panel (behind the fuse panel) try tapping the relays with a screwdriver handle next time it won't start (or pull them out and drop them on the floor from about 12").

Hi Neal, Use the search facility to look for "Auxilliary Drive Belt" the tensioner can sometimes give trouble on the 2.3 and the belt removal procedure should be there also.

Not that I've heard of. One or two have comtemplated trying to put the VW TDI unit in place of the Petrol but given up on cost/complication grounds.

Fuel pump relay or Relay 30 would be the answer for a MK1 Petrol. Not sure if they're used on Diesels though.

Mondeo engine is a Zetec, DOHC is derived from the old sierra/scorpio unit, although someone is looking at fitting a Zetec here (http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=10945)

Ah....I see now. So if a DOHC will fit an MTX transaxle (in the RS2000) and a VTX in the Gal', then a Zetec which fits an MTX in the Mondeo should fit a VTX. Can't fault your logic there, but what about engine wiring looms cooling system connection etc? Realistically I don't think you would ever recover you outlay in terms of improved fuel consumption unless your engine needs replacing anyway, although it would be interesting to see if it works. There have been a couple of suggestions on here that whilst 2.0 and 2.3 cylinder heads are interchangeable between FWD and RWD DOHC engines the bottom ends are not, and are also very hard to find so a Zetec conversion would make sense. If you could "prove" this conversion it could well benefit others in the future, so - full photo build by the end of the month?

1975 Opel kadett, 1981 Subaru 1600, 1971 Lancia 2000 Berlina (hobby-failed), 1983 Lada Riva (excuse that one, bought first house), 1981 Volvo 240, 1985 Skoda (1.0 litre economy model - bought second house), 1985 Audi Coupe, 1988 Citroen BX GTi 16v, 1988 VW Jetta, 1988 Fiat Uno, 1988 Rover 213, 1988 Opel Manta (got stuck on '88s, doing a bit of kerbside trading) 1989 BMW 318, 1983 Daihatsu 4WD, 1996 Toyota Camry, 1994 Honda Civic Coupe, 1995 Vectra, 1996 Honda Civic 5-door(still own this) , 1997 Citroen Xantia Diesel Estate, 2001 Galaxy. Most reliable? The Lada (honest). Cheapest to run ? Lada (paid

No need to remove the whole I assy, I never have. Just remove arms and covers, takes about 10 minutes each side.

I Drilled a small hole ~1.5mm in the casting about a quarter of the way down below the spindle. Every few weeks I squirt some GT85 oil into the hole using a small pipe. With a longish pipe (15-20cm) it can be done without removing the wiper arms and capping.

So what engine are you thinking of dropping in twinkle?

I believe the transverse application of the 2.0/2.3 was originally engineered for the MK5 Escort RS2000 if that gives you any clues. I would be 90% certain it's the MTX75. See here. And here.

seems to be a rash of these at the moment :ph34r: But it seems to be restricted to Diesels, I believe the 2.0/2.3 has a different final drive assy?

I can only agree with you Ron, I've found this at various places over the years, I've even grassed one garage up to trading standards because I was sure they were selling short (they weren't). I'll invest a few bob more in trying BP Ultimate again and seeing if I see the same improvement. I'd try Shell but they don't seem very keen having stations in this area.

A few interesting points here. The Galaxy certainly seems to have a point where the fuel consumption suddenly plummets in exchange for an extra couple of MPH but I don't think it's a set figure unless you're in still air, it moves depending on head tail winds. A couple of examples; coming back from Cornwall at half term with a following wind I got 34MPG whilst doing 80 most of the time (and quite well loaded too). Coming down the M6 from the Borders yesterday evening into a strong headwind I was getting 26MPG but only doing 70 with only me in the car. Having the fuel computer is a big a help here though. There is an element of technique you can use that gives an extra MPG or two, of building up a bit speed of extra speed on the down hills on lifting off a bit uphill, although it would be antisocial if the Motorway is busy. Also on the big Motorway climbs e.g. Milnrow to the summit on the M62 or Tebay to Shap on the M6 drop into 4th and slow down to 55/60 for a few minutes while you climb, you'll use a much smaller throttle opening and use a lot less fuel and it will put no more than five minutes on the journey time. Worst thing to do is use the cruise control in hilly country because it simply nails the throttle to the floor to maintain the set speed. Fuel type and quality; Hijacker, If you've got some evidence about the relative quality of supermarket versus branded fuels how about posting it on a new thread? I keep detailed records for both our cars and generally use Sainsburys and occasionally BP. If anything I get slightly better consumption on Sainsburys but only by 1-2%. However a few weeks ago I accidentally put a tank full of BP Ultimate in the Galaxy (at a healthy 5p/litre extra) and yes, I did notice a consumption improvement of about 4%, which would mean that it had at least paid for itself. Looking on the BP website I see they claim an extra 28 miles per tank while helpfully not specifying the size of the tank, my guess would be this means 5-10%. I then tried a tank full in my Honda and found the same improvement, and if it at least pays for itself I do like the Idea of it gently cleaning out the Engine (both our cars have around 140K on them). I then did a bit of digging on the internet and found almost every car site has a discussion on the quality of Supermarket fuel but without any proper evidence being offered. There was more than one claim that Sainsburys petrol is BP and that Sainsburys super is BP ultimate so that's what I'm going to try next, and at only 2p/liter premium. Here's a thought though, what about the pump calibration? How accurate does a pump have to be? If it was +/- 5% I could have just struck lucky and got an over delivering pump when I bought my BP ultimate!