tim-spam

Try Eurocarparts for your brake pads - they do the genuine ATE pads for a lot less than the dealers and they normally arrive within a day or two.

Old petrol powered MPV's can be very difficult to sell, especially with a high mileage - this may be the reason for the low price. So, my advice would be to check it all over very carefully and have an emissions check done on the engine - this can show up a multitude of problems. If all is clear, and you don't mind mid 20's mpg, go for it.

Another possibility is that the offside rear suspension damper is seized - this may explain your feeling of 'no suspension' on that side. When it appears to be 4" too low, try bouncing it at that side and see if you get any suspension movement. By the way, did you use the genuine rear brake pads? If not, this may the cause of the squealing. If you decide to use copper grease, be very careful to only use a thin smear and ensure that none gets on to the pads themselves - otherwise braking efficiency will be reduced.

If there are indeed pivots at each end, then it should work well - can anyone actually confirm if this is the case? The thin strips of steel are a good idea, and probably safer than just relying on the rubber inserts resting against a bolt head. Thanks.

The ones I looked at just seemed to rest in the wing mounting channels - the problem I would see is that the wing channels on a Galaxy have a considerable slope. Wouldn't this tend to make the feet slip, and how would the adjustment screw work so far away from the vertical? If this tool can be made to work effectively on a Galaxy, it would probably represent a very good investment for those who do all of their own repair and maintenance. I've seen them available for around

It appears that my Alhambra's brake light switch may be on the way out again less than a year after it was replaced - I will obviously be trying to get a free replacement. However, after doing a little digging, it appears that many VAG Group cars made between 2001 and 2005'ish are being recalled to have a re-designed switch fitted. As has been previously discussed on this forum, this part is a potentially safety related item, particularly on automatics. The one on my car is black and can be set after twisting into position. There is apparently a later design which must be set before twisting into position, and another (even later?) design which is purple in colour. The one which is now being fitted in the US is blue and white and is supposed to be of a superior design. Has anyone else heard of this, or whether a recall in the UK and Europe is likely?

Places such as Towsure supply supply nose weight gauges. They are a bit 'cheap and nasty' but are very simple and robust and seem to work quite well. I always carry mine in the front locker, and for around a tenner, you can't go far wrong.

Could you tell us who the seller was - could be useful. Thanks.

In addition, I believe that the 2.3 was derived from the 2.0.

I can't remember the size for the rear calipers, but the pins on the front calipers definitely need a 7mm allen key, so it may be a good idea to get one anyway as you will need it when you change the front pads. 7mm allen keys are needed in quite a few places, especially on brakes supplied by ATE and dampers supplied by Bilstein or Boge. I think you will find that this is not unique to Ford or VW. You can get a 3/8" drive 7mm allen key bit from Halfords. Hope this helps.

I take it that yours fit well then.

Over-revving will not cause the car to trip into limp mode due to excessive boost pressure - this will most probably have been caused by a slight sticking of the VNT mechanism. The engine is 'red-lined' at 4700 rpm, and so long as you do not exceed this, you should not experience any problems. In reality, the TDI engine is well into the 'downhill' part of its power curve well before 4700 rpm, and 90mph in 4th is well under 4000 rpm anyway, so you certainly weren't over-revving the engine. My advice would be just to see how it goes - if it becomes a problem, then cleaning the VNT will most probably sort it out.

Sometimes a good idea to get a VW serviced by a VW agent...

Not at all - the standard fittings work fine, but only if you fit them properly of course.

...and I think you mean the booster heater.

This has been covered before, and there is an excellent thread started by dt1 who had a similar problem - normally at its worst in cold, damp weather. Most likely cause is a sticking VNT mechanism on the turbocharger. N75 valve problems usually cause boost pressure negative deviation fault codes. However, if you present this problem to a typical dealer, they will usually replace this valve (and sometimes the TMAP sensor as well), find this doesn't cure the problem, and then replace the turbocharger - brilliant! But, if you look at the post started by dt1, you will see that he managed to fix his problem without spending a fortune - took some time though.

Me too - brilliant car.

The boost control solenoid valve is sometimes referred to as the N75 valve - I think a VW agent would know which one to get, but I don't know if they can cross-reference the Ford part number - still, if your Ford dealer does get the right one there should be no problem. Good result on the MAF refund!

The first port of call should be a VAGCOM test - this will show any fault codes logged in the ECU, and should point you in the right direction.

Basically, I think there are two possibilities: 1) The wiring to the MAF is damaged - hence the fault codes. 2) VNT not working. This could be jammed shut, the diaphragm could have failed, or one of the vacuum hoses associated with the turbo boost control could be leaking / blocked / disconnected. If there has been no history of a sticking VNT, this would make the 'jammed shut' diagnosis unlikely. The vacuum diaphragms seem very robust, so the first thing I would do is to check that all vacuum hose and electrical connections are sound. If they are sound, you could try dropping the under tray and seeing if the VNT moves when you start and stop the engine - with the engine stopped, it should be in its 'minimum' position, and with the engine idling, it should be in its 'maximum' position. There should be around 12mm of movement on the actuator rod between the two extremes. Hope this helps.

Even better would be to allow cars to use the bus lanes as well...

Metering pump - nothing to worry about as it's part of the normal operation. However, although audible, it's not usually very loud, so it may be worth checking that it's not fouling with anything.

This may be what comes of having what is basically a VW maintained by Ford dealers... However, given that it seems that many Galaxies with PD engines have been running around with the wrong oil, has anyone actually experienced or heard of any cam failures on these engines. I certainly haven't.

Should read 15000km. 506.01 is for the variable service regime, which can be up to 30000km (20000 miles) dependant upon the type of driving done (number of cold starts, etc.) - it can be as low as 15000km.

Just to clarify things: 506.01 is the oil to use on a PD engine with variable service intervals. As far as I am aware, neither the Seat Alhambra nor the Ford Galaxy were ever offered with the variable service interval - it appears to be a 'VW only' offering (although I am not 100% sure about this). PD engined cars with fixed service intervals (ie: oil change every 10,000 miles) should use oil to 505.01. However, sometimes, cars with fixed service intervals have a sticker on the bonnet slam panel showing 506.01 - this is not correct, unless the car is on variable service intervals. Neither Mobil 1 nor Castrol Magnatec meet either of these requirements and should not be used in PD engines. I use the 'fully synthetic' Comma PD engine oil -