tim-spam

I think the 3 seats in the back aren't 3 individual seats, but a '3 seater' bench seat - my brother-in-law has an 806 (believe me, it's absolute crap!) and borrowed a rear bench seat from a friend when he wanted to take 8 people on a trip. I don't know if such a thing is available for our cars - I've never seen one in the UK, but it may be available elsewhere. I guess it's worth a look. By the way, if you think the individual seats are heavy, try lifting the rear bench out of a Chrysler Voyager. Tim

Or you could use VAGCOM, or persuade another forum member with VAGCOM to do it for you.

Eurocarparts or GSF - both have websites.

Regarding fuel filters, engines designed to meet the Stage III (which includes the 115 PD engines) and latest Stage IV emission standards require much better fuel filtration than earlier engines. This means that the filters are finer, and will therefore remove more contaminants from the fuel. In addition, it is important to drain the water from the bottom of the filter. However, we in the UK are blessed with comparatively clean diesel fuel. For changing the cam belt, it will be much easier with the correct alignment / locking tools, and don't forget to renew the tensioner. Tim

I went to B&Q over the weekend, and noticed several Galaxies (on 01, 02 and 03 plates), and they all had these flat blade wiper blades fitted. Have the main dealers stopped supplying the curved blades - if so, I guess they are fitting the later flat blade types together with new wiper arms when they service the car. Has anyone on this forum had this done to their cars? Tim

An MPV specialist near where I live has several Sharans, Alhambras and Galaxies in stock (on Y, 51, 52 and 03 plates), and they have all been fitted with flat blade wipers and new wiper arms to go with them. In some cases, the wiper arms foul the plastic grille moulding, but this may just be poor fitting. Are these wipers an improvement over the curved ones fitted to earlier cars? The reason I was asking whether anyone knew the cost and interchangeability of the latest plastic grille / bonnet parts was that the older ones seem somewhat flexible, and should they ever get broken (for example during windscreen replacement), would the later ones fit? Tim

Tyre manufacturers generally recommend tyre rotation - usually front to rear and vice-versa. Just a few points to be made: 1) "All the weight is at the front....". No, it's around 55% on an MPV (less if laden) 2) Handling is better if there is not too much difference in tread depth and age front to rear - hence the recommendation to rotate tyres. 3) If a tyre blows out on a bend, the outer rear is the most dangerous - oversteer, followed by the rim 'digging in', followed by overturn. 4) I have Dunlops at the moment (the car was supplied with them), and will certainly not choose them again - noisy, poor wet road performance and poor life. So, I will want to change all 4 at once. 5) Mild understeer is considered to be the safest characteristic for the majority of situations, as it is generally self-correcting - assuming there is enough road, the car will run slightly wider (thus reducing the cornering force) and it will tend to scrub off speed. Obviously, gross understeer (or oversteer for that matter) could be terminal if you run out of road! 6) The reasons why front tyres tend to wear out more quickly (even on my wife's RWD Mercedes 190) is the initial mild (ie: barely noticeable) understeering tendency of most cars in everyday driving, the extra weight (55% - 60%) and the effects of being the steering wheels. FWD cars also have the tractive forces to deal with.

I've noticed that the newer Galaxies, Alhambras and Sharans ('04 and on) have straight, all plastic wiper blades and an improved ventilation air intake grille / washer jet holder. Has anyone has experience of these, and are they much of an improvement - the grille certainly feels much more solid. Will these parts fit an earlier facelift car (2000 - 2003), and if so what is the cost? Tim

Just a quick thought - I'm not familiar with the exact layout of the VR6 engine, but would it be possible to change the tensioners without removing the gearbox? The reason for this question is that the recommended method for changing the chain on a Mercedes 190 should enable the chain to be changed without removing the gearbox. The method is to grind the heads of the link pins off one chain link (with plently of rags around to prevent swarf from entering the engine!), remove the link and then use the new loose link (supplied with the new chain) to temporarily join the new chain to the old one. The engine is then very carefully and slowly turned so that the new chain is drawn into position by the old chain. Once this is done, the old chain is removed, the loose link used to join the two ends of the new chain together and the heads of the pins peened over to hold the loose link in place - job done. However, I don't know if this would be possible on the VR6 engine, so apologies if it isn't. Tim

Scotchloks are definitely not a good idea - if you need to break into the loom, cut the plug off and use proper crimps with heat-shrink sleeves (Halfords sell them) of the appropriate size. Also, if you have, or can borrow a proper crimping tool, this will make a really professional job. Tim

In order to meet the essential health and safety requirements necessary to gain type approval to sell a product in the EU, the manufacturer has to demonstrate compliance. There are several types of potential hazards with most mechanical & electrical products, and the actions required depend upon what the hazard is and how severe its consequences could be. Some need to be designed out (eg: you cannot start an automatic car in gear), some require visible / audible warnings (eg: ABS lights, indicator lights, etc.), some require written warnings (eg: do not use rearward facing child seats in the front seat with airbags active) and others require warnings in the instruction manual supplied with the product. This is the long way of saying that the instruction manual forms an important part of a product's type approval, and is therefore a legal requirement. Tim

My Alhambra has 2 reversing lights, which both work. Sounds a bit like dealerspeak to me, but let us know what the handbook says when you finally get it. By the way, your dealer has broken the law by selling the car with no handbook, as this forms a necessary part of the vehicle's type approval. Tim

The Castrol TXT 505.01 is a fully synthetic oil (as is the genuine VAG stuff). I am told that the Millers is semi-synthetic - perhaps the Ford stuff is as well? That would explain the price difference. Tim

The aux heater on my Alhambra works very well and there is also no noticeable smoke. If the metering pump is ticking away, the jet engine noise is there and the coolant heats up reasonable quickly on a cold day, it's working. Cheers, Tim

I'm after a hose clip release / installation tool. This is to release and install the spring type hose clips used on various hoses in the engine bay. The ones I've seen pictures of have a fexible section to allow them to be used within the confines of the typical engine bay of a modern car, and handles like a pair of pliers. Does anyone have any recommendations as to the type to buy, and where to buy it? I've used ordinary combination pliers so far, but this is very fiddly, and it's only a matter of time until a clip flies off and gets lost, or injures someone (probably me!). Thanks, Tim

CV joints and wheel bearings usually rumble or knock. Intermittant squeal or squeak is likely to be brake related. Try braking slightly when the noise occurs - if the noise disappears, there's the problem. Tim

I recently bought the French equivalent to a Haynes manual for the Golf Mk4 - this is the best book I could find that covers the TDI PD engines. Funnily enough, I have been surprised at how much use this is for other areas of the Alhambra as well as the engine. Anyway, this book states that the cambelt and tensioner should be changed at 60,000 km (40,000 mile) intervals, but that the belts now being supplied as replacements (and fitted to the later cars) have been improved and the change interval increased to 90,000 km (60,000 miles). I will look up the relevant part numbers tonight. Tim

I think I read somewhere that the fault code memory clears if the battery is disconnected for a period of time, and that there is a calibration sequence to be followed when the battery is re-connected. If this is true, I guess that once a fault is fixed, the fault codes can be cleared with no need for VAGCOM. However, I'm still going to buy the lead and get the software for its diagnostic functions - resetting fault codes will also be much quicker than disconnecting / re-connecting the battery. Tim

Hi there, When accelerating hard in my 2002 Alhambra TDI (especially in the upper 3 gears), the car initially accelerates strongly, then pauses for a very short time, before resuming acceleration at a slightly reduced rate. This tendency is slight, but noticeable, and is possibly just a characteristic of the emission control system coming into play (boost and fueling being reduced slightly to reduce smoke emission?). I guess that the other possibility is very early signs of impending MAF failure. What experiences do others on this forum have? I must emphasise that the performance is generally very good, especially acceleration between 1500rpm to 2500rpm, and the fuel consumption is around 40 mpg. Cheers, Tim

115 bhp PD engines MUST use oil that meets VW 505.01 (or 506.01 for variable servicing intervals). My local Seat dealer is fully aware of this, which to my relief means that my Alhambra will have had the correct oil used in it from new. However, their PD oil is

As far as I am aware, pre-facelift models will require the bumber to be cut, but I am told that it is not difficult to make a neat job of it. All of the pre-facelift models I've seen with towbars appear to have had their bumpers cut. However, the only Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambra I have fitted a towbar to is my own 2002 Alhambra, so if someone else reading this has fitted a towbar to an older model, they may be able to be of more help. The other thing to try is www.brinktowbars.co.uk - I think you may be able to download their fitting instructions in pdf format. As regards the roof rails, you could try a search on this site - I'm sure someone else has done this job. Tim

The part numbers for the Brink towbar are: 1996 - 2000 swan neck 270200 - requires cutting of bumber 1996 - 2000 2 bolt flange 291300 - requires cutting of bumber 2000 and later swan neck 350000 - no cutting required 2000 and later 2 bolt flange 350200 - no cutting required As regards 12S wiring, I prefer taking the feed directly from the battery - this is then pretty much independent from the car electrics. In addition, the fuse is easily accessible right next to the battery, and the cable can be properly protected along its whole length with flexible trunking. I have fitted the 2 bolt flange type, as this is compatible with a wide range of stabilizer brackets and other things such as cycle carriers. The bumper to ball clearance is very similar for both types. On previous cars, I have fitted Witter towbars, which I found to fit well, but the Brink is definitely better, and much more like the genuine VW/Seat/Ford part, which is why I chose it. Tim

I have fitted a Brink towbar to my 2002 Alhambra - Halfords is their main UK agent and it cost a little over

In terms of out-and-out performance through the gears, the 115 has a slight but noticeable advantage over the 110. However, the biggest difference between these two is in the torque - the 115 has much better low to mid range punch (the maximum torque is around 20% higher). This translates into considerably better in-gear acceleration, and is particularly suitable for towing. It is however important to ensure that the correct oil has been used, and that you continue to use it. It can be expensive to buy (although shopping around can bring the price down a lot), but when you calculate the cost of oil in terms of pence per mile, it is almost insignificant. Hope this helps, Tim

The original problem is clearly a clutch actuation problem - slave / master cylinder or hydraulic lines. Why on earth did the dealer change so many expensive parts?? I think the answer almost certainly has something to do with the word "warranty". To put it simply, dealers make a fortune out of warranty by doing expensive and largely unnecessary repair work. What then makes matters worse is the appalling standard of workmanship - are all hoses, harnesses, etc properly clipped after such major work? I think we all know the answer to that! This then leads to further problems. Most of us are probably familiar with the aircon woes - I guess that most of these problems are due to this warranty scenario. 1) Systems loses charge over winter due to non use. 2) Dealer doesn't (want to) understand system and starts to replace loads of parts. 3) Due to poor workmanship, further problems follow. 4) Failure to refit or replace all clips, fasteners, etc leads to further breakdowns, rattles, etc. The list goes on, but the manufacturers really need to get hold of these dealers making their fortunes from unnecessary warrantly work and sort them out. The reason that these vehicles suffer more than most is that the factory has 3 manufacturers' dealer networks to deal with (although I guess that VAG and Seat can be classed as 1). Well, I'm glad that's off my chest! Tim