tim-spam

Hardly any, I should think - I've certainly never seen any.

In terms of driveability, it is important to compare like with like. When I drove a new Galaxy with only around 2000 miles on the clock, of course it felt better than my Alhambra with 92000 miles on the clock. However, I have recently tried a 2007 Sharan (2.0TDI), and the comparison with this is therefore much more appropriate. In my opinion, there is little to choose between the two: the Galaxy has the edge on refinement (the 2007 Sharan is considerably better than earlier ones, by the way), but the Sharan has better perfomance. In terms of handling, both are very good (even when pushed), but the Sharan feels slightly more wieldy (it is, after all, a little smaller), and the Galaxy a little smoother. The biggest difference, however, was a bit of a surprise - the Galaxy seemed a little prone to creaks and rattles, whereas the Sharan felt rock solid. As regards the comments on high-speed stability, I find these a little puzzling - I have always found the Alhambra to be rock solid, even at very high speeds, with very little need for steering correction. However, were I in the market for a brand new large MPV at the moment, my shortlist would probably include both the Galaxy and the Sharan/Alhambra, and the choice would probably come down to price / specification. One other point, I find the size of the Alhambra to be ideal - it occupies very little more road / parking space than a Passat / Mondeo, and I think that making the new Galaxy larger and less flexible in its seating would count against it for me.

Glad I've got a cambelt...

Well I for one will definitely not be 'brimming' my petrol tank.

...which could simply mean that the leak is between the combustion chamber and the cooling system. You only get white sludge if water (or condensation) is getting into the oil.

There is a procedure for installing the injectors - if you get hold of something like Elsawin or a Haynes manual covering a VAG Group car fitted with the PD engine, that should tell you. From memory, the procedure for setting the pump injectors is as follows: 1) Turn the engine until the pump injector is at it's maximum opening - ie: the roller is bearing against the highest point of the lobe. 2) Loosen the locknut and tighten the adjuster until a definite increase resistance is felt - that is the point at which the pump injector has reached the limit of its stroke. 3) Back off the adjuster by a certain ammount - this is what I can't remember, but any of the above publications should have this information. 4) Tighten the locknut whilst counterholding the adjuster.

Is Lazarus still alive and kicking?

Mudflaps are available for a 2003 Sharan.

From what I've read so far, you have a bad contact somewhere in the cable from the alternator to the primary fuse box. This lead to excessive heat build-up and the contact and fuse to melt. Your alternator and battery seem to be OK, so I would just replace the cable - a decent auto-electrician should be able to make one up for you, or you could try a VW garage. If you do this, you should be fine.

Been pretty light hearted all the way through this thread - after all, we can't really take the diesel haters too seriously, can we.

Rule 5: No Vauxhalls.

Or do you mean 44mph? Alternatively, a TDI can crack 44mpg without any special attention whatsoever, and you can still reach your destination in a reasonable time.

1. Erm...actually I didn't. Just to be clear, all I meant was that there are many who's living is actually driving cars who rate the A4 TDI as a very good driver's car. 2. Not taken out of context at all. 3. Anyone who spends their own money on a Galaxy 2.3 Auto has my sympathy. 4. Agreed. 5. I don't really think I'm the one who needs to lighten up.

1) Who said that? 2) Depends on the paper you read - certainly doesn't take up any column inches of what I read. I think there's a bit of logic failure here - the majority of column inches devoted to soap operas are generally found in publications that would hardly be classed as 'intellectual and informative'. 3) Your opinion - although to label a good product as rubbish just because you don't like it is not really valid. As for coming onto this forum expecting some sort of sympathy because you've been lumbered with yet another diesel is perhaps a little silly - afer all, you should really consider your audience, over 90% of whom have chosen to buy diesel for all of the many advantages it offers. You obviously do not like diesels - that's clear - but this really comes down to personal prejudice and nothing more.

I'm afraid I haven't, as mine was supplied by Brink with the towbar - it came in a VW bag. You could try contacting Brink as they may be able to help.

The Mk. 1 achieved a 3 star rating (before it was fashionable!). The Mk. 2 has never been tested, but has been substantially improved - should be 4 star or better, I would have thought. By the way, I agree that the latest Alhambra is definitely better than the Galaxy Mk. 3. Ironically, the build quality seems considerably better too - probably the result of several year's development, but the new one I tried felt very solid indeed.

Time-consuming gearchanges (jerky as well perhaps?), stalling frequently, etc.? Sounds a bit 'BSM' to me. But then again, it's obviously the car...perhaps you may prefer an automatic (a little easier to drive). After all, the A4 2.0 TDI gets really bad write-ups in the press (as do all modern diesels), and the 2.0 TDI I've been driving lately must have been fitted with a petrol engine by mistake because the gearchanges seemed swift and smooth and it didn't stall once (fuel economy seemed pretty good as well). There was no sign of Massey Ferguson stamped on the engine block either - that may actually be because it was made by someone else - who knows? I really will have to find out which tractors are fitted with the 2.0 TDI engine...

... except that diesels don't have coil packs...

I would agree that your mpg is probably about right - this is why diesels make so much sense (particularly in MPV's) and are therefore so much more popular.

...and quite a lot, too.

If you have a new unit, try it and see.

Neither the exhaust nor the flywheel would cause a diesel to fail its emissions test. Having said that, it is possible that because the rear box is detached, the flow of exhaust through it would be nuch lower than it should, and be causing the test equipment not to record the actual emissions from the engine properly. As regards the vibration, I doubt if it's the roll restrictor, as this only tends to cause problems when taking up drive. However, it could just possibly be the offside engine mounting, as this has to be removed when changing the cambelt - if this has come loose or bolts fallen out, I would expect a fair bit of noise and vibration. By the way, is the vibration more like a misfire, or is it more 'mechanical'? One more thing that has just occurred to me - could the cambelt have been fitted one tooth out? Another possibility is that the cambelt tensioner was not correctly adjusted and has allowed the cambelt to jump a tooth or two. This could also cause an emissions test failure. Your garage would certainly not like to admit to this though, so it may be better to get a second opinion.

Just think what your annual mileage is, and then compare with your trip to France and back. If you're fairly confident of the car lasting for the next year, France and back should be no problem. Bear in mind also that the car will be running nice and warm with no nasty cold starts - one long run is far less stressful on a car than lots of short ones.

...or a C2 module. With this, there is no need for either a buzzer or a warning light, as the trailer indicator function is monitored in exactly the same way as the car's own indicators - ie: if any indicator fails, the flash rate is doubled. By the way, the genuine wiring harness that includes the 12S wiring is interesting - when I looked, the 12N seemed to be all that was available (perhaps I should have looked a bit harder), so I wired the 12S socket myself using a 'smart' dual relay. This meant that I only had to run a single wire from the battery, so was not too difficult.