alane

I still cannot get that cup holder out. I've tried two feeler gauges in as described. I push in, overcome slight resistance on the right but on the left it feels very stubborn. I've taken the radio out and am pushing the cup holder from behind but it won't shift. Is there something I'm missing? Best Regards

Reading this thread made me check the oil I used a couple of weeks ago to top up my TDI 115 Galaxy. It was fully synthetic 5W/40 oil I bought in France a year or so ago to top up my old 110 TDI Sharan. At the time I'd checked it met the spec for the Sharan. I hadn't thought to look at the spec before putting it in the Galaxy but the oil (Ecotec) only mentions 505.00 although it does meet BMW Longlife spec. I must have put in around 0.4l to top up the (PD spec) oil that has now been in the Galazy for around 4k miles. Should I be worried or will the relatively small quantity really make any difference. Given that previous owners had the car serviced at Ford dealers the PD oil I had put in was probably the first correct spec oil it had since leaving the factory. Lesson learned I'll buy 5l of 505.01 at Halfords next time they have an offer on oil. Best Regards

Chris Tried jiggling the feeler gauge around but no luck. That radio is going to have to come out. Thanks Alan.

Hi One of the cup holders in my 2003 LX won't pop out. I guess the first question is - did the LX have two functioning cup holders? It's completely jammed and won't press in at all. Any ideas for releasing it? Best Regards

Hi Chris No, pressures are ok. I check them regularly, but thanks for the suggestion anyway. A bit of a mystery as the caster angle was ok when checked end of March. I've not had time to look at it or get it into a garage since getting back but will try this week. Best Regards Alan.

The front suspension on the Galaxy is pretty robust, so you could be right thinking that the damage could have been pre-existing. I doubt the clutch work could have caused any problems, they shouldn't need to drop the front crossmember, and in any case special alignment tools for refitting are not required, like on the Mondeo front subframe for example. It's probably worth a second opinion, just to make sure that the castor figures tally. The good news is that if the suspension has been damaged, the most likely is probably a bent bottom control arm or split bush, and complete replacement bottom arms are available relatively cheaply. If it gets really serious and the front crossmember is also damaged, it should be possible to find a good replacement from a breaker. Hope this helps. :) Paul Thanks for the advice, sorry not to have responded sooner but I've been away for a long weekend. Car seems reasonably ok just pulling to the left a bit. I'll take it to another garage for a check as you suggest. The garage that did the clutch work don't think there is any problem but then after making just a few quid out of standard servicing on my old 98 Sharan with 260k miles on the clock they are probably planning early retirement on the money coming in from me on repairs to this Galaxy. Best Regards Alan

[OK Thanks. So it looks like there must be some damage somewhere or the readout is wrong. The garage that changed the clutch has been very good over the years and is run by a couple of real enthusiasts so I'll be surprised if they've caused any damage. Maybe this is another in the long line of faults in the car that I thought was a bargain a couple of months ago.............. Best regards Alan

Thanks for the ideas here. The tyres are only a few weeks old and when mounted I had the geometry checked and all readings were green. Since then it's had new drive shafts and clutch so some disturbance to the overall setup I assume (I'm not sure exactly what has to be disconnected to get the clutch out). The caster has gone from +3.3 deg identical both sides to +4.23LH and +1.08RH. Spec is +3.2 +-1.4deg. I've tried it on a reverse camber and it still pulls to the left although not so bad. It's going back into the garage so I'll ask them but if the settings aren't adjustable then that might be a problem. Thanks.

I installed the load cover brackets in my 2003 Galaxy LX this weekend. I found a couple of differences in my car which others might find useful if they have a similar model - I didn't have to remove the door seal strip either to get the bottom trim or the c pillar trim off. This seemed like a difficult job so I wanted to avoid it. For the bottom door trim it isn't possible to get a full size screwdriver to the screws if the seal is in place but I found that the screws could be undone just using a power screwdriver bit - they screws weren't particularly tight so I could turn the bit with just finger force. On my car the "loadspace trim panel retaining screw" at the base of the D pillar was not present but the panel did have two press stud fasteners at front and back of the panel about half way up. On the first panel I removed I located the rear stud and released it but managed to mangle the front stud when I lifted the panel up to remove it. I was removing the panels to fit load cover brackets. I found it quite easy to make the cutouts for the brackets etc using a Stanley knife rather than a saw. The installation wasn't particularly difficult but took me some hours to do as a relative novice.

I took my car in to local tyre dealer who have a Corghi laser 4 wheel alignment machine. They've corrected the alignment but the machine shows that the caster angle is out by some margin. They don't think this is adjustable. The car is still pulling to the left - is this a likely cause and is there any way to adjust caster angle? I've done a search on the forum but apart from the odd mention, caster angle doesn't seem to have featured in any other threads. Best Regards

Based on my personal experience buying a Galaxy recently my advice would be to walk away unless it's going for a very good price. There are plenty of good cars out there so why take a risk with one with known faults particularly electrics. Warranties are fine but the inconvenience of getting repairs done etc has to be taken into account.

Many thanks for the information in this thread. I managed to change the filter on my 03 Galaxy this afternoon. The old filter was completely clogged and whoever put it in had not put it in properly. The frame was just standing in front of the aperture at the passenger side. I had to release 2 of the wiper mounts to create enough clearance to push the new filter and frame back in place. I tried for ages to do so without loosening the wiper mounts but there just wasn't sufficient clearance. With the wipers released the job is a doddle. Best Regards

Thanks Chris for the info. Is the clamp a push fit or are there screws to tighten? I'm just worried about either breaking the glass or not doing it up tight enough so it comes off again. Thanks Alan.

Did you get the problem sorted? I've just had a new clutch and Dual mass flywheel fitted and after about 300 miles the car has developed severe intermittent vibration at around 30-40mph, ie it happens on some journeys but not others. The mechanic at the garage managed to replicate the problem and thought it felt like a driveshaft vibration. He took the driveshaft off and can't find any evidence of anything other than minor wear. After refitting the driveshaft the car now feels ok again. He doesn't think its a faulty DMF as the problem seems more speed related so I've taken it away to see if the problem comes back. Neither of us are hopeful but he's not sure what the cause might be although it seems like a bit of a coincidence that the problem has ocurred just after fitting the new clutch. Does this ring any bells with anyone as to likely cause? Best Regards Alan.