soptom

Work being done makes no difference, the original post states that his pedal has been long since he bought the car. Calling them suicide drives is hysterical over reaction. At least two of these suicide drives have passed MOTs in recent weeks and been okayed from Ford.

No-ones post says the pedal REACHES the floor, they just all seem to have long travel. Ford and a brake fitting centre and an independant MOT centre couldn't find a problem.

Ours, (p reg) is exactly the same, we had new discs and pads all round and a bleed and it's just like yours, I queried it and was told the same. It's just passed its MOT (incredibly, first time) and they didn't issue any advisories. Does yours definately have ABS too?

The scuttle drain being blocked will cause what you are experiencing, take out the scuttle panel (3 bolts), then you can stick a coat hanger down the drain holes, pour water in these and it should come out of the wheel arches behind the wheel. The washer hose runs along the passenger door, take off the plastic trim along the bottom of the door frame and you should see it, there is a joint that sometimes separates and this could be your problem too. As for anything else, can't really think.

That's an impossible question to answer, if you are a trained mechanic with unlimited tools, it will be easy for you, if you have as much mechanical aptitude as a small turtle and have no tools, no you won't be able to do it. Replace ball joint, replace brake hose. Not big jobs but obviously easier and more expensive for a garage to do them.

Can you post a result if/when you get one? Heres hoping it won't be too much of a pain.

Are they definately girls?

I've just had the airbag light problem on my Focus company car, It needed a new front crash sensor. I hadn't hit anything, jolted anything or done anything that might have busted it, it just failed apparently. I don't know if it's the same as yours, but when I turned the ignition on, it flashed a couple of times and then was permanently lit until I turned the ignition off again. I had to query it with Ford due to insurance implications and was told that it meant the system was un-operable even in a crash so I had to get it fixed straight away.

Tomorrow is another day.......And another problem.

Out of interest, how much is the kit and how much is it individually?

If you now have water circulating when you didn't before, I would buy another thermostat from Ford/VW and fit that. Even if you test your one and it seems good, from your experience I wouldn't risk re-fitting it. Hope you get it sorted, problems like this that don't cause the car to breakdown but cause you to constantly worry are immensly frustrating.

Cheers guys, I'll pop up to VW and Ford tomorrow and see what I can get.

Hi all, just a quick couple of questions, does anyone know how much an expansion tank cap costs for a 2.0 Galaxy? Is it a stock item in Ford or VW? Cheers.

Brethy, if you didn't have a thermostat or if it was stuck open, I'm pretty sure that with your diesel it would take an absolute age to warm up (on the temp gauge). If it was stuck closed, you'd see overheating problems. I wouldn't worry about a thermostat too much unless you see either of these.

If it's a mk1, there are 2 or 4 screws under the fuse board cover, a clip next to the door rubber at the front and a screw behind the centre console trim which you have to remove too.

Hmmmm, seemed like a rant to me, but I totally agree with you, it seems obvious that if someone has taken THEIR time to think about YOUR problem and offer some guidance, it is only common courtesy to post the results of their efforts in resolving that problem. I frequent various forums (I need to get out more) and you always get people who seem to think we MUST give them all the information we have about their problems, they treat forums like help lines, maybe they think we are paid to offer advice! I for one appreciate all the help I've been given on here and have always posted a thanks and quick explanation of what was needed. Luckily, I've had only small common problems so far and have had relatively easy solutions. Don't back off from offering advice, it's not only the person asking that needs help sometimes, others benefit too.

It's very easy, do as written above and you'll be fine, if you have two switches on your brake pedal, it's the top one you want. Remember to pull the plunger all the way out on the new one before fitting, it's on a ratchet and will find it's own position when fitted. Watch your hands too, there are sharp edges down there, I speak from experience. :angry:

If the fan is cutting in, surely it's getting hot enough?

Hi, the Haynes manual won't really help you for this particular problem but is worth getting for general help with niggly problems. If I remember right, there are three bolts holding the panel on under the wiper linkages, undo those and have a good look round the holes under there as they are prone to clogging up causing water ingress. Also check the screenwash hose at its joints along the bottom of the passenger door as someone suggested.

I've looked before and although I may be totally wrong, the clips are just the right shape to hold the bottom of the seat belts when they are unclipped from the floor. This moves the belts out of the way if you need to carry anything in the back.

Is it the reversing lights which was in the your first question or the brake lights that don't work? My brake light failing was indeed the switch in the footwell, the reversing light switch is as per my other post.

The reversing lights not working tends to usually be caused by the switch on the gearbox wearing down and will need to be replaced , try holding the gearstick fully over in reverse and see if they work then, this would confirm the switch being faulty. Search for reversing lights in the tech section for more detailed info, as for the glow plugs, sorry, ours is a petrol drinker.

Others may be able to provide better help but have a look under the front passenger seat in the cubby hole, this box controls both the central locking and windows and is prone to problems when it gets wet, which it does when the rear wash / wipe tube which runs down the sill comes apart. Dry the box / connections out and see how it goes.

The "boot" lights aren't on a timer, are they?