Scorpiorefugee

It's been a while, mainly because this Galaxy is only used about once a month. However, thanks to a load of stuff stored in the garage and a badly parked car on the drive I managed to catch the OS door mirror on the door frame and bits of plastic everywhere. I have a replacement coming but I cannot see how it all comes off and I don't want to start stripping bits off unnecessarily. Can anyone help please? I have scanned through a few previous replies but the links don't work.

Hi Seatkid, As I remember things it was you that was always helping others to keep things going not the other way around. I can fully understand your reluctance to let the old girl go. I handed my MK2 Gal to my son 5 years ago when I landed myself with with a MK3. I got it back 1 year last November when his garage wrote it off and spent less than £300 getting it back on the road and the next 6 weeks trying to convince him to let me keep it but lost. It is still running and passed it's MOT first time. The MK3 is still rarely used but it seems impossible to find a replacement. I looked at the Skodas but the only one that I could get into was the Yeti although I can still get into a 1960s Mini. The way things are I might just try to put in an offer for your old Seat. :) I always believed you'd keep the Alhambra for ever. My old Gal scored all zeros on it's last MOT with 200k on the clock so I can't see any justification for forcing them off the road.

I think it depends on what model you have now and what you think is important. "I upgraded" from a 2002 ghia to a one year old Titanium 2.0 diesel and fortunately the old car is still in the family with £200K on the clock. In the opinion of the entire family, this remains by far the better car for comfort, ride and driving pleasure and several other minor points. If yours is the Ghia version I should say think very carefully but the choice is yours.

I am just finishing this short story as, for me, all problems are now solved and it may help someone with similar issues. For my March 2012 Galaxy Titanium the correct part is indeed 1 757 231 Priced at about £80 but I got mine for about £35 on Ebay. The official information is that this will need to be programmed by Ford and the helpful fitter at the local tyre place confirmed this warning that he believed that the Ford system could only cope with 4 sensors. He also told me that they could supply a compatible item and program it by copying the ID from the original but I didn't check the price. I simply drove the car home and within a few hundred yards the car had obviously picked it up and I had 4 tyres on the display all showing updated pressures. The fitters originally set the pressures at 32 psi but I asked them to increase it to 35 and over a short journey in near zero temperatures the computer registered 38 rising to 40 after 4 miles. I had a complete set of Landsails fitted, 2 new on the day and 2 new which I had purchase earlier about 3 years ago, one on a brand new alloy and one to ensure an axle match for when I used it. Total cost including changing the valve on the new alloy and rechecking balance - £100. or £200 for the complete set. The old tyres had done 38K and I now have a good spare only slightly more than half worn complete with the correct valve. I have nothing bad to say about the Landsail tyres.

Glow plugs may be a problem but it can be influenced by mileage and lots of short runs. Not the same but my wife's Xsara Picasso is much the same and a new battery and glow plugs effected only a slight improvement. You could just put up with it and wait for warmer weather then give it a long run. Alternatively, I have found that a short turnover followed by another a couple of seconds later helps with the old Picasso.

It now seems that none of the parts I have been offered is correct. The local Ford parts dept. has offered me 1 757 231 at about £77 and it still needs to be programmed in. This seems to require a special piece of kit which some accounts tell us is quite cheap but seems to be a bit difficult to find followed by a procedure which seems to resemble that used to remove evil spirits from a lady's bed chamber. I found just one on Ebay for £36 while all others on Ebay were asking £70 + so the game will continues once I get a delivery and head for the local tyre fitters. What a bl00dy palava and all because a load of irresponsible dimwits decided we didn't need a spare wheel.

Perhaps we should have a whip round to see if we can find someone to fix it. :48:

Thanks Gregers, Is there summat wrong here? I've been watching and according to the display there have been no views or comments. If I hadn't just popped a couple of replies in and noticed that they had been added to the topic but not to the top level I should not have bothered reopening this topic. there are 2 others and now this showing no views or comments. However, what little info there is about seems to be conflicting - hence the question. And now, it is good to see you are still on the ball. Judging from your signature you've had a bad year, that looks pretty rough. Sad news mate.

Mine has had this tendency at times but never gone completely flat and it sometimes sits in the garage for a month or more. I have had one of the internal lights left on which is not noticed in daylight. I have had an unlatched door causing it to sit there unlocked with the side lights on - not noticed when locked or later 'cos it's in the garage. Do you have a security camera you can point at it? These things are to smart for their own good these days and I shouldn't trust mine to be left to it's own devices for too long but I can't offer any more suggestions.

It seems very quiet on here lately and I'm no expert on these. The description is not over helpful but try starting from basics. If it struggles to turn over and taking into account it is now Winter the first thoughts go to battery. If you've spent all that cash I should expect someone has checked but who knows. In the absence of a meter do the lights go down when you try to start it could be poor connection, defective starter or just battery - check battery by replacement if necessary, maybe someone has fitted an underrated battery. If the terminal voltage is low the glow plugs won't work well, the starter won't work well and the fuel pump won't work well and you have the very problem. Do the battery terminals get hot when trying to start it? Until you have got past all of these you are just wasting time and money.

Can anyone give the correct part no or other useful information for a valve for my 2012 Titanium? I bought a new alloy (£140 + VAT) and tyre (Landsail £50) a few years ago to use as a spare which I thought was a better all round deal that the supplied option but it is now time to replace the set and want to cycle the spare into use leaving the best of the others as spare. To maintain pressure monitoring I need a proper valve but it seems that there is more than one type and costs vary alarmingly. (£25 to £85 each) The part 1708046 has been offered twice at about £35 but then I am told that the one I want is £80. Just out of interest, I ditched the run flats within a few days of buying the car with 8K on the clock and opted for a set of Landsails for £200 which at least convinced SWMBO that we should keep the car and we are now nearing 40K with some wear remaining but winter approaching so I see no reason for using any other brand. Any ideas?

I had a very similar problem but on the rear offside. This was caused by the brake pad first catching and then oscillating causing a huge vibration. The clue was that the brake disk and all around it was radiating heat to the extent that it could be felt from more than a foot away. Also, much earlier about 15-20 years ago, I had a very similar thing on two totally different vehicles several years apart. The first was on a montego and was caused by the hub which had been damaged by a hamfisted garage using a chisel to remove a wheel bearing. This ruined one tyre and two brake disks before I eventually found a garage who actually listened to me. The second was very similar in effect but on a low mileage Vauxhall Astra estate. The first was cured by a short careful bit of filing, the secong by replacing the hub. In both cases the garages insisted that it was all in my imagination because the problem only showed after a longish trip. The lesson learned from the Vauxhall was that a suspiciously low mileage can be the result of a rougue vehicle with an undiagnosed but annoying fault. I may be wide of the mark but your description of the problem is remarkably similar to my problem.

This is a link to a more general set of problems but the important bit is the loss of gears. The whole topic is 4 posts but it is the last which contains the useful information. http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?/topic/27396-garages-just-dont-understand-galaxys/

And finally..... My son managed to lose the gears again and I have redone the fix with a vengance and it now seems OK. However, It now appears that this problem is very common but then, why did I have to sort it out myself???? The good news is that the casting is available - Part no 7M3 711 046B listed as about £65 RRP. What that means as a final price is something to discover the hard way but I was sent the following link by a very helpful chap at TPS. https://www.partslink24.com/vwag/vw_parts/illustration-mailing.action?mode=K0LWRGBGB&lang=en Now all that is needed is a durable elbow length glove or a large box of plasters.

You started by saying that it loses power as if you've taken your foot off the accelerator. You must do something or you would just grate to a stop. What sort of speed/revs are you talking about and how long have you had the car? Did this just happen, has it developed gradually or has it always done it.? This is the sort of information which may help someone come up with some answers. If you can think of anything else which may be odd throw that in as well. The info about the MAF readings suggests that it is doing something but I don't think there are many 90bhp motors about so it is doubtful if anyone can verify that but the whole thing does not scream MAF unless someone has fitted the wrong one but that is still unlikely as the problem would show at other times in the form of poor performance. Is it possible it is just that the 90bhp unit isn't quite up to the job you are expecting? A lot or even a little information would be helpful. You are the eyes and ears of the folk who are trying to help.

Yes. I thought of that but it doesn't seem to fit well with his description. However, my original MK1 which started this love affair did seem to be a bit like this and I was amazed and delighted with the great improvement in overall performance with a new MAF. I proved mine by swapping it with the one on the MK2 I bought shortly afterwards but noticed that the faulty MAF pretty well killed the MK2 completely. It's got to be about the way you tell 'em. :D

Hello Seatkid, I'm not sure how that image appeared on my post 'cos I just put a link on but that is for the 5 speed box and my problem was with a component with the same funtion but without the lever and i n a different position. I think the 6 speed arrangement is shown at the end of the video. However, the problem was simply with the spline on the bit under the nut next to the fellow's thumb, unless the image may change if someone plays the video. I read the bit about the bit dropping into the the gearbox and was greatly relieved to find the problem unrelated to that. I now think the new lower position of the lever (for want of a better term) is a result of the wear on the tapered spline so I'll wait for my mutilated hand to heal before trying to find and fit a replacement - if the old tub lives that long. I finally noticed that the garage had failed to replace the soundproofing cover off the top of the engine which explains the noise and you are probably right about the sticky actuator as on a short trip this morning I noticed that after the turbo had finally kicked in I could hear it whining quite loudly on tickover intermittently which seems to support this. This is a far better position to be in instead of the option offered by 2 garages. And finally, I have to ask if your now ageing motor is still alive and giving joy. I am seriously looking for a suitable MK2 to supplement my MK3 as , although it's ok on long motorway runs provided I have a cushion to sit on, the MK2 is way way better in just about every respect on normal roads and round town.

This all relates to my old MK2 given to my son 3 1/2 years ago. He recently comlained that as a result of severe vibration at speed and loss of reverse and first his local (well recommended) garage had told him that the gearbox was shot and the dual mass flywheel also shot and that it was all beyond economical repair). I did a round trip of 200 miles to lend him my wife's picasso and brought it back. I had some vibration on the way back which I instinctively put down to drive shaft but other than that and the gear problem it drove beautifully. I dropped it into my local (2 ageing mechanics trying to earn an honest crust) asking them to look at the vibration first to decide whether it was worth doing much more. The soon reported NS drive shaft joint sleeve badly split and totally dry with rust and one brake pipe nearly rusted through. The previous garage said that they had checked the drive shafts and they were fine. Both problems must have been evident at the earlier MOT! A new sleeve, grease, brake pipe and 2 rear tyres (both badly worn on the inside) and I took it on a 200 mile round trip at speeds rather more than the legal limit in short busts with no vibration. On the way back I lost 3rd so I took it back to the garage and asked them to check the gear linkage as is well reported on several other posts. The next day thay phoned to say that they had tried to get it to a "specialist" as advised but had lost all drive an the clutch was burnt out and the vehicle incapable of movement. In dispair I assumed that they had been unable to get secong and the clutch had failed because someone was trying to drive it with only 4th upwards. Luckily, I found this on Utube. Working on the hope that the clutch may have survived I managed to manually engage 2nd and drive it the 2 miles home and that is when the fun started. Resetting the cables just made it worse but I eventually dicovered that the casting which is bolted to the gear selector rod was loose and wobbling. Having checked the 8mm nut I managed to tighten it a couple of turns but the cast lever was still loose so I took it off, losing a lot of skin in the process to find that the spline was badly worn but that did not explain why the nut wouldn't at least stop it wobbling. I replaced it with a washer under the nut and after found the correct position I eventually got all six gears but no reverse and I couldnt get reverse even by operating the thing manually. A while later and having lost more skin I found that I could get reverse with the casting off and tightening the nut while pressing down and than noticed a that the muck had been scraped off a ridge on the gearbox casing. After deciding which part of the bit I had dedicated a lot of skin to remove and refit several times I ground about 5 mm off and replaced it. I now have all gears and the gear change feels so positive it is like driving a new car. So, why didn't anyone notice the loose nut and the drive shaft ptoblem. I couldn't see the nut becaus I was working alone but someone could have saved a potententially lost drive shaft, a badly burnt clutch and a lot of gear change problems for little cost. Now all I have to worry about is poor turbo action and a sound a bit like blowing exhaust coming from the same area - possibly linked. :5: Questions. Does anyone know why the cast lever I had trouble with became lower to stop access to reverse? Possibly wear or a missing spacer? Any suggestions for low power up to 2000 rpm which picks up suddenly and slight loss of power generally?

You haven't said what happens next. Do you have to switch off and start again, does it pick up again without action? A couple of possibilities. If it sits revving at about 1200 with no throttle action then it could be the throttle pedal intermittent. This happens on the MK2, possibly the MK1. It is possibe to take it to bits and clean it CAREFULLY! The water level sensor may be intermittent or low water - this will reset after switch off. The temperature sensor is in 2 parts, one is used for the gauge and possible other things, the other is used for engine management and can cause a few odd things. It can cause the engine fan to come on every time you switch off and it can cause the glow plugs to stop working and make starting in cold weather take about 10 seconds. More than likely none of these so.... I'm no expert but a bit more info might help those who are.

I should never advocate the introduction of limiters as they are downright dangerous - HGVs are a good example so it's all about educating drivers to stick to the legal limits which are there for a purpose. The 70 mph limit is applied because it is a typical level at which any car begins to increase fuel consumption at an incteasing (logorithmic almost) rate. The fact that any car is more economical at any particular speed does not change that scientific fact. However many of the new aerodynamic designs tend to cause other problems. I, at 6' tall simply cannot get into many of the modern cars (short legs better known as ducks disease)- the new Mondeo is a good example and, if I can get in, my all round visibility is severely resticted by lower roof lines, A frames etc. I did have an L reg BMW 5 series for a while which was great but I tried the new model and found it claustraphobic so car model choice is not as simple as economy. I'm afraid that the speed limit is applied for a reason and, like all laws, they are for everyone but should be applied with some common sense. If a car is more economical at 80 than a Galaxy a is at 70, then it will be a whole lot more economical and less poluting at 70, which is my original point. If you believe otherwise, give it a fair and thorough trial and publish some figures. Bear in mind that a wind speed change of 10mph will throw the figures completely. Simple. I'm not looking for anything beyond that but I think accurate and unbiased facts are always interesting to everyone.

I think all of this justifies the imposition of the 70 mph limit for emission control and to minimise our import of fuel oils. Perhaps the growing number of high performance vehicle and cheslea tractor drivers who hog the outside lane at way above this limit should take a more socially responsible attitude.

I had an opportunity to try a possible replacement for my MK3 today. All I had to do was to pick it up and drive it 90 miles to my home. I have to say it was impressive! A large MPV with an unusual but extremely comfortable 6 seats, all with arms and more comfortable than most lounge furniture. It was a delight to sit in with an uncluttered dash and excellent forward vision. Driving it was total pleasure with a silky soft gearbox and clutch and a nice progressive throttle which combined to make driving in traffic stress free. On the road the suspension was remarkably good at riding rough surfaces with a light steering with just enough feel to restore the instinctive feel which makes driving a pleasure. By the time I got home it had returned 50 mpg and I could have happily continued to drive on up the M5 and then on up the M6 - or maybe not in late afternoon. In just about every area it was so far ahead of the MK3 that there was no real comparison. So, what was it? Sob! It was my old MK2 Ghia which I gave to my son when I bought my MK3 and I had brought it home to get a few things fixed on it 'cos his local garage was telling him that it wasn't really worth fixing. He had put 80K on it and after deriding my choice of vehicles since I got the first MK1 he has no Idea what he would replace it with. If I get lucky I might take advantage of that and get to keep it then I can possibly get rid of my MK3, even though there is the best part of 200K miles difference. Maybe he would do a swap but I doubt it unless he could put it in part ex for something else.

Sorry I can't help Dave but life was a damned site easier when you could just lift the seat out, but then, it wouldnt have happened anyway. I've been worried about this sort of thing for the past 4 years but no-one ever wants to sit in the back anyway apart from the grandchildren who chuck stuff everywhere which is difficult to get out of all the little crevices but that's usually soft stuff. Have you tried a seriously powerful vac. I use a Henry without a bag to get about 3 times as much suction. Hopefully, there will be a Haynes "sometime".

Coming in on this a bit late but, after fretting about MPG ever since I handed my MK2 to my son 3 years ago and struggling to get over 40, I've just completed a long tour of Northern Scotland from Kidderminster and back ending with a return trip to Plymouth. 3100 miles in a fortnight and a lot of single track roads, road works, 1 in 4s and annoying detours. I think I shall need a full brake service now after a lot of time spent hanging on to the engine in first and second gear and still dabbing the brakes. However, on the first leg from home to Glasgow It actually registered 59 mpg and the fuel top up confirmed that. There were 2 very long 40mph motorway sections but the rest was pretty normal motorway driving and a detour through the lakes. I left the trip meter running and the final reading is 52mpg with the last run from a full tank (over 3 days) of over 770 miles but it is now in the garage showing 1 mile to empty so I have no idea how much it will take to fill it up again. I find it all hard to believe as my other best was only 43 mpg but that was in cold weather. The only other event was a full 4 year service with only 27 K on the clock but all of this recent mileage has been in warm fine weather. I have checked all of my receipts and card statements and it all agrees with the trip computer so I can only hope it continues. It is a 140 bhp manual and it is very noticable that economy improved dramatically below 60 with much of the single track road road work making the trip meter reading settle at about 55mpg for about 7 days, this only coming down on the long road home, but there was a lot of low gear work on those Scottish A and B roads. All fuel was from Morrissons and there are not many of those north of Inverness.

Thanks Gregers, It has been a while and yet you are still the first to reply. We were in Eastbourne a couple of weeks ago catching up on a few of my ageing relatives and I was very grateful for my tomtom. as there seems to be new roads and one way systems everywhere. We're off to darkest Scotland in a few days and the prospect of tackling 50 miles of single track road with no turnings or signs of civilisation without a spare wheel was giving me the willies. In 50 plus years of 40/60 k miles a year I've had very few punctures but in almost every case it has been much as you described. Where do they find the bl00dy lunatics that make the decisions? I've worked out where the jacking points are but a little concerned about the cills when using a trolley jack. I've looked at sissor jacks on sale and they don't look too encouraging so I'm going for a rubber spacer for the trolley jack and assuming that the strength is in the bit immediately inside(behind) the cill. I was hoping someone could say that they had tried a particular make with success. Much the same for the interface as there seems to be many looking much the same but with different descriptions and some extravagant pricing which I assume to be profiteering. As for the other problems, I stil find it difficult to accept that the unpredictable surge at around 1400 RPM is normal but It ain't too bad once we're on a motorway so long as there are no hold ups.