Scorpiorefugee

I might have been tempted but I had another problem in that area and it seemed the simplest and probably the cheapest way to tackle the problem and at the time I needed the vehicle to be reliable 7 days a week. It also proved that the engine runs a damned site better without this expensive and troublesome 'improvement' as well as being able to reassure folks that it is OK to ditch the EGR. Before the mod I was struggling to get much over 40MPG on a run and it now regularly does 50. I reckon it paid for itself in the first week or two for the trouble free motoring and within a year on fuel and I didn't have to get my hands dirty. 20 years ago I'd have done it your way but I prefer to do the things I'm good at now or just sit by the fire in my slippers. Preferably the latter. :)

I bought a replacement kit for about £60 3 or more years ago for my 52 115 bhp ghia and it has run very sweetly ever since. Improved MPG, starting etc. I got the garage to fit it because they had it in because the original seemed to be blowing and they couldn't see where. The garage said it was a doddle to fit and everything was in the kit and as far as I'm concerned it was worth every penny. Unfortunately I can't remember where I got it but it turned up on a google search for replacement EGR so it shouldn't be too difficult. In answer to your question about the pipe I think you just block it up as you suggest and it is recommended that you give the intake a good clean while you're at it. In my case everything was replaced as part of the kit so I now have the old EGR valve which I can't bring myself to ditch but it will have to go sometime. Apparently the whole thing is yet another addition which causes more trouble than it is worth and mine has had no problems with emissions since I had it removed.

I believe that there are contacts within the motor gear which detect that the position is active or parked and parking requires a short reverse action of the motor so the problem is probably in there. Another issue in association of this is that the tray under the motor can collect a pool of water which can seep into the motor if left parked nose up hill. this can cause a whole load of problems with these contacts and the first job is to ensure that the water can drain away and with luck it all settles down. If you want to get up close and personal with the motor thie removal procedure is well documented probably in the FAQs

I have no experience with petrol galaxies but can offer a couple of observations. My old S reg starter packed up one day and it turned out to be an external flexible connection between the spade connector and a flexible point on the starter body about 2 inches away - a combination of corrosion, old age and cold weather starting had vapourised it. It had to be removed but I bridged the connection with a lot of copper braid from coax aerial wire. It needed a very large soldering iron and a lot of heat but it held until the engine died 18 months later. May be worth a look It sounds as if you've cracked the original problem so you may be through the worst. I did have a similar problem on a Granada Scorpio and that turned out to be inside a sealed alarm/imobiliser. I bridged a wire from the fuse box directly to the pump and all was well. Unfortunately, if the battery has been dead for a couple of months it's probably knackered. The general rule with these batteries is charge after use and optionally before if left standing for more than a few weeks. Never leave one discharged! Hope that helps.

I've had pump impeller failure on this model and it gave no problem with the heater. It also ran fine in this sort of weather and I drove 200 miles up the A30/M5 and survived by keeping below 55mph (It returned nearly 60mpg) and found that it was OK ticking over in queues and round town so long as the heater was on. The symptom with the water running and frothing in the header tank is to be expected if you take the cap off once it reaches temperature. I should have thought that if you run it with the cap off while still cool you would see bubbling and frothing in there if you rev it and the gasket has gone. However. in my case I whipped it into my favourite garage pretty quickly so Seatkid's comments may be as reliable as usual. It may well be that in my case the pump for the Auxiliary heater may have kept my engine cool and the heater working so I cannot really see how your symptoms as given allow a definite diagnosis but I hope my experience may help you understand the possibilities a bit better. One thing is certain and that is you should always insist on the pump being replaced with the cam belt as the life of each seems to be much the same and failure is usually associated with a burst of higher than normal revs such as descending a steep hill in low gear which is what I think set mine off.

I may be totally wrong but the old Galaxies had a long tank mounted front to back and on a steep drive with low fuel it was possible to leave the fuel at one end and give an empty tank effect. OK if you start it and run off the drive quickly but if left running to warm up it could take a full battery's worth of cranking to get it going again.

You say that it is a new battery. Is this because you have fitted it or were you told or assumed that it had been fitted just before you bought it? Two things to consider- If you fitted it you may have an inherited situation in that the car was sold because of a troublesome discharge problem. If it was fitted before you bought it it may have been discharged and left for a day or two before purchase in which case it is probably damaged. It may be worth charging it fully and left with a headlamp bulb connected across it as a load with the battery disconnected in order to check it's capacity. I shouldn't recommend a full discharge but a 60W (5A) should give a half discharge after 5/6 hours and the battery should still hold 12V and start the engine if it is any good. This is not a foolproof check but it may give a reasonably quick way of determining if it is worth trying a new battery. It is not unusual to find that a car which has been sitting in a showroom for a while has been sitting with a fully discharged battery for long enough to wreck it and many still believe that it is possible to recharge it and all will be fine.

Just to progress and hopefully close this topic I now have moved the new Avons to the front and put the part worn fronts at the rear, one of which is the original spare from new fitted onto a refurbished alloy along with a matching replacement from a couple of years ago. After the better part of 1000 miles there is no visible sign of the problem returning. I can only assume that it all started with the pad vibration/sticking problem from about 6 months ago. Having mentioned that I had a similar problem on an earlier now defunct '98 Gal I now recall that I had an intermittent sticking caliper on the same side as the tyre which failed some time later but cannot be sure as this was some years ago. There may be a link but then again.... My MOT problem on the front brake balance problem was down to the nearside disk which had one side severely pitted over the whole surface while the OS one was like new after about 40K so it was new disks and pads for that. Unfortunately, the next morning in the wee small hours on the way to Keswick It developed a severe steering vibration on braking so the next day it was disks and pads again which now seems OK. Prior to the MOT it seemed to be driving perfectly well and the dangerous wear on the rear tyres was not visible to a casual inspection and the tyres outwardly looked in almost new condition so I suppose I should consider myself grateful for the MOT system, albeit the best part of £600 poorer for this and an oil change. Prior to this, my other Gal did 100K on one set of pads before it died and my last Granada Scorpio did 160K on the original pads and disks so it's all a bit of a shock.

Ay Up Gregers. I've just dug out the old Haynes manual and that makes a point that some of the rear suspension bushes have off centre holes and the replacements have to be the same and fitted with the off centre hole correctly aligned. Now that opens up a whole new can of worms if the unknowing have been changing them blindly. Unfortunately, mine was fine for the first 140K and I am not aware of anything that could have caused it so it has to be something repairable. I've got a 250 mile round trip on Sunday and a 500 mile trip on Tuesday so I'll be having a close look at the treads. P.S. I've almost decided on a 2009/10 Ghia replacement as I can't come to terms with any of the competition and the Ghias seem to offer the best all round package.

As I understand these things possible causes can be eliminated with a bit of observation. For instance, if the fan which makes the 'jet engine' noise fires up for a few seconds and then stops this would suggest pump/glow plug types of failures. If this doesn't happen then possible causes are thermostats or as has already been mentioned circulating pump failure which may have an associated function check feeding back to the control system. Not relevant in your case but to confirm my suggested approach mine failed to start after a sudden severe frost (-8) last year and the fan started and stopped as described and the whole thing started to work again when the temperature rose. :16: While it was not working the temperature did not get off the black until I got onto the motorway 20 miles later but the fuel consumption improved to 50mpg as opposed to 40mpg when it is working proving that it is a necessary but damned expensive accessory. I find the MK11 tends to fire this up at about 12 degrees and have now put a switch in the circuit of the stat on the wiper mechanism to give me a bit of control.

Thanks acecard and snowytop. I've been having a good browse of this database and it does seem that this problem is not unusual and falls into the category of 'no-one knows' or 'no-one is saying' but the only constructive suggestions or success stories relate to worn or soft bushes. This does make some sense as my understanding of the suspension geometry suggests that problems in this area would allow the wheels to swing back and toe out during braking which with a front wheel drive is the one time when the rear suspension is stressed in a fore/aft direction. I've checked the camber with a spirit level and this suggests a negative camber of 1 degree on both sides and my best attempts at checking the tracking after several tries come up with a consistent approx toe in of about 1 degree which would, if anything, give an opposite problem and may even be designed to give a no stress position to compensate for a little give in the rubber bushes. These figures are of course subject to checks with professional equipment but I have used the same methods to solve front wheel tracking problems when 'professionals' using proper tools had failed miserably. But that was back in the days when the lights used to go out at night and TV remotes consisted of a long stick with a rubber bung on the end. My next act is to get the bushes replaced just in case and then watch and wait.

I've just found some useful info on this in an earlier topic. Funny, search for 'rear tyre' didn't work but 'rear tyres' did.

MOT today failed due to badly scrubbed rear tyres. This is the second time this has happened but on different Galaxys. This time both were damaged by about the same amount, i.e. a tyre with about 25K in 3 years and 75% of remaining tread but inside 5cm almost bald. Previously I had much the same but on my old MK1 LX. In that case the replacements did not seem to be affected and I am hoping that the problem will nor recur. The damaged Yokohamas have been replaced with Avons which have always given me good service, typically 50/60K fronts and 80K + rears so it will hopefully be some time before I notice any problems. The only clues I can offer is that I increased the rear tyre pressures to 41psi to carry a heavy load and didn't bother to reduce them and also that in the past 6 months I suffered an intermittent heavy vibration from the back building up 40-50mph which eventually turned out to be a sticking caliper causing one of the pads to vibrate against the disk. I seem to remember seeing a similar post 4/5 years ago but have not been able to find any other similar reports so any thoughts or suggestions would be interesting. Thanks.

I am getting seriously miserable about this new car thing. My 10 year old Gal Ghia has now lost a bit of it's new feel at 150K and we have been touring around looking for replacements. Perhaps we have been spoiled as it has comfortable seating for 6 fully grown adults little in the way of wasted space and no clutter of unwanted extras. The good news is that none of the competition seems to come close but the MKIII can no longer compete with the seating layout of the older ones as the back row seems unsuitable for anyone over the age of 7 and the middle row, while being better than the park bench seat in the Zafira, or for that most of the other competition, is still a long way below that in mine. The Zetec feels basic with uncomfortable front seats and, while the Titanium's front seats are much better we still have the problem that any one sitting in the back would feel that the car was a backward step. On top of which I just don't need or want any of the expensive additional extras or potentially expensive to fix unnecessaries. We looked at the S Max and found the front cramped and uncomfortable in comparison with what seems to be an undersized steering wheel so I guess we shall just have to see if the old Gal can last us out, unless we can convince our friends to part with the MKI Ghia.

I am getting seriously miserable about this new car thing. My 10 year old Gal Ghia has now lost a bit of it's new feel at 150K and we have been touring around looking for replacements. Perhaps we have been spoiled as it has comfortable seating for 6 fully grown adults little in the way of wasted space and no clutter of unwanted extras. The good news is that none of the competition seems to come close but the MKIII can no longer compete with the seating layout of the older ones as the back row seems unsuitable for anyone over the age of 7 and the middle row, while being better than the park bench seat in the Zafira, or for that most of the other competition, is still a long way below that in mine. The Zetec feels basic with uncomfortable front seats and, while the Titanium's front seats are much better we still have the problem that any one sitting in the back would feel that the car was a backward step. On top of which I just don't need or want any of the expensive additional extras or potentially expensive to fix unnecessaries. We looked at the S Max and found the front cramped and uncomfortable in comparison with what seems to be an undersized steering wheel so I guess we shall just have to see if the old Gal can last us out, unless we can convince our friends to part with the MKI Ghia.

Thanks mate. I must be feeling my age. I do have difficulty coping with things that have dozens of push buttons and LCD displays instead of a knob with a dial and the fact that a car radio or whatever fancy title it's given has to occupy the amount of space that entire dash used to take.

Thanks Gregers and Crispb. Your comments are useful and confirm my worst fears. Given a choice I should go for a MKI ghia. I know where there is a beauty but I can't convince the owner to part with it. I wonder why. :wacko: :wacko: It does seem that the designers have lost their way somewhat. They are creating bigger cars and filling them with useless clutter. My old MKI had a steering wheel that worked beautifully without an array of levers and buttons. 3 knobs to control the heating without taking your eyes off the road and which did what I told it without waiting for a bl00dy computer to make up it's mind and comfortable seats that didn't assume I was an overactive speed mad teenager and not covered in something with the rubbish collection qualities of velcro. AAAGGGHHH!!! Anybody got an old Ford Anglia van :wacko: :o in good condition?

Oops! Wrong section. I've copied it across to the right one. :wacko: :wacko: While I'm here, can anyone please advise on what level of refinement provides a standard entertainment device which will allow the playing capacity equivalent of the 6 CD player so I don't have to put up with the junk on the radio? If the CD player will play MP3 files on a CD that would do nicely.

Having done 1M miles in Gannie MK I,II III and Scorpios I discovered a '98 110 Galaxy, bought from ebay and was so impressed I got a MKII 115 Ghia and lived happily for the next 8 years. At about the same time we bought a new Picasso but that will never be accepted as a main choice although it is a useful runabout and shopping trolley. It has done 30K in 8 years but it isn't a real car. 180K miles later it now seems that SWMBO fancies a change and that is getting difficult. Before I got the MKII we looked at the Zafira and found is seriously wanting. In the last couple of years, just to test the future options, I looked at a Jag X type and recoiled at the thought of asking anyone to sit in the back. I looked at the new Mondeo and got in the passenger seat and immediately felt claustrophobic and screamed to be let out. More recently I went back to the Zafira and it now looks much improved. While there I checked out the Vectra replacement thingy and the first time I tried to get in the roof hit me just below the ear. It is relevant to know that I stand just 6' in stocking feet albeit a little short in the legs. We lowered the seat and it hit me just above the ear so I got dragged back to the Ford garage to look at a MKIII Gal. I got in and thought I'd gone to heaven. Leather seats, nice layout and I just sat there with a silly grin on my face. I then remembered that, as what used to be referred to as "Derby and Joan.", we didn't really need 7 seats apart from space for 2 golf trolleys, assorted accessories and the compulsory 5 suitcases of luggage packed by SWMBO, so the salesman wheeled us around the S-max and C-max. Not bad but why are the bucket seats so horrible. So - back to the Gal and it all went down hill. No Spare - Which numpty thought that one up - fuel saving??? has anyone got figures? I doubt it! Fold down seats. The old ghia has carried a three piece suite, half a ton of bricks, sand, cement, sideboards and all sorts of old junk and 10 mins with the vac and it's as good as new. I can't see the fold down seat backs coping with that! Low profile tyres. What the h*** do I want with low profile tyres? I get 50/60K out of the fronts and I've never had to replace the rear (apart from when some low life amused himself by sneaking up and screwing all sorts of destructing items into the tyres overnight.) and never had any problems with road holding . Performance..... What's the point with existing road conditions and speed limits? There are probably options which I could learn to live with but I just can't see any of the available choices replacing the old Ghia. Can anyone suggest anything or point out any redeeming features of the MKIII apart from losing the insanely positioned and unreliable climate control of the MKII as well as assumed improved comfort reliability and fuel consumption. (I did a round trip of 250 miles yesterday and returned 53mpg driving at the speed limits apart from multiple motorway hold-ups.)

Having done 1M miles in Gannie MK I,II III and Scorpios I discovered a '98 110 Galaxy, bought from ebay and was so impressed I got a MKII 115 Ghia and lived happily for the next 8 years. At about the same time we bought a new Picasso but that will never be accepted as a main choice although it is a useful runabout and shopping trolley. It has done 30K in 8 years but it isn't a real car. 180K miles later it now seems that SWMBO fancies a change and that is getting difficult. Before I got the MKII we looked at the Zafira and found is seriously wanting. In the last couple of years, just to test the future options, I looked at a Jag X type and recoiled at the thought of asking anyone to sit in the back. I looked at the new Mondeo and got in the passenger seat and immediately felt claustrophobic and screamed to be let out. More recently I went back to the Zafira and it now looks much improved. While there I checked out the Vectra replacement thingy and the first time I tried to get in the roof hit me just below the ear. It is relevant to know that I stand just 6' in stocking feet albeit a little short in the legs. We lowered the seat and it hit me just above the ear so I got dragged back to the Ford garage to look at a MKIII Gal. I got in and thought I'd gone to heaven. Leather seats, nice layout and I just sat there with a silly grin on my face. I then remembered that, as what used to be referred to as "Derby and Joan.", we didn't really need 7 seats apart from space for 2 golf trolleys, assorted accessories and the compulsory 5 suitcases of luggage packed by SWMBO, so the salesman wheeled us around the S-max and C-max. Not bad but why are the bucket seats so horrible. So - back to the Gal and it all went down hill. No Spare - Which numpty thought that one up - fuel saving??? has anyone got figures? I doubt it! Fold down seats. The old ghia has carried a three piece suite, half a ton of bricks, sand, cement, sideboards and all sorts of old junk and 10 mins with the vac and it's as good as new. I can't see the fold down seat backs coping with that! Low profile tyres. What the h*** do I want with low profile tyres? I get 50/60K out of the fronts and I've never had to replace the rear (apart from when some low life amused himself by sneaking up and screwing all sorts of destructing items into the tyres overnight.) and never had any problems with road holding . Performance..... What's the point with existing road conditions and speed limits? There are probably options which I could learn to live with but I just can't see any of the available choices replacing the old Ghia. Can anyone suggest anything or point out any redeeming features of the MKIII apart from losing the insanely positioned and unreliable climate control of the MKII as well as assumed improved comfort reliability and fuel consumption. (I did a round trip of 250 miles yesterday and returned 53mpg driving at the speed limits apart from multiple motorway hold-ups.)

Beware - there are at least 2 different plug/socket connectors for the mirror so you may have to do a bit of work with a crimping tool and getting the door panel off isn't easy without the right tool. My experience after having 2 door glasses replaced (Low lifes nicking things) and 2 door mirrors there were no fixings left in tact. Apart from that it's a doddle. Mine cost £45 from Ebay but that was a few years ago.

From what you originally wrote it is not clear whether the problem is just fuel or that there are more problems. Did the AA get it running or did they give up after hard wiring the pump. It can be very confusing when something stops working for no apparent reason but turns out to be the ECU reacting to an input which it is programmed to produce the very effect which is causing the problem. On my original 110 diesel the glow plugs stopped working and I spent a lot of time trying to find the fault only to be advised that there are two engine temperature sensors and one was falsely indicating hot engine and so the glow plugs weren't needed. A new sensor fixed the problem. What you really need is to get someone with a fully functioning VAG com to monitor what the ECU thinks is going on and then you're probably home and dried. There are a lot of helpful folks on here, try posting a help needed and give your area and you might get lucky. I'm lucky in having a great local garage who can quickly hook it up and within 5 minutes give chapter and verse on everything that has happened and is currently happening. Thats what your Ford guys should have done and not take 21 hours to do it. When I took mine in with no Air Con. he ran a few checks which proved that the pump was faulty. That took less than 5 minutes. He than gave me a price for the pump, booked an appointment, drained and refilled the system with full pressure and running checks having replaced the pump and still only charged less than £100 labour . He also replaced the pump free of charge and apologised profusely when the replacement failed within a month.

"They tried for 21 hours." What on earth were they doing??? It might have been worth asking for a written report but they probably can't write. It is difficult to understand why they are still in business.

Thanks Alan. That's very encouraging. I'll have a grope when it eventually stops raining. My main concern was that It might be a sign of something drastic but the other put off is that the problem completely disappeared before I could investigate it.

Thanks fellers. That sounds encouraging. I didn't realise it was a cable system. Strangely, I've just been out and given a quick waggle (the gear stick :) ) and it suddenly freed off again. I think I'll still let the trusty garage man do the checking 'cos my missus has banned me from getting underneath lately. I was a bit worried it might be the gearbox as my luck with it this year has not been too good. I'm not over impressed with WD40 as a freeing agent as it is primarily a water dispersant which leaves a stiff wax residue. I recently used it to free off a pressure sensor in my CH boiler and in less than 24 hours the wax had set and it stopped working and the same thing seems to happen with door locks. I found olive oil fixed the boiler but use spray chain oil for most other things that need lubricating. It has the characteristic of clinging but not setting.