Scorpiorefugee

The old 110 is a good 5MPG better than the 115. On a good day I can get 46/47mpg over a tank full but the 115 rarely manages better than 40. I did once get more than 750 miles on a tank full but that was living dangerously. Both are a lot better off the motorway in spite of the 6th gear on the 115 unit and the steady cruising speed so there does seem to be a sudden leap in consumption above 60/65. If I push it up to 80 ish it drops to 43/44 or 37/38 on the newer 115. I usually find it's almost exactly 10 miles per litre over several full tanks. I keep meaning to swap the MAFs over just to check but, beyond that, everything seems clean and tidy. The only other real difference is that the newer one has been serviced regularly by the main dealer (before I got it!) whereas the old heap has done 180K plus with little more than an occasional wipe down with an oily rag.

Hi Gooner, Sadly, bought S/H, the only warranty was a 12 month Insurance type thingy and they may have already coughed up for the cam belt change If I know anything about the way dealers frig these things. I've just booked it in at my friendly, totally trustworthy, local who told me that they routinely change the water pump on most vehicles when the do the cam belt. Re the fuel... It seems an enormous difference for the 15mph change in speed. I used the cruise control in both directions. It could be something to do with the prevailing South Westerlies though as I have noticed a conisderable difference on the same 400 mile return trip in the past. Sadly, this newer ,52 reg, doesn'e normally come even close to the economy figures I get from the old 98 banger. Regards, Ron.

And another one.... Just got back from Devon, up the M5 at 60mph with the heater full on. I'd already guessed water pump and here it all is - very reassuring and thanks to one and all. Just the bad news, bought in Nov 2005 with one year's third party waranty, took delivery on 16th Dec but it looks as if the warranty was dated to purchase date. &@#N!. Also, had the cam belt changed in the first month of ownership 'cos they sold it with 70k, dealer service from new and no evidence of a previous change! Mind, average fuel consumption on the way back - 57 mpg, going down - 38 mpg at 75 mph ?????. If I drove like this for another 20,000 miles, I'd probbaly save enough to pay for the repair....

I hope that you are getting somewhere with this but, just to clarify, I said nothing about a coathanger and I am not sure if you are joking. Simply, all you have to do is shove the stripped end of the wire into the centre hole of the aerial socket on the radio unit. I do it all the time as I use car radios as low voltage units in wet areas and other places where it is necessary to have low voltage units. All I do is just what I have described with a bit of refinement and, unless the building is heavily screened, the radio works just fine. Mind, It is likely that your rf unit has been wiped out by a nearby lightning strike or something, but it's always worth making sure. Just noticed where you are. I have an old 5000 lifted from an old Scorpio and it was working last time I tried it. You can certainly borrow it for a test if you like. I'm near Kidderminster.

You really do not have to buy a new aerial to test your radio. It's only a piece of telescopic tubing pretending to be a piece of wire and it's not tuned in any way so a long piece of wire will work. Reception will not be brilliant but you should be able to find a local station. All you need is a couple of yards of flex, strip half an inch off the end and fold it back on itself and shove it in the hole. Don't shove too much into the hole or you may short something out, but you would have to really try hard to manage that. Just lay the wire across the top of the dash or hang it out of the window and, if the radio is working, you should get something.

Yet another angle on this subject. I do a lot of 400 - 600 mile daily round trips and, since this is easily done in a tankful, I tend to use the same filling stations. I have historically favoured Esso, mainly because 30 odd years ago I had a Cortina GT which would only run properly on 5* Tigers. The strange thing is that, using 2 Esso stations about 15 miles apart, I have found that the fuel from one of these regularly gives up to 5% better economy and has done on a range of vehicles both petrol and diesel. I cannot explain or offer suggestons from this experience but there definitely seems to be quite a variation between fuel from different stations, even those sporting the same brand name. I think that I once read somewhere that service stations sporting different brand names can be supplied from the same depot in the same tankers. This then begs the question "How reliable is the brand name on the front of the filling station" One example of this variation is that I only recently disposed of an old Merc 190 which would always run beautifully on Esso from one Station in Bromsgrove but ran like a lame dog on Esso from my local filling station. where the fuel is about 2p/Litre dearer. My old Grannie always ran beautifully on almost anything. And there I shall leave you to ponder and comment. Ron.

Hi Jimbo, I bought mine on the cheap 18 months ago and it had a string of what turned out to be annoying but fixable problems. Mine has now done a further 40k and I wouldn't swap it. You problem sounds like one mine had when I first got it. It turned out to be nothing more than worn drive belts but that did it at standstill if you worked the steering hard. It's probably a good idea to get the cam belt done as well if you get to the point where you intend to keep it. (You don't say if it's diesel or petrol) I've now got 2 of these things and neither had been fitted with a drive belt for more than the reccomendes period. The second, with 70k and one owner and bought from the garage that had supplied it new and maintained it, was still on the oroginal, so it seems that the only way to be safe is to get it done anyway. I hope you get it sorted. I've got a local garage that I can trust and I just took it round and let them have their way with it. If you got it cheap and you know somewhere, it may be worth doing the same. Good luck, Ron

BJ51EDK- If it's down to about freezing, your glowplug light should be on for 3-5 seconds. If it isn't, chances are the coolant temperature sender is faulty. (Don't take any notice of your temperature gauge, that uses a different part of the same sender) Find it, disconnect it, and try again. Glow plug light should now come on for several seconds and it will start easily. Stock fault. If it ain't that, I can't help. Ron.

I've just had a quick scan through this and it might be a bit late but, on batteries and in particular dead ones. If it is dischareged completely just once, it's seriously damaged and no longer salable. It may recover and still be useful if it was in good order before and it was not left discharged for any significant time. If it has been left discharged for more than a very few hours it is only fit for the dustbin, sorry, correct disposal at your local council reclamation site. If your new battery was flat when you bought it you should not even have atempted to charge it. If the salesman claims otherwise, he shouldn't even be allowed in a Halfords shop, let alone work there! This is etched in stone for all Lead Acid batteries and almost certainly applies to all derivatives but I may well be picked up on that last point. Take it back and demand to see someone who knows what they are talking about. Ron.

Just a couple of observations. It has only happened recently. Has anything else happend which could tie in. If you think it's belt tensioner or something to do with the drive, try knocking it out of gear at 70ish to see if it changes. It might be worth checking your tyres. I had one make some funny noises which I learned to live with until one day I noticed that it was self destructing..

My old Scorpio used to do all sorts of strange things but the symptoms were mainly associated with an inability to hold any gear without slipping, especially after a few miles. It didn't have any means of manually controlling the gears but I would imagine that the tiptronic (I once drove a BMW version) overides the bulk of the 'Auto' control system which is now electronic and uses lots of sensor feedback to control gears etc. The MAF provides a useful indication of the load and driving style and if this is out of range it is not inconceivable that the control system gets confused and becomes incapable of making sensible decisions. I found that disconnecting the MAF gave very positive and reliable changes when leaving it connected made it virtually impossible to drive without a great deal of slipping drive. Sadly, I was too stubborn to accept that the MAF was causing this and eventually blew the head gasket because of over revving before I got around to replacing the damned thing. It is, however, a well documented standard fault. I hope your Gal does not meet the same fate as my Scorpio. Ron.

Maybe a glimmer of hope or perhaps a waste of time but, these are very similar symptoms caused by MAF problems on the old Scorpios and, I believe, other makes as well - even BMWs. On the Scorpio at least, disconnecting the MAF would often cure the symptoms. Faced with a

I gave up looking for a flat straight bit of road and settled for about 5% uphill bendy bit. It reached 50 in 10 secs and 60 in 15. That was with about 2 1/2 adults weight and changing up at 3.5 to 4000 RPM. I then thought that it would be more useful to do a 50 to 70 check in 5th. Again, about 5% uphill, possibly a little more, but repeated in the opposite direction. Uphill - about 11 seconds and downhill about 9. The downhill bit was a little distorted because, to hold 50, I started with virtually no throttle and there was the better part of 2 seconds turbo lag. Considering that this is a much abused 110 bhp unit with 180K on the clock and hasn't been serviced in 40k other than 2 oil changes (Must do another soon!) and returning a regular 45mpg, I'm more than happy.

You mind what you say. I've got a NEW MAF! Do the Aston's acceleration figures include an allowance for reliability? At least I know with some certainty that in 20 seconds or so I can actually be moving and I can enjoy the scenery while I'm waiting. :( :) :)

And, not only safer, it's inevitably cheaper too. Mismatched tyres will tend to cause greatly accelerated wear. I once had to replace a front tyre with a new spare 'cos of a puncture. The new tyre lasted 250 miles only. It got me home but only just. I replaced both with new ones of the same type and they were still there when it died of rust.

Now that's what I call useful information. You wouldn't like to qualify it with the rated power? Just off to find a flat bit of road.....

It's important to remember that all tyres get noisy as they wear down so comparisons are difficult. For what it's worth, I have always found that Avons seem to be quieter than most and I've yet to wear one out. I put a set on an old Merc about 8 years ago and dropped it last year with them still looking good for a lot longer. When I got my somewhat battered S reg Gal it had badly scrubbed fronts and some half worn Firestones on the back. I popped the Avons on (195s) because that was all they had. They've now done 40k and look good for another 20K. I replaced the rears recently, not because they were worn out, but one had virtually self destructed, where as the other looked pretty much as when I bought the car. It is now a lot quieter but I could have been getting a lot of noise from the dying one. OK, I do a lot of long trips but it is only about 50% motorways. I have to say that I never have any nervous moments from my tyres so I cannot comment on performance. A personal opinion is that, with modern cars and tyres of any grade, if you worry about road holding, you're driving too damned fast. The same goes pretty well for tyre wear. Quite simply, there is probably not much to chose between tyres unless you're in some sort of race but I do find the Avons cheap and effective and I hope that I shall be a good bit older before I have to Decide wether to replace like for like or try something else.

I have found that, just occasionally, trying to tighten it first can break the lock on the thread.

Well done! That could have sent you round in circles for a long long time. Those things certainly make a difference.

It would help if you could give details of what the diagnostics reported. I have no experience on this model but on another model, the only thing that the diaagnostics reported about the MAF were High or low readings which was when I disconnected it. Are you sure that the thing is plugged in correctly and that there are no damaged wires? Also, have you checked that the air intake around the MAF is intact and not leaking badly?

Fuel seems about right. I find that on a run mine does about 10 miles per litre (45MPG ish).Easy to check, if trip meter shows 700 miles, pop in about 70 litres , if you are that brave. My best was 755 miles on 73 litres and it,s a 70 litr tank. (Phew!) The problem with facing down hill is standard fitting I'm afraid. I found out to my cost after getting home with nearly 1/4 tank and parked on my 1 in 4 drive, next morning, started and just for once left it ticking over for a few minutes. Took two days, a roll down onto level ground and finally a full 2 minute crank to get it started again! Can't say owt about the whistling, mine just rattles and rumbles. Ron

This limp mode sounds a bit odd. I only suffered from what I assumed to be limp mode on a couple of occasions and it cut in well below 3K. Also, if you've got a duff MAF, I'd be suprised if you could get it anywhere near 3.500 rpm unless you were going downhill. Mind, it seems there is a wide range of opinion about what is normal as most of us with problems seem to have bought second hand and have little real idea of what these things are supposed to do under fault, or even normal, conditions. WhenI wanted to prove a faulty MAF, I borrowed one from our other Gal after I plucked up the courage to lift it out of a ,52 and pop it into an S reg. It took 5 mins and a test drive and then I knew for certain. If you lived near me, I'd be happy to oblige - (10m north of Worcester) If not, is there anyone else out there? Ron.

The quick simple test is to disconnect the MAF. It will run somewhat sluggishly but it should be consistent with a lack of power above about 2900 RPM. If the symptom is still there, you probably have a problem other than the MAF. The only time I have had anything like this it was low on water and I have heard of someone with a similar type of effect caused by a low oil level sensor but that was on a totally different vehicle. Check actual levels and don't rely on warning lamps. It's probably something else completely but you do feel a fool when it turns out to be something simple. Are there any other symptoms?

I noticed a reference to the Pierburg replacement. I went for one of those a few months ago and it's been fine. They are also supposed to be more durable than the others but only time will tell. It was the cheapest on offer and works happily on a 98 110tdi and a 52 115 tdi. Obviously, I can't comment on the suitabilty for a non diesel.

Two screw thingies...? Do you mean those pointless torx screws that hold the MAF into the housing.? I didn't even bother to replace mine because the O ring on the MAF was such a tight fit that it was a nice tight push fit. If yours is coming loose, first question is..'Does yours have an O ring fitted?' If it has - good! I still cannot understand it coming loose but try a couple of short round headed wood screws - something like a 3/4 8 or a 1" 8 or, ultimately, a 1 1/4" 8. For some reason, round headed wood screws seem to be measured in old money but something like 2, 2.5 or 3 cm by 4.5 or 5mm. (Those bl00dy foreigners have got a lot to answer for!) About the water... I had the same problem and it caused a sudden loss of oomph. Funny thing, after adding about 3 litres, it has done about 7-8 k miles and not lost a drop. It's a funny old world.