Scorpiorefugee

Try White spirits. It's cheap and dissolves most petroleum based goos. It's cheap and relatively harmless. Forget the hard rubbing. Dab a bit on, have a cup of tea. dab a bit more on and rub gently. Repeat until it's all gone or the pubs open. It's also good for removing those blasted barcode labels that get stuck on everything these days. Use the same approach. Ron

This is all very worrying! My ford dealer assured me that my 52 ghia tdi did not need a cam belt change before I took delivery (68k on the clock) because the more recent engines had chains and didn't need changing. I believed him because he is, after all, the main dealer and is therefore an expert. :huh: I am just going upstairs to lie down.... :( :) :)

I am totally with Johnb80 on this. This world is getting too legislation crazy. The only people to benefit from any legal action are the legal profession as any money or benefits won inevitably come from the customer, if not you, then the next guy and the lawyers get more than anyone. As for what might have happened. The driver must take some share of the responsibilty for not returning with a potentially dangerous car. I appreciate that this could have been a difficult call but I am sure that the garage would have not knowingly let you go with a dangerous vehicle and you alone was aware of the problem. I congratulate you on giving the garage an oportunity to react without added aggrevationand I am sure that they will remember that on your next visit. Irrespective of alloocating blame, we should all learn from mistakes, even those made by others and may I join with all others to share relief that your daughter escaped injury. I've had a similar experience and that relief puts all other issues out of sight. Ron.

Sounds right. In fact, If I had half a brain I should have thought of that myself. The extra info is great but I might wait for it to stop raining before I get my old AVO out. In your words..."I may be some time...." Thanks mate. Ron.

My well used S reg TDI usually cranks for up to 10 seconds before firing on cold mornings. This is my first winter with it so I have no previous experience. I did wonder if there is an oil pressure sensor and thick oil was causing the problem. It's fine once the outside temperature is above 10-15 degrees and once the engine is warm. It is approaching 160K. Any thoughts anyone? Ron.

I cleaned mine on a MK1 and fixed the problem - see an earlier post. Ron.

JB is absolutely right. My throwaway comment coutesy of Ronseal was a little OTT but the fact remains that it would be easy to connect the CC to three, or maybe four knobs and it would work exactly the same as the dozen or so fiddly little buttons and cause a lot less accidents. One knob is a good physical and visual indicator and a totally reliable memory device for favourite settings - even if the battery fails. Fair do's about not needing to adjust it much but some people do like fiddling. Just out of interest, the level of electronic complexity for the CC is barely knee high to that found in the cheapest 20 quid personal CD player so why isn't CC standard. :ph34r: Finally, a question. Why is it difficult to get much air flow from the vents with the CC unit?

80L??? That accounts for 40L to the half way mark. It also suggests that the newer ones have been reverse improved as usual. Right! Next time its 850 miles on a tankful. Maybe I'll wait for warmer weather first. Thanks for the comment about the newer ones being less efficient. It is a good deal more lively so perhaps its a question of re-educating the right foot. Ron.

I'm getting very confused with all of the different ways of measuring fuel consumption so how about a little simpicity? My battered old S reg TDI (90 bhp I think - no handbook) settles quite nicely at 10 miles per litre. i.e. brimmed to half means 400 miles and 40 litres. This rarely changes much although I have done 750 miles on a full tank and put in about 72 litres but that was exceptional. Just out of interest, well, more than that really, how much does the tank hold or how low can it go before SHMBO has to get out and push? And, my (our) other 52 Ghia struggles to do 8.5 mpL cruising at 70 -75 in 6th. Is that normal or do I have to keep it for summer use only?

I agree with all adverse comments about the CC. I now have two Gals, one S reg and one 52 Ghia. The old air con is great - 3 knobs and you can feel where everything is. The new 'User interface' (God save us from lunatic expressions!) is a total waste of space. It's badly positioned, seems to have been designed by an overactive 2 year old and, apart from the steady temperature control, doesnt do what it says on the tin. In fact, it doesn't do much at all apart from prove to be a dangerous distraction for the driver when trying to get more than a trckle of air from the vents. What is wrong with knobs? Or has the world forgotten about practical simplicity in the chase for more flashing LEDs and other whizz bang gimmicks? Incidentally, I bought the second Galaxy because I was so imressed with my newly aquired much abused 'company van' I think I prefer the old one - it's more comfortable and a good deal more economical and easier to drive. One improvement has been to return to a proper headlamp dip switch so maybe, when the designers grow out of nappies, we can go back to knobs and safe driving! Ron, Yes, I am an old codger. 60+ with nearly 2 million miles under my belt.

Hi Martin, I'm not sure about your problem, mine was just lacking power above 2900 rpm. However, you will need a can of carb cleaner - about 2 quid, and a set of security torx screwdivers with the hole down the middle. If you look at the housing for the MAF, you will see two screws with torx heads. (a 6 pointed hole with a pin in the middle) I picked up a set of tools for these from our local pound shop, er, for about a quid, some time ago. If you can get the right tool, it is the work of moments to remove the screws and pull out the MAF. The hole has an O ring for sealing so a little bit of twisty pulling may be necessary. Handle it carefully and look into it and you will see a bit of shiny metal which is probably a bit grubby. Don't poke about and don't use the tube on the spray can(if supplied, just flood the insides with cleaner and give it a little swill round and tip out the residue, maybe repeating for good measure - leave to dry and refit. I am told that these things are delicate so go carefully. That's what I did and got lucky. I hope you get lucky also. Ron

My S reg GLX TDI has them but precious little else as extras so it seems as if they should be standard. My driver's side has a replacement glass stuck onto the old, presumably broken, glass and nothing works on that so I am assuming a plug is out somewhere. The NS works fine and steams nicely and the old tub may be battered around the edges a bit but by no means a piece of sh@@. Ron

I think that it may be that it is the refrigerant leaking. I had exactly the same thing on my Scorpio, but only first thing in the morning. It did go off after a while and some long runs. I also had a similar problem with my last Granada Scorpio and that was definitely the refrigerant. Try the air con - it needs to be run on a regular basis to stop the seals going dry and leaking apparently.

I'm not an avid user of this site as I'm too busy driving my S reg GLX TDI (155k)and now 52 Ghia TDI (As well, not instead of - these things are addictive!) but I have noted and suffered the problems associated with MAFs. Having had a Scorpio and scoured that website for an array of problems, I know that cleaning MAFs with carb cleaner has amazing results. Strangely, there seems no sign on this site of this applying to Galaxies. I have raised two posts on the fantastic improvement in my S reg motor after I cleaned it but have received no feedback from anyone on this as an alternative to spending loads of loot on a new one. Have I been lucky or do you all prefer to do things the expensive way? I did have to remove the actual core of the sensor by taking out the tamper proof screws to get at mine for cleaning but that is actually much easier than taking out the complete air pipe insert. Honestly, the improvement for 5 mins work is amazing and sustained, having done around 3500 miles since cleaning it just gets better.. Just a couple of unassociated questions. Is the unit in my 97 S reg 90 or 110 bhp 'cos the difference between that and my 52 reg is considerable. Also, is the cam belt or chain driven in the newer one? (Stated to be 115 bhp - 6 gears) Ron.

Too right mate. It can be very soothing to listen to the gentle throb of a deisel knowing that you won't have to worry about finding a filling station for another 700 miles. Ron. :) :) :(

I note that yours is petrol and mine is diesel but I gave my maf a sqirt of carb cleaner and the improvement is amazing. worth a try? Ron.

When I got my S Reg TDI with 140K from Ebay I thought I had got what I deserved - rough but usable. Seriously, It has given 13K of excellent service in the past 6 months and had only two worrying problems which I have posted and received lots of encouraging replies. First, the drivers wiper had about 4" play and ran slowly. Having read lots of accounts of how easy it was to take the mechanism out I had a go on Sunday morning. The problem was obvious - a badly worn (repeater or relay??) arm bearing. Being a tight fisted git I took it to pieces and looked for a cheap solution. The bronze bearing was so badly worn that it peeled out easily - now for a replacement. A 15mm copper end feed coupler with a couple of hacksaw cuts down the side to allow it to be sqeezed to a smaller daimeter, tapped it in, hacked and filed it level, filled it with grease and... Not perfect but much much better. an hour spent freeing the other bits off and more grease and 750 miles of wet driving and it's fine. It may not last another 150K but at least I'll know what to do when it goes again. Having read much about the dead spot and poor performance, I had decided to go for a MAF replacement. However, While I had the filter off I thought it was worth a look. JohnB80 had said that they couldn't be cleaned but - flushed with success, out it came and in went a good squirt of carb cleaner. I reckon that it has knocked at least a day and a half off my 0-60 time. It's quieter, smoother and quicker. Trouble is, I am now having so much fun beating white vans at the lights that my fuel consumption has suffered. Still, I might grow up again soon. Thanks for all the info and encouragement. Ron.

That hurt! Iwill offer a big 'thank you' to you and all of the contributors to your topic before I go back for a re-read and gurgling insanity kicks in. I'm just off to get aspirin..........

Thanks for the speedy replies. I had my doubts about the 115 but the insurance co. seem to have defined it thus without prompting and I've had a couple of other references which suggesed that rating. Either way, if it didn't give up at 2800 I'd be more than happy. Re. mapping the codes etc., I've got the gismo for reading the codes from a Scorpio. Is that any good? Also, it is not a resetting type problem and doesn't go ito 'limp' mode but thanks anyway. Re the MAF, please pardon a groan - I had 12 months with a Scorio 2L auto and severe MAF type symptoms which I never bottomed, mainly because I was reliably informed that it was a new one on and I refused to change it again until I could prove conclusively that it was faulty. Only someone who has suffered this can appreciate what 20,000 miles of motorway driving with a random gear generating autobox and will understand the suffering. Back to the Gal, I read somewhere on this site that disconnecting the MAF would give reasonable results but poor fuel consumption - hence may conclusion that it wasn't the MAF causing my problem. It seems that this time it might be a good idea to swallow my pride and use the normal service approach and start changing things until it works or I run out of money or patience. The MAF seems a good place to start. Now, didn't I see somewhere on this site that they were available relatively cheaply. ??? Ron

I am a newish owner of a well used '97 TDI(115 ?). It is fine apart from a lack of acceleration in the middle of the range. It picks up nicely above 2000RPM but dies as if something has swiched off at 2800. Under light throttle or cruising in 5th it revs up the range happily but on hill starts and pulling out into traffic it's very hard work. I've tried disconnecting the MAF as advised earlier but this made no noticable difference. It had 139k on the clock when I bought it in June and now has 151k going up nicely at a steady 750 miles per tankful. I've had the local garage sevice it twice and had the cambelt and all the trimmings done and it does not appear to be getting any worse. Other than this and about 4 inches of slack in the driver's wiper I cannot fault it although it does look it's age, but then so do I. I should be pleased to know of any suggestions or warnings. Thanks, Ron.

Thanks John, I thought that there would be a good reason. I'm not sure if I have a problem yet but having read some of the postings it does seem possible. there seems to be a flat spot at about 2500 - 2800 which appears better if I disconnect the MAF but also seemed still OK when I reconnected it??? Funny thing is, I spent a frustrating year of unproven MAF problems on a Scorpio auto estate and if I have the same problems again my wife will probably come in with her favourite 'I told you not to buy another red one!' It's reassuring that they seem to be more freely availabe at reasonable price than those of the Scorpio. Er... MAFs that is, not wives. Thanks again, Ron.

Hello folks, I am a relatively new owner, having been a Granada/Scorpio owner since the mid '70s. Mine is a 98 TDI GL something or other bought in a scruffy state from E-bay with 140K for probably more than I should have paid. Nevertheless, it does exactly what I want i.e moves me and several hundredweight of tools around the country at 750 miles per tankful. In that respect, it far outclasses even my favorite L reg Granada Scorpio and I am delighted with it. I have only two quibbles so far and they do seem relatively minor and more related to dubious improvements in design across the board. Why Oh Why do we have cam belts? Throughout 40 years of motoring at an average 50K a year I've had no cam drive problems at all and owned cars with chains and direct gear drive (Those lovely old V6s) 250K on an engine with years of careful neglect, no main dealer attention and oil changes only every once in a while without a hint of a problem. Now we have better oils, better materials, engines that give plenty of power at low revs and should give several 000ks of reliable performance. Unfortunately, we now have cam belts and the risk of sudden catastrofic failure without warning. Please don't tell me it's reliability or noise, especially on an engine that rarely revs above 3000 and, even in good condition, generates far more noise than any engine in any car I have ever owned. Another point which may be purely personal. Which idiot designed the indicator stalk on this thing? It's short and fat and has no feel at all. Unless I take my hand off the wheel I find it almost impossible to operate without flashing the lights and, even worse, whatever happened to that nice positive up for head and down for dip? I suppose that some continental clown thought that we were due for another change to go with putting the stalk on the wrong side i.e. not the right, as was forced on us so long ago that nobody ever thinks what a daft idea it is any more. I could go on about standard fit Fog lights which are not really needed these days and everybody uses wrongly because they don't know what else to do with them, but that's another story. Ron. P.S. can anyone tell me why a fan comes on for a short while after I switch off and whether it is possible to clean the MAF as is possible on the now defunct Scorpio? Also, other than the above, I think the Galaxy is a great motor. It's a pity it's not a Ford!