Scorpiorefugee

Gregers, It was your comment about tramlining which made me realise just how bad the steering was. I hated driving the thing because, quite apart from the stalling and a horrible throttle/clutch feeling which always made me feel like a learner driver, I was always conscious that it needed constant attention to avoid ending up wandering off line or out of lane. The steering seems very high geared which does not lend itself to comfortable long distance travel and that combined with the run flats and rock hard seating meant that we were only using it to store the golf equipment and take us to the golf course 3 miles away. The new tyres have improved it immensely but it is still a very long way behind the old MK1 and the second row seats are little better than a park bench. It was encouraging to read that there had been some updates to improve the turbo lag etc. but it will have to go a long way to compete with the smooth progressive power and economy from the MKII 115 unit. My son brought my old MKII Ghia over for Xmas and I took it for a little drive. He had to drag me out of it! I read a report that someone claimed it was a lot better than his Audi Q something or other. It doesn't say much for Audis does it?

Thanks Gregers. It's almost as good as a LWB Transit now so progress at last. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good news at last. Now that the winter festivities are out of the way I finally got around to doing something about the tyres. Back wheels done first and than a repeat of the journey as reported at the beginning of this topic. The difference was astounding and the wife came home with a smile on her face instead of looking decidedly green. Back this morning for the fronts and it's almost as good as the old MKI. Gregers did comment about tramlining and I had only been a bit aware of this but yesterday (before the fronts were done) on a flat piece of road it suddenly decided that it would rather like to have an intimate conversation with a gate post and nearly wrenched the wheel out of my hands. (2 handed full fist grip!) I now have 4 new tyres (Landsail) for much the same price of one of the awful runflats, all of which are now on the tyre fitter's dump still with 5mm of tread. Hopefully, with a few cushions I can now get my passengers out of the Picasso and back into a Galaxy.

There is a Haynes Manual which covers that model which you may find useful. I think if you unlock and lock in quick succession the deadlock comes in - you should hear a double locking noise and the alarm should come on by simply locking it. Pretty certain that if the LED on the driver's door is flashing the alarm is armed.

It is difficult to be sure how many times they can be crushed and straightened but mine have survived 4 times now. The second time was just 2 days after I had paid

"WHO TF IS THAT? lol." That proves it! I'm too ancient to continue with this. Actually he Had his own show at the Starlight Theatre for 15 years in the 50s and 60s and.... I was there! His trademark saying was "Can you hear me mother?" It's all very sad, isn't it?

Er, Does Sandy Powell still do his show on the pier? :27: :27:

Yes. We had a mini family gathering there a couple of years ago and food and staff were great.

Thanks Chris, all good comments which I agree with. My main concern with the spare argument is that on the rare occasions when I have needed one it has been a case of needing a spare wheel with no other option and the lack of one would have meant a very costly and inconvenient alternative. On a more general issue, My choice of vehicle may seem a little OTT as we are retired and hardly ever need more than the front seats and space for luggage and two sets of golf gear. Having done around 250K in MKI and MKII in 7 years and enjoyed being able to drive one around for up to 16 hours a day with no fatigue the choice was inevitable. I did look around at other makes/models but I had difficulty getting into most because of sloping roof lines and the other options were ugly 4WD brutes so in the end there was little choice. Sadly, when it comes to comfort, relaxed driving, ride quality, fuel consumption and general cabin ambiance, the MKIII is a country mile behind the earlier versions but still better than the competition so that seems to be the trend. All in all, I guess it's tyres, cushions and rose coloured glasses then put up and shut up.

If I manage to get back for more than a fleeting visit I might offer to buy you a pint at the.... Dammit! it's not there any more! Well, perhaps somewhere else then. :45: Er.... Does that merit any warning points for attempted bribery? :rolleyes:

Back in the early 50s I can remember strolling around the town and seeing lots of holes where houses and hotels used to be but I haven't really seen much of the place since around the time when the mini trams went from near Princess Park. The old town doesn't seem to have changed much as the grandparents house up in Manvers Road looks much the same apart from all the cars parked there now. I can remember when our old Humber Super Snipe was the only car to be seen when we visited. I think my favourite memory was the glorious smell of roasting coffee beens while waiting for a bus outside the old station.

Thanks Gregers, I think I'll just get a couple of Avons on the back first. They always gave a smooth quiet ride with loads of mileage on the MKII & MKI. No hurry yet - I want to get the throttle problem fixed and some more cushions for the bl00dy seats first. I got one made for the drivers "Sports seat" which has made it a lot more pleasant to drive so I might just keep it yet.

Thanks Dave, That's the first bit of encouraging information I've had. One thing puzzles me. I thought run flats were standard fitting now. However, from what you say I think it is well worth taking that path first. The 2 tyre fitters I have used exclusively for the past 40 years have both advised against the change without a spare and then we start that argument all over again. I'm happy to get rid of row 5 and buy a matching wheel & tyre but didn't want to set off in the wrong direction first. Ron.

Eastbourne ain't the place it was. :27: Actually, after over 50 years that's got to be true but I think it was better when it was full of old fogeys in bath chairs. Unfortunately I'm one now. :( :( Not quite in a bath chair yet but I'm working on it. Just as soon as I find a nice nurse. :P :P :P

No mate. Just 17" with what seem to be solid rubber (Run Flat) tyres.Slightly better in the Summer but awful in the Winter. I am seriously considering a new set of 16" and normal tyres or normal tyres on the 17" even though the current ones still have 4 or 5 mm. Either way, row 3 seats are going to have to come out to make space for a spare. They're pretty well useless anyway. It is getting seriously embarrassing to ask people to get into it. The daft thing is that most of the problems seem to come from what the lunatics consider to be improvements about 2 years ago.

I think it's a bit more complicated than that. Reading between the lines it seems that you both have similar vehicles so why not just swap the MAFs over or put the suspect one in the good vehicle? I know that the MAFs in the MKI 110 and the MKII 115s are interchangeable so the whole diesel range probably is. The effects of MAF failure are much more severe in the MKII

I took this thing out for a trip yesterday and the wife was almost physically sick because of the bouncing about. OK! The roads round here can be a bit rough but it was never like this. Bl00dy Fords! :10: :10:

What I really want is a nice low mileage MKI Ghia but trying to annoy you helps to pass the time. :P :P :P

Gregers, how about "You're very attractive and smell of Chanel No. 5."?

:D :D :D It's not the computers that are the problem, it's the folks who use them for simple tasks when they are not needed. Like replacing 3 heater control knobs with 20 or more buttons and a complicated display panel in a position which can only be read by someone lying down in the back seat. :angry2:

Sorry but the only thing I can add is that It may take a while to dry out this weather. I can only guess what is inside the motor. (Besides the motor of course) However, if pushing the stalk forwards stops it then it may be that the problem is simply associated with the stalk itself. If that is the case then we've been looking in the wrong place. Try checking the supply to the motor under fault/no fault and normal working conditions before struggling to take it out. If you can't get to the connections try sticking a pin or small needle through the wire to get a connection to give a connection for the meter. The wiring is a bit complicated because of the parking function which I believe is done by a short reverse action of the motor. Life was a lot simpler before the bl00dy computers took over. :5:

How do you get them to switch off when you switch the normal lights on?

My '98 MKI flew through it's MOT and was going beautifully down the M5 on a bright sunny day and then it just (Sob!) died. Mind, it had done it's equivalent 3 score and 10 - 250K ish and had suffered a lot of abuse over it's years of faithful service. On that score, are you up for another 15 years? Seriously, I can't see anything out there that comes close. The Top Gear shower seem to be doing the designing these days based on the assumption that everyone is a wannabe F1 driver with a gadget fetish.

That looks like the one I've got. Not sure if the software comes with it but that has already been covered. It's. not the device which determines the features but the software - as the ad states. It's not something that will just work and give you the info, you have to play with it and learn. One of these without the extra software has always got me out of trouble but you may have to come back for help to interpret the fault codes. Just get one and play. A week later and you will be answering queries. :glare: Just realised, there are 2 topics with the same problem. The other turned out to be the MAF. It is possible that yours is intermittent - not common. Disconnecting it may give a clue as that will give reduced performance but better than 35mph.

Thanks SK. That just brings on another bout of car sickness. (As in home sickness) :10: