BrianH

Is there a clutch on the pully on the alternator and does it work?

theres some questions been asked that you didn't answer in your other thread about this > http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?/topic/26873-p0420-catalyst-system-efficiency-below-threshold-bank-1/?hl=catalyst It might be worth taking the cat off and having a look inside it - theres a reasonable chance if its knackered if the honeycomb isn't intact (this can be down to underlying issues like misfires!). Its also possible the secondary sensor is actually the problem - we don't know whats coming out of the exhaust, if the emissions appear right on a tester that suggests the sensor AFTER the cat is not working for some reason (broken wires/connectors a possibility as well as faulty sensor).

The usual result of that bolt coming loose is a hole in the gearbox casing (ie a ruined gearbox), Not sure if its possible for it to hit something as I've not seen whats in the area on the diesel version but it would be worth a look if its suspected to be possibly loose. What Chris has said about getting someone to work the gear lever for you should give a clue where the problem is happening.

If you can't shift the selector itself then the cables are probabbly not the cause of the issue anyway, Access isn't great though at the same time its not the worst to work on. The bit you mention about it being bad even without the engine running suggests its not the clutch dragging causing the issue either (if this was the cause i'd expect you to be seeing it effecting most gear changes not just reverse). I believe you should be able to remove the switch for the reversing lights by unbolting it (if i remember correctly from when the clutch was replaced in mine its mounted on the top of the gearbox under a plastic dome top). Only way i can think you will be able to tell if its the switch is to take it out and see if it improves the issue at all, it may be debris stuck under it, a dodgy switch, or may well be something else entirely. The gearbox oil i've known to cause shifting to get difficult when it gets low on other cars with the mtx gearbox when no other obvious symptoms are present (the gearbox oil level shouldn't be dropping though, so if it has gone somewhere you need to find where its gone and sort that).

Have a look with an assistant if the reverse lights come on, If they don't i'd see if you can remove the switch and see if it improves (i'd suspect its fallen apart and blocking the selector from moving in the right direction, your persistance may be working just as it moves about). It may also be worth checking the gearbox oil level if you haven't already (the fill plug is on the front, with the car level remove it, and the oil level should be level with the plug hole).

I'd try charging the battery as well. Does the connection to the fusebox look like its melted or been effected by heat? Rest of the connections fully tightened?

may not be able to see the fault with a meter (it may break down under load hence appears fine with meter, but unable to carry the current at low revs - higher revs would generate more current overcoming this). Either way if its got rid of the error message it sounds like you have isolated the issue to the cable, if its charging now then it should be problem solved.

on the selector mechanism the following two links should take you directly to the page needed, you need to pick the right one for your engine code SHIFT ROD RAIL SELECTOR FORK 6-SPEED MANUAL GEARBOX FPE,ERM,FPH, FPG,FPJ SHIFT ROD SELECTOR FORK 6-SPEED MANUAL GEARBOX FUX,FUY,FVA, FVB,FUZ

Its under the same site - the 2nd to last catorogy hand and foot levers. Are these missing as they don't usually break? The selector has been reported to give problems though getting debris in it, usually fixed by just cleaning it. http://www.vagcat.com/epc/cat/vw/SHA/2003/406/55/4040730/#40

Does it usually do miles around town (lots of speed changes, lots of pulling away from stationary etc?) or is it usually on the motorway. And what sort of milage is it looking at now? (and which box & version of the Galaxy is it?) Think the answer is whats already been said above last year either way - get someone who will change the fluid (or as much of it as they can get out of the box) and go from there.

get hold of a multimeter disconnect both ends of the cable and see what it reads (should be fairly low reading) with it set to the ohms setting (put one of the leads on one end of the cable you want to test, other one on the other end).

You say you have had the level checked but the level isn't the only thing to look at. The state of the fluid is just as important (if this has been getting gradually worse its much more likly to be either not enough fluid, or its changed state sufficiently to cause issues). TBH i've found Ford are a waste of time with the earlier Galaxys - the parts desk tends to suggest going to VW instead.... (given that all they do is appear to buy most of the parts from vw and just apply a markup anyway). Phone the previous guy you used and ask him to change the fluid for you - bear in mind the above points about it possibly taking more than one go to clear enough of it out and see what he says. Or get the spanners out and tackle it yourself (theres some instructions on doing it on here under the faq section).

have a check with the multimeter of the resistance of the cable in question - it may show your problem up. Either way making a replacement sounds like the sensible course to take (alot easier to solder it in your shed than on the car!)

you might have not got enough solder onto the cable to get a decent connection for high current to pass - does the cable still get warm? Given that its been left not working for some time theres a good chance the cable is now knackered anyway due to the prolonged effect of heat on the cable.

Might help your chances of getting interest if you post whereabouts it is?

try this for the vw one http://www.vagcat.com/epc/cat/vw/SHA/2003/406/51/

what MAF did you change it for (Make/Brand?) and where from? New or used?

Does bank 1 sensor 2 ever change from 0v? if its staying on that static then I'd check its correctly plugged in for starters. Could be a faulty sensor, could also be a faulty cat although the sensor reading looks like i'd suspect either the sensor or wiring to the sensor first. if you can get access to an exhaust gas analyser that should tell you if the cat is working or not.

It's not the same though. 7m3 not 7m2. Think it's going to be a case of trying a second hand one. Would rather replace with new as its getting old anyway but doesn't look like that's an option.

Its on the back where it moves so would that work? (the seal is the one around the piston in the back of the cylinder) Can just not use the Galaxy for a couple of days so leaving it for 48 hours not a major problem. My master cylinder is ok (now) as its been replaced as it failed the last mot for pedal creeping down once brakes on. But its a different size (diamater) as far as i can tell so i'm not sure the standard servo (used upto late 97) will actually fit it - hence the scrapyard trip to see what i can find as soon as i get the chance. The earlier type has two ports on each side of the reservoir (you can see them from the top of the cylinder). Mine has two on the left hand side, and two at the bottom (without a picture of the cylinder to hand its difficult to see it, will take some if i can get back in there soon). I might just try the silicon if you think it will work, but i suspect since the bit moves it won't work (unless theres a way of sealing round the piston without sticking to it and just sitting ontop of the seal?). Ill take a few photos to show the leak if i can get chance (the ideal thing i'd like to do is try replacing the seal as it would be a lot easier, but thats proving impossible to source). The reason i'm trying to sort this (mainly) is that its causing the engine to misfire as its allowing excess air though into the engine.....

If it happens again will try and get a screenshot of it to show the issue. Its been fine since mentioning it yesterday, but i don't usually use google to locate the site now anyway.

To illustrate the issue with the master cylinder look at the photo on this page - look at the outlets. Normally they are 4 with 2 either side of the reservoir, this one has two on one side and two underneath. Thats the one i've got!

That url4short sounds like what i used to get before (i found it was easier to search the site via google than the built in search). The issue with it appears to me to be a google issue. If you see it again it may be worth making google aware of it (it doesn't show the correct address when you right click it and choose copy link location, but again only the first time).

Size of the master cylinder its definietly an oddball from replacing the master cylinder (its odd just with the way the outlets are compared to normal ones). It looks an absolute pain to replace the servo hence i don't really want to do it twice either. I'm going to run down the scrapyards and see whats around i think. The esp ones are definitely different (they have an electrical connector onto the servo) though those are only on the mk2 afaik.

I've found the same if you search via google actually as well. if you look at the address its actually loading this instead (changed http to hxxp to stop anyone clicking it by mistake). hxxp://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDoQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fordgalaxy.org.uk%2Fford%2Findex.php%3F%2Fforum%2F62-ford-galaxy-technical-section-mk-i-mk-ii%2F&ei=8Kz1VKqUFMnqatCagfgP&usg=AFQjCNGnXGS1zsfq20M3AYn_56rreE_WDA&sig2=Ads23g5nQQpIpZDuCz6baw&bvm=bv.87269000,d.d2s&cad=rja Gets blocked by norton 360 for me. identified as exploit toolkit website 67. and only on the first load of the site same as your finding. this is on doing a search for ford galaxy forum (incidentally only the first search on google seems to do this as well)