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2 days ago my car developed a loud creaking from the nearside front suspension/steering area, this came on quite suddenly. Whilst driving even on the smoothest roads there is a creaking from the Front N/S corner, it disapears when stationary (as you would expect) but then if you steer whilst stationary the creak is apparent constantly (whilst steering). I replaced the ARB drop links a few weeks ago and when I crawl under the car theres nothing appears to have play in it, theres no leaks from suspension or steering that I can see and the Mrs is at work so I have no one here to work the steering while I crawl underneath! Anyone got any pointers?

Ive just bought and fitted the ones from that ebay seller. A bit too early to comment on the quality of them as they've only been in a fortnight, but I can recommend the seller, mine were here the very next day. I also found these ones with a 17mm flat on the back of the shaft were easier to deal with than the ford ones with a 6mm in-hex stud.

Isnt +15 one of the lives on a standard ignition switch? Not refering to 15v just the connection/wire number Ask an auto sparky but im sure the ouputs from the ignition are numbered 15, 30,30,50,54 Im kinda positive this is an ignition live just looked in a Haynes for my old Saab and thats how its numbered, I bought a Gemini remote locking kit on ebay for it but sold the car before I had to fit it

Loss of power combined with an increase in induction noises are classic symptoms of air intake problems. I presume the TDi's are all intercooled, so look at the air intake pipes between the airbox, intercooler and turbo. See if any have split, collapsed or fell off!

Rob, or should I say Marra? From one Cumbrian to another. Ive seen similar black smoke situations with the Diesels I used to work with pointing to dodgy injector I worked with Commercial stuff rather than Cars though, good old mechanical injectors rather than electronic/solid state stuff! Try speaking to a fuel injection specialist, I can recommend W.Moses or Rickerbys(Tractors) In Carlisle. Rickerbys are the local Bosch agents (at least they were when I dealt with them last about 3 years ago) Ignore the tractors bit, they do all sorts of diesels. They may be able to point you in the right direction without having to see the car. Or alternatively for the management side Auto-tech again in Carlisle who are independent Engine Management specialists(Mercedes Cars trained) A diagnostic check starts at about

www.parkers.co.uk is a great source of information relating to specifications, options etc.

Couple of hours? No, you'll need less than one, I was suprised at how simple the job was! Although they are identical from left to right, different manufacturers make the bars ever so slightly differently from say OEM stuff. You can do this job without a jack simply turn the steering full lock to the left or right dependant on which side your changing. This gives more than adequate access to the links. My originals had a 18mm nut and a 6mm in-hex (allen key type) stud. The repalcements had a 19mm nut and a 17mm flat sided shaft behind the link. If yours are anything like mine you'll need- 17,18 & 19mm spanners(the 17 being an open ended type) and a 6 mm allen key Most of the time I spent changing mine was walking from the driveway to the shed for the tools! The best part is, this is one of those jobs thats results are immediately evident and immensely satisfying!

One of my old bikes used to blow rear bulbs like there was no tomorrow, not the brake but the side light one it must of been getting over voltage as I found it was only happening at high revs. I was subsequently told that it could of been a fault with the charging system, this seems unlikely with a brake light as its only on intermittently, I cured it by fitting a 24v bulb! Not to be recommended but it did the job. Try seeing if you can isolate the problem to your after market cruise control by not using it for a while and seeing if it still blows bulbs

Thanks, thats the same as mine, now I know what I should be getting.

Maybe later models, mine has 2 of these yellow door card clips on each trim panel ( 2 panel per seat) Just replaced them last week! You were right with the Hi Stupid tho' Ive only now read the full thread, and smudge.g has posted the same info, maybe they were changed later in production as they do seem rather weak, when I bought my Galaxy the seat trims were held on with duct tape!

Bagpuss, just out of interest, what models your?

Sorry, but call me stupid...whats IIRC?

Links delivered within 48hrs and fitted in 30 mins........ Result! now i'm driving a quiet Galaxy I realise how bad the knocking actually was! The cost?

Ive just bought 10 from Fords for a few pence over

I didnt get round to disconnecting the MAF, I think I just got used to driving it the way it is! The thing that worries me now is the horrendous fuel consumption im getting. At first I put

Its worth saying the link arms are ordered, I will post the resullts.

Cheers All, out of interest what are the roll bar bushes like to change?

Loads of LED bulbs on ebay (where else!)

I know there are several posts on this subject, but I have a barely discernable knock from the front end of my galaxy evident during normal driving, not when turning etc. What I was wondering is, is the play in these link arms always blatantly obvious? Mine dont seem to have play in them but I suppose that as im saying it isnt an obvious knock so I guess the amount of play would be directly proportional to the loudness/feel of the knock. Im taking a long trip with a crew of 6 quite soon and i'd like to make sure the cars up to the job! Even if this isnt a safety issue, now ive noticed it I cant ignore it. Ive found a pair of link rods for less than

It isnt that the Ebay shop has been "Closed down", simply that this is an old thread and that link to an Ebay item went back to March 1 2005! Ebay listings are only shown for 90 days after they have finished.

At the end of the day, your brakes are the ONLY thing between you and the car in front. Dont skimp and certainly dont skim! you'll appreciate that extra cash you spent when you really need em!

Have a look at www.parkers.co.uk Its a great source of technical data and of course prices. The 2.0 cars average 28mpg in both manual and auto. The 2.3 averages 28 for the manuals and 25 for the auto's. My 2.0 averages 25/26 round town and about 30 on a run, so I guess parkers average figures are just about right.

A Seized engine is a very broad description, most people will think pistons and rebore, but at the end of the day this is a "how long is a piece of string" type question! any amount of engine components could be U/S Things that may be damaged or need replacing could be Pistons+Rings Main+big end bearings gudgeon pins +little end bearings oil pump Add to this a rebore at

Has this got the standard ford 3 button remote? If so it may be the same as a MK111 mondeo where this is simply an alternate mode for the central locking system. In one mode a single press of the unlock button will unlock all doors, in the other mode a single press only unlocks the drivers door and tailgate and a second press within 3 secs will unlock the other doors. In order to change between the 2 modes(according to the mondeo manual) press and hold the lock and unlock buttons simultaneously for at least 4 seconds, the indicators will flash twice to signal that the locking mode has been changed. Do this with the ignition OFF. Hope it helps.

By Factor he meant Motor Factors a generic term for companies that supply automotive parts. Look in the yellow pages. Where in the north west? Here in Carlisle I would recommend TMS or Express Factors, Brown Brothers is another I could name. When dealing with motor factors, the magic word is discount! These companies mainly deal with the trade although are always happy to sell to the general public, and they always have a discount structure, If you dont ask you dont get!