sepulchrave

VAG-COM doesn't work on the FORD 2.3 litre engine, because it's not a VAG engine (geddit). :blink:

Yes. That constitutes an air leak!

I know lots of people who've had bad experiences with Mr Clutch, and yes, I KNOW THEY'RE CHEAP!

Pads only.

Master cylinder has failed by the sound of it, replace it to cure all ills.

No, just chuck a new pattern caliper on, they're cheap enough. Back brakes do a lot more work on Shalaxys than they do on most cars and replace the pads/discs if needed while you're at it.

Don't do it, Mr Clutch are rubbish! There are lots of Shalaxys in use as taxis, just ask any taxi driver where they take theirs and whoever it is will have done plenty of Shalaxy clutches before, they're usually cheap enough too because taxi firms are so tight.

So stop being a mobile chicane chasing fuel mileage then you won't have to worry about it. :blink:

It pleases me immensely actually, Conti's biggest gloat shows a wet braking distance from 50 mph of about 31.8 metres and my Nangkangs just a metre behind them on a much lighter car than my Sharan (Confidence interval, do me a favour!). I Told you they were surprisingly good. :P A workmate has a set of Linglongs on his Merc and they really are appalling, last ages though. ;) Seriously, you people are in a bad way if you value thinly veiled ad revenue-driven journalistic claptrap over the well of forum experience you are attempting to stifle with your sanctimonius scorn. Unless you dogmatic blowhards try them you have absolutely no idea, so spare me your belief system nonsense. I simply reported that my budget Nankangs were surprisingly good FROM FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE and some of you flat earth coneheads jump down my throat for daring to share this with the forum despite having no relevant personal experience. You'll be trying to frighten the kids next in increasingly desperate attempts to appear to be right.

Frankly the cost of the matrix is trivial compared to the cost of the effort involved in replacing it. :16:

No.

You may be panicking prematurely, the head gasket on these is actually quite hard to blow despite your best (and frankly inexcusable) efforts. It sounds like the expansion tank vent pipe has been tucked down the back somewhere instead of being correctly routed to the front of the car, this explains the violent release of p**s and wind at the back somewhere when you loosened the cap. It is more likely that the dreaded thermostat housing has been leaking subtly allowing the coolant level to drop. So stop panicking and top her up, replace the temperature sender and see how rapidly you lose coolant from now on. I'd be surprised if it's the head gasket.

It is probably blowing by the rings due to mild rust formation on the bores over the last six months, possibly the rings are gummed up a bit too. Give it a good hard spank up the motorway, take the family to the seaside or something then see if it still smokes when you get back. :blink: ...or the engine might be knackered for absolutely no reason. :angry2:

You're hysterical, calm down, it's dangerous to get so excited at your age. :wacko:

Sounds like motorway miles to me, be afraid of low mileage cars which have lived in cities all their life towing large trailers! How the hell are we supposed to know what your clutch is like, you're driving the car!

Surely we pay more for premium brand tyres because of the time and money they spend on R&D and sponsorship. Tiny, Pirelli are the only tyre used in WSB racing which is great for marketing but a hell of a loss leader for manufacturing, so we pay higher prices for that manufacturing and R&D loss which your company supports. Tread patterns are largely meaningless gibberish since as long as the water is cleared then you could get a tatoo 'artist' to design them (within stability constraints). Budget tyres now are as good or better than premium tyres were ten years ago, the technology has migrated and they often use tried and trusted tread patterns. High performance cars and motorcycles need high peformance tyres, the suspension setup of some vehicles is so finely tuned that a slight change in tyre pressure has a pronounced effect on performance. The Shalaxy is NOT one of these vehicles. High performance tyres have a short shelf life after manufacture and 'go off' as they sit on a rack in a warehouse. Never buy old stock at discounted prices no matter what name is embossed on the tyrewall. There is a lot of rubbish talked about tyres, please feel free to come clean and tell us the truth about mainstream applications like our vehicles. After all you are anonymous and amongst friends. :D I stand by my assertion that decent premium brands are plenty good enough for ordinary cars like ours as long as the size/load/speed index is correct. My experience with budget car tyres has been good although I wouldn't fit them to my Trumpet (Bridgestones, or are they a budget tyre as well?). After all my wifes Swift has Ceat tyres and they grip like buggery! Please tell me my dream of a soft grippy tyre which lasts for ages isn't a fantasy. :wacko:

Oooh, teeth marks, terrific. :wacko: Sorry, I was bored and had an aggressive allergic response to sanctimony. 'Experience is nothing without reason' Cribbed from an advert with a slogan I liked. :D

My apologies, I am a foetus with only 25 years experience driving cars, vans, motorcycles every day for a living. Tiny, is your response what they call 'emotional intelligence'? mzokk, you make a reasoned and intelligent argument, I can tell when I've had a half of shandy riding my bike but in a two ton shalaxy it makes absolutely no difference if I have a pint or two! I dare to say decent budget tyres are fine on a car that handles like a drunken hippo on stilts! For the rest of you, hey it's your money you're wasting, just don't waste my time with your arguments if you have NO experience (rather common on this forum).

I too would recommend Contis for superior wear and wet weather characteristics. However concrete tyres would probably understeer slightly less in the dry! As an aside I have been using Nankang tyres for some years now and they are frankly excellent for absolutely no money at all, dunno if they're Chinese or even if they ring any bells for you. :huh:

Sounds like a faulty unit injector as the RAC man suggested, it should be easy to diagnose which one is at fault and get it replaced although I recommend you get it done at an independant PD specialist rather than a main dealer. For gods sake stay away from ordinary backstreet garages, most of them view PD engines as incomprehensible witchcraft but in the current economic climate they may be tempted to 'have a go' and do more harm than good! It will still be moderately expensive to repair if a new unit injector is required since it is a VAG dealer only part and new bolts and gaskets will also be needed.

Now then, did you say you've done ALL the brake pads and discs front and rear? If so they're going to take a fair bit of bedding-in, I suggest you pull the handbrake on until the rears are just dragging slightly and try braking, does the pedal feel harder? If so then your rear calipers are possibly not self-adjusted yet or are seized/damaged. You'll need to give the pedal a fair spanking to get them to come up if there are no other issues. I always advise changing either the fronts OR the rears first and bedding them in thoroughly before changing the rest.

You've kept your family alive thus far using a far more complex set of skills and you obviously trust yourself to do that. There are many sixteen year old apprentice fitters who could do your brakes blindfold and they can't even drive yet! Have a little faith in yourself and follow one of the many examples of step-by-step instructions contributed by other forum members and start saving loadsamunny now. It's really difficult to mess up a job this simple but don't be afraid to ask, TBH I wouldn't trust anyone else but myself to do my brakes, that's how bad fast fit centres (and most garages) really are.