sparky Paul

If it helps, the Ford part number is 7201835 - Front Strut top Cover. You'll only find these parts at a dealer, but they're not expensive - IIRC they were about £4+VAT each when I bought some a few years ago. If you really can't get to a dealer, there are a few main dealers that do a mail order service. Trevor Porter at FordPartsUK (Foray Motor Group, Salisbury) is very helpful, just fill in the parts request form for a quick quote. The downside is that you will have delivery to pay for, although this is partially offset by a small discount on the parts, and the service is top notch. If you take the struts off, don't forget to replace the driveshaft bolts as they are stretch bolts and shouldn't be reused. Also, if you intend to replace the shock absorbers, I would get a new pair of hub pinch bolts as these corrode in the gap and have a nasty tendency to shear - use some heat on the casting if they won't move. Hope this helps! ;)

I thought they were all in the same place on the mk.I. Have you removed both the ash tray insert and the ashtray housing from the gear lever console? Mine's under there.

Just another thought... is this little black circle thing flat with a wire coming out of it, and stuck to the glass, or been previously stuck to a window? If it is, it could be the inside part of a through-glass antenna, probably for an old taxi radio or hands-free mobile kit.

I'm sure that's in the manual for my late mk.I, but I've never tested it. :angry2: IIRC, if battery voltage voltage drops below a certain level, power to the sockets is cut.

The pipe is more than likely split under the clip. Remove the clip and pipe, you might be able to get away with cutting the bad end off and reattaching the pipe.

On 98-on cars, the central locking gubbins is in the body control module, part of the fusebox assembly. Pre-98 models, the central locking module is indeed under the passenger seat, often in a puddle of water. :(

Most mk.II cars are fitted with 300mm disks. The hub carrier and relative position of the brake caliper differ between the sizes, and the disks are not interchangeable - so if 300mm fits, that's it.

Before you start ripping it to bits, make sure that the top mounts are indeed kaput. It is quite normal for there to be a considerable amount of movement in the top mount when the weight is off the wheel, due to the floating design of the top suspension mounts... this is often mistaken for a fault.

Just seen your follow up post, been a bit busy here. Not always easy to find vacuum leaks, you need to have a listen and good feel around the pipework to and from the inlet manifold. Not easy to determine if the ICV is functioning correctly, but the most common problems are sticking, and less common, complete failure with the coil measuring open circuit. At least it's all sorted now, and 26 quid isn't the end of the world.

Interesting, I wonder when OBDII compliance appeared on the Ford engined models... perhaps it arrived with the '98-on revised electrical systems. FWIW, my '99 mk.I does have the engine MIL, and connects to the OBDII interface. Have you had a good listen to see (hear?) if there are any vacuum leaks around the inlet manifold? Also note that even if the ICV appears to be clean, it still may be faulty.

Assuming the engine light is present on the early cars, it should light up during the self test, then extinguish. Perhaps someone with an early car could confirm.

If it's the running costs that bother you, have you considered fitting a LPG conversion to a 2.3 with a manual gearbox? I know it's not quite what you are asking, but I'm sure it would be far easier than the mammoth task you are contemplating.

Clean the ICV with carburettor cleaner, or at a pinch, a bit of petrol, make sure the actuator inside can move freely. Also check for any inlet manifold leaks, and/or any leaks on the vacuum pipework to the brake servo. Cat shouldn't affect the engine running unless it's blocked, but it will give a bad emissions reading. If you are getting unburnt fuel in the exhaust, do not run the engine unnecessarily as this will destroy the cat. If there is unburnt fuel in the exhaust, the engine management should be on as the lambda sensor should see high oxygen. Is the engine management warning light on?

The 2 litre Galaxy has a Ford engine, and VAG-COM will not talk to it. It should, however, connect all other system on the car. For the Ford engine, you would normally need a generic ELM327-based ODBII/EOBD cable and suitable software, see this thread. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether the early engines are OBDII compliant, perhaps someone else can confirm this. Do you have the engine management light (MIL) illuminated? If not, a code reader is unlikely to throw up any relevant fault codes. Assuming the car drives normally otherwise, unstable tickover could be the Idle Control Valve which may require cleaning, I would start there.

I've been quite pleased with these Marshal Matrac XM KH35 on the front. I tried them on the strength of a good write up in Auto Expess tyre test, and no problems so far - wearing okay, nice and predictable in the wet, and not noisy. edit: they were about £60 per tyre (supply only), probably a bit dearer now. I would certainly go for the same tyre again.

Yes, very good! :(

I've just had to replace the top bushes again, I changed the front shocks, springs, top mounts, bushes and bearings only a couple of years ago. I've been noticing a bit of spring twanging on full lock, it turned out that the top bushes were collapsing - the bottom of the bushes were rubbing on the top spring cup restricting them from turning. On further inspection, the top mounts were obviously protruding from the suspension turrets too much, due to the bearing pushing the centre of the bushes upwards. They were Febi-Bilstein bushes, so I would avoid those.

Your mk.II should be OBDII compliant and use the same protocols. Not sure about handheld readers, but if you have a laptop, a generic ELM327-based OBDII/EOBD interface off that well known auction site will read codes and live data from the Ford engines. I find ScanTool v1.13 software works well. Something like this should do the job, there are cheaper ones if you can wait for delivery from HK or China.

If you search "front suspension", it should bring up some useful topics.

Are you sure the system was given the correct fill of gas? If the pump is going on and off, it could be that the system pressure is dropping below the pressure switch low level when the pump runs.

It's fuse 14 on a mk I/II car, but as yours is a 2.4 I'm guessing it's a mk III, which is a completely different car. You might be better off asking in the mk III technical section.

Some of the early models were not fitted with abs, later ones all had abs. The abs pump is situated directly behind and just below the battery tray, under the expansion bottle. It's a lump about the size of a bag of sugar, with brake pipes connected at the front side. If it's not there, you don't have abs.

That would be favourite, or maybe taped over. Or perhaps it might have even popped! :( As you say, incorrect function of the warning lights is now a MOT fail.

What the position now? Do the dash warning lights look normal when switching on the ignition? Does the starter actually spin the engine? If the garage has removed an immobiliser and not reconnected something, you could have some fun finding this. Add on immobilisers usually interrupt one or more circuits, and unless the connections have been restored, it's not gonna go.

I'm guessing you mean the backlight bulb for the controls. Do you have the climate control panel, or the manual heater controls? Mine's the manual type, but the climate control panel has different illumination arrangements IIRC.