sparky Paul

Auxiliary belt would slip if the pump was siezed, you would still be able to turn the engine over but the belt wouldn't sound happy. You can drop the belt off to check. It could well be water locked, as seatkid suggests. Also, what state is the engine oil in?

Welcome to the forum! :) Could be a split in a vacuum pipe, pushing the accelerator pedal will tilt the engine and might help closing up a leak. There are a couple of common vacuum pipework fracture points on the diesel, I'm sure one of the diesel owners will be along soon to point you in the right direction.

On 98-on models it's part of the body control module, which handles a whole host of electrical functions. It is situated behind the dash, and IIRC it's a dash out job to get to it. However, they are very reliable units, and a wiring fault is much more likely. Make sure the tailgate wiring is all intact and correct, and also check the wiring to each passenger door, particularly the driver's door.

I doubt very much that the alloy that the spindle housings are made from will weld. The answer is to find a good secondhand assembly, try breakers or fleabay. As marcostig says, the design is very poor, it relies on a tiny o-ring at the top of the spindle to seal the grease in... the tiniest bit of wear in the bearing and the seal is minced to bits. The chrome plating on the spindle shafts wears and starts to flake off, this picks up in the bearing material and siezes the whole thing solid.

That looks like the job. When some numbskull broke mine many years ago, I bought a cheap non-heated replacement glass, peeled the heater element from the back of the old glass and fitted it to the new one. It was a pain in the arse to do, but it still works fine. If I could have found one as cheap as this, I definitely wouldn't have bothered.:)

Yes, the rubber bush just sits loose on the top of the completed strut, and the top plate nut holds the whole thing together when it's bolted into the car.

As Chris says, VAG-COM will not connect to the Ford engine, but it's still an invaluable tool which has helped me out a number of times. To read engine data and fault codes, you need a generic OBDII/EOBD type cable, the cheap ELM327 based ones work fine.

Lots of manufacturers say you can't skim, but you have to play it by ear when it comes off. Oversize head gaskets are sometimes available if there is no room to manoeuvre. You can usually get away with a light skim on most heads, and a little more with some, but if there is any evidence of distortion or surface pitting, you really have little choice. Putting a warped head back on is a waste of time and effort IMHO, unless you are offloading the vehicle sharpish. It's highly likely that the gasket will be pinched tight somewhere, and this will cause it to fail again, later on.

Yes, I've done that too, it's fiddly but it does work. I ended up improvising a tool to compress the springs, fixing the fulcrum by an old head bolt in various positions. An assistant armed with one of those extendable magnetic pick up tools to retrieve the collets is also very handy... it's one of those jobs where you could do with three arms.

I would put a secondhand gearbox on, if the rest of the car is reasonable. Seems a shame to scrap it, the VXT75 manual gearboxes can be found fairly cheaply if you keep your eyes peeled. There's one on fleabay starting at 99p.;)

Amarok's right, stem seal failure gives smoke on start up, which clears soon after. Smoking when hot is more likely to due to oil passing up the bores, I would check for blow-by and consider a compression test.

I agree with Mirez, most likely source of contamination is engine oil from the crankshaft seal, if you aren't losing clutch fluid. The gearbox input shaft seal can leak, but usually doesn't contaminate the clutch. Both will leave the bottom of the bell housing wet, just wipe it off and smell it to confirm the source... if the bell housing is dry, then it's unlikely that you have a leak bad enough to cause problems. The stop leak products will not work on a split or damaged seal, but will work on worn seals... but it won't last. After a few months, the leaks return, and a second application of the stuff doesn't help.

Not 100% certain, but I believe the MkIII Galaxy diesel uses the Ford version of the Peugeot DW10 engine, which is fitted with a cam belt. According to the Ford schedules here, the replacement interval for cambelt, tensioner and idlers is 10 years / 125000m... which does seem a long time! You might get a more definite response asking in the Mk III section, the only thing the VW built MkI/II has in common with the MkIII is the Ford badge.:)

Yes, it's worth knowing if they fit for £30. They look okay from the pics, I assume they have the proper pincer clamps onto the roof rails. I had a set of very cheap 'universal' ones for the Galaxy and they were absolute garbage - each leg was clamped onto the rails with two long bolts and nuts, making it a right performance to fit and remove. Lockable plastic covers on each end made them look like real roofbars. I only used them once and bought a pair of secondhand Ford ones. I notice Lidl also have the good screenwash in again which goes down to -60°C... last winter, neat cheap screenwash froze solid here.

Yes, the tensioner is only available as a complete unit. Originally, the cheaper idler pulley supplied by the dealer was identical to the plastic one fitted to the tensioner and could be adapted to fit by removing the bolt fixing. Later idler pulleys are metal, but it's likely that they could be used to repair the tensioner in the same way. I would have a search of the forum, there have been a few threads on this subject. Have a good look at the fixed idler pulley too while you have the belt off, this can also give the belt noises you describe.

It was actually in the motoring press where I saw it, and was confirmed with a number of insurance companies that it is classed as a notifiable change, and must be recorded. If you don't at least clarify this with your insurance company, you are leaving yourself wide open. If you are using standard OEM wheels, and a manufacturer recommended tyre type and spec, the ABI said that it should not affect premiums, although some companies were indeed attempting to charge extra for this 'modification'. If you are faced with a similar situation, the advice was to request to speak to a senior adviser, or the company's complaints department.

You have to inform your insurance company if you fit winter tyres at all. There were a number of complaints in the press last winter about insurance companies charging extra for this 'modification'... but if you don't declare and have a crump, they will have you over a barrel. They do work well though.

Aftermarket suppliers often supply a single part to cover a number of OEM parts. For example, where an OEM driveshaft is specified to suit the power output of a particular engine, the part for the largest engine may simply be a beefed up version of the part for the smaller engine. It is perfectly feasible to supply one part which will cover all engine types, reducing the number of shafts which need to be manufactured. Even when different part numbers are specified, the same parts can be inside the box. Main dealers also do this with some parts now, especially on older models. For the OP, I would try another motor factor, take the shaft along along and check it against the driveshaft they supply. If seems unlikely that you would have both a non-standard driveshaft and gearbox shaft flange.

Idle speed for the 2.3 should be 875rpm. Your symptoms sound typical of sticking Idle Control Valve, as said above.

If it's for your engine problem, vagcom will only work with the 2.8 V6 petrol, and the 1.8 and 2.0 VW units fitted to the Seat Alhambra and VW Sharan. If your car is Galaxy fitted with the Ford 2.0 or 2.3, you need an ELM327 based EOBDII reader - vagcom will not read data from the Ford petrol engines.

Knocking dfrom front suspension is almost always ARB links as described above. As for pulling to one side, make sure you haven't got a brake binding, feel each wheel after a run to see if any are unusually warm. Otherwise, tracking probably not done correctly.

I don't think so, but this post might be useful... http://www.fordgalax...post__p__166906 It's specifically a how-to for the CV boot, but as you have to remove the joint to do it, it should be of some help.

I've got these Marshal Matrac KH35 on at the moment, well reviewed in Auto Express tyre test and very pleased with them so far... http://www.allnewtyres.co.uk/tyre-details.asp?id=1799&Marshal%20KH35%20215%2055%2016%20/%202155516%2097W%20%20New%20Car%20Tyres Unfortunately out of stock there now, but cheapest I've seen them.

You might find this link useful for service schedules... http://www.etis.ford.com/fordservice/serviceScheduleForm.do