sparky Paul

I can't guarantee this as I haven't tried it, but another member on here told me you can remove the driveshaft stub from the hub with splitting or disconnecting the ball joint. If you remove the driveshaft bolt, jack the corner up so the suspension is at full extension, and apply full lock outwards at the front, apparently there is enough movement at the gearbox end to slip the short driveshaft splined stub out of the hub. Remember to use a new hub bolt on reassemly, they are stretch bolts and should not be reused.

The whole thing stinks. My renewal was around £390 this year, fully comp with business use, and I thought that was steep. OH now has a little car for school runs, had to start from zero no claims because her previous full no claims had lapsed. First year, premium £190, I didn't think that was too bad. Second year renewal, £204 after some bargaining. This year, with 2yrs no claims, £300 and they won't budge an inch. I asked the guy at the broker what's going on, the best excuse he could could up with was "it's because of all the fraudulent claims". I asked him what they were doing, paying out fraudulent claims, and he just shrugged his shoulders. When the whole industry is doing exactly the same, it's easier for these companies to pay these claims out and lump the cost onto the premiums, rather than investigate more thoroughly and fight the claims in court. It's about time some of these cartels were sorted out.

Sounds fair enough, the chips are only a few pounds but I would guess programming into PATS would cost more than that at a main dealer. Bear in mind that you cannot use the DIY method to add new PATS keys unless you already have two unique working keys.

I guess that's a good idea really. The gearchange feels good, and everything feels fine at the gearbox linkage, but it does seem to be a fairly common problem now on older vehicles.

Good tip, thanks. I worry about this happening to mine, with it getting on a bit now.

I reckon the best place for a remote locking module is in the compartment at the rear of the car where the jack is situated. The loom to the tailgate is accessible there, and has all the connections you need, from the existing central locking circuit - permanent 12V which feeds the rear lock switch, plus the return open & close for the central locking. You will need to remove the tailgate door card to identify the wires from the rear door lock, then unpick them out of the loom in the car. These kits often come with Scotchlok type connectors, I wouldn't recommend using them. Much better to solder the new wires into the loom without cutting... remove 10mm of insulation from each wire, divide the core strands to make a gap through the middle, insert your new wire, twist and solder. Then tape up with insulating or self-amalgamating tape. Welcome to the forum by the way, and hope this helps.:rolleyes:

Yes, but they all have a unique code which must be programmed to the PATS immobiliser system on the car. If you have two other unique complete keys, this can be done using the procedure in the FAQ section. If not, then it's a trip to the main dealer, or a good auto locksmith. If at all possible, make every effort to find the lost chip... it's a lot cheaper.

As Mike says, sounds like a sticky idle control valve. If a clean doesn't work, aftermarket replacements are now available from motor factors, cheaper than main dealer.

I would guess that the abs ring is split somewhere, or otherwise damaged. They are a tight shrink fit onto the CV joints, and any obvious eccentricity must mean that the ring is no longer in full contact with the outer surface of the joint. Replacement ABS reluctor rings are available relatively cheaply, have a look on that well known auction site.

Your car is a mk. III Galaxy, you might have more luck posting a query in the mk. III section... this section is for the earlier models which are completely different vehicle. I presume the later Galaxy also has a hand brake which operates the rear disk brakes, this is an issue which is more common than many realise. If the hand brake is applied when the rear brakes are hot, the hand brake will tend to release slightly as the disks cool and contract. The manufacturers usually get around this problem by including a warning in the owner's manual to always ensure that the car is left in gear, or in 'park' on an auto, when parked.

This tyre is available in 'extra load' and standard types, you need to make sure you get the extra load type, marked XL - they have a load index of 97. The standard Uniroyal Rain Expert tyre (not marked XL) is only rated 93 and is not sufficient for the Galaxy.

Fram-Europe list a PH5803 oil filter for the Galaxy 2.3i 16V, this is a replacement for the obsolete PH3600. As a direct replacement for the original Ford EFL600 filter, it should be good for the specified 10,000m service interval when used on the Ford engine. Incidentally, PH3600FP is also now obsolete. Ford specify 5W-30 grade, I have always stuck to this after reading dire warnings about using anything else... something to do with the balancer shafts IIRC. Hope this helps. :D

Yes, I've swapped the front lens on a mk.1 headlamp. Mine had a hole in the glass and I managed to aquire a replacement... it was a bit tatty and one of the mounting lugs was damaged, so I swapped the lens. Pop the the clips off and the glass comes off with a bit of persuading... the seal is just a foamy seal, no adhesive or anything. It does grab the glass a bit, but once you get the glass moving by prising with a wide flat implement, it comes off easily. I wiped the sealing faces with a bit of silicon spray before reassembly and it's been been sealed for years, it must 5 years plus now. :35:

That's right, but you can't add another unique key yourself unless you already have two or more working keys. Unless the locksmith has the equipment to access PATS on the car (Ford WDS2000), it's a trip to the dealer if you only have one working key.

You can programme a new PATS chipped key to the car yourself, see FAQ section - No.10, but the technique only works if you already have two unique keys. The only other option is a trip to the dealers to add the second key to PATS, or specialist locksmith who can make a clone of your first key. Either option will work, however a cloned key cannot then be used as a second key to program a third in, the PATS system sees it as the same key as the original.

I've got Delphi ones on at the moment, they seem to be holding up pretty good despite the dire state of the roads around here. You have to be careful with cheap parts nowadays, the unbranded stuff is usually junk, and the latest thing to contend with is the amount of fake branded parts that are appearing. Going to Ford or VW dealer makes a lot of sense for droplinks, I understand GSF also stock the genuine VW item, as well as a cheaper alternative.

Around 10mm movement at the top is normal. The top mount rubber self seats when the weight is on the suspension, the strut drops onto the top retaining cup when jacked up.

Recommend a long, flatter, tapered shape, rather than the cheap ones shaped like a brick. IIRC, ours is a Thule Alpine 500... when mounted on the car the contour of the front follows on from the rake of the windscreen and it looks quite smart. 2) whats the maximum (or legal) safe speed I can expect to travel without it suddenly being ripped off and killing dozens of other motorists behind me. Mine's never slowed me down. :angry: 3) Are they noisy and do they reduce the mpg by 50%? I notice a 8-10% mpg reduction with the petrol. This box is not noisy at all, but the cheaper squarer boxes are. 6) where do I store the bloody thing? Mine goes in the shed, but they do take up more room than you think - especially with the bars attached. 7) will I lose a lot of money if I sell it on ebay after the "grand tour"? They seem to fetch good money at the right time of the year. 8) Any suggestions for a good quality but still affordable solution (inc bars) I used to have cheap roof bars, but they were too fiddly to mount and in the end I replaced them with a set of Ford bars. They are worth the extra, two people can demount or refit the top box inside a minute, which is great when you are at your destination. I bought the box secondhand locally, there's one just like it on fleabay now. No it's not mine! :unsure:

Yes, they just stick it on an automated charging station for the regas. It removes the existing gas and oil by deep vacuum, then checks for leaks by checking to see if the vacuum is maintained. If the machine thinks all is well, the system is regassed and hopefully everything is fixed... at KwikFit, if it still doesn't work, you don't pay. :(

It stinks though, doesn't it. How many people are being worked over like this? :rolleyes:

I missed this thread when it started, but that's disgraceful. By reducing the bill, it seems to me that they are admitting that they have failed to carry out the work booked. Personally, I would have insisted on the work agreed being carried out for the sum agreed, less some compensation for having to return for the completion of the work (and the damn cheek of the service manager for telling you bare faced lies).

10mm is quite normal. Any knocking/ratting, first thing to check is the antiroll bar droplinks - they are very prone to failure, and the tiniest bit of play in one of the joints sounds awful. Fortunately, a cheap and easy fix, but I would recommend genuine or decent quality branded factor parts... the cheap no-name ones off fleabay don't last long. Welcome to the forum, by the way! :unsure:

Auto adjuster in each caliper, and manual adjustment on the centre cable. Sometimes, the handbrake cable levers stiffen up on the calipers and don't fully retract, interfering with the auto adjustment. Release the handbrake and free the levers off with lube. Make sure the handrake levers are fully retracted... then, without applying handbrake, press the footbrake firmly several times to take up any adjustment in the calipers.

thanx,so will the elm327 based obd2 reset my airbag aswell and tell me about abs sensors..thanx again No. ELM327 interface will only read engine data, and read/reset engine fault codes, nothing else. For airbag/SRS, ABS, and all other vehicle systems, you need VAG-COM.