sparky Paul

Welcome to the forum! :D Haynes never made a book for the the mk.2, but most of the mechanicals are pretty much the same. Many members on here use unofficial copies of the Ford TIS CDROM which is a very useful resource, you can find it for download on bittorrent sites... so rumour has it. That well known auction site used to be flooded with copies, but they seem to have clamped down on them... however, search for 'ford service cd' and you might just be lucky! It did depend upon trim level, but swivel seats were fitted to most Galaxys... it might be possible to retrofit the seat mechanism from a salvaged interior, I'm sure it would be worth looking into that as the standard swivel seat assembly works very well. As for the remote locking, the correct procedure for your car is in the FAQ section here... http://www.fordgalax...%BF%BDentry9914 ... look for the second post in the thread by seatkid. Hope this helps! :lol:

That sounds like the body of the inner CV joint is still attached to the gearbox - this should normally come out with the driveshaft. It should be possible to insert a small pry bar (or similar implement) between the driveshaft and the cv joint, insert a small wedge of wood against the soft gearbox casing to prevent it being damaged. You can just about gain access from underneath, between the rear of the gearbox and the front subframe. It will need a firm push to pop the circlip that holds it into the gearbox. Take care not to damage the oil seal on the gearbox, and be prepared for some oil loss on removal... you may need to top up the gearbox after replacing the driveshaft. Remember to lubricate the seal and driveshaft splines liberally before reassembly.

Yes. If you ever need to reset it... ensure ignition is off, press reset button, turn ignition to position II for a few seconds, then return to position I. Vag-com will be no help for the keys. The procedure for programming the remotes on '99 models is the same as the mk.2 procedure in the FAQ section here... http://www.fordgalax...%BF%BDentry9914 ...look for the first reply from seatkid. If you are talking about a complete new key and immobiliser chip, you need two existing keys to add a third to PATS, otherwise it's a trip to the Ford dealer. The procedure is also in the FAQs here... http://www.fordgalax...956

If it's any consolation, I've seen these tyres regularly retailed at

Another Far Eastern tyre brand, Indonesia I believe... £48 each plus shipping and/or fitting at the place mentioned above. http://www.allnewtyr...ils.asp?id=3760

I certainly agree that a premium brand does not always guarantee the best tyre. The Maxxis tyres were tested in last year's test... http://www.autoexpre...98/verdict.html Maxxis tyres are also Chinese, and you can see that although they aren't the worst, they are only second last to another Chinese tyre. That said, they are probably one of the better Chinese tyres out there. I just found the Marshals for £126-odd a pair delivered from here... http://www.allnewtyr...w%20Car%20Tyres ...you'll just need someone to fit them. :P I do my own, but you should pay less than £10 a wheel. Some of the big tyre chains charge £15 plus, have a ring around the smaller independents and garages for a better deal.

Haven't used one, but I would think that the best place with a heated windscreen would be down the left or right edge of the screen, where there are no heater wires in the glass. The heat-reflective coated windscreens are a problem because the coating covers the whole screen, apart from the designated area marked for these devices.

VCDS... Vag-Com Diagnostic System As well as the software, you will need the interface cable, available cheaply on fleabay.

I've experimented with Chinese tyres, and to be honest I now have to agree with Mirez. I chose my cheap tyres carefully using reviews available, avoiding tyres with no evidence of any track record. Although some Chinese tyres seem to be of reasonable quality, some of them are very poor indeed, particularly in the wet, and this is born out by tests conducted for motoring magazines. The tyres I had seemed perfectly okay in use, no problems with balancing, wear rates, etc., but the last ones were exceptionally noisy... Apart from the obvious problem with tyres which are shown in tests to perform poorly, these cheaper tyres seem to suffer from more than their fair share of these other issues. 'Goodride' are indeed Chinese, made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., a company which doesn't seem to have the best track record when it comes to tyres... http://www.businessw...0711_487422.htm If you are on a budget, you could do worse than look at some of the mid-range tyres, generally manufactured in Europe and more developed areas of the Far East. The tyre tests produced for publications like Auto Express are a useful resource, and the Marshal Matrac XM tyres I'm currently running on the Galaxy were very highly reviewed in this test... http://www.vredestei...express2006.pdf You can see from the results that they perform pretty well, better than most of the established rubber, and third overall behind only Vredestein and Continental. So, there are decent mid-priced options out there. There are a number of newer Auto Express tyre tests around the internet, it's worth seeking them out if you are serious about the tyres you fit to your car. They have also included some of the Chinese tyres in later tests, they invariably come last, and some of the results are quite worrying. I have had no problems with the Marshals at all, and they were under £60 each (supply only) at the time... tyres prices have gone up since then, but these Marshals were around £15-£20 more expensive than the very cheapest Chinese tyres. For the sake of a few quid, I don't think the saving is worth it when you can fit a tyre with some guarantee of performance. Just my two penn'orth, hope it helps!

The only thing I can add is another question... When you say... ...does the frequency of the twitching vary with the road speed just like a buckled wheel, i.e. does it slow down as the car slows down? Or does it remain constant, or dependent upon engine revs? If it alters with road speed, then I would say something is out of true, either a damaged hub or wheel. If not, then I would go with Mirez's alternator pulley suggestion first. Another possible cause for twitching steering is low pump pressure caused by a faulty pump or relief valve. Possible, but probably less likely, is damage of the torsion rod or associated components in the rotary valve inside the rack. I would think suspension problems are unlikely to give the exact symptoms you describe.

Good to hear it's all sorted now... it's been an expensive exercise to tighten a wishbone bolt! :lol: It just goes to show... trust the pry bar when it starts knocking again. :rolleyes:

As Mirez says, that is a common issue on mk.2 (2000-on model) Galaxys, however the earlier cars have a completely different receiver/drier arrangement and do not suffer from this problem. They do however have other aircon weaknesses, mainly the pipework... If yours is a mk.1, the solid pipe which crosses under the front offside chassis rail is a common failure point, muck collects between the pipe and the chassis and corrosion sets up due to the dissimilar metals. Another sound bit of advice is to run the aircon regularly, particularly through the winter when many do not think of using it. This distributes the lubricating oil around the system, and in particular onto the pipework seals, which minimises the loss of gas.

94 rated or better. All Ford standard fit tyres are rated 94 or higher, I've never seen any Ford literature which specifies any lower rating.

I think you misunderstood what I said. Tyres of a different size but rated for the load are legal, subject to agreement with your insurer. 91 rated tyres of any size are not legal. I would read Mirez's response above very carefully.

Out of the eight tyres you have, only the 95 rated ones you have on the front are legal on the Galaxy.

AFAIK, the minimum load rating for standard fit mk.1/2 Galaxy tyres is 94, and later cars are fitted with 95 or higher. If the 205/55R16 are not reinforced or extra load, they will be 91 rated, and not sufficient. If they are RF or XL, they will probably be 94 rated, which would be just good enough. That said, I would advise against fitting any tyre size which is not listed as standard fit by Ford, but that's just my opinion. Lots of people fit aftermarket wheel/tyre combinations, but I would advise clearing it with your insurance company before shelling out for wheels.

Yes, looks like a good one for the FAQs. Not 100% certain, but I think you have to make 5 posts before you can see attachments.

The system should not be damaged, a pressure switch prevents the pump clutch from engaging when there's no gas,and hence lubricant, in the system. The pipe will need to be replaced and the whole system evacuated before refilling the system with the correct quantity of gas and oil. If the system has been open to atmosphere for any length of time, it's recommended that you replace the receiver/dryer too.

More than likely, I can't remember anyone having any problems bleeding the clutch manually.

The clutch bleed nipple is on top of the bell housing. Look for the rubber gaiter where the hydraulic pipe connects, the nipple is in the same rubber.

Or, if like me you are paranoid about it happening again, all three :) Almost the same here, a small TyRap on each end of the rubber connector, and heavy duty adhesive shrink sleeve over the top. Been good for 6 years now. :)

Do you need W rated? Mine only needs H rated - about £105 on mytyres for Dunlop Fast Response... ...and don't forget the forum discount too. :angry:

First of all, welcome to the forum! :wacko: You probaby have a problem with the auxiliary belt, these are tensioned by a spring tensioner assembly which is automatic and non-adjustable. It would help if you could say which engine you have, petrol or diesel... each has problems which can cause the squeaking/squealing belt, once you have elimininated the most obvious cause of a worn or damaged belt. The cause of this problem on petrol models is usually either the belt tensioner itself, or the idler puller, or both. The only fix is to renew them, it's a fairly straightforward job and and if you have a search of the forum it has been covered several times before. The diesel models seem to suffer less with the pulleys, but have a specific problem with the alternator pulleys failing. Replacement is a little more involved and requires some specialist tools. If you check the FAQ section stickied at the top of this 'Technical' section, I'm sure there is a guide in there.

Great news. It's good to hear a positive outcome, and another lease of life for an older Galaxy. :wacko: FWIW, I still prefer the look of the mk.1... if only the seats were a bit more supportive and the interior more modern, it would be perfect!