sparky Paul

I know the feeling. Most of the usual rust points were tidied up on mine a few years ago, but the nearside sill lower edge is getting crusty, with odd bits of weetabix. The actual sill is solid, it's just the bottom seam that's going. The back wheelarch on that side is starting too. Half a day's work would see it on for another couple of years, but there's that windscreen and a couple of greasy bits to do also. Other half has a Honda Jazz now, and loves it... so the Galaxy got put on the back burner. There's also a Terrano to get through a test...

I assume you mean the small PATS chip for the immobiliser is lost, and the car will not start. If that's the case, you need a good auto locksmith, or someone who has access to Fords IDS diagnostic tool to program a new PATS chip into the system. The actual chip is not expensive, but needs to be programmed into the PATS on the car.

Oh no, not you as well Brian! :o I've been looking at a few mk.2s, most of the one I see are either silly money, or rotten, or both! Even the newest ones are 11+ years old, and the mk2s seem to rot faster than the mk.1s... and try finding one without squashed sills. I'm proud to say, 18 years old, and the old bus' sills are still unsquashed. :P It is quiet on here now, but there's a wealth of info for anyone trying to keep an old Galaxy on the road.

Check the condition of the wiring in the rubber gaiter between the door pillar and the socket on the driver's door. Locking problems can also be caused by broken and/or shorted wires in the tailgate rubber gaiter, driver's side. Both very common issues on the Galaxy.

Usually obvious if you jack up and get the wheel off, either the rubber will be detached from the aluminium outer shell, or the rubber will be split. Check for vertical movement in the rear bush with a bar, should be minimal.

Ah, a familiar face... Sorry it's all been lumped on you Gregers. I would happily help out, but I'm not sure how much longer I will have the old Galaxy.

It's almost always the rear wishbone bush only that gives way. If it's not spotted by the MOT man before it gets bad, a split or detached bush will make a nasty knocking through the bulkhead, often on bumps, braking or accelerating, but sometimes at random.

I notice a few spam posting IDs have been dribbling onto here recently, reporting doesn't seem to do a lot. What's the mod situation, I don't know who's left?

Personally, I would just do the CV joint, if that's all that's wrong with it. They are very easy to swap with the shaft off, just peel the boot back and give the back of the joint a firm thump with a soft faced hammer. I'm sure wishbone replacement has been covered a few times on here, here's a brief explanation of the job I added to one post http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?/topic/27323-suspension-clanging-video/&do=findComment&comment=189387

Welcome to the forum! B) It's not as active as it used to be, but there's a lot of information in the old threads on here, if there's anything specific you need to know, check the FAQ section in the Technical Section, or use the Search box at the top of the index page. Be sure that 'Forums' is selected at the end of the search box. Failing that, start a thread in the relevant section and ask away! Note that the forum is split into two main sections, one for mk.1/mk.2 cars built 1995 - 2006, and another section below for the 2006-on mk.3 cars. The reason for this is that they are completely different cars, the pre-2006 car essentially being a VW design.

I think the coloured bands do indicate spring rate on original VW coilsprings, but IIRC the back ones are all the same? Might be wrong. It's the springs which determine ride height at the back, so a new pair of springs should have fixed any bottoming out problems. I can't ever recall mine bottoming out at the back end, even well loaded up. What springs did you use, are you sure you were supplied with the right ones? Some other VW springs will fit. You should stick to decent ones, like Kayaba or Monroe - the cheap ones are a false economy if you intend keeping the car for a bit. First thing that happens is all the paint falls off, and the MOT man starts moaning that they're rusty! Bottoming out the back end needs the coilsprings to be compressed pretty hard. Are you absolutely sure this is happening? There's no way you should be able to shove the car down to the stops from the bumper!

Clutch? I'm still on the original, nearly 161,000 miles, and it still feels good. I've a had a brand new genuine Ford clutch & thrust bearing/cylinder on standby in the shed for years, expecting it to go at some point, never needed it!

Mark 1 Zetec trim's not exactly plush either, but I'll be sorry to see it go, it will be liking losing an old friend. The Galaxy has only let me down once in 14 years, or more precisely the other half... went to pick the kids up from school, and it wouldn't start when she went back to it. Towed it back and the damn thing started on the drive... relay 30 was the culprit. In 14 years, I don't think that was bad at all, many a time we have gone sailing past broken down cars of a much newer vintage on our 500+ mile holiday drives.

Oh, you noticed that! :lol: Not sure what to do at the moment, there's 3 cars on the drive and something has got to go. The old Galaxy is getting a bit long in the tooth now and it needs a few quid for the MOT... main problem is a cracked windscreen. It's a shame to scrap it, it still runs and drives perfectly and the body is still presentable, especially for an 18 year old car with 160,000 miles... on the other hand, it's a 18 year old car, with an 18 year old interior, etc., etc.. It might get a reprieve for a while, I'm not sure yet. If I can happen upon a cheap secondhand windscreen, I might bung it through a test. Otherwise, it doesn't look too good. It would certainly be the end of an era, after owning the old bus 14 years.

Swap the wires as above, or you can get an adapter cable which also has a small box of tricks that supplies power fown the antenna cable to the the aerial amplifier at the back. The most noticeable effect of the amplifier is to make AM radio bands work properly - so if this is important to you, a VW Golf ISO adapter cable is what you need.

Yes, the rear spring isolators disintegrate readily, I don't think it is any detriment apart from a little noise transmission from the rear tyres. Main dealer for new ones, Ford or VW, though I have seen them occasionally on ebay.

There's some info on changing the oil in the FAQ section, it's a fairly involved procedure... http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?/topic/5899-autobox-oil-change/ It's an ATF with special additives for the the Jatco box, I think you have to use the right stuff from Ford. VW do a version too, I think some have found this a little cheaper.

Servo leak? Possible seal going on input shaft.

Isn't it 5 posts before you can upload pics? I'm sure there are a few members who would find these interesting. Pics are often worth a thousand words!

AG5, which is indeed the Jatco 506E. It's not a bad gearbox, just not up to the job of the Galaxy.

As Greger says, your problems are almost certainly broken wiring inside the tailgate rubber gaiter.

You might have better luck asking in the mk.3 section, the old mk.1/2 Galaxy is a completely different car. http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?/forum/177-ice/

Sub 30mpg doesn't sound very good, even for an auto. Not really sure what to expect from these, you might get a better response in the mk.3 section, yours is a mk.3 car. http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?/forum/174-mkiii-specific-area/ The diesel engines in the mk.1/2 are VW, yours is a Ford, so you can't really compare with the earlier cars. In fact the whole car is Ford designed and built now, the old mk.1/2 was effectively a Volkswagen Sharan.

I wouldn't be surprised if the CV joint is fine, and it's only the reluctor ring that's at fault. Many garages are unwilling to source the rings separately, or are unaware they are available separately. Most tend to deal with one motor factor for all their parts, and few factors actually stock the rings separately.

To be fair Brian, it is a Ford Galaxy forum! :P Sorry, couldn't resist. ;) There were some changes to the Sharan/Alhambra after Ford left the project, including the new 2.0 PD diesel and electrical system changes to remove the Ford bits, particularly PATS.