sparky Paul

That depends, the seller I mentioned is an established motor factors and a bona fide business. I would imagine you should have the same rights as if you were buying over their counter, with the additional rights from the Distance Selling Regulations which allow you to return goods for a refund. That's how I thought the Ford parts situation worked, but they only seem to stock one or the other depending upon which part it is. The question is, if you go in and ask for a set of discs for the Galaxy, will you be supplied with genuine OEM ATE discs, or will you get pattern 'Motorcraft' parts? Anyone had discs from Ford? Here's another thing - the original factory ones I took off my Galaxy had the 'VW' logo cast into them, as do the calipers, but no sign of any reference to ATE. Are these the genuine ATE manufactured discs?

What I was alluding to is that ECP don't actually stock the the 288mm ATE discs, and even the 'OEM' quality Bendix Jurid ones (104440610) they do stock are much dearer than the Mintex ones. ECP do stock a cheaper alternative (104440611). About their part numbers, ECP say You should be able to get the ATE ones from the Fraud dealer, or indeed the VW dealers as you suggested, and you're right about checking the prices - sometimes the main dealer parts can be very reasonable. Having said that, I'm pretty sure some of the 'Motorcraft' branded parts I've had from Ford have been pattern parts...

I know what you're saying, but even the 'OEM' 288mm discs and pads supplied by ECP are Bendix Jurid, not genuine ATE discs or pads. Having said that, I've used Bendix replacement discs, and they are very good too. Even ATE manufacture replacement discs for cars for which they do not OEM, I reckon one of the local factors supplies them in sets with the pads. I can only go on my current and previous experience with the Mintex bits, these fronts have almost 30K miles on them without a problem, and the discs are wearing perfectly flat. I've been using pattern brake parts from reputable manufacturers for many years now - without any problems or noticable difference in performance and/or wear rate, though I will always stick to recognised premium brands - and will never touch unbranded parts.

I would have to agree about the really cheap unbranded ones,

The discs look pretty worn, but check the thickness as wolfie says. I got my Mintex discs/pads from 'mncautomotive' on eBay - I've had a few things from him now and he's always helpful, and very fast with the shipping. Done 20k miles plus on the Mintex discs so far without any problems whatsoever. Here they are -

Do you mean that you only loosened the brake fluid reservoir cap before pushing the pistons in? :blink: If you did, you will have pushed the dirty fluid back through the ABS pump - doing that risks flipping the seals in the ABS pump and/or damaging them with the muck from the bottom of the system, the caliper. I would at least consider flushing the system through with some clean brake fluid... IIRC the Mintex pads/discs were about

The front discs aren't too difficult, unless you hit any unforseen snags, which is always a possbility. :blink: I would be a bit wary of the really cheap unbranded ones off eBay. I've had the Mintex ones from another eBay seller, they are excellent - but quite a bit dearer. The bleed nipple is the little fat stud at the top of the caliper, with a push on connection for a piece of pipe. The process you're describing is so that you can push the piston back into the caliper (to make space for the new discs/pads) without pushing fluid back up the pipes into the ABS pump, which can damage the seals in the pump. You'll need a proper brake hose clamp, a piece of tubing and a ring spanner of the correct size to open the nipple by loosening it half a turn. If the nipple is tight or siezed, take great care not to snap it off... If you want a more detailed explanation and pics of procedures like these, the Haynes book is a good place to start.

We had have a knocking at the back nearside too - although the exhaust looked fine at the back, I found that two exhaust hangers had snapped/rotted off, one on the front pipe and one in front of the middle box. Welding these back on seems to have fixed it, so I guess although the exhaust didn't seem to be hanging lower than normal, it must have been more floppy than usual. The exhaust is quite close where the end of the middle pipe passes over the rear cross member, I reckon that's when the knock was coming from. :wacko:

There's a good chance that it could be a worn bush, although I've just had the offside wiper shaft seize giving a similar symptom - a couple of inches off each end of the travel... To check for seized wiper post shafts, open the bonnet and run the wipers. Look to see if the wiper framework is flexing as the wipers reach the end of their stroke - a sure sign something is stiff. If you then have a feel around all the moving parts, the seizing part will be hot! The only fix is to remove the whole assembly and strip down - I had to press the o/s wiper shaft out it was so tight. It appeared that patches of the shaft plating was coming off and picking up in the bushes - it all cleaned out and was nice and free upon reassembly with plenty of grease, but I can't help feeling that I'll be doing this again at some point... :wacko:

You need to make sure the clamps have a good hold on the posts. Don't forget that the terminal posts are tapered - thinner at the top. Open the offending clamp up and carefully tap it home onto the post before tightening the clamps back up. If the clamp has been overtightened and stretched at some point in its life, it may need replacement.

Mine's wrinkly too. ...the stuff around the windows I mean... :(

I've had enough of it for today. I think I'm off to look for alcohol too. B)

Oh dear. B) I'm having a bad day too... after fixing the central locking (tailgate anaconda wiring), fixing the flooded passenger footwell (rear wash pipe), replacing nearside headlamp (big stone), I've now found that the two of the exhaust hanger brackets have bust off, one on the front pipe and one on the middle. To cap it off, the middle pipe to cat joint is blowing too... B)

Not sure about your RCL unit, but these threads might help... http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=1282 http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=11841

According to http://www.smmtco2.co.uk the emisions figure for your car is 176 g/km. :rolleyes:

95 rated is the usual minimum for the Galaxy, but 94 seems to be the absolute minimum permissible.

Don't forget that forum members get a discount from Mytyres (thanks Cepheus) http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=8577 I'm currently still on the Fortuna F2000s from mytyres, around

Has the MOT man pinpointed which bits are too scabby, or has he actually said it all needs replacing? For each side, there's a solid bit on the back trailing arms, connected to the chassis solid pipe with a flexible. Not 100% sure, but would assume the front half would be solid pipe up to the ABS pump, then a solid to the master cylinder. Usually, it's the back part on the suspension arms which suffer, as they are very vulnerable - fortunately, it's the easiest bit to replace. Sorry, not up on current garage prices, I did my own, but I'm sure someone else will have some idea. HTH :rolleyes:

This one's quite busy... http://www.cavweb-forums.co.uk/ HTH :rolleyes:

I've had the Mintex ones off eBay, same seller iirc, they're are absolutely fine. :D In fact I must be getting ready for some new pads by now, they have been on quite a while. Not so sure about the really cheap ones though...

My 2.3 also has the undertray fitted... but you can't actually remove it from under the car unless it's jacked/on stands/on a ramp... drives me bonkers. :lol: I seem to be able to reach the nuts at the back okay, but then again I do have trouble with my knuckles dragging on the floor... :lol:

...especially when the likes of Dunlop, Continental, et al. also have , or are building factories in China. A close relative's Toyota is fitted with Dunlop tyres which are made in Turkey, so they have a factory there too. Bear in mind that there are few manufacturers of casing technology and machinery, and from what I've read, the equipment which is used to produce these cheaper tyres is often purchased from the big names. I also have the Fortunas fitted, and have been extremely pleased with them - wet performance is far better than the Dunlops when they were new, and they seem to be wearing well. Based upon my experience, I would certainly buy them again. Seems reasonable to me. :lol:

:blink: I don't suppose 144K is unreasonable, but I'd be a little bit peeved if they went at 15K. At 63K, I reckon there's a bit more life left in my old bus yet! :D