Willie Krashitt

Hi All, I have just had to replace the sensor on our PD engine, and discovered something that should save anyone about to do this some money. My car was built in April 2001, and has auto aircon and an aux heater. According to both Ford AND VW dealers, it should be fitted with a blue coloured 2 pin sensor. Off I go and get a blue sensor. Remove old sensor and it is grey like in the picture in post #6. Oh well thinks I, it must be a new level. Rebuild and engine goes into hi rev mode on every start, and temp gauge doesn't go over 70

Thanks for the tips guys. I will be driving down from Dunkirk, so have some miles to do. (Dover - Dunkirk

As SK and I have said before, if it were so easy, the manufacturers would be falling over themselves to offer power like this. Truth is they don't as they have meet customer expectations for reliability, as well as legal requirements for emissions, fuel economy etc. VW fit different turbo's and injectors for each power level for this reason. Dragon:"The points you raise are all impossible to quantify for you." Bul***it! Cylinder pressure transducers, instrumented injectors, turbo speed sensors smoke meters etc are all available, it is just that most of the hot chip /remap companies aren't prepared to spend several

Ask them to confirm in writing that the peak cylinder pressure does not go above 160bar, that the exhaust temperature pre-turbo is below 750

I'm in the 'manufacturer knows best' camp. I suspect that when VW ran their durability tests prior to launching the PD engines, they found some issues that weren't there in pre PD days, and that the higher spec oil allowed them to pass the durability tests (and quite successfully too, as real world use has shown). The ONLY time an oil can be too good for an engine is during break-in (or more correctly 'wear in') when an oil that does its job too well can prevent bearings, bores and rings from bedding in properly. With the demise of the 1500mile oil change from service schedules, the factory fill oil will be expected to go to 10,000miles, and therefore is of a higher specification. This is one of the main reasons why cars now take 7-8000 miles before decent economy occurs. BTW, I do all my own routine servicing and use Ford SD, and 2 weeks ago I paid

Hi, I am taking the Galaxy with our trailer tent over to Normandy next month, and am wondering if anyone knows whether the autoroute tolls are increased if you are towing a trailer or not. Trailer is 1.3m high and 4m long if size makes a difference. Anyone help? Thanks in advance. George.

For towing want you want is torque not power! Have a look at the torque curves attached and you will see that the 150 only makes a gnat's c**k more torque than the 115, it just does it for a greater speed range. The difference between 130 and 150 is even less! What speed are you going to tow at? Look at the rpm you will be using, and see what the max torque available is. Should any 'hot chip' company or 'remapping service' suggest that they can increase the torque way beyond what is set, you can be absolutely certain that the engine life would be seriously compromised for several reasons that have been gone into before. As has been suggested, look at the posts on 'coolant loss' and 'running hot' before you go ahead. If you do chip it, make sure you have a good breakdown insurance! TorqueCurves.pdf

An extract from the August 07 EVO magazine. Explains a bit as to why the Mk1 Galaxy was the best handling people carrier of the 90's. Petrolhead: Why Are Modern Fords So Good To Drive? You might remember the Escort mark IV. You might remember its dismal, wet-sock styling, its depressing, lowest common-denominator engineering, its flaccid, weedy engines. And yet, bizarrely, the mkIV Escort is direct[y responsible for why modern Fords drive so well. It spurred the good people of Dunton and Cologne to pull their collective fingers out and start taking dynamics seriously, all, under the expert stewardship of Richard Parry-Jones. Parry-Jones is Ford's most famous `car guy'. These days the sign or his office door reads Group Vice President - Global Product Development and Chief Technical Officer of Ford Motor Company. It must be quite a big door, He's become the public face of Ford's transformation into a maker of bread `n' marg cars that can make drivers smile, and despite almost certainly having something more important to do, when I went to drive the new Mondeo last month he offered to ride along as navigator and, with beguiling frankness, made that direct link between the new Mondeo (which drives brilliantly) and the mklV Escort (which didn't). It's a puzzling ore, this, because, although the Escort was hopeless, it sold depressingly welt. Doesn't sound like much impetus to do better. `It was about looking to the future,' Parry-Jones says. `About thinking what other people would be doing and realising we'd be left behind. And our research proved that even people who said they weren't keen drivers could appreciate a car that drives well.' Suddenly Parry-Jones had a mandate to make future Fords properly sorted. And with the original Mondeo already in development, just in time. `When I drove the Mondeo [prototype) for the first time it wasn't too good,' he admits. And here's where it becomes an interesting lesson in what happens when a big car company decides to get serious about chassis. `I've never worked on anything like it,' he says. `Everything was possible.' The whole company threw itself behind making the Sierra replacement drive well and when it finally went on sale in 1993, by golly, it did. Next, Parry-Jones's team descended on the Galaxy people-carrier, then being developed by partner VW under a team more used to working on vans. The prototypes weren't promising so Parry-Jones's department called a sit-down with VW bosses including scary overlord Dr Ferdinand Piech. The serious Ford squad made an impassioned speech about what was wrong with the car and how they'd like to fix it. Piech was silent during the meeting, he just sat there,' Parry-Jones remembers. When I'd been through everything, finally he just said "He is right" and that was that.' Ford took control. After that, the engineers cut loose on the Fiesta, polishing the existing chassis whilst the designers concentrated on making it look like a mildly surprised carp. With the excellent Ka and Puma already done, attention then turned to the Escort replacement. The result was the Focus, the zenith of Ford's 90s fixation with making sweet- handling cars and also a paradigm for how they continue to do things today Nothing especially radical - even the feted `control blade' rear suspension is really just a trailing-arm set-up, although pressing the bits from steel instead of casting them from alloy meant they could afford an independent rear axle in the first place - but simply sweating over the details to get things right. I don't know, maybe Toyota or Peugeot worry about this stuff too, it just doesn't show in much of their current lineup. Maybe they need to plunge to the depths of the mkIV Escort first.

Prices and what fits what. Mk 1 Galaxies drop links have been superseded by the link from Pre 15th Oct 2001 Mk 2's. For Post 15th Oct-2001 the links have been redesigned twice, with a new link introduced from 15th May 2004 and a second change at 15th Sept 2004 until end of production. Now all post 15th Oct 2001 cars are specified to use the later link. Prices: All Mk 1's and pre 15-10-2001 Mk2: Part No.1M21-5489-AA, FINIS 1141774

Bolt torques: TIS/eTIS state the following: Brake caliper anchor plate retaining bolts

The price is inc VAT, Pads for a '99 2.3 are

According to eCat, there is only one disc available for the 2.3. Part number 95VWX-1125-BD. This is the original part as supplied to Azambuja plant. For a while you could get an alternative with a B1D suffix (Brembo?) but these are no longer available. Cost

Just to clear things up a little. As far as Ford Parts go: If the carton says 'Genuine Ford Part' or whatever, and you bought it from a main dealer, then it will be a part that is the same as originally fitted, or equivalent from later production (new level parts are introduced all the time that sometimes, but not always become retrofit items.) These parts will be made by the original supplier to the factory, or in the factory itself, except in cases where the supplier is no longer in business. If it says 'Motorcraft', then it will not necessarily be the same as original (but sometimes can be), but will be from a reputable source and the part will have been tested to the same standards as the original part. Somebody referred to these as pattern parts, and perhaps they are, but at least the quality is a given. This is not unique to Ford - ALL the major manufacturers do this, so as to be able to remain competitive with aftermarket part suppliers.

Remapping and 'hot chipping': You really have to ask yourselves why if it is so easy VW didn't do this from the start! To get more power from a 90PS, you will have to put more fuel and air in, which means increasing the boost pressure and opening the injectors for longer and/or increasing the fuel pressure. When you do this, you will almost certainly cause your turbo to go overspeed (they run at about 225,000rpm) and run far hotter than designed to. Most modern engines are set up to run close to the components limits on temperature as standard, as all manufacturers are after bragging rights regarding performance and fuel efficiency. A turbo that is just 50

Have to disagree with you Scorpiorefugee - if liquid doesn't expand much, why have an expansion tank? MO4 is right with her observations. Also feel I totally agree with Seatkid regarding chipped engines - just asking for trouble, especially with towing as it is under sustained load for so much longer. If 150+bhp was possible without changing turbo and injectors, as well as PCM maps, don't you think VW would have done it? As to the heat - with the chipping, the engine is producing an extra 27kW of power with the remap - With at best 40% thermal efficiency, thats an extra 15kW (=5 electric kettles!) of heat that you are asking the cooling system to cope with. The cynic in me wonders if this is why the 130 and 150PS engines get a different water pumps and radiators to the 90 and 115PS lumps as well? George.

If noise isn't tappets, it could be the timing chain tensioner or guide blade going. Neglect at your peril, as when the chain goes it wrecks the engine and usually breaks the block at the same time. Been known to happen from only 70k miles. Not too difficult a job to do. One way to find out where the noise is from is to use a stethoscope, or if you havent one, you can use long screwdriver. With the engine running, place the tip on the cam cover, and the handle to your ear. Listen in several places and see whether the sound is worse on one side or one end compared to the other. Repeat at the chain end. If the problem is 'bottom end' only, you MIGHT get away with it for a little longer using 20W50 instead of 5W30 oil, but this is really a last gasp measure. Note: Beware moving belts and pulleys. Tuck hair out of the way and remove any neck chains!

I think people worry far too much about their engine temperatures. Engine oil is perfectly ok up to 150

Something else worth checking that happened to me on a Golf I once had. The radiator hose delaminated internally! (The hose from radiator to water pump). Externally all looked perfect, and at low engine speeds all appeared ok. However, at higher speed, I can only assume that the pipe would suck itself flat and stop the flow. Having been through the new stat etc route, this was suggested to me by a VW technician, saying he had seen several do it, and nearly always after the water had been drained from the system. (I had changed the coolant 3 months earlier). New bottom hose cured the problem completely. George,

Idle Speed Valve looks like this. (see attached) George.

There is a technical service bulletin about this for all Galaxies built upto Jan 2003 - TSB 55/2003 refers. Basically the 'fix' is to put a new fuel line to the aux heater with some lagging around it and some additional clips.

Don't have - have the occasional use of (perk of the job, developing cars) Was the ST-3 model, with the full heated leather. Has now got 11000 miles on it (06 plate) and is still as tight as a nut. Only real problem is it is far too easy to go ridiculously fast. Would definately be on my buy list if I didn't have to drive 40,000 miles a year. Brother in Law has an ST-2 and is already wanting to get another to replace this one when it is a year old. George

Go for the ST - Brilliant car. Superb performance, good handling, although ride is firm. I loved it, wife did not - 3 door looks much cooler than 5-door, but she didn't like having to keep getting in and out when dropping kids off/collecting them from wherever. Fuel consumption is in the same league as the VR6 galaxy - I managed a best of 31mpg on the long motorway run to/from work- about 320 miles per tank. (A Focus 1.6 manages 38mpg, my Galaxy does 45mpg on same trip/ same average speed). If you opt for the spare tyre, instead of the compressor/goo thing, you lose tons of boot space, as the boot floor is about 4" higher to accomodate the spare. If you want usable performance with practical space, you won't regret it. You HAVE to get the orange one, otherwise it looks like any other Focus at first glance. George.

A quick look on eCAT reveals that the locks have diferent numbers from Mk1 to Mk2. Mk1's have a 99VW prefix (L/H: 99VW-A21812-BA and R/H: 99VW-A21813-BA), whereas the Mk2's are prefik YM21-. The rest of the numbers are the same. It also lists Mk2's as having different locks depending on whether it is left or right hand drive. (i.e. there are 2 locks listed for each side -AA = LHD, -BA = RHD) What the physical differences are is anyones guess - might be something simple like the cable to the internal pull is a different length. As a lock mechanism is

Hi, NO NEED TO SHOUT! Several suggestions have been made on the post by MATTjr, but in addition to what has already been suggested, it might be one of the following: TMAP sensor - (intake air temp and pressure sensor) If air temp signal is wrong, ie is sensing excessively cold, it will up the idle speed. Alternator charge control - If your battery is on its way out, engine speed will be increased so as to increase output from the alternator. Same applies if heated screens, headlights, fans etc are all switched on. Power steering - Not sure if allGalaxies have them (2.0/2.3 do), but many cars have a pressure switch on the steering rack/PAS pump that senses when extra load is required from the engine as you turn the steering wheel, upping the idle speed. If this switch is short circuited, it might be responsible. Clutch switch - This switch when closed senses that you are about to put into / change gear, and on some cars increases the idle speed to reduce risk of stalling and to give a smoother gear change. Vehicle speed sensor - If it sees a wrong signal, it might hold engine speed higher for a number of reasons. Best bet to start with is to connect VAG-COM or at least a code reader and see what shows up. Hope you get it sorted and post what you found out. George.

No. While I agree with you that they look good on dark coloured Galaxies, I (well SWMBO) couldn't/wouldn't justify the cost, even though I can get them cheaper than this being a Ford employee. Diagrams suggest it isn't a difficult job as you just need to drop the roof lining....... Good luck if you go ahead.