bingo nightly

Yes indeed it is all as it should be. The bulb failure test is not confirmed until the circuit is completed by you applying the brakes for the first time after start up. If the go out then that all is fine.

Mine has always done this.............basically plays what it wants! I have never been able to fix it, cleaned it, took it apart, examined it, cleaned it again, no differance I'm afraid!

I'd start with taking the plugs out and having a look at them which will give you a clue as to whats going on inside, then a compression test to find out if you have leaking valves or broken rings, scored barrels etc.

I've had this with wheels before, the alloy corrodes and builds up and pushes the tyre off the rim causing it to deflate slightly. With the tyres off its easy enough to clean up the rims with a flap wheel on a drill........but the tyres need to be off which is a problem!

Sounds like your losing water from the heater matrix behind the dash and its collecting in the drivers footwell.

A bit on the thirsty side I'd say. My 2.8 will do 270 miles on a full tank towing a caravan.

If the timing chain has jumped a tooth or two then it will almost certainly have bent some valves at the very least. This would account for low compression and reluctance to turn over. If this is the case I would be inclined to look for a used engine to replace yours, there are stacks of 2.3's out there being broken but you should ideally find one you can hear running or with some sort of warranty. I replaced my V6 engine for

I understand it is against the law to release air con gas into the atmosphere, and so you mustn't disconnect the pipes and let it all come out like I did to mine when I changed my engine. :) Alternatively you could call a mobile air con engineer to come and de gas it.

I had a plastic T peice on the cooling system fracture last year (it was a smaller bore pipe though so must be a different bit) and having spent half an hour with the Ford parts man who couldn't find the part on his system and then another half an hour with the VW parts man who declared said part didn't exist, I bought a universal plastic T peice from the local motor factors for about a quid and stuck it in place.......its been fine ever since.

I need to replace mine as they are banging and clanking about. Its the first time they have been touched since I bought the car 4 years ago.

Its very common for the O rings on either side of the oil cooler to perish and leak oil. It happened to mine. I have tried to post a link but it appears not to be working for some reason, but if you google "VR6 oil cooler" you should find all the info you require.

These people may be able to help, they claim to ba able to repair broken air con pipework, and by post. Not used 'em myself but well worth a try: http://www.bee-cool-aircon.co.uk/index.html

Ridiculous price! Cost me £350 for a new comp. from Cheltenham radiators (found on internet), supplied it to local garage and they charged me a couple of hours labour to stick it on.

Ridiculous price! Cost me

Does it sound completely normal? No strange noises at all? Did all this suddenly start happening or was it a slow change?

Yes around the 60 quid mark is about what I have been quoted.

Front of the engine, sort of just above the sump/block joint, and more to the gearbox end. Its black and about a 20mm cylinder with a black lead leading from it. Its held in with a single allen bolt. You may not be able to spot it without dropping the engine under tray, though it is just about accessable without doing so, but awkward.

I am certain that all mk 1's are AAA, with other codes used for the same engine when fitted to other vehicles.....there must be some differences such as bracketry I would guess. You may find this useful: http://www.autoshoppingcenter.com/Volkswagen/vw_enginescode.html

While I am not particularly familiar with the diesel engine version, A visual check of the valve gear will be possible by removing the rocker cover. Removal of the sump and lying underneath while looking up past the crankshaft and with the aid of a torch you should be able to see the underside of the pistons. (If you have a holed piston you will more than likely find debris when you drain the oil anyway) Alternatively try applying a bit of compressed air through the injector hole while holding a finger loosely over the dipstick, if there is a holed piston you should be able to feel the air coming out from the crankcase. If you can also do this with the exhaust and inlet manifolds removed and with the engine rotated to ensure all valves closed on the offending cylinder, you will soon see where the air is escaping from to indicate bent valves or holed piston. If it makes you feel any better, I had 11 bent valves, 1 broken valve, a holed piston and sheared off teeth from the smashed timing gear floating around in my engine (V6) My replacement engine faired little better as it had no compression on 1 cylinder and I found an inlet manifold bolt had been dropped into the inlet manifold by the dork I bought the engine from, it had got wedged under the exhaust valve bending it, and damaging the piston. After repairing all that My wifes renault snapped a cambelt bending all 16 valves and dinging the pistons. Bugger! I had a busy year last year. :angry:

I have a 4 berth Swift weighing in at 1200 kg.

I can't comment on tow weights and such details, but I can tell you from experience that my 2.8 v6 will tow at whatever speed I wan't it to. Loads of power available. I used to tow with a Rover 620 which was good, but on those long hills through Cornwall i would need to drop down to 3rd gear to maintain a reasonable speed, whereas the Galaxy will hold speed in 4th and accelerate if I drop down to 3rd on the same hills. Its very stable too with no snaking problems. The only downside is a constant 18mpg when towing but its only a couple of times a year.

The tech data sheet pdf for the Morris semi synthetic that I have linked to states it meets 505.01 (though it only says 505.00 on the main page). They also do a fully synthetic if you want to push the boat out.

It probably won't help on this occasion if you have a faulty lock, but its worth knowing (if you don't already know as you have just bought it) that you can't open the boot with the engine running unless the drivers door is also open.

I use Morris stuff in all my vehicles. Performs very well and probably half the price of others if bought from your local motor factor rather than the likes of Halfords etc. This is what you need: (you can check product spec. yourself and for a local supplier via their site) http://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/scripts/prodview.asp?idProduct=46