bingo nightly

I can't really comment on the procedure for a diesel as I have a v6 (though I find it easier to remove the lower engine cover and get at the manifold from underneath if thats of any help) but I can tell you this, abandon any ideas of trying to patch it up with anything in a tube, you'll be wasting your time. Preferably replace it or get it welded if its just developed a small blow hole.

My v6 seems to run at between 100 and 115 regularly.

I tried re gassing my v6 with Halfords cans when I first got it. I ended up snapping the handle off the can and they gave me a refund. It was all a bit of a waste of time. Given the numerous problems that occur with the Galaxy air con system I would leave it to an expert for the sake of a moderate expense. I usually do all my own work including a recent engine change, but some things are best left to those who have the proper kit. I took my car in for a re gas last week and it turns out I have a leaking connection to the receiver drier which only manifests itself under pressure. I have got to replace the pipe before they can re gas it.

This happened to mine a couple of years ago. I turned the key one day and noticed the needle jump and later noticed it was the wrong side of the stop pin. Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery does make it jump a bit but not enough, but it is easy to fix: I undid the retaining srews around the clocks assembly, drew the unit forward enough to clear the surround and simply turned the whole thing upside down to allow the needle to go back to the right position and put it all back again. Been fine ever since. I can't remember now if I needed to disconnect anything at the back to allow the unit to come forward enough but that would soon become obvious as you were doing it.

Well it looks like its seen better days and bearing in mind its misfiring and the adjacent connection point is discoloured, that is clearly your problem and the thing should be replaced...........in an ideal world. However, given the cost of replacement, if I were you I would try a repair first and see how it goes. There is loads of info on various forums about coil pack repairs as it is such a common problem, but basically you carefully clean the unit, make sure its dry (some advocate baking it in the oven for a while) and then coat the damaged area in a 2 pack epoxy such as araldite or JB weld to seal the casing. Its a 50/50 chance of success but well worth a try in my opinion. Good luck.

I find the rear seats are difficult to get back in unless the middle row are tipped up first. No need to fold them just unlock them and let them swing up a bit to give yourself a bit more room to get the back ones clicked in.

I know this is an old topic ,but i have same problem, how did you cure it. Any ideas where to start. Well as it happens, shortly after I posted the original question the car was due for a service so I let the local garage sort it out. When I picked it up later it was running fine and has been since (well until it blew up that is!). I recall they said they cleaned the throttle body and it did the trick. So I would follow the wise words of mk2vr6 in the post above and try that.

As a matter of interest what did you do as regards the engine? repair? replace with 2nd hand engine or get a recon unit? I'm still in the process of deciding the best route to take.

Thanks very much for that. I've pm'd you.

Following my recent Mk1 v6 engine failure, I have finally been able to take the engine out and strip it to investigate the problems, the cam chain tensioner has shattered into many peices, the chain has jumped the sprockets causing the pistons to get to know the valves a little too intimately. I am currently unable to post pics but one valve has snapped its head off and been driven right through the piston which has a 1 inch hole in it and is actually split right to the edge. the head looks like someone has been practising chain saw carving on it and the whole motor is full of shrapnel. Not pretty and far beyond repair I'm afraid. So I am searching for a replacement engine and this is where I really need some definitve advice: Having had a phone 'round a few breakers it has been suggested that the vr6 engine from a mk3 golf (of which there are quite a few) have a different arrangement of engine mounting bracket drillings to the less common Galaxy and Sharan units. Can anyone confirm for me whether or not the Galaxy and Sharan units are unique, or will the Golf and Carrado vr6 units fit right in without modification. If anyone can tell me I would be very grateful. Better still, if anyone has a nice v6 engine they want to sell? Thanks in advance.

Oh bugger! just noticed that, sorry, wasn't paying attention.

Good evening, I haven't posted on here for a very long time, mainly as I have nothing of much interest to say, however I thought it might be useful for someone if I related my findings regarding my v6 as follows: Had the car 3 years now, late model MK1 2.8 Ghia, lovely motor, bit thirsty but I don't do high miles and as its not worth a busting lot these days I have planned to hang on to it for the forseable future. The engine uses not a drop of oil but has got a rattly tickover due (I assume) to the cam chain About 3 weeks ago I started it up one morning and thought I heard a strange and previousley unoticed "whirring" noise, I turned it off and restarted it and the same thing happened. Repeated the process and the noise was gone so drove to work. However,on the journey it felt slightly rough, barely noticable but not quite right, and I thought I could detect a sort of hollow roar which seemed to be intake related. Over the next few days It seemed to get rougher, like a misfire, and I assumed the coil pack was playing up. The following weekend I investigated and could find no reason for a misfire/rough running. Coil pack seems ok, plugs were fairly recent as are the leads. Good spark and none of the cylinders were obviously playing up..........but the motor was getting rougher by the day! My thoughts went to the fuel system but could find no obvious faults and so decided it would have to go in to a garage for a diagnosis. In the meantime The car was still in use but keeping the speed down to 50 (in fact it was becoming increasingly reluctant to do any more than 50). It started fine, ticked over fine if a bit uneven, ran (roughly) and was showing nothing unusual in the way of warning lights, oil or water temperature, smoke, smell or anything else apart from the rattle which seemed louder and the odd intake booming noise. Last tuesday I drove 3 miles into town and it was getting really rough, amost undrivable and on the way home it finally coughed, slowed and as I pulled off the road stopped without a hint of anything wrong from the dashboard. Having lifted the bonnet I unscrewed the oil filler cap and smoke wafted out, the same thing from the dipstick. I tried to start it again but nothing happened. Seemed like it had seized solid! That night I started to investigate and found the motor unwilling to turn with a spanner on the crank pulley. I removed 5 plugs and they all looked clean, the 6th plug however was strangely reluctant to move , but after a bit of winding back and forth eventually came out. And what a sorry sight it was! The tip is smashed in and a clean sharp cut at right angles across the end, rather like its had a good whack from a cold chisel. After the 6th plug was out the motor was free to move and turns over albeit noisily. So at this stage I'm guessing but It looks like the cam chain has slipped its teeth, timing has slipped and the piston has rammed a very bent or probably broken valve into the end of the plug. Nice! So hopefully head off tommorrow and more will become clear. I'll report my findings. In the meantime I'm walking to work, and looks like the money I save on petrol will be needed to buy a replacement engine.

Oil change effecting the idle? thats bizzare but who knows with all the sensors and gubbins fitted to the engine. Well it does need a service, so I have booked it in to a local independant garage to let them have a go with it.

Thanks for the reply there, but as I said, there is no valve on this engine variant (or so I have read on here, and a search of the engine found nothing). So I have drawn a blank on this one I'm afraid.

I am hoping someone may be able to help with my V6. The car runs just fine with no other problems other than it will not idle at all, making it undriveable as it cuts out at every junction. I understand that there is no Idle Speed Valve fitted as there is on other engine variants. So what controls the tickover? and how can i rectify it? I've searched the forum but have not found any answers. Anybody have a clue please?

Ahha!! Now I understand whats happened! The key came apart whilst on holiday 3 weeks ago, and when I clicked the 2 halves back together the car would not start. Luckily we had the plain key with us so it wasn't a problem. Having read through the key related posts on here I realised that the chip has fallen out. Very long shot, but nothing ventured nothing gained, so a torchlit hands and knees search of my caravan floor has just revealed the missing chip! Clipped it back into the key fob and all is well and working as before. And so this site has once again proved invaluable. Brilliant!

Just done 3 of mine as per those very handy pics. 15 minutes for all 3. Very easy. Thanks for going to the touble of putting the info up.

Its much easier if you can sort out a whole load of stuff that is dedicated camping stuff rather than having to take things from the house, by this I mean melamine (unbreakable) plates and bowls, cutlery, cooking pans, tin opener, salt and pepper, corkscrew washing up bowl, sponge and liquid, clothes pegs, etc. etc. This way, you can just keep it all in stacker boxes or whatever in the garage/shed/loft, that way the next time you go away you don't have to sort it out again, just grab it and go. Thinking back to our days camping with young kids, I recall that buying a 3 way fridge was a godsend, as it was impossible to keep fresh food or milk and we used to end up going to the shop constantly for supplies. Also having somewhere to sit and a folding table are essential, with a second table or bench for cooking stuff. And the thing that many people forget the first time, some form of lighting! I used to have a 12volt strip light with a long lead running to the accessory socket of the car, though an electric hook up from the camp site does make things a lot easier, as you can have mains lighting, fan heater, etc. but it does take away your ability to just turn up on a site and find a space without pre booking at busy times. We had good times camping and children love it, but I'm glad I have a caravan these days!

Are you sure you are attaching it to the correct point in the system? I tried one of the Halfords things last year, and it went on o.k. but I found the whole thing a bit hit and miss, with the gauge showing inconsistant readings. In the end the body of the thing broke in half allowing all the stuff to escape everywhere leaving an oily mess all over the place. I took the bits back to Hafords wrapped in a rag and got a full refund, then took the car to a air con specialist for a proper job. Not that it did any good because the compressor has packed in! ;)

Just received a pair of curved Bosch blades from here. Around 25 quid inc. postage, and they took 2 days to arrive. Highly recomended!

I took my Galaxy to my brilliant and reliable tyre fitting place this morning to have 2 replaced. "Help yourself to (real) coffee while you wait sir" I was told, and sat down with a car mag for a relaxing 15 minutes. The fitter popped his head back round the door and inquired as to the location of the wheel security bolt socket/key. I went to the glove box to find it not there, and so searched the boot pockets with the same result. Dumbfounded as to where it could be (I just never lose things, and can lay my hands on any of my tools in seconds), I thought hard and realised that the only people to have touched the car since I bought it, apart from me, was a bodyshop who did a rear end accident repair last October. I assume they must have needed to take off the rear wheels then, and never put the socket back. Bugger! A long shot call to said bodyshop found them closed untill Tuesday, and lets face it the chance of them still having it is tiny. And so a phone call to the Ford dealer service dept. revealed that they do keep a few master sockets in stock and to bring it in to see if they match. Half an hour later, and the service manager takes one look and announces that the ones they have are nothing like mine (of course!) and suggests that they are probably more likely VW bolts, and so I hurriedly make my way across town to the Veedub dealership. The man comes out and takes one look and announces that the ones they have are nothing like mine, and that they are more likely to be Ford bolts! I explain that thats where I have come from, and he scratches his head and suggests that I have a problem (like I didn't already know!) and that I may have to resort to hammer and chisel to get the wheels off. Now the tyre place shuts at lunch time, and one of my tyres has a nasty split in it, and I want to take the kids out tommorrow, so I think hard and hurry back across town to the local car breakers thinking that they must have loads of old sockets kicking about from the thousands of wheels that they remove. Very helpfull bloke in oily overalls takes a look, has a rummage and find one that nearly fits, and with a few good taps with a hammer, is driven home. The 4 security bolts are taken out, 4 normal bolts found and put in their place, and he only wants a tenner, result! And so I now have my tyres fitted, and am thankfull that this situation manifested itself on a sunny morning rather than a rain swept motorway at night, with a puncture. The moral of the story is guard your security bolt socket with your life, the main dealers are next to useless, and if all else fails, use a large hammer!

As already mentioned, I guess it really depends on what you are going to use the car for, and how many miles you do. However, despite me not being a particular advocate of diesels, I would go for the Tdi, as its lower mileage, higher spec. and manual. The fuel costs saving compared to a petrol auto will be considerable in the long term, and will more than cover the initial price difference.

Superb, and very accurate! :D

Coming home from work this evening, sun shining and the window open, (an obvious requirement due to the climate control not working!) the sound of that wonderfull engine made running costs irrelevant. I have been driving vehicles fitted with Doctor Diesels evil invention all day, to transport things from a to b, and as a slow and noisy but efficient tool for a particular job, they work very well, but when it comes to pleasure then only a large, smooth multi cylinder petrol engine does it for me. This is compounded somewhat by the 'phone conversation I had at the weekend with a mate who has a Galaxy Tdi, and is going to either chip it or sell it, as the "performance" is so poor. In short, I feel that life is too short to rub your fingerless gloved hands together in a Shylock like manner, recoicing in the few quid that you have saved by having a miserable time. Oh, dear I must find some Settlers, as the swan pate and truffles are repeating on me somewhat. :blink: