seatkid

No idea bout alternative meanings of "continental" :blink: When I get the Corsa - hopefully sometime between next week and beginning of September. Vauxhall salesmen are smiling creepy slimy rude scumbags who are specially trained in trying to screw you while keeping you totally in the dark.

With increasing frequency I read on various car forums about widespread use of devices to increase power. Typically tuning boxes, re-maps, modified air intakes/filters, etc. More worrying are the discussion of uprated turbos, Nitrous injection systems etc. I have noticed in nearby (council estate type) neighbourhoods, a massive increase in "pimped up" cars - the majority being small cars - Clio's, Peugeots,Corsas etc. They have many characteristics in common, lowered suspensions, big skinny alloys, blacked out windows and lights, major bodywork modifications, very large and loud exhausts and obviously tuned up engines. They are normally driven by young kids very quicky and aggressively and often well above the speed limits where I live. My question is, do the police ever stop and check these guys are "legally" insured? By that, I mean have these modifications been declared and accepted by their insurance company? It costs me

I think the factory fit tyres are V rated for the Galaxy and that you might jeopardise your insurance if you fit a lower-rated tyre, even if you aren't going to use it to its full potential. Be careful, there are a lot of "V" rated tyres in the Galaxy sizes, but they do not have the correct load rating. An example is mine - 215/60 15 - available widely as a "V" rated tyre but with a load rating of 91. The minimum load rating required for this size is 95. Therefore the need to specify a "H" rated tyre - the few available have load rating of 98. Check load rating.......Galaxy tyres require high load rating (also referred to as XL or reinforced)

If the non starting appeared after you changed the brake master cylinder, then I suspect you disturbed the vacuum to the servo. If the vacuum is disconnected (open) this may be causing your engine to die.

Yes, partly driving style.... however my kids also drive the Alhambra and I bet they don't stick to my rules :wacko: .....I reckon mileagewise I do about 50% B roads, 25% motorway and 25% town. 2 major reasons behind the high mileage I reckon are its only a 90ps motor, so low on power and I do not go above 70mph nowadays - that stopped after the head on collision in my 1st Alhambra (written off) that brought home how easy it is die because of speed. I do try to brake gently and plan ahead. Also I know the suspension geometry is good on my present car, my 1st Alhambra (195/65 15) had a major geometry fault on the rear that caused the inside edge to feather badly and so wear quickly. On my Skoda Fabia fitted with Conti EcoContact EP I calculate a life easily in excess of 50,000 (currently at 37,000) and thats driven exclusively by my kids Did you know there is a little known piece of data printed on your tyres - Treadwear number. The higher the Treadwear number the longer the life of the tread. For my SportContacts this is 280.

Ask your dealer or supplier to look up the aux belts for same year galaxy 2.3 without a/c (e.g. LX, Aspen whatever).

My first 96 Alhambra Tdi, fitted with the 1Z 90ps engine had an alloy bodied MAF - not sure if it was Bosch or Pierburg - it may have been hot wire. My present 98 has the AHU 90ps engine and AFAIK all diesel models Mk1 and 2 after 98 have plastic bodied Bosch MAFs fitted with hot film hybrid IC sensors. The exact sensor varies with the engine model though. Remember that "Bosch" does not mean "made in Germany". A lot of MAFs have been made in China I believe, my Bosch glowplugs were made in France and I've seen "Made in Hungary" stamped on a number of electrical items. Bosch and VW had a lot of quality control issues on electrical items in the late 90's. I remember particularly the saga of coil packs made in South Africa (and no longer made there AFAIK)

How about this? Spent the afternoon shuffling my Alhambra tyres around, cleaning alloys and checking brake pads. Now has the front tyres with the original factory fitted Conti SportContacts (215/60H15 date code 10 98) - which make them 9 years old with 78,000 miles! Got 2.5 - 3mm tread left. Just a little crazing appearing in the rubber on the tread edges. The rears are also Conti SportContact dated 36 01, they've done about 40000 miles and have 3.5 - 4 mm tread and in very good condition. I move the tyres around every 20-25000 miles including the spare. I garage the car when I can, it stops the UV and the weather attacking them. I have 2 - 3 mm on my rear brake pads and over 5mm on my fronts, again the original factory pads. I will be changing the rear pads and the front tyres when I get to 80000 miles which will be another 2 - 3 months. Will go for Conti PremiumContact as SportContacts no longer made in my size. :( Hankooks, Hiroshimas, Yingtong etc also not available in my size not that I would ever want to fit them... :wacko: Had similar good experiences with Conti EcoContact EP/3 on other cars. As you can guess....I only recommend Continental! B)

Lo side. The high side is at centre front of the engine bay.

Certainly more likely to be rattly chain with a failing tensioner. High Lambda without the warning light on the dash indicates a faulty Lambda Probe. Its located in the exhaust system. Make sure you get a genuine one (~

They don't. AFAIK 3 different sizes front disc, 2 rear.

Ooh..... I can't think of anything other than Yellow Pages. I would think most removal people provide crates and boxes and possibly bubblewrap too. Maybe it would be a good time to declutter and throw out the junk. Moving is one of the most stressful events in life :blink: .....take it easy.......breathe deeply and keep smiling :wacko:

If you don't mind me asking. 1. Who's paying? 2. Is your stuff worth more than 2k? Is it possible you could sell up and buy later (carboot/ebay etc)

It would be interesting to find out how much extra the insurance will be.

Nah....sounds like catastrophic failure - possibly the camchain has snapped leading to piston/valve contact. Remove the rocker cover and examine the chain.

Sounds like you need a new engine. :wacko:

Poor Aircon - probably needs regassing, leaks common. Ticking on cornering could be CV joint but usually ticking is present in both directions. Overheating - we need more description of symptoms. If its still under warranty, bang it in quick.

It is difficult sometimes to see beyond what we know and are familiar with. Unreasonable brand loyalty seems to be a particular affliction with the diesel crowd. Typically this shows up in forums like HJ where someone asks the question "Whats the best diesel?". You will then see dozens of enthusiastic posts about how "their diesel" is the best ever made. Citroens, Peugeots, Fords, BMW...you name it....its there I have been guilty of unjustified brand loyalty for far too long (30+ years). At one point I would get very emotional arguing about how VAG vehicles were the best in the world. Even when the evidence staring all along at me in the face (VW Golf MkIII) was shouting exactly the opposite. I put this down to the combination of 2 really crap "first cars" I had the misfortune to own in my youth (SAAB 99GLE, FIAT 131), followed by something wonderfully reliable in comparison (VW Passat). It screwed up my brain for the future. Only now am I starting to unwind this psychological damage and looking more impassionately at cars. Yes! Every manufacturer has good cars and crap cars, including VAG. And one thing I have come to realise......that modern VAG diesels are like Massey Ferguson tractors compared to some other manufacturers. Thats why I've ordered a Vauxhall Corsa with a Fiat engine. :rolleyes: Only time will tell if I regret my decision :D

You have probably got a faulty control module. By faulty, I mean water has got in and is still in or has left corrosion on the PCB. This is a common fault and it usually shows up as wipers that don't switch off or run at the wrong speed. The control module is attached to the wiper motor and can be removed. I would try and open it up and clean it with a tooth brush and some PCB cleaner. Leave it to dry overnight before reassembing. A new module is around

If they are asymetric then they will have the word INSIDE and OUTSIDE prominently on the sidewall. If they are directional then they will have a large arrow and/or the word DIRECTION or something like that on the sidewall.

I think big kev is just referring (in colloquial terms) to the LPG gang declaring unilateral victory in the economy stakes without taking a good look at the facts. From what I have seen, the galaxy as a motor vehile has one of the largest benefits mpg wise when you choose a diesel over petrol. In fact the diesel Galaxy can often match the economy of much smaller cars. (I average 55mpg - my little Skoda Fabia 1.2 petrol averages 44mpg) Manufacturers have not been convinced by the LPG arguement desite the considerable investment by the petrol companies. I also still think it is unwise (as do all car manufacturers) to stick a fuel tank behind the rear axle - never mind the spare wheel conundrum.

By eck, this lass has got balls...... :blink:

Euro IV compliance has been compulsory since Jan 2005. IMO the reasons for VW going to common rail are mainly marketing and manufacturing costs. Vw's competitors using CR are producing far more refined diesels than VW. Also with PD now being very niche product, I don't think Bosch are very interested in developing PD further. Common rail is capable of much more sophisticated injection strategies than PD. This probably means it can meet Euro V requirements somewhat easier particularly wrt NOx which the PD relies on a unreliable/costly EGR setup. There is also a trend to abandon timing belts, because of servicing requirements, possibly the aggro that VW has had with them and with the future use of VVT likely. I have never heard of a manufacturer offering a remap service.....could you elaborate on your claim about Seat? P.s. the reference to trip computer inaccuracy refers to the fact that tuning boxes elongate injection periods (inject more fuel) without the ECU being aware of this. The ECU calculates mpg based on its injection period. Therefore the illusion that mpg is unaffected or improved. I doubt if many tuning boxes or remaps would pass the Compliance Tests - the MOT smoke test is not a Euro compliance test. I refer to Euro law not UK MOT requirements. My main gripe is the suspicion that 95% of people who use tuning boxes/remaps do not declare them on their insurance, and don't declare their use to the next buyer. And from what I see in my town, they smoke like hell. Yes, torque is the destroyer of transmissions, the Galaxy Autobox is already at the limit regarding torque, a search of the forum will confirm the unreliabilty of this (Jatco) box. A factory produced 150ps model has an uprated braking system c/w with say the 115ps model. If the manufacturer didn't do this, they would stand accused of gross negligence and their insurance rating would probably be several groups higher. Remember this is my opinion only.

Try a trip to your local dealer.

Mercedes MAF is an old style wire sensor, new sensors as used on the Galaxy are thin film hybrid ic sensors - these generally don't respond to the cleaning trick. I wouldn't buy anything from Ebay - its an outlet for Chinese copies amonst other things.