seatkid

What I do for oil changes is simple. No jacking, just have to lie down (dirty clothes) Mines a Mk 1 so the engine tray is different but still think the same procedure would apply. make sure you have the correct oil, filter and a new sump plug. Plus a tool for removing the oil filter cover. Car on drive, handbrake on. Trickiest bit....Remove the six bolts holding the undertray....see below Lower it to the ground. No need to remove as this acts as a drip tray should your bowl not catch all the oil. Put an old washing up bowl under sump and remove sump plug and drain. While its draining, from the top of the engine, change the oil filter. AFAIK in your case, you have to pull off the top engine cover and use an appropriate tool to unscrew the filter top. Pull out old element and replace. Screw top back on, replace engine cover. Put in new sump plug. Fill with correct oil to proper level. Start engine, check for leaks. refit engine undertray. Recheck Oil level....... Pick a nice day to do it though...

I plan to change mine next year (at 70k / 7+years ;) ) using the lazy way. Use a trichem marker to paint belt and all sprockets with reference points. Undo tensioner and roller. Remove belt, mark up new belt and count teeth to crosscheck. Fit new belt, tensioner and roller. Double check marks........ Plus lots of photos, just in case.....

Thats nonsense, they should use rubber blocks,even wood blocks to chock between the pad and the chassis points. If they say they can only lift on sills then walk away and find somewhere else. A lot of garage have drive on lifts, you only need a 4 point lift if the wheels have to hang (brakes etc). The Shalaxy (or any other car for that matter) should never be lifted on the sills (except using the provided jack for wheel changing only). It will cause body damage and is IMO an extremely dangerous practice. I don't use garages. I DIY since all the damage I've suffered at their hands...

WHY? :P Working under a car with the engine running (and jacked up with a wheel off) is not advisable........ ;)

turned off is safer....

Theres been a lot on this subject recently, see this discussion for starters. After all that the next things to look at are the Boost Control Valve (TCS) and the Tmap sensor

Its more likely that you have new pads sitting against some badly worn/ridged discs and the brake performance is poor is due to the small area actually contacting. (Check: were the pads you took out badly grooved?) The only way to improve this is to be harsh with the brakes to speed up the bedding in process. Or better still change the discs.....(iirc you had metal to metal contact - not good for discs) Use a correctly fitting ring or box spanner to undo the brake nipples. It is always a good idea to bleed them, if only to flush out the old fluid and crap that builds up in the slave cylinder end.

You should clean those fingernails... ;) Turbulence and damp cause particulates to stick there.....thats my theory anyway....and yes most car exhausts look like that after a while....

Mine is around 50mA.

:blink: So its true what they say about white van man! :)

And we waited and we waited and.... Yet again, apparently not, reinforcing the long held belief that finding a "good" garage is as likely as seeing the proverbial pig flying..... With a name like "Strawberry Hill Garage", better check out they're not on drugs before you give em your car.... :blink:

Which only goes to show that alarms do nothing but annoy people. I can't imagine anyone reacting to an alarm even if someone was breaking in to vehicle. Only situation would be to report you to local council as noise nuisance.....

You must also change the tensioner and the idler roller at the same time - they cost more than the belt! Full illustrated procedure is on the TIS Cd. Q. Why at my VW dealer does a cambelt change cost 50%+ more on a Sharan 1.9Tdi than other 1.9Tdi models? Its the same engine......

No that's attached to the girlfriend....... :lol:

OK, have it your way...... just don't expect me to bump start it for you :) BTW, just measuring voltage on a battery is no way indicative of whether its good or not, and thats my last bit of advice on the matter...... mind you........it could be a ......... nope! I'm not saying any more....... :lol:

:) ........but I will say that, personally, I think two leather seats and five velour with three different patterns and four colours may not be compatible with the eye.... :lol:

Sounds as if you need to take off the piping and give it a thoroughly good clean out. Whats your mileage? So do you think its inferior oil, byproduct of chipping, the way you drive or a worn engine that gives you the gunk? Does it burn any oil? (getting in thru EGR or Turbo leakage). Did you put the mini air filter back?

I'm not replying to this one...... :lol:

j_mchattie....why don't you read the original post? :lol: It was flat when he got home from Halfords, despite 14.4 volts at battery which is spot on alternator output. He measured voltage at battery terminals which rules out bad connections/leads. ITS A FAULTY BATTERY....MM is right, it was stored incorrectly at Halfords.... Take it back greg_68, Halfords will test it and sort it out without any further hassle..... Trust me......I'm (still not) a doctor

suggests they sold you a duff battery...take it back and complain.

drop the subject, my alterego got the better of me for a second.....no hard feelings dellboyt! :unsure: shake hands?

sorry.. :unsure:

:unsure: I thought dellboyt's did 40mpg.....oops......forget I said that! :lol: :(