Ask a Shiter

[KruJoe]

Ronda the Honda engined R8 is slow to warm up (10 mins of gentle driving before the needle starts north and warm air appears).

Eventually the gauge settles just below half, and the heater blows warm (not HOT). Coolant levels look right. Should I suspect:-

1) Airlock

2) Stuck / faulty / absent thermostat

3) Anything to do with the slightly high idle speeds

4) Summert else

5) None of the above - should I consider this normal? The weather has not moved far from zero since I've had the car, so could that account for it? Maybe me and Will have just been spoilt by Lada levels of furnace-like heat within half a mile of leaving home.

Thanks ahead...

[Lacquer Peel]

My first suspect would be the thermostat.

If I remember correctly, the R8 416SLi I owned for 2 days 6 years ago warmed up quickly.

[KruJoe]

Thanks, I thought as much. I've now got one on order. It is a bit of a worry; most of my journeys are 10 minutes or less, so it wouldn't be doing the motor much good.

[Negative Creep]

Why does it say I have one new PM even though there's nothing in the folder and I emptied some of the old messages days ago?

[KruJoe]

Is there a line saying "Release all on-hold messages"?

If so, click that.

[wuvvum]

I've just been offered a cheap Volvo V70. It's the 2.4-litre 5-pot petrol engine. Seller says it runs OK but cuts out if the revs aren't kept above 1,000rpm. I know these engines are a bit notorious for OMG THROTTLE BODY FAILURE, which is hideously expensive to sort, but I don't know exactly what the symptoms of said failure are - most of the cars I've seen for sale with throttle body issues are in limp mode and won't rev properly but manage to idle OK.

 

This one's the exact opposite - so is the issue likely to be throttle bodies or something completely different (and hopefully cheaper to fix)?

[Spiny Norman]

Think they tend to hunt on idle and randomly rev up more than cut out, but that can be an issue as well. My C70 would almost (but not quite) stall once it was warmed up when you put the clutch in approaching a junction, but that was traced to a dodgy O2 sensor.

There's an entire section on the Volvo forum about them. http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=81

[KruJoe]

SH, that's interesting, my Thai 850 has become really bad for this, if we're on a swift bit of road (eg ring-road) trucking along, then lift off suddenly for a bend/lights/roundabout, then the revs drop right down and it stalls. Being and auto, it won't bump-start itself as I normally would in an old shitter. Quite dangerous if you're not ready for it - I loose all PAS, and servo help on the anchors.

 

 

Wuvs, if you do end up with it, I may be able to help with cheap bits from this:

 

 

It's a '96 850 GLT 2.5 20v auto. I've used/sold very little from under the bonnet.

[Negative Creep]

Is there a line saying "Release all on-hold messages"?

If so, click that.

 

 

Ah yes. THat was a rather a stupid question..................

[Spiny Norman]

KJ, yours has a good old throttle cable rather than the £500 electronic box of nonsense that replaced it, so I'd say your problem is either a duff O2 sensor or maybe the MAF, which can produce similar results.

[KruJoe]

Ooh, thanks!

The MAF I've identified, I can take my spare one when I go back (though from the pictures, the housings look different).

Stupid question - are the O2 sensors the Lambda sensors? (One behind, one in front of the cat?) One we took from my breaker and butchered for the Niva, the other is seized properly.

The Lambda light has been showing on the dash of my Thai car since I've had it - I've been told that was something to do with the LPG system...

[Spiny Norman]

The O2 sensor on mine that was kaput was the one on the downpipe before the cat, but who knows?.....

[CreepingJesus]

The oxygen sensor is before the cat, the Lambda sensor after. A fault with either will bring the dashboard light on iirc.

The very early non-TRACS x70's (97/98 built) have the cable throttle, so less to worry about. Post 99, and into the Ph2 models pretty much all have it.

[splatthefat]

Stupid question time. As i'm currently 40 odd miles away from my code reader (stuck at work) I can't tell what's wrong exactly. But could injection cleaner cause am em light to come on?

[willswitchengage]

Does anybody know where I can find landline numbers for call centres? 0800 numbers cost thousands of pounds from my mobile. Looking for More Than insurance, specifically.

[Lacquer Peel]

http://www.saynoto0870.com/

[skattrd]

http://www.saynoto0870.com/

 

I use that all the time, I never call 0800/0845 or any such like.

The other option is to look on the company's homepage, finding the "contact us" and there may be a number for calling from abroad - that should bring up a geographical phone number

[Spiny Norman]

0800 numbers are free aren't they?

[catsinthewelder]

^ from a landline they are, and you can't generally use your free minutes to call them from a mobile.

[skattrd]

0800 numbers are free aren't they?

Not from mobile phones, and as Rich said you can't use your call allowance on them, so they're charged on top.

[skattrd]

One for the mingebag oil burners ...

 

In my diseasel motor can I chuck old engine oil in the tank with the veg?

The car is due an oil change and I hate disposing of a gallon of filthy engine oil if I could possibly chuck it in the tank.

[Cavcraft]

Hey Chris, small amounts in a veg oil friendly car are ok I'm told, but it's something of a risk if you get pulled as they class running on engine oil as tax evasion because duty hasn't been paid on it. That's what I was told anyhow and it's been enough to put me off!

[skattrd]

Cheers Billy, I might give it miss then.

I was also thinking that burning used engine oil could lead to new heights of black smoke production.

[Richard]

It does, and it gives following drivers chest pain.

[garycox]

How rubbish is a Mini 1000 auto to drive? The Metro 1.3 Autos i've driven were pretty bad, are these any better?

[Cavcraft]

It's been a while, Gary, but from memory 'fucking shit' probably covers it. I seem to recall the gear change is as pleasant and as effortless as attempting to row a rubber dinghy using garden forks for oars in a force 15 gale.

[meggersdog]

One for the mingebag oil burners ...

 

In my diseasel motor can I chuck old engine oil in the tank with the veg?

The car is due an oil change and I hate disposing of a gallon of filthy engine oil if I could possibly chuck it in the tank.

 

I've done this and I don't recommend it.Engine oil and veg oil when mixed together produces a thick sludge which gums up the injectors.I filtered the oil down to 1 micron and had an inline fuel heater which kept the oil at between 25 and 75 degrees so it stayed thin.I only mixed a gallon to a quarter of a tank of veg/ diesel mix and after fifty miles the car smoked and ran rough.Had to remove the injectors twice and clean them on a wire wheel before it cleared.

I have successfully run on 50/50 engine oil diesel mix without problems but changed the filter every 1000 miles.That was in the Fiat Tempra a couple of years ago which never had veg in it at all.

[trigger]

Here's a question, are modern Peugeot diesels really that shit compared to other modern diesels?, I'm thinking of Peugeot 308 1.6 and 2.0 HDi's as they seem well priced and spec'd for their age or would a older Focus or Honda Civic be a better bet?

[Spiny Norman]

Isn't it more that Peugeots in general are shit these days?

[dollywobbler]

Here's a question, are modern Peugeot diesels really that shit compared to other modern diesels?, I'm thinking of Peugeot 308 1.6 and 2.0 HDi's as they seem well priced and spec'd for their age or would a older Focus or Honda Civic be a better bet?

 

2.0 is far more reliable than the 1.6, but it's not just engine woes - the entire electronic package is shocking. I wouldn't go anywhere near a Peugeot after 06. The Civic 2.2 diesel isn't unpleasant, though it feels a bloomin' enormous engine for the size of car. Downsides are that it's far too bulky to wear a Civic badge and that rear window design is utterly, utterly stupid. Focus is alright, though I'm not a fan of the Focus II. Again, just feels a bit too bulky and coffin-like compared to the first effort - which I actually do like.