Stevey Y

Hi buy a plastic trim remover kit for eBay, gently prise the unit out and then change the bulb, I think the bulb is a 501 bayonet type but you can either read the writing on the bulb or visit your local spares shop and let them match it up. Steve.

Hi although I have never seen the vehicle common sense dictates the question do I throw more money at it, if the garage wants to pay the cost by all means, as Clifford suggested fit a reconditioned unit as this won't have the problems you have now, with regard to the car being clapped out it must have looked like a good proposition for you to buy otherwise you would have walked away, the brown emulsion in the oil is a classic example of fuel ingression, if you want to replace big end shells you would have to replace the piston assemblies as well ergo a recon unit would be better its known as a short engine which has had the crank journals reground and oversize shells fitted, new oil pump, pistons and rings, personally as Gareth suggested I would see if I could get an engineers report, get my money back, you may suffer a small financial loss but its better than losing the lot and if you source another vehicle either buy a couple off years later model or buy a diesel as its impossible to buy one with that type of problem as they rely on compression detonation and if the rings are gone will run like a bag of spanners. Steve.

Hi, sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but I think one of the big end bearings is on the way out, as you mentioned the knocking decreased when you engaged the clutch, this is because engaging the clutch takes the strain off the crank so its movement is less encumbered by the clutch assemblies weight which means less flexing of the crank itself. My guess is you are probably right about the Wynns, the main problem with a lot of the petrol engines built between 2008-2011 was as a result of upcoming emission regs in Europe Audi had to find a way PDQ of reducing the emissions so their answer was to use slight overbore to reduce friction and thinner piston rings to prevent bore drag, the problem is the rings get stuck in the grooves on the piston and are not tight against the cylinder, Cliffords suggestion of a compression test is a good start but I think it might have gone beyond that, personally I would go back at the garage 5 weeks is well within the boundary of rejection under the sale of goods act, it may well have come with a known service history but that won't cure a built in problem. Steve.

Hi thank you, I am pretty sure once the new part is fitted you will be swimming in the sweet smell of success let us know how you get on, I had one of those apart once out of boredom they are basically a diaphragm with a pressure sensitive film running down the middle, good idea in principle but when living in a superheated environment the plastic membrane becomes brittle and won't work, I sincerely hope that fixes it then we can move on the gear box issue. Steve.

Hi you have the correct code but I don't think its the box, it sounds as if it might well be a clutch problem, thrust bearing, flywheel, first motion shaft bearing, drive shafts won't stop rattling if you push the clutch down, especially when you are not moving. Steve.

Hi a top of the range pierburg unit on eBay is only about £40, happy hunting. Steve.

Hi thats cracked it, Just looked and that is your problem if you plumb in to google the part number on your original unit it will come up with loads of them apparently VW use the same unit and its called N75 that is definitely your problem as the solenoid is not holding pressure which is why the actuator is bouncing up and down, just mark the pipes 1-2-3 when you take them off and put a mark diametrically on the old unit for reference, don't go back to Vauxhall otherwise you will be on Valium for the rest of your life Steve.

Hi if the actuator stops moving when the pipes from the sensors are disconnected that would indicate that the sensors are indeed working, but in saying that the MK4 MONDEO had the same set up but the sensors degrade over time and struggle to work, the actuator won't be moving at idle as there is no requirement for boost until the revs rise, easy way to test actuator is to get an assistant to turn the ignition to position two while you watch, it should move to its start position. I am glad you have use of VCDS as some codes may well unravel some of your problems. Steve.

Hi I hope it works for you as its definitely the cheaper option, let us know how you get on. Steve.

Hi there is no manual adjustment, try the cleaner first and if that won't work its the unit itself, from what I remember they look like a one piece unit with the manifold but I know you can buy repair cores and actuators separately to rebuild your unit, the bit I remember in Technicolor is that they are a real mission to remove the old unit. Steve.

Hi Ken I am pretty sure you don't have to recode if your car is an 8P 2003 - 2012 according to my Auto Data system, why I don't know because it recommends it for just about every other model from 2004 I would check this just in case they have been known to be wrong, go wind up Halfords they will confirm /deny. Steve,

Hi its the turbo position sensor which is on top of the turbo this sends messages to the ECU so it can fine tune the amount of boost to the engine at any given time, this sensor gets to control the vanes on the turbo but if the vanes are sticking it will struggle to open and close them and increases its voltage [circuit to high] to try to achieve optimum position, try giving it a can of Lucas EGR and turbo cleaner to free the vanes up. Steve.

Hi it sounds like a failing injector or a sticky EGR best to get it scanned for codes. Steve.

Hi BEM systems were fitted from 2004 on most models except on some entry level A2s and have to be coded, if it was fitted by Halfords it should have been coded except at the two local Halfords in my area when I enquired about my daughters Q3they were perfectly happy to sell us a battery and fit it for an extra £20 but when I enquired about coding they went a bit sheepish and said we don't have the equipment to do that, buyer beware.

Hi best way is buy a cheap arm puller off of eBay, Sealy are not a bad shout, hose it down with Plus gas penetration fluid leave overnight and then use your puller you might need a pair of Mole grips to turn the compression screw but it will come off. Steve.

Hi best practise is to remove the drive belt and then try it, carefully spin the idler pulleys and check for any roughness as the bearings are rotated if they seem okay and the noise is gone when running its either the alternator clutch or an internal bearing in which case you might be better served getting a reconditioned unit as you will need special tools and a world of patience to strip your unit plus a rebuild kit, not cheap, the replacement option is a lot cheaper. Steve.

Hi check behind the cam belt cover as it could be a leaking camshaft seal the angle of the oil throw from the belt looks about right and iff its sucking air into the head area that would cause the smoke as the crankcase pressurising would cause excessive amounts of crank gas to go into the PCV system. Steve.

Hi its the bulbs, pound to a penny if you put standard bulbs as a retrofit it will stop, even if the bulbs fitted are can bus error free the one thing they don't like is a dose of pulsed current feed, I have seen the H4 leds fitted to fiesta mk6s blow when they keep flashing the main beam to often. Steve.

Hi Steve what an absolute belter of a comparison we all remember the end result of that one, a short sharp battle and I wonder what happened to my mums neighbour who was the first to buy Betamax unit and was always harping on about how much it cost, mind you it was the same neighbour who bought a brand new Moskvich a few years earlier and collided with a house at the end of the road about a month later after the pedal box had rubbed through the clutch cable, there is no depth to which human stupidity will not plummet. Steve.

Hi Steve you are not going all Bertie on us and investing in a Milk Float, this forum would become pretty lame if all we had to discuss was possible braking and suspension mods, Snap On have just released the first socket set for electric cars as the bolts etc on these cars is completely different from conventional cars, its a snip at £1400.00 for a sixty piece set. Steve.

Hi Gareth you don't just buy it because eBay compatibility graph says it will fit, if you have the correct parts system it gives you the part number of the part your car was built with with the supersession numbers which will have different letters at the end of them but will still fit your vehicle, if any of those numbers are on the listing as o.e. numbers it is safe to buy the item, if you are still not sure message the seller they will confirm/deny and if its still the wrong part, it won't be sitting on anyones shelf as you send it back, you have to have the correct number in the first place along with any supersession numbers, E.G, I obtained my daughters cam belt kit from eBay the part number matched but the sellers cross reference said it wouldn't fit so I asked the question and they came back with YES IT FITS, although when it came I checked it but the part number had different letters at the end and stated it was for a Skoda, so did I send it back [NO] I just got it fitted to a Q3, its called Globalisation make a part which fits a range of VAG vehicles but give it a different letter at the end and they will tell you that because the letter is different it won't fit your Audi which has the same engine with a different engine cover, you just have to have the Right number in the first place and it shouldn't be from some random parts catalogue on the internet whats known in engineering terms as RDS reliable data source, anyway the Skoda belt [Dayco brand] has been whizzing round for the last 700 miles with no problems and I don't see any future problems as Dayco is an o.e. supplier even if it is for a Skoda on the packaging, its all smoke and mirrors. I don't know where you got the number for your belt but something is badly wrong with the information. Steve.

Hi try the activation plunger switches on the doors and see if there is any power to them as they work the interior lights when you open the door try this with the headlights on, other than that its a case of chase the ace with the wiring from the fuse onward. Steve.

Hi the power even if present will only illuminate the bulb when the switch is in the on position and the earth side is now in play the power should always be present to enable this function. As you just stated the power is fed to the switch therefore no power supply to the unit it won't matter what position the switch is in. Steve.

Have you tried Quick Fit, my local branch have the latest Hunter kit with the specialist cables for VAG cars I asked the question about anything special about Q7s and he said not most VAG models fitted with adjustable /pneumatic suspension are all the same, as for one adjustment affecting another how does that work! if the rears are in the green zones measurement and only one front is out why would they have to adjust the backs if its only the front needs doing, as long as all the wheels are in the green zones at the end it does not make sense, I.E. the backs are ok which is the datum point how does adjusting the fronts into the correct parameters make the backs suddenly go out of alignment especially when you consider the bolts on the rear are very tight so what moves, Quick Fit are about the same price but I would say find an outlet thats not terrified of its own equipment, in the final analysis they should only adjust the wheels that are out. Steve.

Hi if there is no power going to the bulb holder it won't matter what position the switch is in, looking at the picture of the fuse box what is the random DIY wire about it may be that someone else has been having a go, my only suggestion is to run a new live feed in from the correct side of the fuse if it is showing power across the fuse, alternatively run a live feed from one of the spare fuse stations that has power one side but from reading the first post I would be checking the earthing first. Steve.