phoneman(ret)

Hi, I have a (almost) 10 yr old Scout with the 2.0l PDI engine. It always starts at about half a turn when cold (last year at -10 after standing for a week) no trouble in spite of only having one functioning glow plug. Once it has warmed up, it has to turn over 2 to 3 revolutions (seems reluctant) to start. Battery is new. I seem to remember mentioning this to where I have the car serviced in Sheffield (Autohaus Dolby - very good) and the crank position sensor was mentioned. Why it would only cause trouble when warm, no idea. The sensor sounds expensive ! (isn't everything !) so I will live with it until it gets worse. Cheers, Lloyd

Just to add my thoughts. For the last few years, come November, on go the winter tyres - 205/55/16 on steel rims with no wheel trims to clog up with snow. Just have to remember indicated 30mph is actualy 27mph etc. Using (back) some old Vredestines Snow Trac 2 (4mm) and some budget (front) 6mm. Don't care if they get chewed up since cheap ! The potholes are breeding like rabbits around where I live ! Goes everwhere I want with no worries about getting stuck, except behind wallys in expensive 4x4s driving on summer tyres. Easily overtaken since they are going nowhere fast ! End of March (should be OK, hopefully !) back on with alloys & Avon Z7s. Electric car jack makes c/o easy life ! Lloyd

Will a dead glow plug cause any problems if not replaced ? Have seen the post explaining how to change plugs, changed all mine (Bosch) about 2 years back back and one showed up dead on its last service (short life due to incorrect fitting ?) Wish that post had been available then, hard work getting plugs in and out ! No problem starting (first time, nice big Varta battery) even when left for a week at -8C Cheers Lloyd

Had the same problem a couple of years ago. OK since then (I shouldn't have said that !) On maxidot red coolant warning light comes on. It is the coolant level sensor probes getting a surface on them and showing high resistance. Take cap off header tank and you will see two thick wires going into the coolant. Just give these a wipe or a scrape with a nail file etc. It can also indicate a low anti-freeze concentration, on the last occasion it happened I just drained a little water and topped up with anti-freeze. Lloyd

Hi, Look under posts for "rear suspension level sender" Had some great help from the forum !! I had a similar problem a few months ago, after a service by an independant, was informed that the rear suspension level sender drop arm had broken (£200 to replace - this probably included the sender itself !) Didn't know what it was or where - see posts to find out. Having found it I made up a new drop arm, cost around £8 still working (so far !) The front sensor is similar, on the nearside ? front suspension (mine was OK). Regards, Lloyd

Thanks for the information, will leaving a failed glowplug in cause any problems ? As for torque settings, I don't think that any of the plugs would have gone in at that value ! Looks like I was lucky they didn't break ! At the last change, none of the plug tips were very sooty, no visible difference between the failed plug & the three good ones. Would a carbon build up cause a plug to fail ? and would any long term fuel treatment (Red X) help. Lloyd

OK, That video is worth a lot of words ! Four winter tyres it is then !

Hi, Another topic, About three years ago, a service showed up one failed glow-plug. Got some useful advice on the forum and changed all four (Bosch). Hard to get out (warm engine) and even harder to get back in !! They didn't all go in same distance (within a turn) due to very nervous of snapping plug. Now another one has failed (number 4 this time, last time number 3). Have got a good quality socket to fit the plugs, but is there any form of lubricant I could use the ease their entry ? or should the engine be at normal operating temperature ? Should plugs last longer, or have I been unlucky ? The indy that has done servicing for a number of years, I believe, cleans the threads out before fitting new plugs. Would not doing anything lead to problems with the failed plug ? Gone through 2 winters on three plugs and never any problem starting (nice heavy duty Varta battery). Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, Just a quickie. If you have a 4WD car, you fit winter tyres to all 4 wheels. But if you have a front wheel drive car, is it legal to fit winter tyres to only front wheels ? These would be on steel rims instead of alloys and I presume the same size tyre. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi All, MOT last Thursday, did all usual checks to make sure nothing important had "fallen off" only to find high level brake light not working ! Checked with testing station - not part of MOT test - phew ! Decided to have a look, pulled on trim around window which unclipped at the usual just before breaking point of the plastic ! Found back of light, held on by three plastic nuts - these are not much more than finger tight ! Undid these, pulled light unit away from frame as far has the rear screen water hose would allow (why so tight ? are they trying to save a few mm of plastic pipe ?). Pulled off electrical connector (has a clip at the bottom which needs releasing) plugged back in and WORKING again ! Gave it a couple more off and ons, now OK. Saved around £30 (Ebay) well pleased. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, Thanks again to all that replied to my post. Took car to garage on Tuesday and they removed lower bracket and broken ball joint from sender arm. Got them home and found upper ball joint had rusted and the plastic housing had snapped. Measured distance between centres of ball joints (70mm in my case). Found that ball joints were 6mm (lower one was pressed into bracket and had to be drilled out). I build towing electrics testers for the trade (keeps me off the streets !) and had a look on the websites that I buy components from. Found some 6mm ball joints (which cost a little over £6) and fastened these together with some 6mm threaded rod and locknuts. White substance on the joints is silicone grease (actually heatsink compound) on reflection probably didn't it ! Adjusted ball joints to give 70mm spacing and locked nuts (note 180 degree orientation of the joints). Fastened lower joint (nylock nut) and took car back to garage, re-assembled in a couple of mins. While car was up on ramp, found front level sender (left hand side) and checked the joints, OK. Garage wan't even going to charge me ! (have had rear discs changed there last year) so I gave them £10 for the "tea club" ! End ! Lloyd

Had a look today and found the metal arm had snapped just below the ball joint (nice bit of corrosion !) why not make the drop arm out of nylon/plastic like the sender leaver ? Now to take car to local garage to get it off - can then decide if repair possible.

Managed to get cowl off mirror (difficult or what !) then quite easy to remove the indicator. After a bit of dismantling, found the little PCB with three SM LEDs. One LED had failed s/c (what a @@!!**@ bit of design). Thought of replacing them, but needed to get the correct intensity LEDs (they are probably quite bright and have lenses on them). Chickened out and bought a replacement unit ! Would have been much better if the indicator (with puddle light) had been screwed on from below for easy (puddle light bulb replacement), but that would be too sensible ! As to the mirror glass, don't think the heater worked as well through the Soudal, come to think of it, it seemed to take longer to defrost than the other mirror. I think replacement mirror glass (aspherical in this case) has an adhesive backing which should be heat proof. The original glass had what looked like brown varnish.

Thank you for all your advice. Looks much easier to deal with with the mirror housing off (as excellent video), just very fiddley ! Now to order a replacement and have a go ! Will use this method to replace glass on other side (fell out some time ago and lost a couple of corners). Problem is is used Soudal Fixall (just spots) to stick the glass back, may have problems getting it off ! Can get at the mirrors heater wires easier for re-connection. Lloyd

Thanks for that, never had to remove the mirror glass before, I assume it is clipped onto the motor with wiring to the heater. Mine has the puddle lights, will have a look when its off to see if I can get at the LED and replace just that - will also check if it lights with external volts in case its a wiring fault. Not too bad to replace whole unit if a repair proves difficult (impossible ?). I know the car would fail MOT (not due for a few months) if these repeaters were not working. Lloyd

Thanks for that, never had to remove the mirror glass before, I assume it is clipped onto the motor with wiring to the heater. Mine has the puddle lights, will have a look when its off to see if I can get at the LED and replace just that - will also check if it lights with external volts in case its a wiring fault. Not too bad to replace whole unit if a repair proves difficult (impossible ?). I know the car would fail MOT (not due for a few months) if these repeaters were not working. Lloyd

Hi, Another fault ! Only just noticed this one. The indicator in the LHS door mirror housing has stopped working. Seems to be a LED (should last a long time - but if they are overdriven to make them brighter they will fail much sooner). Question is how do I get at it ! One way or another I can replace the LED or get proper replacement, but need some expert knowledge ! Thanks, Lloyd

Hi, Thanks Golf-Fiend, that's exactly what I thought it looked like ! They are quite tough, usually nylon and I have a spare hiding somewhere. Need a pit as too old to be crawling about under cars ! Or could get local garage to remove & replace for some ££s. Still a LARGE saving from getting a new one fitted - keeping fingers crossed. Lloyd

Hi Guys, Excellent !!! These posts could be saving me £££ ! Thank you all and love the blue springs & yellow (shock absorbers ?) in Wiilydogs photo (a photo is worth a 1000 words ! nice to know what the thing looks like) I shall have a look and see what is broke ! The drop rod looks to be metal (wouldn't think that is broken) but connected to a bit of plastic/nylon (more likely to break). Thought about making sure the electrics are OK, switch on headlights (ignition on possibly) and move actuating arm to see if they move up & down, probably only a small amount. Sender & bracket held on by socket screws, removing it will make repairing/replacing the arm easier. Hopefully, I won't have to look for an actual replacement ! Lloyd

Hi, Just had car serviced and have been informed that the "rear suspension level sender drop arm " is broken. Quote for almost £200 to replace it. I gather that this sender controls the automatic headlight leveling ? (HID headlights) Questions ..... where is it located ! could the drop arm be repaired ? could I get one (where from) and is it a DIY job to fit ? or get local garage to fit it. Will it cause an MOT failure ? Grateful for any help, Lloyd

Is my lumpy gearbox common ? it rather spoils what is a nice car. Have a couple of other issues, but will need an expert to have a listen ! Will have a ring around, dealers & independants (got a couple of good ones in the area) to get some costs. My days of changing oils & a lot of other things are past ! though I did manage to swap the battery (Varta). From what has been said, seems it would be a good idea to stick to someone that knows the car rather than try & save a couple of quid. Thanks for your help.

2008 Scout 2.0l TDI, bought when 10 months old (saved lots !) The gearbox has never been all that good, rather agricultural !! seems solid but clunky. Have driven many cars but this is the worst. Has a habit, from time to time, of baulking (just when you don't need it !) Sometimes you can't find the gear you want. Only done 73k would changing the oil help ? Does oil level get checked in service ? Hasn't got any leaks.

Same problem, but quite rare. My Octavia has the visible prongs, problem is they don't rust but get a coating on them which increases their resistance and makes the electronics they have gone open circuit (low water level). Giving them a scrape will cure the problem (for a while at least) another trick, if the coolant level has dropped a bit, is to add some antifreeze. A thought, if the antifreeze is losing its effectiveness would this cause the same problem ? I have used fluid level sensors in the past, seem to remember that the only way to stop this effect is to use AC, DC causes electrolytic effects.

Hi Guys, Just to let you know of a good place to get your Haldex oil and filter changed, at a good price ! Place is autotecnic in Sheffield (near Meadowhall) price was £89.90 for oil and filter, bit cheaper than dealer ! Contact number is 0114 242 4455 (ask for Bob) Unit 12, Amos Road, Sheffield, S9 1BX They do all German cars, service MOT etc, nice people. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, In every online tyre dealers site, entering your reg number for a Scout will bring back 45 profile tyres. How many have bought the wrong tyres because of this ? The correct tyre info is on the inside of the fuel filler outer door ( 225/50/17). However, it specifies 205/55/16 for winter tyres - which seems to give an error in speedo reading (indicated 30 is only 27). A better size would be 60 profile - but would that invalidate you insurance (wrong tyres ?) I have always used Dunlop SP Sport 01 (with rim protection) - get around 28k miles. But may try Goodyear Efficient grip, but concerned about tyre life and softness - the Dunlops seem a hard tyre, but great road-holding and wet grip. Cheers, Lloyd