Stephen337

Thanks. I am looking for another 20k out of it - so Ill change the filters and see what happens....

Hi, I have noted that the auto box in my 300tdi fails to lock up in top gear on the motorway. I was wondering if it is just getting old. It seems to happen more if its cold, but its not somthing the car has always done (had it for 100k+ miles). If I use the kickdown briefly then I can get it to lockup once I back off on the accelerator. I checked the fluid levels. I probably should get the filters done too... Its getting a bilt long in the tooth now (~150k). Any ideas? Thanks Stephen

Harris Mayes are a good bunch. Have been using them for years.

Mmmm, I had a bicycle lock on my spare for a while. I eventually decided to take it off. I figured that the damage to the door from someone undoing all the bolts and yanking the thing about to break the lock would be more than for a new wheel. I guess lockable nuts would be the best solution.

Yes the light is on even when starting from cold. The car drives fine. I guess I wanted to know if the light being on was also a symptom of somthing else, maybe low fluid levels. I'll check my levels. Thanks for the help. Stephen

Thanks for the help! What does the switch do? Or what is it supposed to be doing? Ta Stephen

Hi, Just had the transmission temp light come on on my 300 Auto disco. Well I assume its the transmission light, it's a cog with a thermometer in the middle! I cant get it to the local garage before next week, so I was wondering if what would happen if I were to ignore the light for a few days and drive to and from work (25miles on M25) for a few days before I can get in. Is there a transmission fluid cooler I can check for being covered with crud? Anything simple I can do to diagnose it? Thanks Stephen

Would it be because the Toyota was FWD only that they decided to trash it rather than send it down the dune? Im assuming that engine braking was all that was used in the descent and having 2WD just on the front would have been too much of a roll risk.

I always use Harris Mayes Country Cars in Rickmansworth, good blokes. A bit out the way down a country lane but have always done a good job on mine.

Great photo! Thanks for that, I would have sworn blind that the last window was flat as a pancake! Ill get a new wiper, probably due one anyway. Thanks Stephen

Hi, My rear window got smashed last week by a flying stone, anyway had it replaced by AutoGlass (vis Insurance) on Saturday and thought no more about it. However today had to use the rear wiper on my way into work and it missed the top part of the screen. On further investigation I see that the glass is slightly bowed outwards in the middle of the window. Im sure that the last window, the original one, was dead flat. Can anyone confirm this for me? Ta Stephen Its a 1995 300 one BTW.

HI, I found a Mercer Cylinder Bore Gage in my garage (left by previous owner) and wonderd if they were still used these days? Does anyone still get the emry paper out on thier cylinders? It looks like this. Stephen

I have blanked mine (95 300 that grew up in Japan) Had the vacuum hose unplugged for ages before that as on hot days it would stick open resulting in *lots* of black smoke! I dont (touch wood) have any starting problems with mine.

I re-read the DVLA website and it indeed says: Which is confusing because my Disco was registered in 2004 so I should be in the after 2001 tax group (ie currently be paying 210 for a car over 185g/co2), but my tax disc is £185pa which is the current pre-2001 rate. Im confused. Maybe I should just keep quiet.

Im not sure thats 100%, I have a 1995 TDI imported in 2004, its on a M plate and is taxed at £185. Which is the pre 2001 rate according to this DVLA link

Had no problem with direct line. They were concerned about when I said it was a Japanese Import, however after speaking to the actual insurer and giving them the VIN ("ahh it was made in Brum") all was ok.

I think thats been scrapped now and it will just be a normal lane...

Maybe he just didnt want you throwing a load of chips up and damaging his car. I used to have a nice shiny MGF and I was annoyed at every little stone / nut / bolt that got thrown up by others and hit it.

I think Ill try the table corner bumpers, and if that doesnt work Ill take the grinder to Rachels head the door. Ta

Hi, The bottom rear corner of the back door of my disco are really quite dangerous! Well dangerous to my two year olds head any way. She is just tall enough that the sharp corner is just at the right hight to do her a real injoury. Has anyone any ideas for rubber stops to just make the corner safe. All I can find on the net are the door strips for protecting the edges in car parks. I cant find any that would do for a corner. Ta Stephen

Hi, I think you are being a bit optomistic about solar technology. I reckon to run a fridge and a computer you are looking at something more like this: Maplin 150W solar panel My laptop takes a max of 90W (which I think is alot for a laptop), so that would leave 60W for the fridge. Anyway you would only get 150W on really really really sunny days when the panel is flat on to the sun. How much power do portable fridges need? Oh and its about 1.5m long by 70cm wide so you could fit it as a roof rack! If you find a solar panel that works at night then you are going to be very rich! From the maplin page on the little battery maintenence solar panels you have: Q) If I have a 12v 110amp Leisure Battery, how long would it take to fully charge the battery? - Marcus Suitor (PSU London UK Ltd) A) Aprrox 880 hours in sunlight, so approx 3 months. Stephen

Ta, Ill have a look in RAVE. Stephen

Hi, Whilst getting my engine starting problems fixed (blown relay in the end disabling the ECU!), I asked if they could have a look at why the car seemed to be down on power. The main thing was that the auto was not holding the gears long under kickdown. It would only rev to about 3300rpm when stamping on the go pedal. Getting the EDC back has given the engine much more 'zing' but in addition the garage has done a great job in making it much more perky, the downshift is now much more sensitive and will quite freely downshift one or two gears depending on the amount the pedal is pushed. Also now when the accelerator is stamped on the gears are held to a tad over 4000rpm. The bill mentions 'reset downshift'. I was just wondering how the kickdown was controlled and if its normal for them to loosen up. What do other peoples autos do? Ta Stephen Oh its a proper EDC one originally from the Japanese market.

Hi, I have been limping around for a good few months now while I fiddle around trying to work out whats going on. Well I finally admitted defeat and had a Harris-Mayes in Rickmansworth look at it. Within two hours they had diagnosed a blown ECU relay. Now its all back to normal. I guess its all about experience! Good blokes! Stephen

I got the rear seatbelt and clip bit replaced for ours at a cost of about £100. The left rear seatbelt is now long enough for the front passenger to use ;-) If you want I can try to find the details of who we used.... Stephen