Have a mondeo mk3 tdci 130 estate 2004. Pre 2005 cars use the ford puma engine. Chain driven cams no dpf fitted. Garrett turbo tested to 150k+. DMF clutch kits are amongst the cheapest to replace 500 quid approx. I was advised by a mate who runs a fleet of different cars to allow turbo to cool for a minute before turning off ignition and use decent quality fuel not cheap supermarket stuff. This is to protect the fuel pump from wear. Oil is changed every 10k or per year what ever comes first. Low sulphur fuel eats fuel pumps and wears injectors. A fuel pump failure will make everything else look cheap by comparison. On a brighter note just drive them and enjoy them!

I had an old golf estate 1.9tdi mk 4. Worst handling car i have ever had but i quite liked it. Our focus and mondeo estates are better in every way, having said that i could of sold that car 10 times over with 150k on the clock.. People love the badge.

The k series rover 1.8 has plastic dowels in the earlier engines to hold the head gasket in place. These go soft over time and the gasket fails. The later engines addressed this problem with steel dowels. Because it doesn’t hold a lot of water when it goes its hard to catch before any damage is done. If its an early one get the gasket done as a matter of course, circa 400 quid. Other than that they are a fantastic engine. I had an old 200vi great car.

6ft 4″ here ride 20″. Short legs long in the body.

If you can afford it go for the toyota engined one if not check the head gasket on the rover engined one. You can get stainless water pipe kits for them as well. Go and buy one tomorrow. Only a cateram or westie comes close. I’m now very jealous!

Does the canopy release first to allow the seat to clear. It appears that the canopy was still in place which would suggest that the pilot may have been fired through the canopy. Not good if that did happen.

Got these for the Mondeo Estate at 70 quid each not bad. They are incredible in snow.

http://www.tyrewizard.co.uk/winter-tyres-c24/16-c27/lassa-snoway-era-20555-r16-94h-winter-tyre-p3395

Oops sold out! You better get in there quick and see whats left.

If you dislike him that much why not tell him to his face that he shouldnt be driving and if he doesnt stop then you will tell the DVLC. Leave the ball in his court. Surely thats a win win.

Done and best of luck.

Mr Ox. I have nothing against sensible filtering. I always give bikes the right of way anyway regardless. Maybe I was stirring the pot by saying ill be allright cos im in a big metal tank, but that is the point. I just wish they would slow down a bit when weaving through traffic. Everyone of my mates bar one who has had an accident on a bike, thankfully nobody that badly hurt was being reckless ie speeding and lost control of the bike, no cars involved.

So its up to me to make sure i’m not being undertaken by a motor bike at speed down the middle of the road. Hmmm you may be right, still i’m in a car so i’ll be allright. If only we could all be as good as you TJ. Motor bikes are incredibly hard to see on the near side when they are weaving through traffic. Mirror signal manouver is not fast enough when a bike is coming through. Maybe we should change the law and just give motorbikes right of way regardless.

Come on Couger, people who buy sports bikes buy them for the speed thrill, fast acceleration. I have no problem with that as long as I don,t have to have radar to tell how fast they are bearing down on me. Have I got time to pull out or are they going to rear end me at 140mph. The speed differential is the biggest problem for car drivers to judge. Unfortunately a biker will usually come off worse than a driver and that is not something any road user wants. How many times when moving in slow traffic on a dual carriageway have you thought about changing lane, you know where all the cars around you are then out of nowhere a biker speeds through inbetween the cars and you think thank god I didnt pull across. Who would be at fault there?

I always move over for bikers. Out of the 5 or 6 lads at work that ride motorbikes all but one ride like complete tools. Where as out of all the lads that drive cars only one is a complete tool! The no`s speak for themselves your mostly all nutters. 40 something born again bikers are the worst.

Only ever put winter tyres on the front, never bothered on the back and never will. When it snows I want / need traction on the front. I drive very carefully, increase the gap to cars in front, brake more slowly use gears to slow down etc. You would have to be fairly reckless to get the back to step out in the snow on a FWD car. Just drive to the conditions on the road and relish all the grip from the tyres on the front. I would rather have 195 snow tyres in crap weather than 205 summer tyres any day you’ll be fine.

Could it be Blanchland or Hexhamshire? When you say North it sort of depends on where you live!

Could it be Blanchland or Hexhamshire?

Flat coated retrievers are retrievers, they have a soft bite for bringing back prey etc. I don’t think the dog thought that the smaller one was a rabbit and even if it did, it’s not a sight hound so shaking it to break it’s neck is completely out of character for this breed.

There are more complex issues here. Take him to the vet’s first and get him checked over. A muzzle is a good idea when he is being exercised. Talk to a good dog behavior specialist. We got one when our 7yr old lab destroyed our hall and landing and removed half of our kitchen units in 45mins. Turned out she was protecting us from something which she thought was a threat. Turned out to be the dehumidifier beeping every 30 secs when it needed emptying. Needless to say it did it when we were out!

Ignore all of the daft type of comments, my dogs bigger than your dog. If your dog bites my dog I’ll bite your dog!

RAC wanted 660 this year for a 2.0 tdci mondeo estate 04 plate. Went through money saving expert just renewed with AXA for 300ish. NFU was cheap as well.

Anything from landrover is a no no. I love them but only as a toy. Another shogun would be fine or a hi-lux.

I had a fiat scudo jtd. 3 seats 40mpg. Fast as hell, great driving position. Worst thing I ever did was to sell it,have regretted it ever since. Great MTB companion.

What about this for a beginner. Seems a decent spec for the money or am I being tight and should I spend more?
http://www.customriders.com/prodshow.asp?prodid=13484&cat=1010&parent=9999&sid=3#

Went to LBmxS the other day and had a bit of a look round and asked about prices and makes. Haro lower end 250+ up to and over 500 for Premium Products(Deathtrap). The extra cost is down to better bearings mainly. Small crank and even smaller pinion gear at the back requires special ratchet in the hubs. Small crank gear to limit contact when going over the dips Etc. I thought choosing a MTB was complicated! Some good advice here, thanks chaps.

Try NFU (National Farmers Union.) Great customer service, very helpful staff etc.

From what I can gleam from various sites, 3ft 10 to 4ft 10 18 wheels. Over 4ft 10 in height then you can go up to 20 inch wheels. The size of the frame is mainly 19 to 21 inches measured by the Top tube. Prices vary hugely. Still haven’t worked out what gear ratio would be best for little legs. May have to go to a local Bmx shop to get sized up. Will report back on ratio’s and spec etc later. If anybody has anything to add please do.

Will do.

Thanks for the link! That Commencal looks a good price but I still don’t know enough yet about the sizing. Will have to do some more research.

He is about 145cm’s. He has taken to riding his old 20″ Giant 150 FS around and it keeps throwing the chain off. He’s quite a powerful lad so I wonder what gear ratio’s he should be using or is suitable. 24″ inch Snot green Blast in the garage that has been spurned for his old Giant that weighs more than the Blast. It looks more like a Bmx you see!

I am trying this year a set of Nokian eNTyres. They are all season tyre’s not a full winter. I want something to fit and forget about rather than swapping over.

Been to Matlock and Matlock Bath several times and I have to say the food is the worst I’ve had in the UK, utter garbage. I would take a Picnic and sit by the river.

White smoke equals water not oil. lots of blue smoke would suggest oil. Sounds like head gasket maybe. If the turbo goes it usually dumps its contents into the inlet manifold and this can damage the cylinder head. As it was driveable to the garage sounds like water ingress somewhere. Pinking would also suggest a loss of compression again leading to gasket failure. If the engine hasn’t overheated you may get away with a new gasket if the head is sound. May not be as bad as you think. I have an 04 130 TDCI they are great cars, but at 160k it doesn’t owe anybody anything.

No not ever, none. Twitter and Facebook are social networking sites for people that never meet socially! What the Hell :roll:

I was always taught to drive at the speed limit not 5mph slower. If the speed limit is 70mph then I drive at 70mph. Why drive 5mph slower than every body else thus making every one overtake you.

Lurcher’s may be suitable depends on the cross. If it’s more collie than greyhound you may be all right. Greyhounds are sprinters not distance runners. Lurchers do have a habit of trying to remove you from whatever you’re doing at high speed ( ie back of the knee at 30mph, they are a bit bonkers!)

The good thing about Greyhounds is the way they are bred. It is for performance, speed and stamina and ultimately good health. They are not allowed to breed them within their own family lines Etc, they are not bred to a breed standard like so many dogs these days. You can check their pedigree back for several generations on the Greyhound data website. Ours is only 26kilo’s quite small for a greyhound.

http://www.retiredgreyhounds.co.uk/

Agree gundog’s would be my first choice if someone was at home during the day. Holly our lab was the best dog we’ve ever had but they need to be worked and they need company, being left for 8hrs when your kids are at school is no good really.

I know I’ve been in that situation, wife at home with child and Lab then goes back to work part time then works school time only, dog gets left for too long. Loads of walks in morning and night and at weekends but dog still left for long periods, not ideal sorry. Still feel guilty at times about leaving her. Then we got an ex racing greyhound. Slept all day when we were at work, would take every bit of exercise and more. Great with the kids. Laziest dog at times we’ve ever had so laid back. Being at home on my son’s bed for 8 hrs is a damn sight better than being in a cage or kennel for several hrs waiting for a race. Being kept slightly underweight for maximum performance. They are greedier than any of the labs we’ve had. Think carefully about the Breed.

Sorry to put a downer on things but who is there when the kids are at school for the other 38 wks? The only dog I could suggest if this is the case is a rescue Greyhound. Even being left for 38 wks is better than being in a cage for hours every day. Get two to keep each company. Don’t even consider a working type breed.

Just got a small tourer, all mod cons but small. Add an awning and hey presto. Met up with some friends of ours who were camping. Huge tent and all the gear. They spent all weekend in our van. Hot water and heating, and a toilet for the kids during the night. If you want, put the kids in a tent in the awning! Gives them a bit of freedom and gives you some peace and quiet.

These are superb for the type of riding you will be doing. Don’t even think about using a standard MTB tyre for the CtoC.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-land-cruiser-mtb-tyre/
I have the Continentals and I think they don’t have enough grip for some of the loose stuff. These are 9.99 each.

What about a Hi Lux with the crew cab on. Early ones had the indestructible 2.5D engine. Kids in the cab and the bikes in the pick up back.