Stevey Y

Hi bad starting when very cold ambient temps out side then possible regeneration problems when the rest start to fail, for what a new set costs just change the lot, job done. Steve.

Hi your regeneration intervals are spot on, with regard to the adblue its not made of pigs urine which would require vast amounts of purification before use, its made of a component in the fertiliser industry which when mixed with de ionised water creates a synthetic ammonia, when subjected to extreme temperature the greater water element turns to steam and along with the ammonia turns the nitrogen oxide particles, Nox 1 into a inert particle Nox 2 which degrades rapidly in normal atmospheric conditions. Almost all the branded adblue sold in todays market are the same and unlike fuel do not suffer with blending differences, the consumption of adblue is very dependent on fuel/oil quality I.E. if you use supermarket fuel and cheap engine oil the regeneration factor will be increased as the amount of soot produced by both is accelerated and the DPF blocks more rapidly as the soot particles will be larger and physically more dense, therefore if you use good fuel and any Quantum spec low SAPS oil you are safe, with the additive going into the fuel as long as it has a Cetane booster that raises the burn quality this promotes much smaller soot particles which burn of more comprehensively from the core filters on the DPF. Steve.

Hi just one as they are normally large enough to cope and the fitting of a second filter is not necessary. Steve.

Hi if the battery is under the collapsible wheel I seriously doubt it, in saying that you may be able to fit a space saver you just have to do some serious measuring between the middle highest point on your existing wheel using flat steel rule and the edge of the boot floor that will give you a ball park idea of how much room you have to play with, then you have to find out the total profile of the intended space saver and work back from there, in theory it should work as both steel rims space saver/collapsible should be the same. Steve.

Hi I think its more to do with the engine size as its a heavy car, even with mine you have to give it some revs and feed the clutch in sharpish then the only issue after that is trying to calm the sudden rush of power before you hit something else up the rear. Steve.

Hi best advice is get it read for DTCs as the symptoms you describe could be any number of things, sensors , blocked DPF, injectors, low fuel pressure, there is no point in throwing money at it and hoping to get lucky as the codes will tell you what you need to know. Steve.

Hi if its not missing and the revs are stable it is most likely the mount you have not yet changed, camshaft position sensors are very reasonable as its an older model and they are a pretty easy fit. The reasoning behind the engine mount theory is if you think about it when the engine is cold the oil in the mount is cold, therefore when the engine warms up so does the oil in the Hydro mount which makes the oil thinner, as Steve said get it checked for codes and have a look at the old mount to see if its spat its oil out. Steve.

Hi what you have to remember is the trim has been there a long time, try running a bit of WD 40 along where the trim meets the screen and leave it to soak for 30min and then try as the WD has a lower surface tension and will creep into the edge of the seal. Steve.

Hi depending on who provides the mapping for France I am sure whoever does the mapping, Garmin, Navteq, will be patently aware of the laws of the road for that country so it won't be on there, its only because we have the most cameras in Europe that we have it, even if it does appear which I doubt just have a map spread out on the wifes lap and turn the nav off if you are stopped, TBH I don't think they are that interested. Steve.

Hi thats because its glued and riveted to the carpet, you can get another pedal kit from the internet but the problem is if you elevate the foot rest it will possibly foul the edge of your footwear on the brake pedal thats why the O.E. rests are lower to help prevent that. Steve.

Hi Mike I think if you remove the wipers again try pulling the trim towards the engine, I have come across this system before on a Passat and if its the same there are location tabs that hook in under the windscreen edge, as for the picture nearly all the illustrations in ETKA are generic its the part number that matters. Steve.

Hi Gareth the second universal icon for AGM is an orange circle with an arrow head on it and a big orange or green A in the middle of it, seen both colours used. Steve.

Hi unless it has a release button in the drivers door card probably not. Steve.

Hi if you put in VAG battery coding using VCDS it comes up with a good few, about the easiest to follow is a video by a guy calling himself Bonev you only change the last two numbers not the letter and the battery choice for a Varta unit should be the same for Bosch as they are made in the same factory so as long as the physical sizes of the battery are the same as the old unit you should be fine, sorry I did not answer sooner but I just finished servicing the Mrs Alfa Mito, I even got the rear screen heater and wiper motor park going again, mucho soldering on wiring and then discovered I could buy a repair section for £47 on eBay, arghh. Steve.

Hi the question you have to ask is why is it only running on two cylinders?, might be something as simple as a duff injector, you really need to get the car plugged in and get some codes before hurling $$$ at a new one which most likely a second hand unit of dubious origin which may well end up digging a money pit for you, I personally could only give an informed opinion based on DTCs and the milage of your unit as it may well be that its more economical to have your existing unit rebuilt which saves on a lot of coding and another ECU. Steve.

Hi from memory you use the old BEM code and change the last two digits, I believe there is now a tutorial on youtube telling you how to recode a battery with no BEM using VCDS any Audi will do as they are all the same when it comes to pairing. Steve.

Hi Tony well done keeps all us petrol heads in hope, I defy Boris to ban these shows, the Minilites set the car off beautiful example of Ford five gauge body panel moulding. Steve.

Hi car looks great and by the sound of it running great, well done. Steve.

Hi Mike sounds like you have already thought of the ultimate solution, replacing it should give it another 16yrs by which time Greta Thunberg will rule the world and we will all be past caring. The ability to look into your cars innards can get very addictive but who cares as long as you spot the problems before you have to call for recovery, as for the battery most people leave the pairing bit to some acne riddled zoon at Halfords so I would consider it your first step to motoring self sufficiency, it is not as hard as they want you to believe it is. Steve.

Hi I am sure it won't be a drama, my rule of thumb has been to get the engine warm and use a low nm torque wrench set at 25nm and normally there is a bit of a crack as they let go, the idea of the warming up is that the plugs are a different metal to the housing thread so they cool quicker and contract. Steve.

Hi wait for the 10k to clock up the 27 days is an over estimated figure based on what the ECU software has calculated. Steve.

Hi Tony not sad at all its called preventative maintenance, I do it and picking up faults that were intermittent was the way I knew my Oxygen sensor was about to die so I bought a new one and saved it the trouble of blocking my DPF as that won't regen with a dodgy sensor. Steve.

Hi the inspection service is a load of old scollops, they wander around filming the underneath with a camera trying to find things they can make money out of and terrify you into throwing your bank account at them, things like brake pads 25% worn, slight lip on discs, tyres only have 5mm of tread, the list is endless I bought VCDS and terminated the service inspection message by setting the date to 00/00/0000, that stopped it and over the last 100k I can't say I missed it. Steve.

Hi relays are probably Hella but TBH most branded relays are good, as for the connecting loom I wouldn't bother unless its as stiff as a Skinheads boot and showing signs of splitting/insulation failure they don't have to do a lot and will soon let you know when they need changing as they normally melt. Steve.

Hi if you change the Glowies sensible money says change the relay, Bosch are O.E. and its a no brainer if the originals have lasted this long, I wish your garage the best of luck as unless they have been changed before and the threads greased on reassembly its a nail biter of a job. Steve.