nigelhobbs

Hi again. First to answer about the refrigerant amount. There's different amounts for different vehicles. You should always refer to the plate on the slam panel or on the door pillar if the clutch don't kick in it may be knackered they are often faulty so that's the clutch part not the whole compressor the clutch is replaceable . I often try putting 12 v to the relay output terminal it will kick in the clutch if its working Bear in mind the aircon is controlled electronically so lots go go faulty , now , if you don't have refrigerant in the system or not enough the pressure switch is off and the electronics won't engage the compressor relay checking the voltage on the compressor plug will show if its switching in if it is the clutch is burnt out the clutch can be replaced without removing the compressor but it can be a fiddly job Just another thought ,switch on the aircon and while the engine running pull out the mini relay you can feel if it clicks as you take it out

Ok first thing to do is see if the clutch on the compressor works start the engine and look down at the compressor (front right side by the drive belts ) you will need to look at the compressor drive pulley when the aircon is on the whole pulley turns with the drive belt when it's off the centre hub of the pulley don't turn DONT put your hands down there when engine running If it's not turning it could be the clutch or another electrical fault Just briefly about the amount of refrigerant 900 g should be in the system the machine recovers this and measures it I would often expect to recover about 800g if there's no leaks when the refrigerant is recovered the machine vacuums the system for 30mins to remove all the gas and any moisture when it's regassed the machine is set to allow 900g to be sucked into the vacuum I would say if only half that goes in the vacuum is not enough due to a leak or incorrect operation of the equipment. Let us know if the compressor hub is operating and we can go from there

Hi again Jon first of all the aircon system is full of nasty gas R134a if released into the air it don't mix but goes up and burns away the ozone layer for the next 1000 years that's why we suck it out and reclaim it Basically releasing it should be avoided Anyway changing the compressor ain't that hard Release the drive belt , release the two pipes and then the four bolts holding it on the block also the electric plug undoing the bolts is awkward you need a 3/8 drive socket kit and a knuckle joint I don't think anything is in the way Take care when it's released it's very heavy your going to be under the car it hurts if it falls on your face ! Back to the gas , if you do release it don't let it spray on your skin it can frost burn and that can be very nasty the oil is also not too pleasant don't get it in your mouth or eyes .keep the pipes clean and dry the aircon system must be totally free of contamination . You can get it regassed at most quick fit garages If you fit a new compressor don't run it dry it will seize in seconds

Yes you have to remove the bolt the cover plate is splined onto the shaft it can be tricky to undo the bolt as it all turns I use an oil filter clamp ,, the relay is identified if you look on the underside of the fuse box cover I believe it's the second from front on the side nearest the wing

Hi Jon what's probably happened is your aircon compressor has seized (common fault ) for some reason the aircon often switches itself on by itself in cold weather refrigerant can remain liquid and enter the compressor as you can't compress a liquid the compressor "hydraulics " and destroys itself inside new one is damm expensive and system needs cleaning out well You can do without the aircon till April so just get the car running . First thing to try is disconnect the plug close to the compressor it's a bit fiddly to get at so another way is takeout the mini relay in the power distribution box next the battery Now start the engine look down at the compressor pulley you should see the pulley turning and the centre hub should sit still If it shows any sign of trying to move or starts to get hot the clutch and pulley are seizing In this case you could try this loosen the bolt on the centre of the compressor hub prise off the end cap now you can see if the clutch is seized Also check this , release the drive belt ( since you saw it smoking inspect it is not damaged ) check the compressor hub is not wobbly you should be able to spin the pulley part nice and free Good luck

Hi Greg I would start off by assuming your leaf springs are getting a bit weak with the age of the car .leaf springs are an old system even on commercial vehicles basically because it's not got any compensation for heavier loads. . You can't alter it so maybe I would price up new springs being fitted plus the bushes. And as your pulling a caravan 2 rear shock absorbers will be very beneficial . Years ago when leaf springs were common 60sand 70s era you could fit spring helpers on this gave the spring more strength for trailers etc check out what's on eBay. Good luck

I have a 2005 grand voyager I found the required battery that fits in the tray is double the cost of same size battery as it has high output The big problem is so much electric gadgets such as electric doors ,tail gate ,seats etc and the amount of interior lights suck the power Imagine you pull up with all your family on board apply park brake engage neutral switch off engine ,then both electric doors open then all the interior lights come on then you close the electric doors ,open the tailgate to get the bags out lights come on again close the tailgate and then operate the locking system ,well since you stopped the engine you used a fair bit of the stored battery power and the electronic moduals will still be "dozing off " and will use a bit off power in stand by mode till you unlock the car again So when you start up you have a battery that is less than 75% when it needs to be close to 100% I got fed up with getting the jump leads or the boost pack out so I fitted a second battery and some electronics now I have a slave battery that fits nice behind the right panel at the rear of the car near the tailgate a cable runs to the front and when I stop the car the relays turn off the main battery and all runs on the aux battery when I switch on the key I'm connected to a fully charged main battery as the voltage rises after startup a split charge relay charges th aux battery

I've just been reading on automatic transmissions that's the constant mesh type Not be be confused with a semi auto which is a normal H pattern manual but with an electronic power shift The break in the drive between the engine and the transmission. Clutch if you think of it that way , is achieved by lower centrifugal forces and lower oil pressure acting on a turbine and impeller Known as a torque converter. At lower engine revs. As the revs increase and reach a threshold point the impeller will force oil to the turbine and start to allow drive to the transmission If then your revs are too high the drive will be carried through and want to move the car if you prevent it by holding the foot brake you are without doubt allowing some disagreement to ocure that has to result in wear or at least heat generated I don't see why the manufacturer would see this as acceptable So I kinda think this high tick over speed is a severe disadvantage rather than a way to help the vehicle move off I would think an idle sped of around 650/700 is good to keep a steady tick over without too much emission problems. and won't allow the vehicle to want to move off I've also read the system is part electronic so one would think taking the throttle pedal off the idle position would open an hydraulic valve to increase fluid pressure into the torque converter . I've done little work on these larger auto boxes but did complete a training course on the auto gearbox a long time ago so long it was at the standard triumph works in Coventry ! I've stripped and repaired about 5 boxes in my time but I would be sure it's all very different now

I don't want to hi jack the posting as it were ,,, but could you give some details of the updated braking guessing the newer models have this fitted. So is it possible to modify to a better braking system legally of coarse. It alarms me the brakes are considered so poor

Yes it's a very bad design. I would say the drum and shoes are too small And there is a lot of stretch in the cables and no sort of amplification of the pull on the brake lever I was told by an mot tester that the park brake should lock the wheels up but this does not relate to the efficiency for a pass the stated limits are programmed into the brake tester to result in pass or fail on that particular vehicle . You could consider the park brake as a sort of emergency brake think about it if your brake pedal hit the floor what would you do ? Yes try the park brake in most cases it would certainly slow you down and the inevitable impact would get reduced On a truck the park brake is more efficient than the service brake it operates on all the wheels by using a strong spring to apply and air to hold it off if the air is evacuated the brake comes on fail safe. Hence you can often see big black skid marks finishing on the hard shoulder that's the brakes coming on when a fault happens like a broken air hose . I was also thinking of changing the hand lever to a foot controlled brake but I'm thinking it's only possible on a left hand drive I am told the Australian voyagers are hand brakes too

I was wondering about this as well my grande voyager is also keen to move off I'm trying to get in the habit of moving it to park when at the lights I had a mishap with it and relaxed on the brake pedal and shunted a smart for 2 of all things OOPS Z! To add to the problem the park brake is next to useless. It just holds in neutral but in drive or reverse it lets the car move I've been trying to improve the park brake for weeks Tried new shoes new cables and the brakes are fully adjusted Just to try I faced the car up hill on a very steep hill pulled the hand brake to max then in neutral she rolled back about 2 ft and then held. I put her in drive and she started to go uphill forward I've not found an auto do this before but. I don't think there is a way to lover the idle speed its controlled electronically I'm just experimenting with an electric park brake I need to make some brackets and cables will update here when I have any results

Don't know much about petrol engines I can do lawn mowers. Etc and older engines but modern petrol engines I just don't touch em diesels are simples so are gas turbines. I like big diesels

Hi all ,looking around for a grand voyager with stow and go seats Its to take the grand kids on hols and pull a small caravan gota be a diesel but don't know if I will go for an automatic I never really liked them but I find the auto shift boxes nice to drive including heavy trucks Any special things to look out for I need to know about on these cars When I was looking last year a couple of people told me to avoid the voyager as they were a bit behind the times as it were So I bought a. Kia Sedona damm big mistake what a load of junk Anyone give any advice please

Hi everyone just joined up to the forum I'm looking at getting myself a grand voyager post 2005 so it will have stow and go seats. It's gota be a diesel. So 2.8d. Now what worries me is the engine has a balance shaft under the crank . I had a kia sedona the balance shaft drive gear stripped and stopped the oil pump ,engine destroyed in minutes on the motorway ,,, my mate had a VW went down with a simular problem Can anyone say if the problem exists on the chrysler engine I mean is there any known problem with the balance shaft drive and associated to the oil pump drive If there is problems I'm tempted to re think I had one on hire in Australia and loved it but I don't want to go buy a trouble engine