bignev

I hope yours was more accessible than mine!!

Hi guys! @@Daz264 I did mine a couple of years ago, quite awkward on my V6 petrol as the front bank exhaust runs round that way, and I have some LPG kit above it to, but I think I remember taking the battery off on mine for a bit more access, can't recommend it though as I seem to have read recently some wonderful things happen if the battery is off or dead for a while. Mine has so far been ok on that front, so far....... Most time consuming thing I had was cleaning up the face for the new gasket! You won't have to do the fluid, especially as you you say above it's been done recently. It seem to be above the fluid line. I did ours as it was making a buzzing noise when shifting from neutral, read up a bit, came to the wrong conclusion, got one and changed it. No difference. Ah well.

Hiya Andy! Hope you and yours are keeping well mate!

Flipping Heck!! Now, I am guessing, but are both bolts in the bottom of the shock absorber? The place where it bolts to the hub casting assembly.

I'm right there with you all too frequently I would add to that list the sliding doors - Love them!

On each press of the end of the stalk can you hear the pump running? May need to have an extra pair of hands or ears for that! I don't know if it's worked fine on the days in between of course! It's just a guess but it could be the little non return valve in the line, leaking back a small amount, so that you almost fill the line the first time, but not quite, depends how long you ran the pump for. And sadly I don't know where that is, not had a shufty on ours yet!

Hi there! Would that be the 4th Generation, up to 2008, or 5th Generation, from 2008 onwards, slightly squarer design? From previous posts on here, not my personal attempts, 4th Gen is far from a simple job. Unless of course there has been any recent product developments of course!! No knowledge of 5th Gen sorry pal!!

Jolly cheap money! Mine were quite expensive at around £230, from Germany, but just dug out the receipt and there's no name on it sadly, I do remember that the make on the damper was one I recognized, KYB I think. They were however complete units, damper / spring / top mount & bearing. But mine is petrol - is yours? Or is it diesel? They are different units.

That's a sod the bolts wouldn't come out of the clamps for the anti roll bar bushes!! Even more of a sod that it hasn't made it go quiet. At one point I had a "graunch" noise on ours, related to down / up when going over speed bumps, so when a top mount bearing went as well I fitted a pair of complete struts. They really can be a pain. But apparently not quite as much as the 300C for suspension noises I see from reading on here too.

Welcome! I think we would all like to find that one! Sadly from my own experience it's a matter of using all 4 comparison sites, then Aviva, Direct Line, and any others not on comparison sites. The moneysavingexpert site by Martin Lewis gives a good run down on this, and also the order that is best to run the sites in. I had Admiral be brilliant for 2 years, then rubbish for the last 4, and Aviva great for 2 years, followed last year by a 30% hike! And my wife gets a 20% discount on Aviva as an ex employee and pension holder!! Now with Sheilas wheels, just about to renew for the 2nd year. There's just no rhyme or reason to why they like some people or cars!

If you are stow n go mine had a connector come undone in the well at the rear drivers side, I had wet carpet when the washer was used but dry rear window!! Just pull the carpet out from the rear corner - carefully of course! I can't remember if the back plastic boot trim came off to make it easier, but that does pop out and clip back in.

Hi there! Very weird, were any of the other suspension parts dismantled as this point? Like the wishbones? I'm not sure what you are referring to with the "top and bottom rubber on the strut" comment? I would follow this for the rear dampers but not for the front McPherson strut spring / damper assembly on these.

Yep keep you and yours safe pal! We've really been reluctant at doing anything. There can be such halfwits in the shops on my rare visit, not a remote clue, and no sense, about keeping apart, when this covid becomes bright fluorescent colours for us I'll be less concerned! And yes the infrequent lifestyle is rather at odds with these beasties diesel engines and tiddler battery. I've just been to the shed and the new one I took off the Kia Sedona 2.9 (before we sold it last year) is a significantly bigger rascal, as I've got the old one our Voyager next to it.

I've even been out with the battery charger on our petrol !! And on the other car too, a petrol Subaru Outback 3.0 H6. That came with a Euro Carparts special, a Lion brand (NOT Lithium Ion as it fools your brain into wishing), 480 cca, when 580 are available from Yuasa and Exide. It's still doing the job so I'm holding out till winter then I'll have an excuse for the Mrs.

Good choice mate! And yes that would be very useful info if you go round it and see what isn't working without it in. With the door open - I've had cars lock when the battery is reattached. I personally would put the battery back on, let it do its computer start up sequence for as long as you feel is required, perhaps listening to the clicks and clacks going on. Then pop the fuse in, ready to leg it round and pop the key in, or have the Mrs handy sat in the car with the door open and she can put the key and turn it on. (my apologies if that is a sexist or otherwise comment nowadays, perhaps "significant other half" would be more PC) The alarm comment is probably as you guessed, insurers can and will be arses given any tiny wriggle room. But unless they needed it for transporting a gang for a job it's probably fairly safe as you say, I agree!! Good luck to them nicking mine!

Aha! Right then I'm with it, I think! Don't worry - you're in good company with old and rambling - I have a reputation amongst my customers for talking (a lot), going off at a tangent (Ronnie Corbett in that chair anyone?) and coming back, and getting a bit of work done too. Good job I work on a price, not on an hourly rate, they'd never have me back!!!! So we could have a whole host of functions that are off line right now, along with the alarm. But what could - possibly - maybe - if we're lucky - be the case is also that the alarm will now be quiet as the handshake to the key immobiliser has happened? And there is no longer a problem? I'm with @@QinteQ on sod the neighbours, the problem needs sorting and there is only one way to know. I am presuming you are normally a respectable member of the community - as you clearly care because you haven't just done it up to now, so if they can't accept that poop happens, and to sort it may cause a bit of noise for a short while this afternoon, or in the morning, well knickers to them (but perhaps not at 11 tonight ) Stick that fuse back in and have the door open ready to shove the key in !!! Let the car see the transponder in the key, at ON position, and hopefully you may be good again - fingers crossed. I'm just youngster at almost 54, but we've been keeping ourselves very much well out of circulation, with our twin 7 year olds! And I quite agree we have been so lucky compared to a large number of poor people. Not my direct friends or customers, but some only once removed, have died from it. Awful. A bloke I do know was on a ventilator - that really is an understated thing isn't it, it's ruddy life support - but came through, about a month ago, and he is still totally crock now. I'm a heating & gas engineer (well currently, but I quite like this semi retirement pace!) and have lots of elderly customers, so made the decision to stop working around 16th March, as I did NOT want to carry that virus around into peoples homes. No matter how careful you try to be, it could happen. I have been to a very small number of breakdowns & leaks, but only if I couldn't talk them through sorting it. One 87 year old lady I went to didn't reckon she was up to pulling the washing machine out Those hand wipes I used for muck and oil turn out to be anti bacterial too!! Shame it's a virus, but I'm informed it'll still get killed by them.

Hiya @@QinteQ , how are you keeping? You definitely know more than me on that (but in my laziness I haven't looked up the diagram! ) What I couldn't grasp, reading back over the post, was that @@maxcaddy seems to indicate that In post 7 that "it all seems to run ok now" And in post 12 "At least that way I can put the Fuse back and not worry that the Alarm will go off again if I disconnect the Battery for a long while" So I guessed it was out, but everything was working ok. Apart from the alarm. But then I kind if got lost on whether the fuse was in or out, and confused as to what, right now, the problem actually is? @@maxcaddy I get that there was the problem with the alarm / siren going off, but is that not doing it now? I have definitely confused myself!!!!!

Hi there! Welcome! Just some basic stuff - have you put a multimeter on the battery to check voltage? It should be above 12.7 volts for a good battery. It's usually better to post questions in the vehicle assistance sections as not everyone check in on the newbie section, as it's often just a hello message kind of thing!

So, to clarify, is that pink fuse in or out at the moment?

Don't know if you've tried this technique that I seem to remember worked on one car I had - Reconnect the battery, and put the key in the ignition all the way round (not trying to start) and eventually (a few seconds - seemed like ages) it recognised the key transponder. The LED light went out. But if you have already had the key in, and the immobiliser light goes out, then sadly that probably won't work.

Ah yes then, that's what mine was doing, even on small bumps, sounded horrendous. I renewed all 4 bushes, so far they've been great. They are available from the US, Rockauto, but I wouldn't do it personally, there are 3 options, and the cheapest pair (with delivery) come in at just under £460 to the UK. Bushes would be (and obviously were!) my call on it!

Andyb2000 had standard units on his after the bushes went on the nivomats. It's posted on this very forum. However, @@Daz264 what is the actual problem with yours? And is yours a 4th generation?

Hi Gordy, Nope, the Nivomats don't have any extra springs under the cover. They are a LOT larger diameter than standard shocks. It's a very clever valving arrangement internally that, after being loaded up, makes them re-settle at the "standard" height when the car has been driven for a short distance. I don't know precisely what that is without getting my books out, but it's not just a few yards, more like a few hundred.

Hi there, I've not tried those no, but what's the problem with your originals? Those look naff all like mine- but mine's a gen 4 not gen 5 that these are for. Never come across that type of arrangement used in conjunction with a leaf spring, but I'm not too old to learn!! And I don't know what the 5th Generation has on the rear either - that's what it says they fit. But this is the 4th gen section after all. Mine does have the Sachs Nivomat self leveling shocks, and I replaced the bushes on them a couple of years ago, but I admit I did use it as an excuse to buy a small hydraulic press to get them in!! Apparently these shocks should really last a very long time. One of our good guys andyb2000 did replace his with a standard set up, and they worked fine for a good while, till he changed his car.

The anti roll bar bushes may feel ok, but for the small cost I'd change them, ours sounded awful but didn't seem too bad. Till the new ones went in that was!!