Andy Spencer

If it helps I ran a Zetec in my old 2b for 6 years with it blanked off and never had any noticeable trouble, and think it's still going strong now somewhere in the club. As Nigel says, may not be the optimum solution however. Cheers

mmm....not sure about that at all. Doesn't look quite authentic enough. It might mean I can get my Z3 into the shows as a potential donor though!!!!! Z3's are cheap as chips now though so if it was refined a bit more I expect there's a reasonable market for that sort of conversion.

This is really useful info Mitch, and having experienced a tyre blow out on a caravan where the tyre was 18 years old but looked perfect, I'd advise everyone to take note. In the caravan world, its recommended to change tyres every 5-7 years. Its one of those areas that's just not worth messing with. Cheers Andy

Yep much better than Strictly! If anyone has an iPad, there's an app called plane finder, which is also really good. It knows where you are so you can see what's in the sky around you. It also has info on age of plane, flight speed and altitude, where the plane has been in recent days. We live on flight path out of East Mids and the kids love it. Great to check out some of the big cargo planes that go over like the Antonov. Amazing how old some of the planes in the sky are, and how hard they work, most of the Jet2's that fly over us are 25+ years old! must be like Triggers broom!

Everything now collected - thanks for the prompt pick ups and hope the bits get put to better use than they were sitting in my garage!

No probs

All yours Dave. I work in Rugby most days if that makes it easier to pick up or meet.

Hi all Having a bit of a clear out, and found some stuff that may be useful to members on here. Everything is free, but I can't be hassled with posting and packing parcels, so collect only, or happy to meet up locally with one of the Leics members to pass items on through the club. Up for grabs is: Sierra driveshafts, hubs and brake drums, need refurbing ( at least new rubber gaiters ) push in type, 2.0 wide diameter Sierra rear wheel bearing kit Push in driveshaft type diff seals Manifold / exhaust wrap, new and unused Cable heat shield cover, bought 2 when I had an S7, good for shielding the long clutch cable from pinto manifold Exhaust bobbin Front track rod end rubbers set of 2 GBS fuel tank sender Cortina Mk3 pinto engine mounts Mountney steering wheel horn ring Pinto camshaft end float key / spacer, new Either PM me or drop me a text on 07747 191961 to arrange collection. Items are located in Newton Burgoland, Nr Ashby in Leics. Cheers Andy

Cheers - just been away for a week, hence late reply. Problem disappeared, very strange. Will have to monitor and perhaps pop up when it returns, which I'm sure it will. Andy

Thanks yes plugs changed since problem started. Actually started in France in July, very intermittently, gradually getting worse, especially bad when cold and damp now weather has turned......still anxious it's not the coil packs. Might drive up to Marks garage to get a sensible diagnosis but it seems to get better once warmed through.....

Yes always my first point of call! Not available from them. Cheers anyway.

Cheers. Found a serial number on it, and can get them on the net for £30 each. Think I might just replace all 4, but a bit worried it may not be that in the first place!!!

Morning all Having a bit of a problem, our 2010 Galaxy Ecoboost petrol has developed a misfire and hesitancy, especially when cold or humid and damp. I'm suspecting one of the coil packs is failing. No fault codes being generated. £80 each so replacing all 4 is not an option! I've got one of them off, 3 pin connector, tried to measure resistance across the three and also from spark plug connector to all 3 and can't get any readings. Anyone know how to test one so I can do all 4 to see which is faulty? Cheers

Baz I had exactly this issue on my S7 years ago, at MOT just before Le Mans. Removed all bulbs, cleaned connections, and surprisingly problem went. This was after redoing earths to no avail. Just a suggestion if not already done. Andy

I'm still a member and come on the forum most days even though I've changed from the kit to a Z3 a year ago. 3 very young kids has prevented me getting out and about as much as I used to but there's only one club stand I'll be heading for once I get active again and that's this one. Good luck with the Marlin and I'd also like to hear how its going. Cheers

That's a great bargain....seriously good. Nice one!

Be careful for that money...a scrap van is nearly worth that for parts alone. Main issue to look out for is damp (soft wallboards, musty smell inside, soft, delaminated floor - poke around in all corners and windows and look underneath where floor mounts to chassis) and also condition of running gear...advised to change tyres every 5 years max 7 years (look for date mark on them). Anything half decent seems to be at least £2-2.5k now, especially at this time of year. 2 years ago we put our old 1991 4 berth with a bit of damp and quite rough on ebay with an honest description and no reserve. Went for £2.8k and they were delighted with it! However some friends of ours bought a £1.5k 5 berth from Glossop Caravans last year (a very old trade in). Its pretty rough but does the job and at least you know its roadworthy buying from trade. May be worth giving them a call. If your budget could be made higher my mate is just about to sell his late Dad's caravan, a late 90's 4 berth been well looked after but stood for 18 months, was serviced just before he passed away and no issues. Problem is its been valued at £2.5-£3k....... For your budget you may be better off looking for a folding camper or van, bit more luxury than a tent and less liability than a van! Good luck.

Yep agree hence question on breathing. Have seen 2 zetecs not breathing properly, pressure in rocker / cam cover leaking and oil in plug wells. Rough running and oil finding its way into cylinders etc. Sounds like more than that though.

Very frustrating for you. As others have said, zetecs are incredibly sensitive to plug fouling (been there!), and once fouled, a set of plugs don't seem to recover even if engine problem is resolved. You mention an overfill of oil. Not being familiar with your setup how does your crankcase breathe, couldn't be anything to do with the PCV valve area - presume no links to inlet at all if using TB's? Have you plugged a laptop in to see if all the sensors (air temp, water temp) are working OK and engine parameters (throttle position sensor etc) look normal? How long had you run it for before problems started - was it soon after the oil overfill? If you have a copy of your Emerald map PM or email it to me and I can take a quick look and compare to several I have on file that were running well on cars. I had an issue years ago on the 2b suddenly running rich and it was the coolant temp sender, erratic reading (very low) causing ECU to overfuel as if coolant was -10. As Ian says, sounds like you're at a tipping point to leave it for now or get expert help but maybe a few of the above suggestions might be quick to check and eliminate.

Try ClassicLine insurance in Hinckley. I've insured the Z with them having had to cancel my kit policy with Sureterm Direct as they wouldn't insure the Z. Spent ages looking for company that would insure a more modern classic under a specialist policy and they've done it for £200 inc breakdown cover. 01455 639000 Www.classiclineinsurance.co.uk They specialise in classics, kits and modern classics. They will find a solution to any insurance issue and are very helpful people and real car enthusiasts! Good luck.

Hi all Don't know whether there are any heating experts on the forum. We are in the sticks so are on oil central heating. Question: is it cheaper / better to heat hot water during summer (if it ever arrives!) from oil boiler or immersion heater when central heating not on? Don't have economy 7 so pay 10.2pence per kwh electricity. Oil is now about 65p per litre. Just over 10kwh of energy in a litre of oil so say 6.5p per kwh. Boiler runs at 80% efficiency 'on paper' so just over 8 p per kwh so in theory still cheaper than immersion. However there must be big losses from the boiler system just heating hot water - the heat losses from pipework and the water jacket in the boiler once the system shuts down must affect this figure. Any ideas? Coming to conclusion there's probably not a lot in it, but keeping boiler active on occasions is better than letting it sit for 6 months unused. Cheers

I ran a plate with gasket for 6 years on my 2b zetec with no issues...just had a small breather off cam cover. Engine was not a heavy breather. Cheers

Received today and great read. Nice to see my old 2b zetec on the front cover! Must have been its first time out in the wet. Was that a recent photo as I'd be keen to hear from whoever owns it now...........was sold again very recently Cheers Andy

I remember taking mine to Emerald years ago to have the map improved. I'd had it done at a different rolling road and it was OK but not very drive able or flexible. I only gained 5 bhp at Emerald but the car was a totally different animal afterwards and never looked back, was a great day out and a nice run over to Norfolk.

Yes a good buy and quite a few hundred under what I sold it for. If its anyone on this board that's bought it, I wrote a very comprehensive manual for it before I sold it, hopefully he will pass it on but I have a copy if not. I also know the car inside out and am happy to help if needed having owned it 6 years and spent a fair bit of time and money getting it 'spot on', from a pretty good baseline when I bought it.....