Lightning

Hi guys, The next saga... Recently, when I start the T, there is a squeaking / rattling noise from the engine bay. Popping the bonnet leads me to think that it's coming from the large belt on the front of the engine (stop laughing), is this the timing belt? The squeak picks up frequency as the revs go up and eventually disappears when the engine's warmed up. Over the last few days it's getting louder and more pronounced. Any ideas from this lame description? Lightning....

When it comes time to change over my 'T', I will look at the European cars. I'm sick of the 'shhh' 'shhh' handbrake and the clunking drivetrain. Whether or not I buy another is a decision I will make at the time, but the fact that 27% of people (who have taken the poll) apparently feel as I do should be a bit of a concern to Ford Marketing.

Will never, ever let 'em do it to me again. I felt sorry for one of the buggers in Charles St, Perth one evening and gave him $2 for nixs. He insisted on doing the windscreen and proceeded to put a very fine arc of a scratch on the passenger side from top to bottom. Pissed me off for weeks afterwards, every time the sun caught the scratch. Lightning....

Great photo's, was going to say I knew what camera took 'em, but it appears that they were scanned on a Fuji Frontier system ...

Just so you know you're not alone, I'm with you. Not sure how many of us there are though. Lightning....

Did a 640km run over the weekend. Got it down as low as 9.5 on the way down (reset it as I pulled out of the driveway) and averaged 10.5 on the way back (uphill), but it will be back to 18's this week :-( It sh*ts me, my AU XR6 could do the same trip on 1 tank, now I have to top up in Bunbury at $1.20 per litre on the way back. Lightning....

I must say that my fuel economy around town sucks at the moment. High 17's or low 18's, I constantly seem to be filling up. Would be nice to know if it could be improved. And, no, I don't drive with a lead-foot.

May be and maybe not, but check that the cables from the alternator are not loose. I had this shortly after I got mine and this was the problem as the battery wasn't charging. This was a seperate problem to the lose earth strap.

Geez, I am amazed this is still happening. As soon as I saw the title to this thread, I knew what it was. The same thing happened to me, but mine was about 2 weeks after I'd bought the car over 2 years ago! Took a while to find it, but same issue. Good to see you got some success with getting it fixed.

I love the 2nd one.... Reckon you could do something with this? I can supply a larger version, of course.

Guys, just to close this one off... Apparently there was a leak in the radiator (hmmm, never saw any leaking coolant) and they've replaced the radiator, an O-ring and refilled with coolant. That's my interpretation of the paperwork, anyway. Thanks for your help and advice. Lightning....

Mark, don't give up. Don't accept the handbrake charge. The 2nd last time I took my T in, after listing all the items that needed attention (including squealing handbrake) I was asked ".. and how will Sir be paying for this?". I replied to the effect that "Sir wasn't expecting to be paying as they were in my opinion all faults and rectifiable under warranty". End of story. The handbrake was 'adjusted' for the 3rd time (and it still bloody squeaks) under warranty. If they tried to charge me, I wouldn't leave the dealership. When I collect my car yesterday after complaining of an apparent coolant leak and other low fluids, I paid $50 and they'd replaced the radiator, an O-ring, added coolant, cleaned up under the bonnet and all under warranty. I paid for an oil top-up (they're performing an oil consumption test) and brake fluid. I was happy. As you have stated, you got screwed, but you don't have to accept it. Contact the Service Manager and tell him or her that you're still not happy. Tell him what would make you happy and ask him if he can assist in making you happy and therefore a repeat customer. If that doesn't work, ask for the Dealer Principal. Did you purchase the vehicle from them? If so, added weight. I am a nice guy, easy going and usually get railroaded by this sort of thing, but I'm a quiet bas*ard these days when it comes to vehicle services Oh, and I always ask roughly how much it will cost when I drop it off. Cheers, Lightning....

Your HEATER? Jeez, man, what are you? A wuss? Sure it's not a cardigan? This is Perth, I don't think it's gone into single figures this year yet!

Cikas, I don't have to take it to any particular dealer, but I am currently taking it to the dealer I bought it from, Titan Ford. Centre Ford is a LOT more convenient, but they gave me the with my previous XR (wonder if the PACE case logged with Ford EVER got anywhere?). Lightning....

Cikas, I will. I am a little dirty that this wasn't spotted when it was in about 2 weeks ago for about 6 warranty items, including "a ticking noise when cold" which they couldn't identify. It's going back in on Monday to have the gearshift leather surround replaced as it wasn't available in WA (sheez...) and they had to order it in. I'll get them to make sure they open their eyes under the bonnet this time (it's staying overnight so they can hear it when it's cold). Lightning....

Doubt it :-) Unless you're in your mid-50's, that is!

Yes, Dad It's going in on Monday for something else anyway. Lightning....

Guys, Don't want to enter into a debate about foggies vs no foggies, but just thought I'd let my fellow Perth T drivers know that the boys in blue, in the Highway Patrol cars, pulled me over the other night on the way home from the airport. To cut a long story short, they were coming the other way, saw the fog lights on, did a u-turn and turned on the red and blues (and flashed me with 1 million candlepower). After a friendly chat, the Snrt Connie advised me not to do it unless there was fog and that he didn't agree with the law, but he had to enforce it and it was normally a $100 fine. They took my details and let me off , but only after checking the globes on their knees with a torch. Apparently some of us are putting in 100w globes and being naughty boys or girls. Anyway, don't say you weren't warned! Simon....

PS: First time I've used a $2500 camera to take photo's of a pipe under my bonnet, let alone Photoshop to edit it!

Thanks guys, particularly that the join is 'normal', but a couple of responses: 1) Check this photo, it looks like the same colour of discharge etc: 2) I dipped my finger in the hollows circled in the image below and it feels like oil: I'll think get the dealer to have a look at it. My oil level, coolant level and brake fluid levels are low anyway. Simon....

Just to add a "me too" to the list, I'd be interested in this too. If the price was right, obviously!

Guys, I'm new at adding an image to a post, so hope this goes okay... Anyway, I was adding some water to the coolant bottle the other day and I noticed what looks to me like a splice in a metal tube where someone's added in a bit of hose with a couple of hose clamps. See red circled area in the first image: In the 2nd image, you can see where it appears that whatever's running through this pipe has pissed all over the thingy underneath it at some time (sorry, I'm not a mechanic!). Can someone who has a T tell me if this is normal, if not what the tubing is for and if you reckon I should do something about it. Simon....

Thanks, yes that's why I put 'leather' in quotes, it looks like the typical cheap vinyl made to look like leather. Will get it attended to.

Hi all, I dropped something in the depressions in the 'leather' surrounding the gearshift yesterday and, while fishing it out, I noticed that the 'leather' is cracking and splitting at the creases in several areas. The more I looked, the more pissed off I became. Geez, is this a $19,990K car or a $50K car? Anyone else found this? I guess I'll ask it to be replaced when I put it in for a service and also ask them to replace the sunroof seal (the felt's weating off and the wind noise is getting louder), fix (again) the shhh, shhh noise from the park brake and replace the pads on the premiums for ones that don't squeal. Simon....

Aha, "Photo Rescue" to the ... errrm... rescue? Well done. Lightning.... PS: A bloody ridiculous situation.