Hi,
Wonder if I could get some advice?
I am planning to buy the above car this weekend, it's a 93 with 100k for not much cash! Car generaly is in pretty good nick but a couple of things are preying on my mind.
Is there any way of telling the general mechanical health of the engine without specialist tools like compression gauges etc?
What are the major areas which need carefull veiwing, I have done the general but every car has it's specifics.
Has anyone known a fault where the ventilation controls only direct the air from the dash vents regardless where the dial is at?
Any info / advice would be greatly appreciated
Cheers [:)]
Al
Buying a ZX Volcane TD
Moderator: RichardW
-
Dave Burns
- Posts: 1915
- Joined: 14 May 2001, 05:30
- Location: United Kingdom
- My Cars:
- x 2
Make sure you hear it start from absolute stone cold, in fact start it yourself, don't apply any throttle, turn the key and wait for the glow light to go out, then start, if it start straight away (as it should) and settles to a quick tick over instantly without missfiring there won't be much wrong with it.
Any missfiring can mean expense, like glowplugs or injectors, find out if the cam belt has been done and try for 12 months test if you can, better to have its knackers revved off for the smoke test belonging to someone else.
These are sporty type cars so it will have had some stick, but as long as its been cared for they are up to it.
Check rear wheels for excessive negative camber, trailing arm bearings can be expensive to put right, most folk opt to swap the entire rear axle assembly.
Knocks and rattles from the front are common with drop links wearing out, but they are easey and cheap to replace.
Check for heavy operation of the clutch.
Dash vent could be a broken cable, if so, easey enough to fix, if the problem is deeper in then it can be a dash out job, not so easey.
Dave
Any missfiring can mean expense, like glowplugs or injectors, find out if the cam belt has been done and try for 12 months test if you can, better to have its knackers revved off for the smoke test belonging to someone else.
These are sporty type cars so it will have had some stick, but as long as its been cared for they are up to it.
Check rear wheels for excessive negative camber, trailing arm bearings can be expensive to put right, most folk opt to swap the entire rear axle assembly.
Knocks and rattles from the front are common with drop links wearing out, but they are easey and cheap to replace.
Check for heavy operation of the clutch.
Dash vent could be a broken cable, if so, easey enough to fix, if the problem is deeper in then it can be a dash out job, not so easey.
Dave
Hi Al,
Furthering on what Dave said about the rear suspension, you really need to check the back subframe mounts aren't seperating.
The two rear ones of the four can be checked by jacking the rear of the car and conducting a visual examination.
The two front ones are not so easy to see. So in order to check these take the car for a test drive, and when driving down a clear straight road apply the brakes hard. - You don't need to be hammering down the road, buy a strong steady brake is required.
If the mounts are seperating there will be a knocking sound as the torque created by the braking wheel twists the trailing arm and ultimately the subframe, seperating the mount.
By removing the parcel shelf the sound will travel better.
These are not extremely hard to change but can be quite awkward playing with several jacks.
This link will explain the proceedure :
http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... IC_ID=1699
Ultimately if you get a garage to do it, it will be about £200 inc parts so you want to make sure the mounts are okay first, or you are aware they need replacing so you can knock the price of the car down.
I hope this helps
Andy
Furthering on what Dave said about the rear suspension, you really need to check the back subframe mounts aren't seperating.
The two rear ones of the four can be checked by jacking the rear of the car and conducting a visual examination.
The two front ones are not so easy to see. So in order to check these take the car for a test drive, and when driving down a clear straight road apply the brakes hard. - You don't need to be hammering down the road, buy a strong steady brake is required.
If the mounts are seperating there will be a knocking sound as the torque created by the braking wheel twists the trailing arm and ultimately the subframe, seperating the mount.
By removing the parcel shelf the sound will travel better.
These are not extremely hard to change but can be quite awkward playing with several jacks.
This link will explain the proceedure :
http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... IC_ID=1699
Ultimately if you get a garage to do it, it will be about £200 inc parts so you want to make sure the mounts are okay first, or you are aware they need replacing so you can knock the price of the car down.
I hope this helps
Andy