LupoEnvy

I suffer from similar minor problems and I think its the brakes rather than anything else - you're likely to have worn or warped brake discs. They'll probably need replacing (if they're really bad they won't pass your next MOT). Its wise to put new pads on when you replace discs so that everything wears evenly. If you get a loud-ish knocking (rather than a whirring) sound from the front when you corner at reasonable speed its likely to be your CV (constant volecity) joint - this is the thing that sort of transfers power to the wheels (not an expert!). I had an old car where this happened- they are pretty solid so won't need replacing unless its sounds really really bad! But I think the best thing is to get someone to have a look at all your brakes and see if that does the trick - need to get mine sorted too cos my steering wheel wobbles a bit when braking at high speed.

Just to keep people up to date with prices (given the credit crunch!)... Went to a VW dealers in Midlands and got the following (all prices include VAT as at 19.8.08): Couldn't be bothered to shop around, but useful for people to know: 5 litres of Quantum Synta Oil (10-40W) - £23.26 Oil Filter - £4.70 4 VW sparkplugs - £18.33 Door check strap (no more click, click, click!) - £15.80 Cheers LupoEnvy

I've got a 1.4e (same as 1.4s but without the bells n whistles). You should be getting near 300 miles for a tank, as Cardaft says, so you certainly need to sort out that oil pressure switch!!! You might want to check the obvious and see if you have a fuel leak somewhere - look under the tank and check the fuel pipes - put some paper down overnight and see if anything looks wet etc.

My opinion... The programme always seems to say somewhere that they are 'the cream of Britain's business minds' - they should be done under the Trades Descriptions Act for a start! The cream??? No wonder we're heading for recession! Me thinks that most of them were recruited by the programme's production team for entertainment value, rather than business acumen...the production team have succeeded yet again - the Kosher Chicken moment will go down in history...I nearly soiled myself laughing. Fair enough, not everyone knows about Kosher etc, but I thought these people were the cream??? And Michael being half Jewish...well...the shame of it. My opinion on the candidates: Alex - bit moody when he gets turned down; seems to pull it out the bag whilst hardly being in the programme at all; comes across as very 'young' at times (given he's 6 foot 12) - should be in an indie band or something (or Wetherspoon's version Ronald McDonald?) Michael - 'empathy' isn't in his dictionary is it; incredibly arrogant; self-absorbed; doesn't understand the term 'soft sell' - double glazing door-stepping, here we come Lucinda - posh as hell; dresses like someone's mum at Ascot; appears to be nice until she's in a corner and then turns spiteful on a sixpence - go back to the Arts Council! Lee (Steve-o) McQueen - a bit 'wurrr', a bit 'yeeeaahhh', a bit 'you know' a bit of a wide boy, like. Watching him sell thongs to women was a joy to behold. Think he's an honest lad but hasn't been under enough pressure and might not be classy enough to make the grade - needs to cut down on the "that's what I'm talkign about"s or your out...sunshine Helene - moody as hell; the term 'coarse language' just doesn't cover it; sees everyone else as the devil or something - she'll be sent back to Sour village in Moodyville county soon. Claire - bit up her own backside; sort of o.k. but just a bit too sure of herself - put the term 'learn from people' in your dictionary or its back to Holiday Rep-ing Raef - Pimms and Lemonade anyone? He is VERY posh, but if you can ignore that, he does seem to understand the concept of thought before mouth. Not 100% about ANY of them to be honest, but "Raef, with regret, you're hired" End of

Chains mean no more replacements, but they can still go too - my 16v Mk2 Micra's timing chain went at 80k. I think I under-estimated the need to change the oil more frequently - its every 6 months on the Micra Mk2. Poor oil probably didn't help it, though I know Nissan have had a lot of problems with timing chains on some of their older models, so it might've happened anyway. End of timing chain meant end of car. Looking on the bright side - I bought the Loop!!!

Thanks for that - I know that you can get the part for about £75, according to the websites (I think!), but I'm not technically minded enough to fit it. It seems the 'fitting' bit is the costly bit. £220 seems a bit steep so I'll call round a few places n see. Gotta do it qucik though - starting to sound tractor-ey!!!

Just an update - took it to a local garage I know. The part of the front section of the exhaust that is gone is the bit under the rear of the engine - there like a capsule near the front (not as far back at the cat) - that's the bit that's corroded. Unfortunately the whole section thus needs to be replaced and its the bit with the cat, so I have to pay for the whole lot, which is annoying cos it ain't the cat that's gone!!! Chuh!

From people's replies and from a few web searches, I've decided I might try somewhere else to get my cat section replaced. £220 sounds a bit steep. Thanks all. This is a good website for cats (though not other bits of the exhaust) as it gives pics of the cat part: http://www.cats2go.co.uk/ Good website for diagram of whole system: http://www.onlineautomotive.co.uk/

Your guess is as good as mine - I'm not an expert in catalysts, so I'm just going on what the bloke at the (recommended) garage said. He said gases are coming out of the cat, or at least around the cat area, or something like that. Its not a really blow-ey noise, but its there. I don't think its like when you have a gaping whole - just overall erosion thats not easy to spot.??? Is the diesel system different to petrol, cos £90 including VAT sounds like a bargain???!!!

Nice one, thanks. The rear section for my standard 1.4 was quoted at £56, if thats any help - centre section quoted at £50. Keep the opinions coming on prices!!!

Finally got to the bottom of my raspy exhaust problem - cat part is gone so is blowing. Is £220 reasonable (I know the cat bits are expensive). Not sure if this is before or with VAT, but is it a reasonable ballpark figure? Just a standard 1.4 petrol Lupo. Ta.

Just playing Devil's Advocate - is the engine's temperature actually ok though? If the problem continues with a new sensor, its likely to be your thermostat being faulty.

Sounds like the timing is all out - i.e. the engine isn't sparking the plugs at the right time and the cylinders/pistons aren't in the right place when they should be exploding the fuel. Have you check the cambelt is ok?

You might want to try WD-40 - that can be quite good at getting sticky gunk/glue off things.

I've heard WD-40 is also good for getting gooey stuff off.

You're probably looking at £15 for each check strap - so I've been told by someone else on here - I doubt you'd get them much cheaper elsewhere, but don't quote me on that! Door handles shouldn't be dear either. If you find out the cost of check straps, could you put it on this board - need one myself soon. Ta.

Had 4 new tyres on the other month - usually get balancing for free obviously, but I paid £20 for the tracking to be done as I'd had 4 tyres on. Was worth it too as it was out by quite a bit.

Never heard of this before. What about leaving the interior air vents open? Might allow air out a bit?

Would agree with silver and check you have the right dipstick! Does it have a 'click-lock' mechanism when you push the dipstick right in? Also - are you measuring the level when engine is cold or warm? Ideally you should measure it while its still warm as the oil expands somewhat. Mind you - trying to measure mine while its warm is a pain - it always looks overfull, but cold its about half full at most - can't work it out (any ideas?)!! Also agree with others that an oil change is a wise move - yep, just keep putting a bit in, waiting and so on, until near maximum. I think the oil capacity of the 1.4 is 3.5 litres (but don't quote me on that!!!)? Check your owners manual - should be in there.

Loads of people just mention the cambelt change and the water pump change while you're at it. Other than that, as long as the oil n filter are done regularly, you can't go far wrong (unless you redline it from first start-up!!!). Looking at all the problems people raise on the forums, the engine is usually the last thing you have to worry about!!! Gearboxes and electronics - thats another issue!

I've got this with mine sometimes when I use the car first thing - it goes away after 10 minutes - its either a stone in the pad scraping against the disk or the discs/pads are unevenly worn (or discs warped). I know my discs need replacing as they're a quite 'low' against the 'crusty' edge bit. I also think they're a bit ''sticky' with rust sometimes - my Loop was a second car with only £30k on the clock in the last 7 years, so it sat about alot n the brakes probably rusted up a bit. You can sometimes tell is you have uneven brake wear - when you brake it'll brake hard and then it'll feel less solid, then hard again (in the space of a second or two). Definitely think wheel balancing is the issue with the shakes at high speed. You could try swapping the wheels around (there's a correct order for this to avoid messing up the balance - should be in the owners manual?) and seeing if that makes a difference?

These can be cheap for various things (GSF = German, Scandinavian, French): http://www.gsfcarparts.com/

Not my area, but it could be the sender unit - you might wanna keep an eye on that temperature gauge though in case its actually correct! Done all the obvious checks?

Mine was nice n clean (even though the rest was gunked up)! Good thing about all the advice is...I'll know what to keep an eye on and what to do if its gets nasty!

While you're at it, you might wanna check if your doors have drain holes too, to see if they're blocked - someone on clublupo had rotting sills because of this I think. British weather eh?!