and while I'm on the subject of Spark Plugs !

SHOULD YOU REPLACE YOUR SPARK PLUGS?
One of the leading causes of hard starting is fouled or worn spark plugs. When a fuel injected engine that normally starts quite easily has to be coaxed to life, it often means the plugs are overdue for a change. As the electrodes wear, the voltage required to jump the gap and ignite the fuel mixture goes up. At the same time, accumulated deposits on the insulator can drain off voltage before it even has a chance to form a spark. So the engine fails to start or starts only reluctantly after prolonged cranking.
Spark plug sales take off when cold weather arrives is because many motorists put off changing the plugs until they absolutely have to. The vehicle manufacturer's recommendations to change the plugs every 30,000 miles for preventative maintenance are ignored, so the plugs continue to rack up mile after mile until they've deteriorated to the point where they're causing noticeable driveability problems.
Emission checks will catch a lot of bad plugs and force motorists to change plugs that need to be replaced. But in areas where emission checks are not required, the only incentives for changing the plugs are the driveability problems created by the plugs themselves. So many motorists today think they're saving money on maintenance by putting off a plug change until it's obvious the engine needs new plugs. Then and only then will they begrudgingly spend any money on a new set of plugs.
WHY CHANGE 'EM?
What motorists need to be told today is why the plugs should be replaced according to their vehicle manufacturer's scheduled maintenance recommendations be it every 30,000 miles, or 60,000 to 100,000 miles in the case of long life plugs. So why not visit the Auto tap website for three good reasons why the plugs need to be changed: ( cos I don't wanna copyright infringe by pasting them here - sorry)

Ho Hum......how incredibly boring the Easters seem to get.............I never seem to have any money to do anything or the energy to take up the various 'free' ways of enjoying oneself in this great capital city. Working at the Local council is , i imagine like being in a coma. A big new change in the Parking regulations is imminent and our office is struggling to even get the existing IT to work half way decently. The on -going saga with the Harley - for which I have lost all motivation, was kick started(pun intended) when, after the problems on the tin box proved to be no more than a set of HT leads, I figured the symptoms were identical in the problems I was having with the bike. After several visits to bykuz.com I found a quote for the Voltage reg at £95-100 which scared the bejeepers out of me. So at the 11th hour having just stalled at pressing the order now button for a £120 voltage regulator I figured I'd replace the Spark plugs and leads first (intended replacement anyhow) before splashing out on the regulator.....yeeh hah ! saved myself £120 ! runs like a dream. anyway back to the office of coma hQ. later.

Aol stiffing me again !

One website I used for a broadband test gave the result ' Ouch...are you on dial up or something'



Try clicking on the box to do a broadband test for yourself.

Lamb chop 2 Custom Bike

Having spent so much time watching discovery Channel biker build offs and the showcasing of American custom builders it was so refreshing to see a great example of British engineering and design. Check out the Lamb Chop 2 created by Larry Houghton featured in this months BSH (March 2008)

or check it out on larrys website www.wmf-uk.com

Rat the Bike Rat the Car

I know some enthusiasts will think....'Sacrilege' but as one of the wheel trim discs was missing I decided to scrap em all and am going to 'satin' black the steel rims instead.
Yeah it will make the car look mean but kinda suits me as a biker.
Gonna be selling the 3 hubs on ebay or on the Volvo forums

Volvo Post script

Well, after the hassle and rip off that is EUROSTAR Garage in Tooting SW17 - the good news is that the outcome was sucessful once they were given the Elbow.
Thanks to the efficiency of EURO CAR PARTS( Mitcham Branch)

The new HT leads were fitted (Good price too – Eurocarparts), The old BKR6EKUB plugs which were on the car when purchased worked well but there was still some ‘weakness’(mixture ?). With nothing to lose and working on the reverse logic that as I couldn’t afford the expense of a proper’tune-up’ I needed to try to replicate the set-up that worked with the current carb (fuel/air) Settings. Euro Car parts offered the Denso Plug K20TXR at £10.29 inc vat.

Bought – Fitted- ………………….heaven………..Job done !

Car now runs well and the grin factor is even there.

SUMMARY : - Volvo V40.

EUROSTAR GARAGE TOOTING – CRAP ! Cowboys. AVOID AT ALL COST.

EURO CAR PARTS (BRANCHES) – EXCELLENT ! USE AT EVERY

OPPORTUNITY !

VOLVO FORUMS – EXCELLENT – USE AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY

Crap local Garage- Rip Off Merchants !

A cautionary tale,

I Bought V40 1996 estate.2.0i which Ran like a pig even after usual ‘cold’start should have passed.

Based on previous experience with same problem on other Volvos I Changed HT leads. From the Spec cards in HALFORDS……… and Routinely changed the plugs from the NGK BKR6EKUB on there to new NGK BKR6ETUC recommended by my local Auto factors.

Still running badly and at times lacking power I called several garages and opted for a local garage which does MOT’s Services and claims diagnostics and tuning.

The ‘Garage’- EUROSTAR , of TOOTING,LONDON , told me (at a cost of a £ 88 Diagnostic !) that he thought they were the wrong HT leads (no certainty there !) and that the BKR6ETUC plugs I had fitted to replace the BKR6EKUB on the car when I got it were the wrong plugs. He was very disgruntled at my informing him I could change the plugs and HT leads myself (rather than pay him the £75 +vat p/h), and handed me a piece of paper with NGK BCPR6ET written on it telling me these are the plugs I need.

I changed the HT leads but replaced the old BKR6EKUB plugs as they were visibly in reasonable condition. Problem Solved.

Luckily before I returned to the Autofactor shop to raise hell or bought the ‘Correct’plugs as per the Eurostar Garage Tooting I visited the NGK product website and did a cross reference check on all the plugs mentioned (including Eurostars erroneous type).

OK it confirmed that the BKR6ETUC is the correct Plug for the car model,/year/engine size and offered the BKR6EKUB as an alternative.

Incidently, on the NGK Web site it returns the following vehicles for the NGK BCPR6ET Spark Plug.

ALFA ROMEO33 1.706/90,CITROENAX 1.408/91 –> 05/,CITROENXM 3.0n/ , CITROENXM 3.0n/,FIATPUNTO 1 (94-->10/99) 1.403/94 –> 00,
FIATUNO 1.490 –>,MZ1000S 100004 –> Std Copper Core, SENATOR 3.0 –> 84

PEUGEOT405 1.901/90 –> 07/92,PEUGEOT605 3.009/90 –> 09/97

PEUGEOT605 3.009/90 –> 01/94,PORSCHE968 3.091 –> 96,RENAULTESPACE 3 / GRAND ESPACE 3.004/97 –> 09/98,RENAULTSAFRANE 3.092 –> 10/96

SKODAFAVORIT 1.393 –> 95,VAUXHALL/OPELCARLTON 3.0 –> 07/92

VAUXHALL/OPELSENATOR 3.0

NOT A MENTION OF THE VOLVO V40 2.0.i 1996…!!

If I can find out the correct stuff from the Net, Vardis etc how come the ‘professionals’ at Eurostar Tooting couldn’t get even close ?………….does this garage not have a clue or was it a surefire way of getting me back for more diagnostic charges ?