vaya82

Thanks for the advice on this - all the bolts came off okay thankfully, and once I'd figured out you need to re-install the bottom of the damper first to get the top lined up properly to get the cross-bolt through, the nearside took considerably less time than the offside! Quick question though - how relevant are the torque settings quoted in the workshop manual for tightening everything up again? Couldn't find my torque wrench so ended up doing everything back up tight by feel, taking care not to risk shearing the bottom studs.

As far as I know the dampers are the original ones (it's been in the family since new) so they will presumably be welded studs still. Everything upper and lower I've been able to get to I've been giving a regular and repeated doses of penetrating fluid over the last five or six weeks. Fingers crossed by the sounds of it!

The front dampers on my Mk5 have flagged up as needing changing on the MOT. First time I’ve attempted this, and (famous last words!) on the face of it from the manual it looks straightforward – front end up on stands, use a jack to take some pressure off the lower arm as you take the damper off etc. One thing I’m not sure about though is how to get to the top of the bolts which retain the bottom of the damper so I can hold them in place while I undo the nuts below. Access to these looks to be pretty much blocked by the lower end of the coil spring? Any tips appreciated, thanks.

There's not enough room in the garage to work on the car, so I'll have to get it out and do some shuffling to get it onto the drive. Hopefully I'll get some heat in that way - there's some cheap epoxy putty plugging the hole at the minute which should hold long enough.

Thanks - as it's not been off before (as far as I know) I'm going to try and get some penetrating oil on all the bolts before I attempt anything.

Hi, The thermostat housing on my 1600 Mk5 needs replacing, looks like it's finally given up the ghost after 40 years and developed a hole. I've not done this before - are there any tips/tricks to it? The first problem I can see by looking at is lack of access to the right-hand/lower of the two bolts. Does the cambelt shroud (and/or anything else) need to come off? Thanks.

Yep - checked tension before and after per what it says in the workshop manual, and double-checked all the bolts we/are tight. I've got a new belt, so when I've (hopefully) rebuilt the original alternator, I'll fit that when it goes back in.

It's a real bulb - to the best of my knowledge it's never been replaced, so it's probably the original as well.

Finally (!) had some time to look into this over the past few days. I've checked and cleaned the fusebox and its block connectors (all looked fine) and replaced all the fuses on principle. Then gone through all the under-bonnet and engine earths and cleaned and re-tightened them (although I wasn't sure where the dash earths to?) but again they all seemed fine. Sadly the problem still persists - warning light on faintly at idle, but glows more brightly when revved, or any drain/load placed on the electrics (lights, radio, washers, rear screen etc.) Given what MK5 V8 has said, and the unknown quantity of the spare alternator I've swopped in, I think my next move is to get a rebuild kit for the original alternator and then re-fit that. I'm not convinced the spare that's in is 100% okay - voltage across the battery is about 14.1v, but not a constant 14.2v. The car's never had any electric problems in the past (in the family since new) and I could have just changed one faulty alt for another.

Thanks for the replies - I'm working part of this weekend but hopefully I'll get a chance to have a look at some point over the next couple of days.

Recently took my MK5 for its MOT, and on the way back noticed the dash battery warning light was on - only dimly but pretty much all the time, fluctuating with the engine revs. As the car doesn't get much use, I assumed it was the battery. Put a new one in, but still the same problem. Checked the voltage across the terminals with the engine running, and it was barely above 12v. Belt tension okay, so checked output from alternator by popping the back cover off the multiplug (with it still plugged in) and testing the two large terminals with the engine running. These both not much more than 12v, so came to the conclusion in was the alternator. I've picked up a spare A115 from somewhere, so swopped it in. Voltage across the battery now around 13.6v, with the output from the alternator a little higher than this. BUT, the dash battery light still stays lit (if anything a little brighter than before) and seems to brighten and dim in line with engine revs and/or indicators & hazards when used. I've re-used the old belt (which seems fine) and the external interference suppressor off the old alternator. Anyone any ideas what the issue could be - I'm concerned the original alternator packing in was symptom rather than cause.

It's a 1600 4-speed manual, I've tended to notice it as I'm backing off the drive or slowing to the lights on the hill near me. I'm going to investigate the contamination aspect though as I've not had chance to actually have the wheels off and check behind anything just yet. I was thinking if there was a cylinder/caliper leak when it's stood, then as I drive I'm burning this off and hence it's not really apparent once I've been going a while?

Recently I’ve noticed that when I’m holding the car on the brakes at the lights or junction, I’m getting a creaking from the brake pedal, and what’s best described as that kick-back feeling you get from ABS brakes when they activate – like a pulsing or juddering. This doesn’t seem to happen when driving though, and the car pulls up okay at/from speed with no diving left or right. Without popping the wheels/drums off as yet, there’s no visible leaks and the level in the reservoir doesn’t seem to have dropped. I don’t use it much these days (a massive 55 miles last year) so I’m wondering if this is just from lack of use, a need for a brake bleed or something up with the master cylinder? Any thoughts or ways to narrow down what might be the problems appreciated, thanks.

Thanks for all the advice. I had a nasty feeling what the answer would be, but I though I'd try for blissful ignorance for a while longer. Tried topping up - due to the distinct lack of an easily-acessible drain plug I flushed out all the old oil with new, which sadly doesn't seem to have helped long term. Ho hum- - new box for me I think!

Probably one of those 'how long is a piece of string?' questions, but I'd be grateful for any insights. Current symptoms are: 1st - noisy 2nd -noisy 3rd - evil death whine 4th - fine. Slight baulking slotting into first sometimes, and possibly related I've gone through two clutch pawls in the last 1000 miles, although the first was the original and the second a bobbins non-Ford one. The car's a bog standard (including the 'box) 1.6 Mk5 that's done 47K, been in the family since new and never thrashed (although it did do a fair bit of caravan pulling in the early days) Someone's suggested the layshaft bearings, but is there any way I can maybe narrow or down or isolate the problem?