MärkJ

I got the Mintex discs/pads kit off eBay for abou £170 I think. Fitted them in February and they're still going good without any probs.

I picked up Mintex discs and pads off eBay for £175 delivered. Fitted them myself to save a few quid.

Traxdata, Verbatim, TDK, Tesco, Asda... I've used them all and never had a problem with them playing. Even on my supposedly inferior early model player.

Halfords guarantee their batteries for 10 years.

Anyone else in the area that you know of that may have filled up at these stations? Be worth asking around in case they've had a similar issue.

I've also worked out that there is approximately 10 litres left when the low fuel light comes on. It takes 60 litres to brim the tank from the time it comes on. This measurement is pretty consistent.

One thing you could do is make sure you get an aftermarket stereo with the line out sockets on it. You know the red and white RCA/phono ones? It should be possible to connect these to the input of the OEM amp and it would continue to operate the speakers as normal. You'd need to work out which pins on the amp were the inputs and maybe adapt the wiring a little but I see no reason why it wouldn't be do-able.

Are you sure? If they're from the USA then chances are they'll have red turn signals integral to the brake light.

Check the obvious first. Make sure there are no flies/bees or anything else trapped inside the car. Happened to me before.

Looks nice and tidy. I'm sure I read on here somewhere that you are much better off going for the Denso spark plugs from Toyota rather than the NGKs.

Was the gasket replaced along with the pump?

I only ever really use supermarket fuel. Very occasionally I'll fill up at an Esso or Shell if there's one in the area but I can't say that either have made any noticable difference to the way mine runs. Like Garthy, I use the Roadtrip app on my phone and the difference in mpg is negligable (if indeed the increased figures are not just a fluke). Not enough to offset the price difference.

If it's any comfort, mine managed 148,000 on one cambelt!

You should be getting 12v without the engine running. Sounds like the battery needs replacing to me. If it just needed charging then it would run fine once the engine was started.

I think radio interference can be a problem with the remote fob as I've had a similar problem. Mine always works fine except for when I park in the local Tesco car park. Behind the car park there is a massive great substation with all these pylons and overhead wires and they buzz like mad. You have to get really close to the car and keep pressing the button before it finally locks/unlocks.

I would opt for the Pioneer myself. As a rule of thumb, never buy Sony equipment that include their own amplifiers. Their idea of what constitutes good sound and mine couldn't be more different.

Yes I'm afraid you will have to pay import duty. You will also be required to pay the VAT too. I've had to import car parts before for my American car so have seen it before. Also, stereos imported from the US will not work properly on the AM radio band (not that anybody listens to AM anymore I wouldn't think). It's to do with the frequency steps when tuning (US stations are 10kHz apart whilst UK stations step at 9kHz). Just thought I'd point it out.

Probably about right. It is possible to get over 400 before the light comes on but that takes some real careful driving. :winky:

Use Traxdata (Ritek premium) or Verbatim CD-Rs. Can't really go wrong with those. The early IS head units are incapable of reading CD-RW media as was the case with most CD players of that era. Not sure about the later ones.

Try Total Motor Care on the Stonar industrial estate. They're pretty good for most stuff.

Does the CD player throw up an error on the display?

I would say that a modded car would be one that's different from how it came from the factory. I suppose you could argue that even replacing the tyres was a type of mod. Customising a car is more like a personal change to better suit the taste of the owner.

I'm running on the Bridgestone Potenzas. Can't fault them.

You can safely use DOT4 instead as this is what replaced DOT3. Think of it as an improved formula with a higher boiling point.

1. If it's a Sport it should have a limited slip differential. 2. The car only auto-locks if you press the unlock button on the key fob but then don't open any of the doors within about 30 seconds. It assumes that the button was pressed accidentally so will lock itself. Shouldn't be able to lock the keys in the ignition as you would have already opened the door in order to be able to put them in the ignition anyway. 3. The battery in the key fob can be changed easily enough at home. Just need a small cross-head screwdriver. A replacement battery can be found on eBay for a couple of quid. May as well do all the key fobs to be on the safe side.