Myles

Forged pistons tend to expand slightly as they heat up & fit the cylinder (which normally has only one spark plug - but may have two).... therefore , when cold they `slap about' a bit (as explained by Darren)`til the engine approaches operating temp ..... another good reason to only drive on part throttle for the 1st 10mins or so from cold . Forged pistons are good

I got a mobile aircon tech out for a recharge which they do for £60 + vat , suited me fine as I'm on nights this week & don't have much spare time . It became obvious fairly early on that there is a leak somewhere as we could both hear hissing . He tracked down the leak to the lower pipe from the condensor to the compressor (so I'm now looking for one of them) & confirmed that the compressor is working o.k..... he wasn't going to charge me , but I insisted £15 ..I know , but I hadn't had much sleep . Anyway decent chap ... when he comes back to either a) fit the pipe & recharge or b) just recharge after I've fitted the pipe , should I broach him re a club discount??? 5-10%??? He also has an informative website http://www.airconditioningforcars.co.uk and covers Kent & s.e London (but can go a little further)

I got a mobile aircon tech out for a recharge which they do for £60 + vat , suited me fine as I'm on nights this week & don't have much spare time . It became obvious fairly early on that there is a leak somewhere as we could both hear hissing . He tracked down the leak to the lower pipe from the condensor to the compressor (so I'm now looking for one of them) & confirmed that the compressor is working o.k..... he wasn't going to charge me , but I insisted £15 ..I know , but I hadn't had much sleep . Anyway decent chap ... when he comes back to either a) fit the pipe & recharge or b) just recharge after I've fitted the pipe , should I broach him re a club discount??? 5-10%??? He also has an informative website http://www.airconditioningforcars.co.uk and covers Kent & s.e London (but can go a little further)

Surely you mean a White j-spec ???! (some j-specs come with big brakes too thank God

It'll be wednesday week b4 I get to go & have a look , what with work & ozzfest at the weekend .... I've just done a search on `alltheweb.com' & found `Powerbase' that do a regas for £55 + vat ... so if there's no major leaks it might not be too bad ... Thanks Mr T , I may contact you re your mechanic mate if I can't find that place in erith Myles

... well , all the leds flashed 3 times , then the led with the fresh air symbol flashed continuously . Tried this & it looks like the fluid is very low .... so unless the flashing led tells us something , I'll need to get a regas ... I'll look-up the smartgroups emails , I think I saw a regas company on there in SW London , does a regas for £50. Thanks Phil ..... & Thanks Ray , let's hope I can find a similar sort of outfit down this way .

Thanks Mr T, does that mean there are 2 fuses to check? Also , pardon my ignorance , but , where's the a/c pump on a mk4? intake or exhaust side ? I think the top pulley on the intake side is for power steering .... you mention a sight glass ... is this the sight glass just behind the nose cone with a grey cap marked `H' & about 3/8" pipes leading to & from ?????

After sitting in rush hour traffic on the way home from milton keynes two evenings running (thursday & friday), I have come to the conclusion that my A/C is not working . The green A/C led illuminates o.k. , but `tis not cold & there's none of the usual erratic idle from the pump turning on & off . Can someone please advise me the best steps to take? Check a/c fuse?(when I find the interior fusebox) Is there anything else I can check under the bonnet (pump?) before giving it to a professional for a regas????

Thanks for the info. Keith . I posted a similar query on one of the earlier versions of the BBS , as I'm getting symptoms as described on the US mkiv site ;`popping' noise when taking up drive & on left-right-left turns - like on medium roundabouts .... but no sign of any oil leaks . I've used McCarthy in the past & they came across as very professional ... although I was suspicious when they suggested the exhaust manifold on my then 5 year old celica would soon need replacing due to rust !? ..... let us know how you get on . Myles

... since you don't live a million miles away from me , I wondered who you'd entrust you car with?

...according to that infallible source of info http://www.mkiv.com ,it shows an extract from the manual & some pics , though I would have thought failure/leakage would manifest itself by the mount rattling , as opposed to signs of the fluid ... there can't be all that much fluid in there . Myles