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Highly Acclaimed

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AFTER PURCHASE

 See also:
Buying
Spares

Although a dependable motor, there are some (mostly) little items worth attending to for trouble free motoring.

Cambelt change Cambelts need to be changed every 45,000 miles or 3 years REGARDLESS of mileage. I changed one on a car with just 18,000 miles and it was looking well ropey. Costs about £15 (DIY) or about £100 using your local garage.
Clutch Check the adjustment is OK. This takes just a few minutes. They do seem to go out of true probably from neglect or incorrect servicing.
Door locks and catches - rear Rear door locks and catches can jam and fail in various ways. This is usually from lack of use as few Acclaims are family vehicles. At a convenient moment, open and close each door a dozen or so times. Watch for catches jamming or lock button falling into door. Nothing to hard to rectify.
Ignition module Ignition module can fail suddenly. Good news is that this only happens about once every 90,000 miles or so! Worth keeping a spare as new ones from Rover cost over £50. See spare parts for where to get one. A222 carry new and used ones.
Oil Consumption Keep an eye on the dipstick. Most cars hardly suck a drop between services but some do guzzle more than they should.
Radiator Flush Acclaims can display head gasket symptoms when the problem is just a blocked radiator. I recommend the following procedure after purchase and also once every two years whether experiencing problems or not.
  1. Obtain some off the shelf radiator flush (make sure OK for alloy heads) or, like me, just use some Washing Soda (not Baking soda!).
  2. With engine cold apply as per instructions or put a handful of Soda in the filler cap.
  3. Turn heater ON, start up engine, drive once around the block then let engine idle until cooling fan comes on.
  4. Wait for radiator to cool, the drain. If drain plug is stiff do not force it, pop the bottom hose instead.
  5. Flush with a hose or just pour a gallon or so of water into the radiator filler.
  6. Refit bottom hose / close drain tap.
  7. Refill with clean tap water.
  8. Repeat steps 1-6 above. More gunk will come out.
  9. If you have actually been having overheating problems, replace the thermostat with a new one.
  10. Refill radiator as per Haynes using correct antifreeze mix.
Wiper Lubrication Wiper shafts can jam with resultant damage to both motor and bodywork. See article in technical pages.

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