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• 
  Commutered sentences 26 Sep 2011 (Ask HJ)
  For more than a decade, I have been commuting long distances to work, so have had a small diesel MPV, and also tow a caravan. Quite a cost-effective combination...
• Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (1998 - 2004) - 02 1.6 head gasket & cylinder head fault 16 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  I paid for new radiator but head gasket covered under warranty. The gurgling noise never went away although no coolant was lost. Took the car back for verification of noise. Booked car in and although the air conditioning and heater matrix were checked no problems were found. Test showed the head gasket had failed again.
• Pug 206 XSi Various Probs 5 May 2005 (Forum)
  The car has never suffered any impact frontal or otherwise, from looking at the passenger side unit, I think I could snap both the mountings just using the force it takes to replace the dust cover on the headlamp assembly. 2. The oil temperature indicator (not coolant temp - coming to that in a minute) never moves onto the scale despite once upon a time sitting at the horizontal position. Peugeot have allegedly checked this guage and report that all is well.
• Ford S-MAX - White smoke from under bonnet. Losing the will! Please help :-) 25 Feb 2023 (Forum)
  Hi, this is my first time posting but having been back and forth with my car to my mechanic I was hoping for some help/advice. My 2007 diesel Ford S Max was losing coolant. My mechanic diagnosed an issue with the thermostat housing which he then replaced. When I got the car back there was diesel leaking. He assured me it was just where he had to remove the injector and fuel had dropped down into the belly pan underneath and was simply spilling out whilst I was driving.
• Car servicing 6 Jan 2022 (Forum)
  The only way of determining whether an item has been serviced rather than checked is to look at the bill where items such as air filters, plugs, fuel filters, coolants etc have been itemised and usually added to the initially  agreed price of the actual service. For me much confusion also exists on what's included in the final bill, what's recommended for further work, what's essential and added on after customer agreement.
• OBD2 and Apple Carplay 10 Dec 2020 (Forum)
    However, I would like to get something like an ultraguage to have a readout of engine coolant temps and other parameters not shown with precision (the temp guage goes to the middle and will sit there over a huge temperature span, too late when it goes to red) by the idiot style guages on the dash (Rover v8 joy).
• Land Rover Discovery Sport - DPF just cleaned by Land Rover (AA partner) 26 Nov 2020 (Forum)
  I have carried out PCM software update, then followed guided diagnostics and carried out dynamic regeneration, then cleared diagnostic trouble codes stored, no further warning messages and normal performance restored. No further assistance required. Engine Oil Level Ok. Coolant Level Ok."
• Ford Ka - Non-starter then Engine rattle 11 Sep 2019 (Forum)
  I went to check it out naturally after work and ran an OBD scan with no error codes, the car had started first time no trouble for me, and ran perfectly smooth, no strange sounds at all. I naturally did a general scan of the car like struts, pipes, oil levels, coolant and everything was in order (though admittedly the oil level was just above minimum and now some is on order) Up to this day the car hadn't been started in just over a week, as I had been doing all the driving.
• Ford Focus mk2 1.8 tdci - White smoke on start up 3 Feb 2018 (Forum)
  It's not dependant on the weather however I've noticed it's when the car has been stood after a couple of hours, obviously more noticeable on start up first thing. It doesn't happen when driving either. I've checked the coolant & oil levels and there's no leak or its not dropping rapidly. The smoke is white / greyish not thick and like I said quickly dissipates, there is a smell which I think smells like deisel.  On start up it doesn't misfire and no revving on idle, it is a bit sluggish first thing In the morning as I've read that's normal for a deisel as it needs to warm up, turbo Isnt making any noises either.
• 2011 Mercedes C220 - Thick white smoke and burning smell 5 Jan 2018 (Forum)
  I’m waiting for the AA to come and called the dealer I bought it from, who had a “meh” sort of attitude, still waiting for his call back! ( it’s been a long 10 minutes!!) I’ve checked the engine, coolant is still there, checked the oil, no residue around the cap but smells a little. No warning lights at all and engine sounds fine, no loss of power or any detected leakage underneath. I’ve had numerous head gasket and cylinder head failures on other cars and this is my uneducated guess it will be a head gasket failure.
• Renault Megane scenic RX4 P-M DCI - White smoke from back of my 52 plate scenic 1.9TCi 30 Jun 2017 (Forum)
  But the second you drive it 200 yds its back to killing off anf one thats following you. Its using ZERO coolant and NO oil at all  HELP!!!!!!
• ford mondeo 1.8 Ls petrol - emission failure and car over revving 19 Mar 2016 (Forum)
  Hi guys this is the data from my recent mot failure only thing to fail and no one can say why quick history car has done 155k but very clean no visable oil leaks however adding 1 lt a month or every 1000 miles blows some smoke blueish when revved hard fuel consumption is 35 mpg average engine sounds fine no rattles etc ok  Engine oil temp: 60.00                   coolant pipes hot fast idle test engine speed 2500-3000 rpm co: <0.20 % vol        6.58 fail hc: <200ppm           1094 fail ^ 0.970-1.030        0.791 fail second idle test: co: <020 % vol         9.20 fail hc: < 200 ppm         1313 fail ^ 0.970-1.030        0.721 fail natural idle test: engine speed 450-1500 rpm co : < 30 % vol     1.83 fail    so as you can see guys fails everywhere please help advise some thing do i scrap  car or fix wouldnt be to bad if some one could say what the problem is so i can price and fix but to have no idea where to even start arhhhhhh
• BMW 118D SE 2007 45,000 mls Full BMW service hist - Any advice please 28 Feb 2013 (Forum)
  Then they checked the cam shaft & timing E270.00 which is excellent so they say not the timing chain.  They found coolant leaking outside through exhaust. Now removing the EGR E90.00. Say they don't know whats wrong, never had this before-unchartered terotory. Not sure what damage done and will need new parts After reading all the posts and the known BMW manufacturing problem, I thought it was the timing chain especially as they say it can start with what sounds like a noisy exhaust.
• Ford Fiesta Mk4 1999 - Heating Issue 24 Jan 2013 (Forum)
  Took the cap off the expansion tank to allow any air out of the system and felt the pipes going into the matrix - both were warm (inlet was the hottest). The coolant is topped right up too. Went to turn on the blower and hot air was coming out, so I turned it down to cold and cold air came out. I then turned it straight back up to hot and almost immediately the air turned cold again.
• Ford Fiesta - 2000 Fiesta diesel rocker cover leak.... 7 Mar 2012 (Forum)
  I have had the heater control valve replaced (as it had been bypassed when I bought it for unknown reasons), new thermostat, new injector leak off pipes, new cabin filter and a new battery. The car has had the coolant system flushed, but the heaters still wont work properly. I am now getting heat out of the heaters (as opposed to previously only getting cold air) but only when it feels like it. I can sometimes turn the heater to cold and it will struggle to get back warm again.
• Peugeot Expert Tepee - Cooling System on 2.0HDI losing fluid 31 Aug 2011 (Forum)
  It drives sweet as a nut, and in my line of work, it's regularly left running for 8 -10 hours at a time, which it's fine with, but when used on a motorway run it's blowing it's coolant out of the expansion bottle over the course of the journey. There's no sign of the van running hot, it's had it's thermostat replaced as a precaution, it's had the bottle cap replaced twice (second one stopped holding a vaccum within a day).
• Peugeot 106 - Oil leak and sludge in water 30 Jun 2011 (Forum)
  Hi, i bought a 1998 106 1.1 for a cheap run around a couple of weeks ago. it's got 83000 on the clock and got full service history. the problem i've got is that i noticed a creamy brown sludge in the radiator cap and the odd bit floating on the top. the lady we bought it off had the head gasket replaced and cylinder head skimmed at 78000 (2 years ago) and i have the paper work for this. the car doesn't seem to overheat and the heater works fine. there is no mayo on the oil cap or dipstick. i took the radiator cap off and started the car and the coolant level raised up but didn't bubble. the bottle does look very dirty on the inside, but i put that down to the previous blown head gasket. to add to this there is a oil leak and it's all over  the sump. is it possible the head gasket could have blown again or could the sludge be from the previous hgf and they never flushed the system out properly. not too worried about the oil leak for now cos i done a 50mile trip and had no oil drips in my parking space after. if anyone could help, i would be very grateful
• Vauxhall Zafira Comfort - 1999 - 2.2ltr - - Overheating 14 May 2011 (Forum)
  I couldn't see any leaks or hear any problems whats so ever. The radiator was working fine with its fan still going to cool the car down. I opened the coolant water tank slowly and steam started coming from it. I opened the lid in the end I couldn't see any water at all until it started filling up again. The water was mirky (grey slightly blackish) and I could see inside the tank that there was some white con gilled white slug inside it.
• Discovery 3.9 1999.petrol. - Discovery 3.9 petrol engine boiling 1 Aug 2010 (Forum)
  After removing the cylinder heads and skimming, refitting, chucking the thermostat, flushing the radiator and hoses, checking the viscus fan and replacing the two electric cooling fans the engine still boils and spits the coolant out on the ground through the header tank vent cap after only a couple of miles. I was not convinced with the finish of the skim job but the company does it all the time for the local land rover agency so trusted them. could not see evidence of cracking of the heads anywhere, on replacement  I replaced the streach bolts and torqued religously.
• Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (1998 - 2004) - 00 1.6 Engine goosed. 4 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  My son has an Astra... It's a 1600, 16V, Ecotech sports manual. W reg. It froze up...he didn't check the coolant. I think he must have tried to tow start it, thinking it was just the starter clicking or battery flat. It seems certain the belt has slipped, because the valves are broken and some are embedded in the head and pistons..