Refine by channel:  Forum (1856)    Ask HJ (507)    News (30)    FAQs (6)    Article (4)  

Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first

• 
  A Grand Monday: Audi A6 23 Mar 2015 (News)
  There’s some service history, which shows the car has had new spark plugs, air filter, belts, oil, coolant and brake fluid. It’s also had a new thermostat (we’d suspect a heating issue and want to know how serious this was). New tyres, discs and pads (front) have also been recently fitted. Bodywise, the paint looks good – although there is a mark on the rear bumper and the nearside door.
• 
  A Grand Monday: Austin Maestro 1.6HLS 5 Jan 2015 (News)
  Under the bonnet, the car’s been recently serviced – new oil and filter, spark plugs, distributor cap, plus fresh coolant. The brakes have also been given a bit of TLC with new wheel cylinders and brake hoses. According to the vendor, the automatic choke was replaced before he got the car, ‘I’ve replaced and simplified the remaining vacuum hoses.’ There’s plenty of tread depth on the tyres, although we understand one of the wheel bearings is a bit grumbly.
• 
  'Car SOS's Fuzz Townshend launches Classic Friendly garage scheme 10 Jan 2014 (News)
  In addition to pre-1960 vehicle safety checks, Classic Friendly also offers buyer’s and seller’s inspections, which includes coolant and brake fluid testing, paint thickness and condition reports and inspection of upholstery, chrome and badging. Fuzz added: 'all garages will receive highly visible logo (above), which clearly shows that the garage is well-versed in old cars.
• 
  A Grand Monday: Peugeot 406 Coupe V6 £450 13 Jul 2015 (News)
  The then-new 24-valve V6 had 176lb-ft of torque from 2000rpm with 194bhp arriving at 6250rpm. Do your homework, though. If the engine power is down, it could a dying coolant temperature sensor. If it’s running rough, it could be the coil packs. Make sure that there’s no sign of failing head gaskets, either, as replacing them is reportedly an engine-out job.
• 
  Now Drivers Can Get The Condition of Their Oil Checked 13 Jun 2014 (News)
  Changes to an oil’s viscosity is usually because of exposure to excessive heat, if it has been in the engine too long or the engine is overheating, or it could be due to the contamination of foreign materials, such as coolant or fuel. “MillerCare provides our customers with a detailed, yet easy to understand, report that covers all of the test results,” said Mann. It is the only way to accurately check engine and transmission health without doing a strip down or purchasing expensive exploratory tools.” MillerCare will initially be sold on a two tier basis; basic and advanced.
• 
  A Grand Monday: Tempting Toyota MR2 Mk1 Project - £950 27 Apr 2015 (News)
  ‘The engine mounted fan kicked in as it should. The idle does surge, which will be caused by air in the system so budget to change the coolant and bleed the system.’ All the electrics work fine including the electric windows and electric mirrors. There are no warning lights on the dashboard. Obviously, whoever buys it will need to budget for a bit of recomissioning work – the brakes will need freeing off and refurbishing, although it sounds like the discs and pads have plenty of life left.
• 
  Owner review of the month: July 2014 4 Aug 2014 (News)
  BMW 116i SE, by JAH216 This review, for the current generation 1 Series, praises the car, in particular the eight-speed transmission, which is described as “sublime.” One problem involving coolant loss was reported but otherwise the owner has been impressed with the 1 Series. He even commends the dealer – Dick Lovett – and explains that a good dealer is “an important factor in car ownership.”

  Toyota Issues Steering Recall 14 Nov 2012 (News)
  There are no reported accidents related to this issue. 2: There is an electrically driven water pump that circulates coolant through the hybrid components.  There is a possibility that the electric motor installed in the water pump may stop functioning, leading to illumination of various warning lights in the instrument panel.  In limited instances, the water pump electric power supply circuit fuse may open, causing the hybrid system to stop while the vehicle is being driven.
• 
  Comma launches £2 million motorsport ticket giveaway 13 May 2010 (News)
    “Through our partnership with F2 and MSV, our oils and coolants go through 2.3 million miles of scrutiny at the very limit of performance. It’s important that our passion for performance is fed back through to our customers, and offering thousands of people the chance to experience the thrill of motorsport first-hand is a fantastic way to do that.
• 
  Sustainable Mobility, According to Renault Eco2 16 Jun 2010 (News)
  To achieve ideal ‘thermo management’ Renault has installed an additional servo valve in the engine cooling system. This prevents the circulation of coolant anywhere but the cylinder head and engine block until it has reached operating temperature. The servo valve then opens, allowing coolant into the cabin heater matrix. Then, when everything has got to temperature the standard thermostat opens so the coolant passes through the radiator.
• 
  World's Biggest Classic Car Auction: 3,500 Cars 3rd-13th January 22 Dec 2018 (News)
  Typical of the ZL1 Camaros, this example is equipped with a functional steel cowl-induction hood and associated air cleaner, color-matching painted steel wheels with dog-dish center caps, Goodyear Polyglas tires, a Hurst shifter, Stewart Warner 8,000 RPM tachometer and Stewart Warner auxiliary oil-pressure, coolant-temperature and amp gauges. The wildest production Camaro of its era, this ZL1 won Classic Chevy International Platinum in 2006 and remains in beautiful condition. Estimated at $450,000 to $650,000.
• 
  Opinion: Keep your friends close and your mechanics closer 16 Aug 2016 (News)
  I’d love to say I’ve developed those skills further, but the truth of the matter is, I haven’t. I learned the basics – how to change oil, coolant, spark plugs, brake pads, filters, and also the dark art of how to apply chicken wire and body filler to hoodwink the local MoT tester, although the latter is not a skill worth bragging about. When it came to the heavier jobs, though, I’d call in support from Brian and Peter, our Triumph Stag-owning next door neighbour and the Land Rover nut across the road.  Indeed, I didn’t really need to call on them, for if ever they saw my car with its bonnet up, they’d naturally migrate.
• 
  Mondeo II for £2,400 at Auction Today 29 Jul 2005 (News)
  Clean paint, with not many chips and scratches. No rust in the door bottoms. And nothing to worry about in the coolant header tank. It started at just £1,400, soon reached its reserve of £2,200, then bid on to £2,400. A 130k mile Y reg 2.0 Ghia estate a bit later on started at £1,700, shot past its £2.450 reserve, and sold for £2,750.
• 
  Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 16-5-2015 16 May 2015 (News)
  It's now a 10-year old car and Florida suffers high humidity. Radiator fans usually fail because the coolant sensor/sender switch screwed into the water jacket of the block fails. Sometimes they jam on so the fan is on all the time. Sometimes they stick so they never switch on. But it is crucial that they do switch on because of the Florida heat and the a/c.    Horrorlogical I have long thought that my Nissan Note, bought new in December 2012, overstates its mileage. Now I have proof.
• 
  Scrapping Over the Scraps at Auction Today 2 Mar 2009 (News)
  £350 and £475 for a pair of Rover Sterlings, though at least the cleaner one had a nice full header tank of coolant. Someone went berserk and paid £925 for a 2000V Ford Ka. However, while £2,400 looks a lot for an unwarranted mile 02 reg Honda Civic Coupe, this one looked fresh out of the wrapper and probably worth every penny.
• 
  Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 4 Apr 2015 (News)
  Then, 8 weeks after the expiry of the warranty, the coolant warning light came on again and so I booked to have it checked. I was called to be advised that the radiator was leaking. MB will make a contribution of 54% leaving me with a bill of over £450.
• 
  Used Van Buying Guide: Mercedes-Benz Citan 2012 -2019 26 Nov 2019 (News)
  A minor service on a Citan is listed at £105 and a major one £205, those being exclusive of VAT. In addition to this a dust filter change is around £25, brake fluid from £35 and Coolant from £52. Checking these prices against independents and you’ll do well to beat them. Mercedes-Benz Citan pricing   There’s not quite the volume of Citans out there as you might find of its rivals in the

  DISHONEST JOHN'S GUIDE TO SERVICE SCAMS 6 Oct 2001 (News)
  It will look like new, the punter won't know any difference and the garage will save 15 minutes obtaining the new filter from stores and fitting it, plus, of course, the cost of the filter. The Fluids Overfill Charge the customer for an quantity of oil, coolant, ATF, gearbox oil, brake fluid, etc over and above what the car will actually take. Very few punters ever spot this and if they do, tell them it's a clerical error, revise the invoice and refund them the extra money. 99 times out of 100 you'll never have to.
• 
  DISHONEST JOHN'S GUIDE TO SERVICE SCAMS 16 Sep 2001 (News)
  It will look like new, the punter won't know any difference and the garage will save 15 minutes obtaining the new filter from stores and fitting it, plus, of course, the cost of the filter. The Fluids Overfill Charge the customer for an quantity of oil, coolant, ATF, gearbox oil, brake fluid, etc over and above what the car will actually take. Very few punters ever spot this and if they do, tell them it's a clerical error, revise the invoice and refund them the extra money. 99 times out of 100 you'll never have to.
• 
  SKYACTIV. The future of cars according to Mazda – Driven. 5 Jun 2011 (News)
    Additionally, the lower compression ratio allows the exhaust manifold to be incorporated into the cylinder head, which therefore acts as an effective heat exchanger for the coolant circulating through the engine leading to faster warm-up.   The two-stage turbocharger is bolted directly to the cylinder head exhaust manifold and the catalytic converter and diesel particulate filter directly after.