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• Ford Maverick I (1993 - 1997) - Problem with a car i've just sold 13 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  The new owner performed an oil change last week and has just noticed that there is lots of oil in the coolant and is understandably a bit gutted about this, and apparently some brown sludge in the expansion tank. This is all news to me as I had not noticed it in the year I owned the car (i'm not especially mechanical though....).
• 01 Saxo mk2, ECU warning light problem 27 Jul 2007 (Forum)
  I have a Saxo vtr 2001 (Y reg) mk2, 80k on the clock, in hte past few months done a service of , sparks, oil, gear box oil, coolant. A few days ago, my engine warning light came on, so I checked out the engine and connectors and such like, running 100% OK. I disconnected the battery for 2 hours, to clear any fault codes, restarted, still have the same light, took the car to my mechanic, whose has a full test setup, first used a new diagnostic tester, would not "see" the ECU, which was weird, so he then put on a old diagnostic tester, which was used on the car about a year ago, which at the time worked fine, again did not "see" or could talk to the ECU.
• 535 Headgasket & Block tester 13 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  Given that it was neither yellow or blue I decide to give it another go. I stick it in, it stays blue, then all of a sudden (after 2 minutes), the car shoots all it's coolant out over the driveway. Assuming it must be a head gasket fault I refill the system and turn the starter and expect it to do the same. Nothing. Engine fires up and it's as if nothing happens. What do I do next.
• Astra 1999-Abnormal Loss of power 15 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  Eventually as well, there was a leak around the engine, i think near the gasket part or O-ring (in which i have sealed so far). My garage thought it was just simply timing adjustment, or fuel pump, coolant contaminants but these wont do and they say its still far from overhaul, as they themselves are puzzled with the problem and labeled it as WEIRD. I really dont know what is going on with my Astra '99 X16XEL but i have researched that this is common among opel astra models irregardless of whether its a new model or a very old model.
• VW Golf Mk3 VR6 - Head Gasket? 8 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  I need some advice about some 'mayonaise' I found onthe oil filler cap. I check my oil quite regulary, and have never seen a white deposit before yesterday, also coolant level never needs topping up. Last time i checked was a few days ago - and found no mayonaise. On Friday after a 30 mile m'way trip, the car starts to stall / kangaroo at low speeds and the engine is generally running like a dog (some rattles and no steady idle).
• 1999/T 416 k-series, 83k, wet starts 7 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  Engine won't start on cold damp days, no other problems at any other time. Not a sniff of potential HGF woes on this one and I intend to keep a close eye on coolant/rad/hoses/etc after learning my lesson with the last Rover! Fuel pump kicks in, engine turns fine, just doesn't fire. A liberal dose of wd40 around the distributor cap and exposed ht connectors followed by 10 minutes wait usually cures it.
• Failed Hydraulic Tappet ? (Polo) 1 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  I'm going to ask the garage for their opinion on Tuesday, (already had it booked in for an oil, oil filter and coolant change) but in the likely event of the noise continuing, I?m going to ask for a quote for repair. Am I right in thinking that it's a relatively straightforward job on this unit? Also, if its only one tappet that?
• 1994 306 1.9TD - Is it worth fixing? 10 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  c) The radiator looks as if it would need replacing within a year as it seems to be corroding near the bottom but isn't losing coolant yet. d) It will need 2 new tyres for its next MOT (April 06) Otherwise the car is fine, bodywork is immaculate, interior is in good condition and everything else seems to work. Common sense tells me that I should consider selling it as it is as the value of repairs is likely to exceed the value of the car.
• 1993 CLIO Diesel-Head Gasket gone? 3 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  The car is blowing coolant out through the pressure cap,no visible leaks elsewhere. No mayonnaise under the oil filler cap or oil in water but system is pressurising. Timing belt is being renewed at this time (car has 68000+ on clock) and haynes manual says I need a special tool to tension the belt or get dealer to tension it as soon as possible after installation.Is there some way I can do this myself?
• Mercedes W124 advice welcome 18 May 2005 (Forum)
  I am aiming to run it for the foreseeable future and want to do whatever is sensible to ensure longevity over short term economy. I reckon to get the fluids changed - auto trans, coolant and brake - and sort out a couple of tyres. Knowing that there are some Merc experts on the forum I would welcome any advice on any other routine or preventative maintenance that would be advisable.
• Xantia's progress 20 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  This is sensible, as it has never been replaced in 11 years, so there will be another bill to pay shortly. He reckons it has lasted so long because the coolant has always been replaced at more or less the required intervals. My wife thinks it is a lot of money to pay on a car that is worth next to nothing but the car is in good shape, and is still lovely to drive.
• ZX 1.4 head gasket?? 29 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  But I would have thought with a new thermostat (88 deg) that it should run cooler, especially when the ambient temp is only 3 degrees. The reason I am concerned about the head gasket is that while changing the coolant over Xmas I noticed some brown mayo/sludge in the header tank. I am usure whether this is oil deposits or just from the previous owner doing short didtances. Everything else seems fine, it runs smooth, pulls well, has no sign of water in oil, and water level stays constant.
• '96 Polo warming up too quickly 13 Dec 2004 (Forum)
  Basically from cold it would reach the quarter mark by driving about 1/4 of a mile and reach 'normal' as in halfway after about a mile. I checked the coolant level before setting off and it was fine. I drove it a couple of miles and then let it idle until the fan kicked in. Temp stayed at half and heaters were blowing hot air. Nothing seems to be wrong just that it heats up real fast.
• Ineffective Aircon - Rover 220 17 May 2004 (Forum)
  They said it tested OK - down to 2degrees, whatever that means. There is no problem with airflow (no pollen filter on this model, for example), and plenty of coolant. No overheating or other odd temperature behaviour. One thing which has been suggested is that the old car may have had the "old" type of refrigerant (whatever that is), and the new car a different, less effective, type.
• faulty waterpump in vauxhall 13 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  Again I am going to demonstrate my lack of knowledge with cars by asking for som advice before i make a fool of myself. Some of you will know that my husbands vauxhall carlton as been leaking coolant and the system has been massively pressurising 2 weeks ago the camshaft actually seized causing the camshaft to snap!The car had plenty of oil in it and the oil pump is working fine. At the time I didn't think they were related but again my knowledge of cars is quite limited so please help me out if you have an explanation for this.
• Overheating A6 5 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  This cycle will continue, but the needle always moves back to 90 when the car is brought to a stand still. There are no signs of any coolant loss, and the belts all seem fine. Thanks SteveX
• where's my oil going 24 Jun 2003 (Forum)
  Does anyone have any idea where the oil is going? there are no signs of an oil leak on the driveway, and no emulsifies oil on the oil/coolant filler caps. Is it normal for this type of engine to consume oil? Is the normal level for oil half way between max and min? (ie. has the engine burnt off the oil as there was too much in there, returning it too it's current state?)
• Peugeot 406 Coupe Water Leak!! 13 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  With the radio and fan turned off I can hear water trickling as you go around a right hand bend and the left hand side is lower than the right. The leak is freshwater and not coolant / washer fluid etc. Water appears to be coming out of a small drain hole in a unit (I think a fan housing)up behind the glovebox During the 15 days I've owned the car it has spent five days in with the Peugeot Dealer trying to sort the fault.
• Toyota reliability/value for money 10 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  Only money spent on it has been 4 new Michelins, one set of front pads and wiper blades. I change filter and oil (Mobil 1) 3 times a year and coolant every 18 months. Listed at £19 K, I got it from a supersite for less than £12K. Given that any local taxi firm would probably jump to give me £4K even now, I consider this cheap motoring. Ok, I know it's ugly, has no "street cred" and doesn't exactly race off from traffic lights, but it's done the job perfectly for my family of 3 (now teenage) kids.
• too darn hot 22 Jan 2002 (Forum)
  i have read the relevent section in my haynes manual, but regrettably it isn't as detailed as would be liked. it has no wiring diagrams for the electronic coolant valve, and does not show any images of the heater unit..... has anyone encountered a similar problem, or care to give some pointers? appologies for the short and poorly written effort. thanks in advance for any help people may offer.