Metropol

Got myself a new car a couple of weeks ago. By new I mean 12 years old, and nothing to shout about, just a Metro (the 3rd I've owned now) which I got for a few hundred as a cheap runabout. Been quite happy with it, especially now I have the 1.4 litre powerhouse version rather than the chronically underpowered 1.1 models I've had before. I should have done basic things like check the fluid levels but I didn't quite get around to it, the car appeared well serviced and ran like a dream so I didn't really give it too much thought.

A couple of nights ago, I was driving around and it seemed to be running a little bit too hot. The temperature gauge wasn't exactly off the scale, but it was hovering a little over the halfway mark which isn't normal. The problem quickly worsened and it kept hotting up. By the time I got home, the car was exhibiting the unmistakeable signs of an empty cooling system - the heater being stone cold with the temperature turned up full, and a worrying sound from the engine bay as steam escaped from the coolant tank.

I left it overnight, then filled the coolant up again to the brim the next day and tried again. All was well for a few miles till the same thing happened again.

Having more or less resigned myself to the fact that I'd bought a dud - the Rover K-Series engine is a cracking little power unit but it's aluminium construction unfortunately leaves it rather prone to the dreaded head gasket failure, classic symptoms of which are unexplained coolant system leaks.

I let the engine cool down and started it up again. Now it sounded rather nasty and tappety. Only at that point did I bother to check the oil - nothing registered on the dipstick. Adding 2 litres and allowing it to settle only barely got up to the minimum mark on the dipstick - my poor little engine had barely any oil which is why everything was overheating. In total I had to put in 3 and a bit litres to bring it up to the maximum mark. Now the cooling system isn't boiling so thats staying full too and everything is working fine.

Despite my little baby being pushed to the edge of destruction, the oil warning lamp never came on. The lamp works because it comes on when starting the car - the sensor simply isn't sensitive enough. I've heard people before warn that 'if the oil light comes on, it's too late'. What on earth then is the point of it? Surely the whole purpose of warning indicators is to advise you of a problem in plenty of time to allow you to deal with it, not wait until your car is fucked first.

...and that concludes today's not particularly interesting rant.

You learnt something then, check your damn car even if it doesn't know or cannot know there's an issue.

And no, I really cannot assume any high ground in this matter not owning a car or knowing anything about the gubbins under the bonnet.

That'll teach you! Every driver should know basic maintenence skills. Should be part of the driving test IMO. Being the goody two shoes that i am, I check my tyre pressures weekly and the, oil, water and powersteering fluid monthly and everynow and then the battery. Just to show that i have every faith in my mechanics i always make sure i have the triangle a fire extinguisher and any tools that i may need in the boot.

Oh and did you know that its not illegal to travel without a spare tyre. Its only illegal if the spare you're carrying is not of the legal tread depth. A traffic cop told me that. Which is fantastic news as it frees up a bit of space for shopping bags.

Basic maintenance is part of the driving test... thankfully I was asked the questions that my instructor had been testing me with on the way to the test centre!

Is it? I stand corrected. In my defence i did pass years and years ago waay before the theory test was bought in. Do you have to do the maintenance side of the test practically or in theory?

Yep it is..

Has been part of the test since 2003, at the start the examiner asks you to open the bonnet and show him various things, how to test them, what happens when they go wrong, how how much is in them things/where they should be filled up to or some other rubbish.

They ask you 2 questions (usually a tell me, and a show me), answering one or both questions incorrectly will result in one driving (minor) fault. IMO it should be two for both wrong.

Took my test on Wednesday and failed, got both my questions right though, first was:

Open the bonnet, identify where the brake fluid reservoir is and tell me how you would check that you have a safe level of hydraulic brake fluid.

and the second was:

Tell me how you would check the tyres to show that they have sufficient tread depth and that their general condition is safe to use on the road.

Hmm! I wonder if i'd pass my test if i had to take it again.

Poses the question of should we drivers have to do a refresher test every 10 years or so?

Lorns wrote:Being the goody two shoes that i am, I check my tyre pressures weekly and the, oil, water and powersteering fluid monthly and everynow and then the battery.

Crikey, I must have had far too many years driving company cars!

Anything to do with the noisey thing under the flap at the front is somebody else's domain, not mine.

And if it stops doing whatever it is it's supposed to do, then you ring them up and tell them to deliver a pool car while they fix it.

Must have been in the latter half of 03 then, since I wasn't tested on it in July of that year. Didn't get tested on parallel park either since the man was in a hurry to get home. I definitely need a refresher as I've never driven since that day... if you see me on the roads soon, remember to wave hi and take evasive action

Aidsoo wrote:Took my test on Wednesday and failed, got both my questions right though, first was:

Open the bonnet, identify where the brake fluid reservoir is and tell me how you would check that you have a safe level of hydraulic brake fluid.

and the second was:

Tell me how you would check the tyres to show that they have sufficient tread depth and that their general condition is safe to use on the road.

Now, when I took my test that would be simple in a car, with a little instruction (my Dad is an Engineer, so I tinkerd with engines from an early age).

However, I open the bonnet of my car now, I am confronted with a completely moulded ergonomic surface which doesn't resemble an engine in any way as I remember it. It bears an overwhelming array of labels, mainly marked with yellow symbols with warning signs about dire consequences for tinkering.

Once you get past that, the engine is largely the same; but it takes 'someone in the know' to tell you. I'm not sure how they handle that in a DVLA test though, unless you happen to have come armed with an appropriate spanner, or engineer as a mate.

I also check my car very regularly, not necessarily every week but at least every fortnight, and if it's going to go more than 100 miles it's checked regardless.

Never had any issues to date (I've had a succession of mid- and large-sized pre-Renault Nissans where the engines pretty much never break), and I've not noticed the oil go down significantly, ever. Still doesn't stop me checking -- you never know when something might break.

This leads me to think that this car has been badly neglected by its previous owner. Either it has a major oil leak (in which case I implore you to keep checking every 100 miles for a while yet), or it simply hasn't been touched. Those old Rover lumps might have been a bit delicate but they're a modernish design and shouldn't consume oil if they've been run in correctly etc.

It is true to say that the oil light is a pressure light, and does NOT signify low oil as such. It can signify a knackered oil pump, or blockages in the engine itself, often caused by incorrect oil grades etc. But in this case it is probably simply not enough oil.

To illustrate the point, my current Primera when I got it would occasionally flicker the oil pressure light for a second after the car was started. The oil was at the correct level and the car did not show any signs of problems. It was eventually determined that incorrect oil had been used and had blocked the openings -- a good flushing oil and oil change later and all was fine again.

You should never rely on warning lights anyway -- what happens if the light itself fails?