Reliable Mr T's In The Edinburgh Area

[Robbie]

I'm a relatively new owner (November 2003) and would be grateful for any info on reliable Mr T's in the Edinburgh area.  After reading through past posts I'm now an extremely paranoid owner and don't fancy entrusting my 2 to any old Mr T.  I asked the local dealership where I bought the car (and where it had been serviced prior to purchase) what type of oil I should top up with.  The answer was "sorry can't help, check your manual". Can you mix synth and semi?

Anyway, I thought things were going really well.  I've regularly been checking my car against the list of known problems and heaving a sigh of relief when it was all clear..then suddenly, my alloys are now starting to blister, the calipers are turning white before my eyes, the steering pump has started to whine, and I get a "clonk" beside my right ear...and it's also started to tramline like crazy...bit only on one particular stretch of road... It's a March 02 car with 10k on the clock. (I really feel part of the club now!)

A part of me can't wait for the warranty to run out so I can put the car into my local garage who I know I can trust to do a good job and look after the car.

Sorry to ramble on, but could continual driving on cobbled roads hasten the break-up of the cats? (approaching total paranoia now)

[Anonymous]

Hi and welcome,

Re:dealers, only time will tell if your dealer is particularly competent but the best thing you can do is learn as much as you can about the car and here is a good start. This then at least helps you know when you might be taken advantage off. Rightly one should be entitled for worry-free motoring but there are some decent dealers out there.

my alloys are now starting to blister, the calipers are turning white before my eyes

IMHO mere comestics   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:   and certainly for the alloys easily fixed either underwarranty and if not in the case of the calipers, nothing a dry day and a bit of caliper paint can't fix.

the steering pump has started to whine

Mine whines quietly when sitting still, particularly audible if you have the bonnet up so can't offer much advice.

I get a "clonk" beside my right ear

Don't recognise this, need more info e.g. when braking, turning, putting handbrake on, closing door etc.

it's also started to tramline like crazy...bit only on one particular stretch of road...

Could be the road - does it have a lot of HGVs on it wearing furrows? Alternatively have a four wheel alignment done and have a look at your tire wear for any clues. Wear on the inside tack is typical of the cars negative camber but if it is heavier on one side could be a clue. Tires all correctly inflated, no visual damage to suspension coils or struts?

could continual driving on cobbled roads hasten the break-up of the cats?

Different views on what causes cat damage but not cobbled roads so far   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  More likely to take a toll on the suspension to be honest. Re: the pre-cats just get them checked at a service for damage or get the tools yourself - easy to check them.

It's a March 02 car with 10k on the clock

Quite low mileage and should be getting a full 20k service rather than the just the oil change.

Can you mix synth and semi?

You could ask them to put a flushing oil through first before putting the new stuff in. I would start by providing your own oil each time. A quality good semi would be fine although I use fully syn - Mobil 1 0W-40 but am changing to Shell Ultra Helix 5W-40.

L

[markiii]

since your so close to warranty I'd get them to check the pre-cats and document on the service record what they find.

if you rgoing to fully synth I agree, flush it first, personal opinion would be for a higher viscosity than 0w.

again personal opinion, but if you stay semi synth, DO NOT use Castrol Magnatec.

If you want to know why do a search as theres quite a discussion on it.

other than that, what he said  :-) :-) :-)

[Robbie]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll definitely get the pre-cats checked and documented at the upcoming service..and I'll look into the oil threads before then.
The "clonk" is a dull metallic noise which only appears when going over a bump in the road (but even then it appears only intermittently).

The "tramlining" road is a section of dual carriageway that is very badly furrowed  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  I need to keep to the left and let everyone go past for now.
The tyre pressures are ok and the tyre wear pattern looks fine. I'll ask the garage to check it out at it's service. Perhaps a combination of cobbles and potholes are taking their toll.

Thanks again.