*Help* (Please!)

[Anonymous]

We not charging Nic. Me personnaly I am not even charging Mel the £25 it cost me to get my old head skimmed.

[MelBee42]

We not charging Nic. Me personnaly I am not even charging Mel the £25 it cost me to get my old head skimmed.

Sorry Richard, I didn't realise you had spent any money. I can refund you that.

Nath - no, not heard back from Rob, he's down south with Russ at the moment I think anyway.

I'll check again tonight but there was no evidence of coolant staining underneath the car or liquid near the exhaust etc last night. (I don't have an undertray) Is it not possible that it's only leaking when it's running?

Spent quite a lot of time sponging the pool of coolant out of the driver's side bin. Not a pleasant job. Passenger side bin was strangely totally dry. On a side note, someone mentioned there was a drain in the passenger side bin - there seems to be one in the driver's side too, part way up at the back. Or at least, I have a hole there, and I'm presuming it's supposed to be there!!

[Wabbitkilla]

We not charging Nic. Me personnaly I am not even charging Mel the £25 it cost me to get my old head skimmed.

That's not what I meant, I whole heartedly applaud your spirit in helping Mel out   s:D s:D

[nathanMR2]

Its only likely to leak/weap/seap under pressure. When the engine is in use. The more pressure the worse it would be

[AckersMR2]

I hope you get things sorted soon Mel and decide to keep your 2?
Slightly off topic, but while we're on the subject of woeful experiences, does anybody know if Vikface ever managed to sort her problems with the yellow peril?

http://www.mr2roc.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=36088&start=180

I did offer to remove her O2's and have a peek at the precats but I never heard back?

[Anonymous]

it ok mel its good to have parts never know when you need it  s:) s:)

[kidkarter]

Well I hope you don't mind me asking ? But who was that aimed at, cos it sounded like it was me ? And if it was may i draw you attention my post concerning cost and my offer being there unless someone is closer on p5 I think ?
The point of this project above all else is to find "thee" most cost effective way to get her car back on road and keep it there, or at the very least till she gets herself sorted out ?

I think we are all trying to do the best we can for Mel who has some rotten luck !
It's why i suggested the car fixing party in the first place

[kidkarter]

might be a rusty orange colour stain making a sort of squiggley line coming down from behind where the exhaust attaches to the engine mel, mind you it might be so small that its only visible looking up from underneath too. in which case don't worry about trying to find it ! haha

edit: if you checkout mike,v's oil leak thread there a picture of where you should be looking, inbetween the 2 exhaust manifold tubes on the left of the picture !

[Anonymous]

No orange marks mate as they ally blocks instead of cast

[kidkarter]

 s:oops: :oops: s:oops:   are they really !! i stand corrected ! beg ya pardon ! haha i did say might though ! haha

[MelBee42]

Well I disconnected the battery this evening. Did a good check for any evidence of leaks but as Nathan says, must only be leaking when under pressure. Would've tried revving it then checking but really I think the priority is finding a cheap way of getting the handbrake cable done.
Wasn't able to leave work early so couldn't get it pressure tested today anyway. It's a real PITA working so far away from home, six days a week, it's really difficult to get anything sorted, which has made everything an additional headache over the last few months!

[kidkarter]

must be real small then mel would,ve thought you'd be able to see some sort of sign otherwise, do you know how much the new garage wants to fit the cable yet ? just wondering would it be cheaper to ask one of us instead ? convienence and time it would take to come and do it would have to be taken into account too obviously

[MelBee42]

Lol, looking at towards £100 just to fit a cable. Hence me waiting to hear back from Rob. When you've spent as much as I have just on repairing a car every little bit extra seems like a lot!

[kidkarter]

yeah of coarse every penny saved is a penny earnt !    s:D s:D

[MelBee42]

Rob thinks it is too involved a job for doing on the driveway. I'm going to try Plan G (I think that's how many plans I've gone through now!) on Monday.

[kidkarter]

plan g ? haha

[MelBee42]

Well, quick update on this ridiculous saga! Going to risk driving the car to work on Thursday and a mobile mechanic will fit the handbrake cable (and front brakes/discs) for a good price and then put it through another MOT. Will then try K Seal ad I'll see how I get on....! Will let you know on Thursday how it goes...  s:) s:)

[kidkarter]

Still got my fingers crossed for ya  s:D s:D  

Oh and my consultancy bill is in the post by the way !    s:wink: :wink: s:wink:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

Don't make me send the boys in the range rover round eh !    s8) s8)     s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[2 of the left]

I hope you get things sorted soon Mel and decide to keep your 2?
Slightly off topic, but while we're on the subject of woeful experiences, does anybody know if Vikface ever managed to sort her problems with the yellow peril?

http://www.mr2roc.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=36088&start=180

I did offer to remove her O2's and have a peek at the precats but I never heard back?

Vikface was on here yesterday - Still has her woes but is hanging on in there -Her situation is causing stress but it sounds as if she has the steel to go forward and get the trader by the jugglar (legally!- I hasten to add)

[MelBee42]

Right - I have an update, and sadly it is not a good one.
Got a mechanic to fit the new handbrake cable today.
It has made no difference. The chap says it is without doubt the rear off-side caliper, not the hand brake cable, that is the problem.

FML.

Additionally he told me not to use K-Seal as he has seen it cause problems with blockages. He told me he's used Steel Seal quite a few times before and says it works.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steel-Seal-permanent-gasket-cracked/dp/B004FTUBY2/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1333626054&sr=8-9


Ultimately this means another £100+ spent for no reason at all and I'm no closer to getting the car fixed.  s:( s:(  Sorry if I sound somewhat miffed, I'm pretty hacked off to say the least.   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:    Unbelievable.

So, a couple of questions...
1) Does anyone have a spare off-side rear caliper for sale? I can't afford a new one.  s:( s:(   How easy are these to fit?
2) Does anyone have any advice re: Steel Seal? Bearing in mind it's pretty expensive.   s:? :? s:?  

Thanks all. Need to get this sorted quickly really because both my sanity and the MOT have almost run out...!

[iPap]

I may have a spare caliper but it would need a rebuild! I'll check when I get home.

[Anonymous]

Caliper as long as its good is easy to change only a couple of bolts etc. Also Mel before you jump in a stick stuff in the water, have you actually noticed any water dissapear from the bottle

[MelBee42]

Cheers guys.
It's definitely not losing coolant while standing, and I haven't been driving it apart from today - am going to check levels before I head off home.
Rob might have a spare caliper but it depends if he can get the wheel off (no key for the locking wheels). A plan B, caliper-wise, would be good.  s:) s:)

[dan_daran]

good method for locking wheel nuts is find a close fitting socket , then hammer it on with a big hammer(friction fit)  and unscrew with the ratchet (1/2" drive is best)

[MelBee42]

Thanks, Rob knows what he's doing though!
Checked coolant levels. No change in level (done about 150 miles since it left Matt's).