So, I got my car back last Wednesday after I finished at work. By Saturday it had voided itself of most of its oil.
The culprit ... a dodgy cam shaft seal which had been newly fitted with the replacement cam belt on Wednesday.
As you would expect, the mechanic who fitted the parts fitted a new seal free of charge and got the car back to me pretty quickly; making the oil in the car the third set of fresh oil in as many weeks.
This has highlighted the need to get rid of my car as soon as possible, so I am now actively hunting for my next car, ideally a 1.3 Rover Mini cooper sport.
Monday 11 April 2011
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Cam belt 2.0
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Monday 21 February 2011
Bill Cammack Rally - 2011
Last Saturday saw the annual running of the Bill Cammack rally at Manby Showground.
I was fortunate enough to attend as one of the service crew supporting car number 30.
The day started at 03:00 to begin packing our supplies and loading up the car to set off to the venue. We eventually arrived at the venue through pouring rain around 07:00, optimistic that the rain would stop.
20 minutes or so later, the car arrived and we set about unloading it.
We had just managed to get the car unloaded and the gazebo up before the rain returned once again.
We set about preparing the car for the first event while the driver and navigator completed the necessary paperwork. Unfortunately the rain continue throughout the day, making driving very interesting for people who had chosen slick tyres (seemingly everyone).
The only cars that seemed to be handling the rain on slicks was the Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts, which were unstoppable in the wet.
Stage one saw some a number of spills from drivers, including our own car; which collected a heap of tyres on the way through one of the tight chicanes. Most of the damage was purely cosmetic and was easily fixed during the period between stages.
A crumpled wing was pushed back into shape and the trim screwed back on. As for the bumper, which had taken most of the impact it wasn't as easy. The whole bumper was hanging down at the front, and the lower valance was smashed in front of the right hand wheel. Given our limited service time we had to make a speedy repair, involving lots of cable ties. The valance was stitched back together with cable ties after drilling a couple of holes in it, which survived to the end of stage two.
Unfortunately the end of stage two also saw the end of our rally, with a very unhealthy knocking coming from the engine. We decided it would be best to retire from the rally rather than risk further, potentially fatal damage to the engine.
Our driver had also managed to collected a hay bale when negotiating a different chicane, which has left a nice big dent in the passenger door. We were able to push the dent back out with a bit of shoving and a big foot.
Although we were out of the race, we stayed to observe the remaining drivers. From our vantage point (inside a nice dry van) I grabbed a few pictures of the cars as they entered the stage.
I was fortunate enough to attend as one of the service crew supporting car number 30.
The day started at 03:00 to begin packing our supplies and loading up the car to set off to the venue. We eventually arrived at the venue through pouring rain around 07:00, optimistic that the rain would stop.
20 minutes or so later, the car arrived and we set about unloading it.
We had just managed to get the car unloaded and the gazebo up before the rain returned once again.
We set about preparing the car for the first event while the driver and navigator completed the necessary paperwork. Unfortunately the rain continue throughout the day, making driving very interesting for people who had chosen slick tyres (seemingly everyone).
The only cars that seemed to be handling the rain on slicks was the Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts, which were unstoppable in the wet.
Stage one saw some a number of spills from drivers, including our own car; which collected a heap of tyres on the way through one of the tight chicanes. Most of the damage was purely cosmetic and was easily fixed during the period between stages.
A crumpled wing was pushed back into shape and the trim screwed back on. As for the bumper, which had taken most of the impact it wasn't as easy. The whole bumper was hanging down at the front, and the lower valance was smashed in front of the right hand wheel. Given our limited service time we had to make a speedy repair, involving lots of cable ties. The valance was stitched back together with cable ties after drilling a couple of holes in it, which survived to the end of stage two.
Unfortunately the end of stage two also saw the end of our rally, with a very unhealthy knocking coming from the engine. We decided it would be best to retire from the rally rather than risk further, potentially fatal damage to the engine.
Our driver had also managed to collected a hay bale when negotiating a different chicane, which has left a nice big dent in the passenger door. We were able to push the dent back out with a bit of shoving and a big foot.
Although we were out of the race, we stayed to observe the remaining drivers. From our vantage point (inside a nice dry van) I grabbed a few pictures of the cars as they entered the stage.
Wednesday 9 February 2011
New Job, Day 8
Many of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I have recently started a new job. So far all seems to be going very well, I am enjoying a change of scenery and am enjoying actually being challenged at work (not like my old job). Some bits of the job aren't always fun (but no job is 100% fun), however I do get plenty of "tinkering time".
A lot of my time recently has been taken up with the task of cleaning up a giant mailbox. I decided that Powershell would be the best way to tackle this, however I know next to nothing about the language so a lot of it has been educated guess work and googling.
I have reached a stage where I have a working method, but it is terribly inefficient. Now I am working on version 2.0, which should be much quicker and kinder to the resources. Anybody who knows more about PS than me and would like to offer some assistance, feel free to ping me on twitter.
During quiet periods at work, I am trying to spend as much time as possible learning about the infrastructure stuff and what goes on under the bonnet in a bid to move in that direction. I am aiming to get away from support in the next 12 months or so, which will be a welcome step in the right direction for my career.
In other news, I have almost finished the website that I volunteered to make. It has taken a bit of time, given the house move and job change that have recently taken place; but it is as good as complete.
Some more web work will be due to start, once the facelift project at work gets moving; which will hopefully serve as a welcome break from support.
On a final note, my car (in typical French style) has decided that it wants some more attention (read money) and has produced a rather interesting noise. My front tyres are also just about legal for now, so will probably want to be replaced fairly soon.
I will be in the market for a new car once my first three months at work passes. All suggestions are welcomed.
A lot of my time recently has been taken up with the task of cleaning up a giant mailbox. I decided that Powershell would be the best way to tackle this, however I know next to nothing about the language so a lot of it has been educated guess work and googling.
I have reached a stage where I have a working method, but it is terribly inefficient. Now I am working on version 2.0, which should be much quicker and kinder to the resources. Anybody who knows more about PS than me and would like to offer some assistance, feel free to ping me on twitter.
During quiet periods at work, I am trying to spend as much time as possible learning about the infrastructure stuff and what goes on under the bonnet in a bid to move in that direction. I am aiming to get away from support in the next 12 months or so, which will be a welcome step in the right direction for my career.
In other news, I have almost finished the website that I volunteered to make. It has taken a bit of time, given the house move and job change that have recently taken place; but it is as good as complete.
Some more web work will be due to start, once the facelift project at work gets moving; which will hopefully serve as a welcome break from support.
On a final note, my car (in typical French style) has decided that it wants some more attention (read money) and has produced a rather interesting noise. My front tyres are also just about legal for now, so will probably want to be replaced fairly soon.
I will be in the market for a new car once my first three months at work passes. All suggestions are welcomed.
Monday 3 January 2011
The Car Saga
Anybody who follows me on twitter will know that over the past few months I have been having no end of trouble with my car, or more specifically with my mechanic.
Approximately three months ago I suffered a cracked rear disk. The rear disks and pads were replaced, which should have seen the end of any issues.
It turned out that the brakes fitted by my mechanic were "faulty" in his opinion as the ABS ring on the right hand side was rubbing on the ABS sensor.
This was temporarily resolved by removing the ABS ring, while apparently waiting for a replacement disk for the back right from the manufacturer.
After two months and several visits and phone calls later, I paid my mechanic another visit, and magically the new parts (this time from Renault) arrived two days later. These parts were fitted the following Wednesday, which then promptly failed by Friday.
It transpired that the back right wheel bearing had failed, which was originally thought to be another faulty part. Due to the warranty policy employed by Renault, the car had to be delivered to them with the "faulty" parts on the car to verify whether or not the parts were faulty.
My mechanic advised me that Renault would not be able to get my car booked in until the Wednesday after Christmas, leaving me without my car for a week and a half.
This actually turned out to be my mechanic covering up for the fact that he had failed to order a replacement ABS sensor, as he had damaged the one fitted to the car when he fitted the first set of brakes.
Renault advised me last Wednesday that my car must remain overnight as they did not have the replacement wheel bearing in stock. The part arrived the next day and was fitted, however I was then advised by Renault that a spacer was missing from the back right, which would have to be paid for before the car would be released to either myself or my mechanic. At this point Renault also told me that the car would have to stay with them for another night while they waited for the spacer to be delivered.
I contacted my mechanic who told me that he had driven the car to Renault without issue and the car would not be able to move without the spacer being fitted.
My mechanic also claimed that I had a bill to settle with him, which having contacted the servicing department at Renault I had calculated to be approximately £8, which I can only assume was considerably less than my mechanic had in mind.
He then got rather abusive, telling me how he was £200 out of pocket and that he was "sick of me and my car" and that I should never call him again.
After this phone call ended, rather abruptly, I contacted Renault to ensure that nobody other than myself would be permitted to collect the car from them to prevent my mechanic from collecting the car and using it as leverage.
Friday came; I collected my car and paid the bill for the spacer. Renault had also kindly cleaned my car inside and out. All in all, service from Renault was excellent; all staff were extremely helpful and informative.
I have been driving my car since, without the warm orange glow of my ABS and service lights on the dash.
Approximately three months ago I suffered a cracked rear disk. The rear disks and pads were replaced, which should have seen the end of any issues.
It turned out that the brakes fitted by my mechanic were "faulty" in his opinion as the ABS ring on the right hand side was rubbing on the ABS sensor.
This was temporarily resolved by removing the ABS ring, while apparently waiting for a replacement disk for the back right from the manufacturer.
After two months and several visits and phone calls later, I paid my mechanic another visit, and magically the new parts (this time from Renault) arrived two days later. These parts were fitted the following Wednesday, which then promptly failed by Friday.
It transpired that the back right wheel bearing had failed, which was originally thought to be another faulty part. Due to the warranty policy employed by Renault, the car had to be delivered to them with the "faulty" parts on the car to verify whether or not the parts were faulty.
My mechanic advised me that Renault would not be able to get my car booked in until the Wednesday after Christmas, leaving me without my car for a week and a half.
This actually turned out to be my mechanic covering up for the fact that he had failed to order a replacement ABS sensor, as he had damaged the one fitted to the car when he fitted the first set of brakes.
Renault advised me last Wednesday that my car must remain overnight as they did not have the replacement wheel bearing in stock. The part arrived the next day and was fitted, however I was then advised by Renault that a spacer was missing from the back right, which would have to be paid for before the car would be released to either myself or my mechanic. At this point Renault also told me that the car would have to stay with them for another night while they waited for the spacer to be delivered.
I contacted my mechanic who told me that he had driven the car to Renault without issue and the car would not be able to move without the spacer being fitted.
My mechanic also claimed that I had a bill to settle with him, which having contacted the servicing department at Renault I had calculated to be approximately £8, which I can only assume was considerably less than my mechanic had in mind.
He then got rather abusive, telling me how he was £200 out of pocket and that he was "sick of me and my car" and that I should never call him again.
After this phone call ended, rather abruptly, I contacted Renault to ensure that nobody other than myself would be permitted to collect the car from them to prevent my mechanic from collecting the car and using it as leverage.
Friday came; I collected my car and paid the bill for the spacer. Renault had also kindly cleaned my car inside and out. All in all, service from Renault was excellent; all staff were extremely helpful and informative.
I have been driving my car since, without the warm orange glow of my ABS and service lights on the dash.
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