Bought a new car

Mmm, a lot of garages do this as they probably rightly think 95% of people never open their bonnets.

I've had the same on a few of mine, I've also had coolant and brake fluid levels well above maximum - I know why they do it, but I wish they wouldn't!

 

50mm! 2 inches above the line it should be on the dipstick! Be afraid, be very afraid!

 

By jove! I read that as 5mm, yeah 5cm above the line is a touch on the OTT side

 

yeah, I made the mistake of putting too much oil in my car - I was moving house and I emptied the last of the oil (so I didn't have to take it with me!) into the car and white smoke was bellowing out of the exhaust....

was ok after I got it drained tho...

 

50mm is two inches....

no....defo not!!!

Anything over the max is putting a strain on internal seals....

I would drain a bit out if it was me.

 

Sorry I meant 5mm .

I took it to my mechanic he said it was fine he always makes sure he fills it properly (I was nice about it to him). I then showed him the water ti was spuring out, he said its not very inlikely to be HG so he did a cylinder compression test and everything was fine.

He reckoened there was water in the exhaust causing it. I took it on the motorway with my dad drove 40 miles in it and there is no smoke at all in now.

So it was just condensation .

Very a lot happier now.

 

Have you actually driven it yet with any other purpose than to keep checking the colour of the exhaust emissions? You'd be great at the Vatican when they're deciding on a new Pope!

 

Partly that, partly because I had never driven on the motorway before it was a good excuse.

Anyway time to stop worrying about the car and time to start worrying about where I will be living this time next year .

 

I think he coined the term - joy rider...

 

Yeah, drive it....but get rid of that oil.......NOTHING over the max...why should there be? It says "max" not fill 5mm over this line!!

 

another thread to look forward too...

I might start a thread explaining that I may be out of a job by xmas...

 

My car had been sat unised for a while before I bought it.
On it's first proper outing, after aout an hour smoke started coming out. Stopped after a while and nothing since.

Thread Hijack

Anti-freeze. The engine coolant was a bit low when I first bought it, so I topped it up with water. I've since read you're not meant to do this even in small toppping up quantities, as it dilutes it blah blah blah... and should make sure it's topped up with both anti freeze and water.

So, I went and picked up a bottle of anti-freeze. But I'm now reading I'm meant to use specific anti-freeze. G12 and "under no circumstances" should they be mixed. The stuff I've bought, and I'm sure all the stuff I seen didn't specify it being erm... specific. Just labeled as anti-freeze.

Will the stuff I've bought be ok?

 

Mo I would drain out the anti freeze (mine is on min and has been since the day I got it, so need to put some more in). There is no reliable way of telling what anti freeze you have going of the colour so the safest thing to do is remove drain the coolant and start again with fresh stuff. However on modern cars even this simple task can be a little trickty .

Mr Cat three of my mates have lost their jobs this year , two of them quickly got new jobs though and one them is still on the dole (and will be fore ever lazy ;';#'!).

There seems to be a lot of job losses but industry still seems quite strong so it is fairly easy to get new jobs, I think this is the biggest difference between this recesion and previous ones.

 

yeah, this job loss is down to best shoring and a recent takeover by another company - they want to shed over 24k jobs worldwide...at least I'd walk away with a wad of cash, but as for a new job, with the same pay, in my area...I doubt it...

 

Yes I remember all these arguements....

YOu're not suppose to mix brake fluid etc etc

The big question is...do you want to come out to your car in the morning to find the engine block has split in a heavy frost

Seriously, we don't get the hard frosts we used to when started driving in the early 80's. Have a google on the net to see what the score IS.....you couldn't do that in 1981. Products are probably just so much better it won't be too much of an issue. I wouldn't dilute a mixture down too much though. Like I say its you thats got to sleep at night knowing htere is a minus 10 outside..

 

...that could be the downside....

I don't have that issue, they can't pay me any less than what I get.


That said I seriously don't want to start again learning another job now. Not if I can help it.

 

This is why I am glad I am self employed, the money is #';! but I always have work and I have no boss to sack me if I turn up with a hangover .

More people should try it, it can be very hard work at times, but a lot easier at others.

 

not when i was doing it

ie gardening

two good weeks, then you are rained off the third

my dad was asking me which i prefered.....I said there is NOTHING worse than sitting at home, watching the rain, watching your bank account drop.

I know its a bit diff for you AT....you don't have the weather to worry about



I get 24 days paid holiday...you don't! ....but you take most of them as sick (a la last shift)

 

Maybe a good coat would have done the trick . I used to work in the rain unless it was so heavy that I couldn't carry out the task effectively - mind you, I can't say I enjoyed it. Bit different if you're cutting lawns though I suppose, doesn't work well when it's pissing down does it.

Self-employed? Did it for 2.5 years, that was enough for me, I'm enjoying steady pay for now, and paid holidays (hooray!). Wouldn't rule out a return to self-employment eventually though, there is something very satisfying about it.

 

Do not, under any circumstances, mix incompatible types of anti-freeze! If you do, a precipitate will form, clogging up your cooling system.

Sorry to hear about the job position mr cat... I know how that feels. Luckily for me I was in the fortunate position a week ago to have two offers in front of me (one for a position elsewhere, one a promotion internally), so I was thankful for that, especially the way things are currently.

I think I can see AT's next thread... "On cold morning there's smoke coming out of my mouth! What's wrong?"