A mammoth undertaking

I filled up the car with coolant on Sunday, and took it for a test drive to Tesco’s in Ledbury, about an eight mile round trip. It behaved fine – the temperature gauge rose quite rapidly to the “normal” point, but then stayed there unwavering. I did have a bit of a worrying moment when I parked at the shop and the engine fan came on briefly, but it didn’t stay on long and the gauge was fine. I got home again with no problems at all, and hoped that the problem was fixed – though there was still the underlying nagging question as to why I had been out of coolant in the first place.

My natural caution kicked in on Monday morning, and I popped the bonnet before setting of to work, just to check on the levels. There was no visible puddle on the drive, but the coolant reservoir was right back down at “minimum”. Hmmmm. Not good. I topped it back up again to “maximum” and phoned the garage. Fortunately my usual mechanic was able to fit me in, and I dropped the car off on the way into work. Unfortunately, he diagnosed a leaking radiator and needed a new part which didn’t arrive on time to get it fixed that day. I had to leave the car there overnight with a promise that he’d fix it the next day. He also said he would to try to chase down the oil leak – that’s a slow leak and not such an urgent problem, but I would like to have it fixed if possible.

The radiator seems now to be fixed, though I have been told to keep an eye on the reservoir levels and to top it up if necessary over the next few days in case any air-locks work their way through the system. The oil leak is more of a challenge. Mike the mechanic can’t spot where it’s coming from. He says he’s cleaned the underside thoroughly and has suggested that I take the car back in a week or so, so that he can see if there is a particularly oily bit. But I’m not so keen – its very inconvenient being without the car when it’s in the garage. So we’ve come to a compromise. It’s currently only a slow leak, so I bought a bottle of engine oil off him and will keep an eye on the levels, topping up as necessary. Then if the leak starts getting worse I’ll notice and can take it in to be dealt with. Otherwise it can wait until I get it serviced in the autumn.