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From: Jason James on 8 May 2010 20:11

<OzOne(a)Crackerbox-Palace.com> wrote in message
news:r1ubu5drq29slnmbqhuuaqe586viqipsmb(a)4ax.com...
> On Sun, 09 May 2010 09:35:02 +1000, D Walford
> <dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote:
>
>>On 8/05/2010 9:21 PM, Doug Jewell wrote:
>>
>>> Quizzing her later, she mentioned that she saw the battery light come on
>>> at the bottom of the hill, but since the car was still going she thought
>>> it didn't matter. I'd hazard a guess the temp gauge went off the scale
>>> too but didn't get noticed. *swearing under breath*
>>>
>>>
>>To add to that it was very likely making a lot noise a long time before
>>it failed completely which was also ignored.
>>Hope she enjoys walking.
>>
>>
>>Daryl
>
> My wife is very mechanically savvy (she says).
>
> Years ago when she was driving one of my Lancias, she was astute
> enough to realise that the engine was getting hot.
> Of course supercharged cars tend to do that on very hot days with the
> air con running flat out.
> Got home, popped the bonnet and opened the big black cap to check the
> water.
> Finding none, she ran out the hose and topped it up.
> NRMA was called when the "stupid car"travelled only 100 metres before
> stalling.
>
> Fortunately no damage was done and a dozen drain, flush and a few oil
> changes later.

You were lucky,..cold water into very hot engine and all that!

Jason


From: D Walford on 8 May 2010 21:54
On 9/05/2010 9:59 AM, OzOne(a)Crackerbox-Palace.com wrote:
> On Sun, 09 May 2010 09:35:02 +1000, D Walford
> <dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote:
>
>> On 8/05/2010 9:21 PM, Doug Jewell wrote:
>>
>>> Quizzing her later, she mentioned that she saw the battery light come on
>>> at the bottom of the hill, but since the car was still going she thought
>>> it didn't matter. I'd hazard a guess the temp gauge went off the scale
>>> too but didn't get noticed. *swearing under breath*
>>>
>>>
>> To add to that it was very likely making a lot noise a long time before
>> it failed completely which was also ignored.
>> Hope she enjoys walking.
>>
>>
>> Daryl
>
> My wife is very mechanically savvy (she says).
>
> Years ago when she was driving one of my Lancias, she was astute
> enough to realise that the engine was getting hot.
> Of course supercharged cars tend to do that on very hot days with the
> air con running flat out.
> Got home, popped the bonnet and opened the big black cap to check the
> water.
> Finding none, she ran out the hose and topped it up.
> NRMA was called when the "stupid car"travelled only 100 metres before
> stalling.
>
> Fortunately no damage was done and a dozen drain, flush and a few oil
> changes later.

LOL, not too many women have a clue about cars.
Before we could afford decent cars my wife was taught to keep an eye on
gauges and warning lights and about the dire consequences of ignoring
them but after driving near new cars for the last 10yrs I suspect her
training has worn off, the new Forester doesn't even have a temp gauge,
it has a blue light which is on when the engine is cold, no light when
the temp is normal or a red light if its too hot.
My maternal Grandmother was well trained about looking after cars by her
husband, every morning before starting the car she checked the engine
oil and coolant but that was in the days when cars needed a lot more
maintenance.


Daryl
From: Doug Jewell on 8 May 2010 23:30
Jason James wrote:
> "Doug Jewell" <ask(a)and.maybe.ill.tell.you> wrote in message
> news:MdudnVJZKs-j1HjWnZ2dnUVZ_qCdnZ2d(a)westnet.com.au...
>> Yesterday I got a call at work from the missus about the VS commodore.
>
> [. . .]
>
> Not wishing to be the devil's advocate,...buuut, didnt you hear the race
> getting all noisy? They dont just suddenly fly apart without plenty of noise
> first?
I haven't driven the car for about 2 weeks, which was a
couple of thousand k's. I'm sure it would've made a horrid
noise too, especially when it was in it's death throes, but
the last time I drove it, it was nice and quiet. Actually
I'm always amazed by how quiet this car is, even with the
bonnet up. When the fan is turned off that is. Once the fan
goes on, the thing sounds like a 747.
>
> Jason
>
>


--
What is the difference between a duck?
From: Doug Jewell on 8 May 2010 23:32
OzOne(a)Crackerbox-Palace.com wrote:
> On Sun, 09 May 2010 09:35:02 +1000, D Walford
> <dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote:
>
>> On 8/05/2010 9:21 PM, Doug Jewell wrote:
>>
>>> Quizzing her later, she mentioned that she saw the battery light come on
>>> at the bottom of the hill, but since the car was still going she thought
>>> it didn't matter. I'd hazard a guess the temp gauge went off the scale
>>> too but didn't get noticed. *swearing under breath*
>>>
>>>
>> To add to that it was very likely making a lot noise a long time before
>> it failed completely which was also ignored.
>> Hope she enjoys walking.
>>
>>
>> Daryl
>
> My wife is very mechanically savvy (she says).
>
> Years ago when she was driving one of my Lancias, she was astute
> enough to realise that the engine was getting hot.
> Of course supercharged cars tend to do that on very hot days with the
> air con running flat out.
> Got home, popped the bonnet and opened the big black cap to check the
> water.
> Finding none, she ran out the hose and topped it up.
> NRMA was called when the "stupid car"travelled only 100 metres before
> stalling.
>
> Fortunately no damage was done and a dozen drain, flush and a few oil
> changes later.
Lucky that no damage was done. And it's probably lucky for
her that she did put it in the oil filler. If she'd have
lifted the radiator cap you'd likely be visiting her in the
burns ward.
>
>
>
>
> OzOne of the three twins
>
> I welcome you to Crackerbox Palace.


--
What is the difference between a duck?
From: John_H on 8 May 2010 23:42
Jason James wrote:
>
>Not wishing to be the devil's advocate,...buuut, didnt you hear the race
>getting all noisy? They dont just suddenly fly apart without plenty of noise
>first?

A few days ago I climbed out of a tractor cab to be greeted by the
sound of a squealing serpentine belt (the same sort modern cars use).

You can be lucky sometimes... the bearing in the cast iron tensioner
pulley must've seized when I cut the throttle back to idle after I'd
pulled up, because the pulley was still almost cool enought to touch
and the belt good enough to reuse. There were no prior warning sounds
whatsoever, though I'd imagine the bearing would've felt rough had I
checked it at the last service (which I hadn't).

Here's what would've happened otherwise....

The belt probably would've started smoking a minute or so after the
bearing failed. If I didn't see the smoke, or smell the burning
rubber, the belt would've also failed and there'd be an alternator
warning light as well as a flashing fault code on the dash display.
The air conditioner would cease cooling and the cab temperature would
rise at an even quicker rate than the engine coolant in the absence of
the fan and water pump.

When the engine temperature rises (or the oil pressure drops) it's
supposed to set off an alarm and a red button flashes. If you don't
push the red button the engine shuts down automatically after a few
seconds. If you push the red button it extends the running time to
thirty seconds, which is meant to be sufficient to get off the highway
(if that's where you happen to be at the time).

The engine is a 12 y.o. Iveco diesel and there's absolutely no reason
why any modern car couldn't incorporate exactly the same level of
protection if the manufacturers chose to do it.

--
John H
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