Recent content by dishman

Ka mk1 2008 1.3 Duratec 40k on the clock. Edit: Additional info - The person who watched the mechanic says the fluid looked teal blue/green to begin with, and did not change much from that colour. They did not see it start off a deep blue. But, this is the only variable I could not witness.

I was not there in person but I was listening via the phone. Essentially he said, "thermostat failed, that caused the overheat, and the overheat was enough to cause a gasket failure". He knew the coolant loss went via the relief valve, but took the very slight colour change from the coolant gas...

Thanks @Burnerman I'll do that next. Just to clarify the full series of events. History Car has a brand new OEM (ford) thermostat installed, and fully flushed and fresh coolant (OEM spec) added. Coolant level is noticed to be slowly dropping over time, but not at a concerning rate. It is...

See my op ^. The RAC guy did that and said there was a very slight colour change detected. It sounded like it was a very weak colour change, but a colour change non the less. It did not go bright green or yellow. (I was not there to see this in person). The person who was there said they could...

This is the 1.3 duratec, so cast iron block and aluminium head I think. Thermostat was not opening when the RAC guy ran the car (i was not there in person). There is a potential known thermostat housing issue with this car where an air bubble can form there caused by a potential micro crack in...

Well, this was an unexpected event in my ford ka mk1 maintenance journey. It looks like the head gasket has failed. The car had been on a long journey. Although when the event happened, it was the following day after a 15 minute run, and the coolant temp light came on. Hopper was near empty...

Follow up question: On the existing lintel, the mortise (4") on the post is larger than the actual tenon (3.25") of the lintel. It has then been chocked with slips to make a tight fit. Should I be replicating this method, or be cutting the new lintel so the tennon fits as close to possible to...

The irony is that the current gate has many knots :LOL:. Which actually look rather nice now I have sanded it back and oiled it. But I understand they are not great structurally.

Do I need any specific grade for an external softwood?

Farm style gate, nothing expensive. It is a pretty cheap one to be fair, but looks nice enough. It looks like it is made out of fairly cheapish softwood (pine). But it has been in situ for 25 years now, and after a recent clean up has no rot, other than sections of top lintel including rot in...

It's the ford ka mk1 I am still servicing. It's a standard nut with a rubber washer (a ford thing apparently). I'll probably give it a go with my longer more robust tools. I just got cold feet for a moment and wanted to prepare for any disasters. I am quickly learning that the thing that...

Thought it best to check this before opening a can of worms Sump plug seems to be on very very tight. I naively assumed it would not be that bad. But the tools I had initially slipped on it. I stopped trying immediately (to avoid shredding it) with my small tools/spanner and now have a very...

My car has had 2 year brake fluid changes with the main dealer. But when I recently moved to an independent mechanic and told him it was due, he scoffed at it. Told me it can go much longer and was just over cautious manufacturers and main dealers making ££. One thing i have noticed however...

Maybe I just don't use any grease after all (other than the slide pins). It makes a lot of sense really. I guess it's just one of those things that is passed down from how it was always done in the past. Hard to break with a convention. No pun intended,

You have a good point there.....and yet nearly every guide I can find says to use grease. Could it not be that fresh out of the factory, with OEM parts and no wear and tear (rust/dirt) there is no need for it and the parts wear in unison. But on a car that has reached a certain age, the grease...