Your fleet running reports

[Sundayjumper]

Parts are arriving for the MINI cam chain job. I’m doing new engine mounts while I’m there, the n/s has been knocking for a while and the o/s has to come out for the cam chain anyway so it’s a useful prod to make me do it.

I’m just keeping my fingers crossed for decent weather at the weekend.

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[Jimexpl]

The 6 series started leaking coolant again. It started off pretty gradually. Just needed 2 litres per 1000 miles. Then today I decided to commute with it and visit my mechanic to get his opinion and book it in. Well its coolant leak went to 8 litres per 30 mins and then by the time I was returning home it was 1 litre per minute . I apologise to the chap on a pretty new Ducati who wasn’t happy with getting sprayed.
Anyway I was vindicated as my mechanic said it must be the coolant pipe as it’s the only thing left. Booked it in for some bushes too. And then I can refurb one of the wheels which I cunted on a kerb.

Where was the 6 series leaking? My X5 is in at the garage this week losing coolant (and to look at a slight oil leak that I knew about before buying and a diff and gearbox oil change as 'sealed for life' makes no sense to me).
There's no evidence of coolant at the front or top of the engine so it's bound do be the buried coolant pipe or gasket. I think that BMW engines are generally great, but they are also good at generating inconvenient issues as they age!

Does your X5 have the N62 engine? Is the coolant transfer pipe issue now relatively fixable? I'm aware that a US company developed a replacement pipe which expands to fit, but no idea if that is something which has made it over to Europe.

They've diagnosed the water leak as a crack in the expansion tank, so hopefully that'll be it. The car had a big bill for a water pump and a load of labour a few months before I bought it which might have been the transfer pipe issue.
They can't tell where the oil leak is from other than 'passenger side', so they've cleaned the engine and asked me to bring it back in a few weeks. Thinking that they were being helpful a minor service has also been done as it was showing 'service' on the dash. I now need to tell them that it was only done four months ago and that message was an m.o.t reminder...
Going down to Cornwall later next week. 600 miles should be sufficient to see the leak.

[Delphi]

Replacement engine mounts arrived (they actually sent two new ones), but sadly not in time for me to get it booked in and sorted. Drove it up to the bodyshop where it will stay for the next 6-8 weeks, then I'll be able to fit the front spoiler (assuming the bumper clips ever turn up) and get the engine mounts done. I've left the body shop with a bunch of part numbers of things I know aren't currently on the car (some door sill sealing strips, S4 badge) and some late S4/GT/GTS windscreen rubber inserts which make a massive difference to the amount of wind noise. They weren't fitted to the earlier S4s but as they're taking the screen out they might as well fit them in.

After that, it'll be getting the interior sorted.

[Broccers]

So impressed we have a forum of mechanical experts!

Mini the heater isn't working after its oil leakage fix.

It's going back to the garage.

[Jobbo]

Just ordered a set of Goodyear Vector All-Season gen3s for my Audi. I will probably put them on the current 18" wheels rather than the 18" winter wheels; the current Conti Premium Contacts on them have 5mm+ remaining on each but they date from 2012 and I've done about 18k+ miles on them.

£64 discount currently. Even before that they were cheaper at my local ATS than through Blackcircles, so it's nice to give them some business directly for once; most times I see them is having Blackcircles orders fitted

ETA: just had a call from ATS - Goodyear tyres are taking a few weeks to arrive so won't be fitted until mid-Nov, I expect. Which, based on 15C when I got in the car at 6.45am today, is not going to be a big problem.

[integrale_evo]

Need some rear tyres for the merc, but too early to put the winters on. F1autocentre are coming out cheaper direct ( + a Michelin cash back offer ) than going through black circles.

[16vCento]

Just ordered a set of Goodyear Vector All-Season gen3s for my Audi. I will probably put them on the current 18" wheels rather than the 18" winter wheels; the current Conti Premium Contacts on them have 5mm+ remaining on each but they date from 2012 and I've done about 18k+ miles on them.

£64 discount currently. Even before that they were cheaper at my local ATS than through Blackcircles, so it's nice to give them some business directly for once; most times I see them is having Blackcircles orders fitted

ETA: just had a call from ATS - Goodyear tyres are taking a few weeks to arrive so won't be fitted until mid-Nov, I expect. Which, based on 15C when I got in the car at 6.45am today, is not going to be a big problem.

I've got those on the V60, they're very good all round tyres, so much so I didn't swap back to summer wheels this year.

[Jobbo]

Goodyear Vector All-Season gen3

I've got those on the V60, they're very good all round tyres, so much so I didn't swap back to summer wheels this year.

That's the plan for next summer too - I like the way it drives on the 18" wheels. I am wondering how long they will last; people seem to get amazingly low wear from the Michelin Crossclimates so saving ~£25/tyre by going for the Goodyears might have been a false economy but we'll see. Had a look at the Conti all-seasons (not been updated for a while) and the Vredesteins (seem to be great in reviews but nowhere stocks them).

Anyway, if anyone is after a new set of Goodyears of any type, the £16 per tyre saving currently is worth having.

[16vCento]

I had Crossclimate + before and they were good tyres, lasted about 18k miles on the front and about 22 on the back.

The Goodyears have more dry grip for sure, and are better in the wet, especially when braking.

Crossclimates seemed better when there's ice and snow about, but not much in it tbh.

[mik]

Evora
Booked into the usual Edinburgh specialist for annual MOT and service. Advised that I’d noticed some knocking from the front - assumed it was the usual suspects (arb bushes get dry and then clunk when the ARB tries to rotate in them - only noticeable at low speeds. Usually dropping the bracket and applying loob is sufficient - occasionally a new bush is needed).

It subsequently failed the MOT however due to excess movement in ball joints on the lower arms at both sides. Barely any lateral movement, but I was shown a video where there was clearly 3-4mm of vertical movement). Like almost every other car on the market now, the ball joint is part of the lower arm casting. Low volume manufacture is not your friend in such situations, hence replacement (parts & labour) pushed the bill £1300 higher than I was expecting. To be fair, other than upgrades (ie the 2Bular manifolds) the car hasn't asked me for anything more than normal consumables over the last 6+ years, so fair enough. On the upside - the clunking has gone, and so has some front end "bobble" that I'd obviously become used to over the last year. I didn't notice it until it was gone - the front end now feels very nicely tied down once more.


E-Tron
A few weeks ago I noticed light feathering on the (relatively) new tyres, and since they command around £1100 a set, I decided it was prudent to get it booked it in for a 4-wheel alignment on a proper Hunter alignment jig. Local-ish company that I haven't used before, but I have a recommendation. It's booked in for tomorrow

A van ran into the back of it a couple of weeks back. Nothing major, but the rear bumper is split and will need replacing. Just a PITA to organise the repair, and submit all the details. As everyone is really busy, it will be another month before it can be sorted. On the upside, the other party has admitted full liability.

And on the same day that someone ran into the back of it - the nearside "virtual mirror" decided to mist up excessively. I don't believe the issues are related - we’ve seen occasional light misting on both cameras, but it’s always cleared with the rear screen demister - much like a conventional side mirror. Not this time however. Sent pics to Audi who will sort it under warranty, and they did stress that if we get misting on both sides the car is deemed unroadworthy and they would recover it, provide an immediate replacement car, and repair it as a priority. I got the sense that they were keen for me to trigger this, but I need to wait til the bumper is sorted before we can get that done. More stoopid PITA running around that we could do without.

[Jobbo]

I had Crossclimate + before and they were good tyres, lasted about 18k miles on the front and about 22 on the back.

The Goodyears have more dry grip for sure, and are better in the wet, especially when braking.

Crossclimates seemed better when there's ice and snow about, but not much in it tbh.

That sounds exactly the right compromise with the Goodyears; usable in snow is good enough; that won’t be relevant for more than a few days each year.

[tim]

Jagwar Update

It's been a while. 3,500 miles since something last broke, in fact. So pretty good going. A grumble from the nearside front suspension has turned into a full on knock now though - diagnosed as a knackered shock. So a pair of new fronts going on next week. it could also do with a recon steering rack but not urgent (yet).

Since we moved and I no longer do any school runs it only gets relatively light use, and continues to be a lovely place to waft around in.

The ABS/TC disabled light started to come on a fair bit, but was just a gunked up front sensor and has been fine since I cleaned it up.

Average 23.5 mpg over the last 3.5k miles. No sign of the knackers yard for it yet.

[mik]

E-Tron
A few weeks ago I noticed light feathering on the (relatively) new tyres, and since they command around £1100 a set, I decided it was prudent to get it booked it in for a 4-wheel alignment on a proper Hunter alignment jig. Local-ish company that I haven't used before, but I have a recommendation. It's booked in for tomorrow

Professional job. Unsurprisingly, toe was out of spec both front and rear, and camber on one rear was out slightly. Everything now adjusted to pretty much bob-on manufacturers spec mid-point.

[integrale_evo]

I’ve been piling miles on the compact while the mito has sat barely used, but now the weather has started turning a bit crapperer I’ve decided to put it back into more regular use.

Fuel economy has always been a bit disappointing so decided to see if a moderate change in driving style would help.

I’m not exactly hypermiling, still making progress where possible, not afraid to thrash the nuts off it, just being more sensible when cruising around or can see I’m going to catch someone as they enter a speed limit zone etc.

39.2 mpg at an average of 39mph over the last 1100ish miles. Not too bad I suppose, but not exactly amazing for a 1.4 turbo

[John]

My Panda struggles to crack 40mpg and that's only an 875cc turbo. Fiat claim 57mpg is possible but that is a blatant lie

[16vCento]

I've been going to our head office in the XF every day for 2 weeks to train someone, about 18 miles in heavy stop start traffic each day, 16.4 MPG if that makes you feel better!

[McSwede]

The 330e has had a tech wobble. Neither my iPhone or Pixel 6 pro will connect to the car. They show in the menu but you cannot connect.

Not sure what to do with it other than going to the dealer. What a PITA!

[Simon]

Pull the fuse to the ICE for a few minutes and retry?

[jamcg]

The 330e has had a tech wobble. Neither my iPhone or Pixel 6 pro will connect to the car. They show in the menu but you cannot connect.

Not sure what to do with it other than going to the dealer. What a PITA!

Try having a Vauxhall/Renault van, this is every time you start it up Delete them and re-pair the Bluetooth? Failing that factory reset?

[Sundayjumper]

I’m just keeping my fingers crossed for decent weather at the weekend.

I just about got away with it. A bit damp at times but I avoided the worst of it.

Soooooo. Let's take the good bits first. Changing the cam chain & guides is actually not that difficult. The engine seems tiny after working on the Cayenne. Occasional head-scratching about how to how to reach certain bits but to do it again with hindsight, if you started early you'd be done in time for a late lunch. The guides, chain & lower sprocket lift out from the top of the engine as one unit which is quite neat and means the engine can stay in place as you don't need full access to the front of the block. The o/s engine mount comes out as part of this job so zero extra work required to replace it. The n/s is far more of a faff and I was getting tired and a little bit grumpy by that point.

Less good - it turns out the guide wasn't broken and I still can't get the dipstick back in The guides were certainly worn and the tensioner fell apart when I took it out so it was a worthwhile job but it's not fixed the dipstick problem that prompted the job in the first place. D'oh. The obstruction must be further down. I'll have to drop the sump and have a look from underneath.

I also noticed the aux belt was rather knackered, so we've got a new one of those too.

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