It's happened to me at last.
Discussion
Sorry for the cryptic title but this could be helpful to any of us.
So, for the first time in my driving life (quite a few decades in fact), I found myself sitting at the roadside awaiting vehicle recovery. Usually I don't have it and trust to luck, but this time it came with the classicline insurance cover. I digress.
I was making good progress west along the A14 to home, all intentions of making a good mpg coastal daytrip given up with, when POP! WHOOSH! ..WTF! an oil smell, look back, plenty, plenty smoke, gauges all normal, no warning lights, bit of throttle - still fine. Very luckily a big layby to dive into. Leapt out expecting fire, looked under to see a torrent of oil from the sump, quickly switched off. An impressively spreading pool of Valvolene's finest besmirching the near pristine concrete, looked like a crude and emphatic full stop to the day's fun. Game over.
This is not unknown to Chim and Griff owners. Earlier on in the day I'd caught the underside on a very rough track harbourside at Southwold. An unseen bar of thick steel exposed from the ground was the culprit, I'd got out and checked the underside and declared an ARB strike, it is a low point after all. Well you've all joined the dots by now.
I called Classicline with my phone battery dwindling, told the friendly chap the problem and location, which he confirmed back to me. It seems he then proceeded to inform the recovery firm that I was somewhere other than I'd described and that I have a fuelling issue. In spite this chap's help, the excellent and very efficient recovery man did manage to find me (after some effort) and deliver me and my very oily car back home. And of course, my neighbours, even at gone 11PM, were outside to witness the rare sight of my TVR gracing the back of low loader. Great.
In due course, I'd like to find a socket sump plug with magnet attatched, but for now I'm making do with a brass plumbing fitting (pt no. 98635) from screwfix for the princely sum of £1.15. Keep a close eye on your plugs people.
So, for the first time in my driving life (quite a few decades in fact), I found myself sitting at the roadside awaiting vehicle recovery. Usually I don't have it and trust to luck, but this time it came with the classicline insurance cover. I digress.
I was making good progress west along the A14 to home, all intentions of making a good mpg coastal daytrip given up with, when POP! WHOOSH! ..WTF! an oil smell, look back, plenty, plenty smoke, gauges all normal, no warning lights, bit of throttle - still fine. Very luckily a big layby to dive into. Leapt out expecting fire, looked under to see a torrent of oil from the sump, quickly switched off. An impressively spreading pool of Valvolene's finest besmirching the near pristine concrete, looked like a crude and emphatic full stop to the day's fun. Game over.
This is not unknown to Chim and Griff owners. Earlier on in the day I'd caught the underside on a very rough track harbourside at Southwold. An unseen bar of thick steel exposed from the ground was the culprit, I'd got out and checked the underside and declared an ARB strike, it is a low point after all. Well you've all joined the dots by now.
I called Classicline with my phone battery dwindling, told the friendly chap the problem and location, which he confirmed back to me. It seems he then proceeded to inform the recovery firm that I was somewhere other than I'd described and that I have a fuelling issue. In spite this chap's help, the excellent and very efficient recovery man did manage to find me (after some effort) and deliver me and my very oily car back home. And of course, my neighbours, even at gone 11PM, were outside to witness the rare sight of my TVR gracing the back of low loader. Great.
In due course, I'd like to find a socket sump plug with magnet attatched, but for now I'm making do with a brass plumbing fitting (pt no. 98635) from screwfix for the princely sum of £1.15. Keep a close eye on your plugs people.
carsy said:
Thanks, I had a read of that, some funny stuff there. It occurred to me that the long magnet Chimp on gas used may be difficult to withdraw without neatly wiping off the fur he is hoping to catch. He did say it loved clinging the sump hole on the way in. Nothing's ever straight forward.Yes thanks the engine is fine, got it stopped before the oil had all pissed out. 8 litres takes a while to get past that hole so that's a blessing.
Steve_D said:
Many cars have the sump plug wire locked but even that will not prevent the plug coming loose with a ground strike so a round plug is the way to go.
Steve
Yes, I'll drill and wirelock mine when I get what I want. These cheap brass ones would be a wise addition to the emergency stash.Steve
Edited by fausTVR on Sunday 24th September 19:22
fausTVR said:
Yes, I'll drill and wirelock mine when I get what I want. These cheap brass ones would be a wise addition to the emergency stash.
Note, I have the round one with the magnetic bit, I find it hard to fit as the socket clashes with the exhaust. And i drop it in the oil nearly every time taking it out as it clings to everything! On the upside its worked, it has never come undone and I tended to hit loads of things with the sump. The hex it replaces did nto come undone, but had a chunk taken out of the pointing down bit.Edited by fausTVR on Sunday 24th September 19:22
Happened to me about 8 years ago. Nasty 'lump' going over a speed bump at Sprowston Manor, then proceeded to drive about 20 miles including a few fast ones along the Norwich southern bypass. Just under a mile from home I noticed the smell of burning oil. Got home, pulled in to the garage and looked underneath the car. I literally touched the sump plug and it fell out! Luckiest day of my life, even managed to save most of the oil...albeit with burnt fingers. Ordered a rounded magnetic plug straight away and haven't looked back since.
Harley
Harley
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