Whine about power steering
Discussion
Yes. Classic ones are with the pipes coming out of the pump. TVR specials and about £40-50 each to replace. A leaking rack is another.
All fluids (oil, water, PAS fluid) should be checked on a regular basis... like every day or at least once a week. If you don't you can very quickly fail to recognise a problem and end up with a massive bill.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
All fluids (oil, water, PAS fluid) should be checked on a regular basis... like every day or at least once a week. If you don't you can very quickly fail to recognise a problem and end up with a massive bill.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
Can anyone explain why in a 21st century vehicle, one should have to check the same liquids and fluids that people employed chauffeurs and mechanics to keep an eye on in the eary 1900's? I run a couple of other cars and, with at least one of them, I never need to look under the bonnet - ever!
quote:
All fluids (oil, water, PAS fluid) should be checked on a regular basis... like every day or at least once a week. If you don't you can very quickly fail to recognise a problem and end up with a massive bill.
That's getting a bit over the top unless you have a leak somewhere. At this rate I think you're doing a lot of grubby work for no reason, and in fact you're increasing the danger of maintenance-induced failures. It will use some oil and you need to have a rough idea how much, and check/top up frequently enough to keep the level up. Every thousand miles or so would be reasonable for most cars. It shouldn't use any water or any other fluids, so I would check these monthly or before a long journey/track day but otherwise leave well alone. Pointless checking these every day/week unless you know it has a problem - in which case you should fix it. I would say pay attention to unusual noises/temperature/pressure changes and be prepared to investigate, other than that just make sure its serviced at the specified intervals and all problems are sorted promptly.
That's my theory, and it's worked fine for me over the last 100,000+ TVR miles.
Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)
1. Recommended practice from the factory. Also part of the Advanced Driving course when I did it.
2. A lot of leaks do not necessary give you any clue such as a pool on the floor. The only giveaway is a falling level. Leaving such checks to once a month means that the car has a long time to dump its fluids and not give you any indication. If the leak happens when under pressure i.e. driving, the fluid is dispersed anyway.
3. I've seen several cars that have been wrecked by owners not checking levels on the grounds that we can send men to the moon so why check and anyway isn't there a warning light? End results have ranged from cracked warped heads to siezed engines.
In the end, it's your choice. Just tell your dealer that you don't bother and he will give you extra special treatment 'cos the chances are you will be spending a lot of money with him eventually.
I've got into the habit of popping the bonnet up when it goes into the garage so that it reminds me to check things when I next drive it. Oil and water is stored on a shelf next to the car front along with the appropriate funnels etc. It may be a bit OTT but the car's worth it.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
2. A lot of leaks do not necessary give you any clue such as a pool on the floor. The only giveaway is a falling level. Leaving such checks to once a month means that the car has a long time to dump its fluids and not give you any indication. If the leak happens when under pressure i.e. driving, the fluid is dispersed anyway.
3. I've seen several cars that have been wrecked by owners not checking levels on the grounds that we can send men to the moon so why check and anyway isn't there a warning light? End results have ranged from cracked warped heads to siezed engines.
In the end, it's your choice. Just tell your dealer that you don't bother and he will give you extra special treatment 'cos the chances are you will be spending a lot of money with him eventually.
I've got into the habit of popping the bonnet up when it goes into the garage so that it reminds me to check things when I next drive it. Oil and water is stored on a shelf next to the car front along with the appropriate funnels etc. It may be a bit OTT but the car's worth it.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
Oil: Pull out dipstick, wipe, put back, remove and check. Put back.
Water Hit bottle with metal object. Listen to ding to gauge whether it is empty or not. Investigate if necessary.
Undo PAS reservoir top, look and replace top.
Where's the grubbyness in that Pete? Or is your underbonnet as dirty as the outside?
>> Edited by shpub on Friday 26th July 15:19
Water Hit bottle with metal object. Listen to ding to gauge whether it is empty or not. Investigate if necessary.
Undo PAS reservoir top, look and replace top.
Where's the grubbyness in that Pete? Or is your underbonnet as dirty as the outside?
>> Edited by shpub on Friday 26th July 15:19
quote:
1. Recommended practice from the factory. Also part of the Advanced Driving course when I did it.
2. A lot of leaks do not necessary give you any clue such as a pool on the floor. The only giveaway is a falling level. Leaving such checks to once a month means that the car has a long time to dump its fluids and not give you any indication. If the leak happens when under pressure i.e. driving, the fluid is dispersed anyway.
3. I've seen several cars that have been wrecked by owners not checking levels on the grounds that we can send men to the moon so why check and anyway isn't there a warning light? End results have ranged from cracked warped heads to siezed engines.
In the end, it's your choice. Just tell your dealer that you don't bother and he will give you extra special treatment 'cos the chances are you will be spending a lot of money with him eventually.
I've got into the habit of popping the bonnet up when it goes into the garage so that it reminds me to check things when I next drive it. Oil and water is stored on a shelf next to the car front along with the appropriate funnels etc. It may be a bit OTT but the car's worth it.
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
It seems common for car handbooks to say this and I reckon it's a cop-out to minimise their liability. If your car is in good condition you will notice that none of the fluids you're checking every day/week ever go down. You have to ask yourself whether it's worth the extra bit of dirt and moisture into every cap you take off, just to prove this. Plus oily hands/clothes from climbing around the engine bay. (If your engine bay is as clean as the inside of the car you spend too much time cleaning it and not enough time driving it IMO.) Feel free to check everything if you want Steve and I don't have any problem with that, just saying that I think it's a waste of time. Your time to waste as you please though.
Re detecting problems by checking levels, checking levels is no protection against sudden failures so of course you need to be on the look out for unusual temperature, pressure or warning lights. The other potential failures are none critical and will become obvious pretty soon, if not then you'd pick them up in your monthly 'service' when you check the fluids, lights and so on.
Like I say, if it makes you happy and you enjoy it then go ahead, but you're some way from convincing me that it's time well spent.
Whilst not necessarily disagreeing with Steve on this, there has to be a pragmatic approach. I drive my Griff almost every day - probably 340 days a year.
I now know the signs of the steering rack leaks and can tell when the fluid has decided to find its way onto the car park or garage floor - I can almost feel and certainly hear the difference in the steering - but that doesn't mean I don't check the level. The same with coolant - it tells me when the level has dropped.
The variablility with which the engine consumes PAS fluid, coolant (typically "four inches every ten days") and oil (hardly anything between 6000 mile services, maybe a litre, which seems very low) is the reason to have regular checks.I want to know anything about how the rate of consumption is varying.
If I only fired the Griff up twice a week, or less, I would have no hesitation in checking under the bonnet EVERY time. So how often do you start up and how valuable is your engine??
I now know the signs of the steering rack leaks and can tell when the fluid has decided to find its way onto the car park or garage floor - I can almost feel and certainly hear the difference in the steering - but that doesn't mean I don't check the level. The same with coolant - it tells me when the level has dropped.
The variablility with which the engine consumes PAS fluid, coolant (typically "four inches every ten days") and oil (hardly anything between 6000 mile services, maybe a litre, which seems very low) is the reason to have regular checks.I want to know anything about how the rate of consumption is varying.
If I only fired the Griff up twice a week, or less, I would have no hesitation in checking under the bonnet EVERY time. So how often do you start up and how valuable is your engine??
You are right that you can get too paranoid (is this really possible) about this but the advantage of regular chceks is that you can work out consumption and what is normal for you car so it can help with a bit of early warning. The trouble is many owners don't even do that and then complain when something goes bang and they loose a kidney or two to pay for it.
I can remember one TVR owner that ignored his oil pressure light because he had checked the oil a week before and it was fine. The fact that he had driven several track days and had an engine that was a little thirsty when revved had taken the oil down below the min mark and hence the problems.
TVRs consume oil , they can be a little thirsty and can have leaks that don't necessarily show up on the floor. The safe way is to check on a regular basis. I err on the paranoid side and check almost every day I drive the car.
Steve
I can remember one TVR owner that ignored his oil pressure light because he had checked the oil a week before and it was fine. The fact that he had driven several track days and had an engine that was a little thirsty when revved had taken the oil down below the min mark and hence the problems.
TVRs consume oil , they can be a little thirsty and can have leaks that don't necessarily show up on the floor. The safe way is to check on a regular basis. I err on the paranoid side and check almost every day I drive the car.
Steve
My Griff isn't predictable enough to estimate consumption on past top-ups. Sometimes I will check and the water and oil will both be fine, sometimes at an identical interval after identical driving it will have used half a dipstick worth of oil and the expension tank will have dropped by 3 inches.
I check mine once a week or roughly 200 miles. TVR's occasionally have hiccups.
I think I'd notice if I woke up one morning and my willy had fallen off but that doesn't mean that I don't check every day
Ian A.
I check mine once a week or roughly 200 miles. TVR's occasionally have hiccups.
I think I'd notice if I woke up one morning and my willy had fallen off but that doesn't mean that I don't check every day
Ian A.
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