Barry

If the fan never turns off, it would be worth plugging it into a computer and looking at the fan switch and relay activation states on live data. There’s a fair chance one of them is faulty. Not expensive parts either. The fan shouldn’t activate until the coolant temperature is over 90 degrees (this may be a few degrees out), so even if it’s 50 degrees outside, the fan shouldn’t come on from a cold start. And really, 1,100 dhs to say “it’s ok” isn’t acceptable. It takes 20-30 minutes to check everything out at most. How much do they charge per hour? Speak to Jason at A2B, tell him Barry the Irish mechanic sent you. He will give you more specific advice.

It’s just a matter of time before, if it’s not in process already, someone sends their cars to China for disassembly and reverse engineering and spares become available on the open market. Copyright and intellectual property count for nothing over there. I know some people will baulk at Chinese parts but you get what you pay for over there, same as anywhere else really. If you send the job to the lowest bidder, you will get the crappiest parts. Spend a bit more and you will get quality gear.

Here's the 2018 JD Power reliability survey for comparison,

I thought we established that a long time ago 😉

I have a computer. Could probably do it some evening after work but would be after the weekend. Drop me a message with your number and I’ll be in touch later on this evening.

Plug it into a diagnostic computer, get the codes and take it from there. Any else would just be speculation.

I read an article a few weeks ago about a guy in America who was buying up crashed/damaged/insurance write off Tesla’s and using the parts to repair other damaged cars. Can’t find the article now.

The cars you can - and can't - depend on. Cheap and cheerful Suzuki tops reliability survey while Elon Musk's Tesla is rock bottom 1. Suzuki - 97.7% 2. Lexus - 97.5% 3. Toyota - 96.8% =4. Kia - 95.8% =4. Mitsubishi - 95.8% =4. Subaru - 95.8% 7. Skoda - 95.6% 8. Alfa Romeo - 95.5% 9. Hyundai - 95.4% 10. Seat - 95.2% =11. Vauxhall - 94.6% =11. Mazda - 94.6% 13. Dacia - 94.1% 14. Fiat - 94.0% 15. Honda - 93.8% 16. BMW - 93.4% 17. Volkswagen - 92.9% 18. Ford - 92.7% 19. Renault - 91.7% =20. Audi - 91.5% =20. Volvo - 91.5% 22. Mini - 91.2% 23. Porsche - 90.9% 24. Peugeot - 89.4% 25. Citroen - 88.1% 26. Mercedes-Benz - 88.0% 27. Nissan - 87.1% 28. Jaguar - 84.9% 29. Jeep - 82.7% 30. Land Rover - 76.5% 31. Tesla - 57.3% Source: What Car? Reliability Survey 2018

Sorry I don’t know him personally and the guy who does is out of the country.

The guy who owns iserviceanycar is friends with one of my workmates. They are a good company. I won’t say anything bad about powertech but they offered me a job before and I didn’t take it, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from that.

Mashallah I have a new found respect for you. Hard to find people here who appreciate music that isn’t played on radio mirchi.

If you had a never ending supply of cash, what mods would you make? My next plan for my Peugeot would be a rebore, a set of oversized pistons, nitrous injection and custom driveshafts.

I had been driving tractors and stuff for years as a kid but the first proper car I ever drove was a 1989 VW Polo Mk2 Breadvan, 1043ccs, 45 BHP of raw German power. Same as the photo. First proper accident I had in that car too. Got T-boned at a junction and bent the car in half like a banana. Center tunnel collapsed and my seat ended up on the other side of the car. Still have neck and back problems from that accident to this day. Coincidentally, also lost my license 15 years later in the same model of car after a police chase which involved me taking out a lamp on a traffic island.

Any love for me first and the gimme gimmes? I think they're one of those bands anyone can sing along with because everyone knows the songs.

Seems more to me like an inexperienced driver or someone who went into a blind panic and couldn't think straight and made up a story to cover their ass. Of course the foot brakes would work. Unless he was trying to brake lightly over a long distance which would have boiled the brake fluid and induced fade rather than just stamp on the brakes, switch the engine off and stop the thing. I bet the fire was just the paint from the brake pads burning. I had a couple of cars that would set the pads on fire if you were pushing hard and late braking too much. In most autos, older ones anyway, dropping into P slots a pawl into a slot in a cog which locks the transmission solid. Can't speak for new cars, I outsource all my transmission work. When moving it doesn't work because the cog is spinning too fast for the pawl to slip into the hole and it makes a horrible girrrrrr noise. Then all of a sudden at around 2-3 kph the car will jerk to a halt. Switching the engine off is a good idea. If the engine is stopped, the car can't keep moving. The only thing to be aware of is that you don't activate the steering lock. Lose your steering and there's a good chance you will hit the barrier and flip onto your lid.

I liked the spaghetti incident. I was 10 when it came out and it introduced me to bands I had never heard of. And who doesn't love a good misfits cover? Totally agree about appetite. Big big album. All killer, no filler and impossible to follow. Have you listened to any of slashes solo stuff? I'm not a massive fan of his but I do have a respect for him. I feel like he got stuck in a rut with his playing and never moved forward, just the same sound and licks every time. Slashes snakepit - it's five o clock somewhere, is worth a listen though. Some big names in the lineup. Eric Dovers vocals were a match for axls.

It’s almost the original band. Axl, slash, duff and dizzy. For what it’s worth, I didn’t think Chinese democracy was too bad. When you look at it as an axl album rather than g n r it makes sense.

There is no set limit on when the part will fail. You can run 10k or you can run 1k. The big killer is torque. Sticking the throttle down in inappropriate places. UJs are easily changed. 15 minutes labour. Loosen the circlips, slip the joint out and slip the new one back In.

Just an off chance. Is anyone going to the GP who isn't going to the concert who would be willing to swap their ticket after the racing? I will offer some dirhams naturally. Much love also available. I want to see the band but I don't want to pay for a full F1 weekend when I will be working. DM if interested.

I always love your reports rahim bhai. Need to get myself out one of these weekends.

If you can get underneath, grab the driveshaft and give it a wiggle and a twist. Watch the ends. If the universal joints are failing you will see the movement.

That is a diesel bonnet. The vent is there to feed air to the intercooler on top of the engine

Anyone have an email address for this company? Already googled but they don’t have a proper website. Better still, does anyone know someone who works here?

DM sent

Yeah, better just smoke a joint and forget about it. When we’re on the subject. These gallons of “flushing oil” you see in the parts shops. What kind of poison is this? Doesn’t even have a grade labelled on it. Some people seem to love it though. Personally I’m a bit weary of putting random unlabelled stuff in an engine. Service centre is on commission for selling engine flush. Flush or don’t flush according to engine condition.