Tuvoc

Serviced regularly from new is the key - if done every 40k miles from new there is less risk than servicing one for the first time at 100k miles say. (However mine was in fact first serviced at 100k and there were no issues, thankfully it is fine still )

I've often wondered about transmission overhauls. Most people quote a fixed price which presumably means there a standard list of components that they replace as part of the job. But you never know what they actually do. If they think they can get away with it, might they not replace something if they have a profit motive and think the transmission would survive long enough to get past their 12 month warranty period (or whatever it is). Or are there companies that don't do a fixed price, and just replace what is actually broken or severely worn and charge for work actually done ? I've never had a transmission rebuilt, and hopefully will never have to ! My current one is fine, and I'll likely sell the car in the next 12-18 months, so fingers crossed it is still OK up until then.

He's already accepted my offer of £600

Yes, you'll see from some previous post of mine, my IBS failed must have been 2 or 3 years ago. I ran with it disconnected for several months, and initially thought it was OK, but the battery always seemed not to be charged properly, made worse I think by the fact that the car is only used once or twice a week. With daily use and long runs you might get away with it. Anyway I did eventually buy a brand new one from BMW and had it fitted, and it makes a big difference. I had thought that the battery may have been past it's best, but no. It was and still is fine, just now it has being charged properly. Sure my previous cars never had an IBS and were fine without it, but these cars are designed to have one.

There you go, the flush destroyed it

Maybe not the best place to ask, but I have seen before there are a couple of qualified engineers on here. My boiler is an old Potterton Promax condensing boiler, in the kitchen downstairs, with the hot water cylinder in the bathroom upstairs and water tank in the loft, does hot water and central heating, the old traditional style system. If I have the hot water set to 24 hours on the timer control, everything is fine. It just comes on briefly every once in a while to keep the water in the cylinder up to temperature, and everything is bone dry. It runs well with no issues. BUT if I use the timer to have it come on for a couple of hours in the mornings and evenings, and OFF during the day and night, then it leaks. Water collects at the bottom of the boiler cabinet and then overflows onto the kitchen bench and I'll have a puddle of water. So I have to run it 24hrs, and also when I go on holiday as well I have to leave it on. Really bizarre. Does anyone know why this could happen ?

Certainly a couple of the radiators downstairs don't get hot in the lower half. The system doesn't have a magnaclean or similar. It definitely needs doing. But anyway the boiler repair was a success, I can now leave it off all night and most of the day via the timer, and it no longer leaks

I got my transmission serviced as soon as I bought it over 6 years ago. I have no idea if it got a full flush or not. I'm no expert but I'm not convinced that is the best thing to do on an old high mileage transmission. To me a full flush with 100% fresh oil is a huge shock to a 10+ year old transmission with 100k+ miles on it and potentially risky. My personal preference on an old transmission is essentially to just refresh the oil with the aim of extend the lifespan by a reasonable amount. Different story probably if the transmission is not so old and low mileage. I had no choice because the plastic sump was leaking. So it would certainly have been fully drained but if it had a flush I don't know.

Well, my exhaust is smelly on cold starts as well. Nothing amiss, runs perfectly, flies through MOT emissions when hot. I wouldn't say it is a petrol smell though.

Well, he came today with the flow switch, which he thought would contain the circlip which holds it on, but it didn't. The old one was rusted and couldn't be re-used. So he needs to come back tomorrow to finish it off. He was here about 2 hours and there was occasional grunting and complaining so clearly it wasn't easy. When stuff has been there for 15 years I can understand it sometimes doesn't want to come off. I'm going to get a powerflush after this. Never been done in the 10 years we have been here, and unlikely to have been done at all since it was fitted. The system must be filthy inside. I want to give that boiler the best chance of surviving another 18 mths before we move. After that, the new owner is likely to rip out the existing kitchen and replace it anyway. Expensive job those powerflushes, cheapest I've found from a qualified person is 8 x radiators at £40 = £320 incl VAT. British gas of course want more than double that, rip-off merchants.

Ouch - yes he said he will have to drain it down and need access to the loft as well. It still runs perfectly so the PCBs should be OK. Both of those have been replaced over the years.

OK, well even though the water was coming out on the left, the actual leak was the "flow switch" up on the top right which needs replacing. Parts ordered and he will be back tomorrow. Could be a whole mornings work he said. In which case an expensive job, but it is free as it is covered under contract.

It is on the left. British Gas are coming on Monday, I'll report back. Can't see it being a blocked condensate pipe, it ran the central heating through winter, that is when it is working at its hardest and I would surely have had problems then if so.

Only a grand ? I wish I was so lucky. But anyway I still have it six and a half years later, so I've had the benefit for the money I spent.

The bit on Volkswagen was interesting - their latest OEM spec oil is 0w-20 and only that, no other options

Well, 145k miles is why I use 5w-40 rather than the usual 5w-30 on newer cars.

From memory I think LL04 was mainly introduced for diesel but they want one spec so it is fine for petrol as well.

Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40 is LL01 approved as you say. I'd find it strange if the 0w-40 wasn't. It says here that it is: https://www.123engineoil.co.uk/Engine-oil/SHELL/Helix-Ultra-0W-40/p-OIL-374 If it was me I'd use it.

That is good. When I had mine done at Stephens Engineering, I took it in really early before they even opened, and didn't get it back until 6pm or something. I had to wait all day in Starbucks and walking around the shops etc. They did say that they had to wait until the box cooled down, but even so I should have been out by 1pm as you were. They lied, they were probably just overbooked that day. That was over 6 years and 40k miles ago and I'm happy to say the box is still fine. I'd get it done again about now if I wasn't going to be selling it next year.

Yes it is ridiculous, you have to phone them and bring the price down. I probably won't renew again next year as we won't be in the house another full year after this agreement ends.

I imagine it has many years life left in it with all the parts replaced. And it is under contract with British gas so they will fix free. Assuming their engineers can actually see what the problem is. I've had a couple of good ones, and a few other useless ones. Unlike many other contracts, they will fix it regardless of age as long as part are available which they are, up to a max of £1,000 per repair I think it is.

My 2004 530i is exempt. I had to submit a scan of the V5 first so they could see the emissions, then they updated their database accordingly. Probably thousands of people are paying unnecessarily. Just because it is pre 2006 does not mean you are caught, you just have to check the V5 and send it to them. Check this https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/cars/fun-to-drive-cars-that-dodge-the-london-ulez-charge/ss-BBVClVF?ocid=spartanntp Some pretty fun cars there that you wouldn't expect to be exempt.

Thanks. Well it has been like it since at least November last year. That was when I went on holiday, and when I came back found a large empty Celebrations chocolate container on the bench almost full of water. It was total coincidence that was sitting in the right place under the boiler, otherwise it would have been all over the bench and the floor. Since then I've tried the timer a couple of times and always the same, the water. So it has been on 24/7 since then. So anyway I'll get it booked next week, and make sure it is off overnight and leaking before the engineer arrives. I doubt it saves much money, but I'd like to have it working on the timer satisfactorily, and of course be able to turn it off when I go on holiday. (that is the main reason) It is a 15 year old Potterton Promax HE - not the best of boilers - but has had a new heat exchanger a few years back, both main circuit boards replaced, new burner and igniters or something. Anyway as long as it lasts another year before we sell the house I'll be happy, then it is a for the next owner to replace. It does run very well.

Thanks - yes I'll have to get someone to look at it, but it is helpful to give them a clue. Sometimes they are clueless !!

I wait until ECP have half price sales on oil. Last time I got two 5L containers of Shell Helix Ultra LL01 5w-40 for £17-£18 each.