Day 1 with my new(old) Landy

Hey all

So i'm sat in my hotel room being boring and writing on the forum as i've had my first day with my new landy. You might have read my other post asking various questions as I was waiting to collect and wanted to know ppls thoughts.

I've noticed a few things with it and wanted some tips or advice:

1) When I first arrived I noticed that the cooling level was really low, the guy put some in and kept advising that it was a great runner... took it anyway obviously as i'd like to have a crack on fixing this. When I arrived at a family members I lifted the bonnet to see if anything had shifted and the cooling had dropped to the same amount as before??? Is this a worry? Air in the system after a recent service? The lid of the fluid container had the signs of air water and oil mixing but the oil filler cap had nothing showing? They could have wiped this before hand or...?

2) The car pulls to the left slightly. Along the motorway I noticed that the car would pull to the left and the steering wheel not quite centre... any thoughts guys?

Overall the car seems good when driving, no strange noises, feels smooth when driving (up to 80) the gear changes ae a little stiff but I guess if I was old my gears would also be a little stiff and used and tight lol

Thanks in advance all

Buy a warranty.

Is it a petrol?
Did you read up on sequential HGF failures?
Read the crock of ****e thread.


I assume it's a private sale?
Has it got a propshaft?

Not good being optimistic I guess its possible that what you are seeing is left over residue from a previous HGF but considering the coolant drop, chances are there is a problem somewhere.

Pulling to the left could be tracking needing adjusted or mis-matched tyres, tyres should be the same make/type with the best of the tread on the rear, when I bought mine, the newer tyres were on the front and it drove badly - all was well when I swapped them to the back.

Gears shouldn't be stiff, my 1998 1.8 has a smoother gear change than my 2005 model, might be a worn linkage or bent bracket where the clutch slave cylinder is mounted.

see if the coolant bottle is cracked around the neck - common problem.

inlet manifold gasket is a common fault too and is cheap to fix

Mantamad said:

Not good being optimistic I guess its possible that what you are seeing is left over residue from a previous HGF but considering the coolant drop, chances are there is a problem somewhere.

Pulling to the left could be tracking needing adjusted or mis-matched tyres, tyres should be the same make/type with the best of the tread on the rear, when I bought mine, the newer tyres were on the front and it drove badly - all was well when I swapped them to the back.

Gears shouldn't be stiff, my 1998 1.8 has a smoother gear change than my 2005 model, might be a worn linkage or bent bracket where the clutch slave cylinder is mounted.

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So do you think it's a head gasket replacement for it then? I'll take it to the tire place I use to check tracking I guess. The gears are a bit of a push to get into. Not smooth but more like a tank (if that makes sense).

The Mad Hat Man said:

Buy a warranty.

Is it a petrol?
Did you read up on sequential HGF failures?
Read the crock of ****e thread.


I assume it's a private sale?
Has it got a propshaft?

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Yes private so no warranty :-( it's 2 wheel drive

when mine had hgf oil was in the coolant but no coolant in the oil.
It depends on where the gasket has suffered failure.

try looking at what me and MHM suggested above, it could well be one of those reasons it's loosing coolant.

oh ****

The Mad Hat Man said:

oh ****

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full of doom and gloom, you aint ya

lemon

SnoopMarky said:

Yes private so no warranty :-( it's 2 wheel drive

Click to expand...

The Mad Hat Man said:

oh ****

Click to expand...

SnoopMarky said:

full of doom and gloom, you aint ya

Click to expand...

:crazy_driver:

experience - and the fact that yu have just bought a pile of **** with, possibly, HGF or fuct engine & Major drive train problems .. I only hope you didnt pay more than £300 for it ?

only cos he knows more about em than your average bear

Just out of interest, have yu informed your insurance you are running in 2wd? As yu may have no insurance .

It's actually not lost any fluid since I topped it up after about 80 miles on the motorway . A good sign?

I've now covered 250 miles getting it home to the Isle of Man and all fluids are ok, the power steering needs a little but that was needing a dash when i picked it up.

SnoopMarky said:

It's actually not lost any fluid since I topped it up after about 80 miles on the motorway . A good sign?

I've now covered 250 miles getting it home to the Isle of Man and all fluids are ok, the power steering needs a little but that was needing a dash when i picked it up.

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Fingers crossed its OK, just keep an eye on it to make sure

Isle of Man - nice place to live, my wife has a few relatives there