[shygirl]

I hate cars. mine is playing up and rattles around like a squeaky tin can.

does anyone know what it means if the oil cap is covered in thick yellow oil? is it letting water in somewhere? it goes through a lot of oil - say a big bottle every 6 weeks.

and another thing - my ABS (brake) light is coming on and the brakes are juddering when presses, smelling of burnt rubber - its not icy and its never done it before - any ideas?

its a seat Alhambra.
I so hate cars!!!

[happygolucky]

I know nothing about cars either but if any light comes on, take it to a garage as otherwise it could lead to something worse happening, the breaks could very well be leaking  break fluid, but as I said, all I know about cars is, fill them up and make sure the lights work and any warning signs take the car in for the professionals to  look at!

[shygirl]

we have had another circuit light on the dash for ages - the man in the garage just turns it off - then a week later it is back on again. I must look poor as he never wants to charge me but then the car isn't fixed either 

[happygolucky]

I look poor too and I get my car looked at for free sometimes.......there are some help forums on the net, just type in your make and model and you may find what's wrong, hope some one here knows something to help.........I hate not knowing when there is a problem with the car!

[hughesy]

If the thick yellow stuff you mention is on the inside of your oil filler it's probably a sign that water is getting into your engine oil. Often a sign of head gasket failure.

[john and helen]

yep sounds like the head gasket is gone,  if its just the gasket, i may not be to bad, its when the head needs skimming that costs

i have just spent £409 on power steering going… thank gawd it was close to home

[mab]

Is it losing coolant too?
Is the exhaust unusually steamy/smokey?

 If yes then I too would suspect the head gasket, but if not and it's just a small amount of 'mayonnaise' then I would ask; have you been doing a lot of short journeys and no long runs?

If so then you might not have run the engine hot/long enough to drive the moisture out of the oil (some moisture gets in naturally and can condense on the cooler external parts of the engine like the filler cap).

The brakes are more worrying as it sounds like the ABS is cutting in too soon - which will increase your stopping distances. I would suspect a faulty wheel sensor but can't really be more helpful sorry.

[bazzais]

If your on a budget use some kseal (search ebay) if the head has gone its prob just a leak between the water jacket and the oil - this will fix it for under £10 with no probs under normal use.

The light he turns off sounds like an engine management light - you cant MOT a vehicle with any dash light on these days easily.  Even if the fault is that of a sensor and not the reason the sensor should trigger.  May have something to do with oil and water mixing but depends on how moden the car is and what sensors it has on it.

If the anti lock brakes are not working, your best taking them (disconnecting them) altogether.  They are not needed if you drive within the speeds, terrain and your experience.  Anti lock brakes only help if your braking under skid - which you should not be doing.


Kseal or similar product in the water - it does fix most vehicles with leaks between oil and water - if there is a leak between the combustion chamber then its a slightly dif process - but if its a vehicle you want to fix without major cost - £10 bottle of it is worth a punt.

[shygirl]

we bought this car to replace the disco which had a very dodgy head gaskit - it overheated after 3 miles tho never actually broke down. so I hope its not the gaskit again. this car has never overheated tho..
a friend did say the gaskit might be dodgy on this car as there was too much air coming out of the oil compartment when the engine was running.
yes I do a lot of short journeys - about 8 short journeys a day - and I don't take it far as - wait for it -  the steering wheel wobbles since a friend changed the tyre and I haven't got round to getting the balancing done - and the original garage closed down 

I know ABS shudder in icy conditions but this juddered whilst slowing down for roundabout and I am a slow steady driver (the girl racer days are long gone). you could smell burnt rubber.
I cant find the brake fluid thingy under the engine    but everything is normal. 

mot is march. iv bought 4 cars in 4 years so it looks like we are saving up again 


oh yes the exhaust roars like a lion, and fumes come in through the floor if you don't go fast enough 
but that's being fixed over new year.
 
 

[happygolucky]

Whops!! glad you are taking the car in.....the best buy we had was a car advertised for 900 but we got it deliverd for £600, we only wanted a small car and it was a Citron Saxo hatch back, it was cheap to run, cheapest to insure and very cheap on any thing we needed doing, that's only a new battery and tyres and we had that car until it died  4 years later!!!  Cars can be a pain in the butt!

[john and helen]

well the vans back in the garage, the brand new power steering pump has failed…that van is heavy without power steering  lucky i only had 1/2 a mile to go

[happygolucky]

...see...the car going wrong fairy is getting us!

[jacoblambuk]

Hi your brake judder is your abs the most likely problem is a ring on your driveshaft they tend to split and come free from your driveshaft so the abs is getting wrong signal you can get replacement rings from ebay if not it can be a new driveshaft £££ if your car is not using water it could just be a blocked breather is the car petrol or diesel it helps I'm a mechanic bye trade.

[shygirl]

its a petrol.
its going in for the exhaust and service next week. garage bloke isn't too worried but im having a meltdown as iv a new job in jan which involves leaving at 7am and running around allday - no time for dodgy cars.

[jacoblambuk]

You said there is a rubber burning smell just check that you don't have a broken spring on the front of your car rubbing against your tyre run your hand round the inside of your front tyres by the top just in case i don't want to worry you.