Ok here's one for you!

[MrRegieRitmo]

Just finished moving house, although won't be online for maybe a couple of weeks. but fortunately for all you guys I can view this site through my mobile & of course there's always the internet at work. Although we're off to Malta in a couple of weeks so I can see me not getting onto the web at home before September, but on the bright side I should certainly have plenty to show you by then! Mr Bickle very kindly A-framed my R14 to the new place, so it should have been a case of Settling in & getting things sorted in the house but instead I've now got the Alfa to worry about! It's sense of timing is impeccable! Only two things make this a slightly better situation than when I last couldn't use it; the fact I now live in the same street as my colleagues so lifts shouldn't be a problem & the fact that we're out of the country for a couple of weeks so the car will be irrelevant for most of this month. If this ends up being a complicated or expensive problem to fix then the car is just going to sit there till we come back from holiday because I refuse to blow all my holiday money on it, sorry rephrasing that; I CAN'T blow all my holiday money on it, so I really hope there's an easy solution! Right here goes; the last few days the ever erratic idle revs have gone from unsettled to wild, they're now up & down like a yo yo. I am led to believe that a sensor or air flow meter is up the creek but the difference between now & normal is the extremity of it's highs & lows & the fact the injector light is now permanently lit. I tried yesterday using some of that Redex petrol system cleaner as when revving at full throttle you get a bit of black smoke suggesting it's a bit coked up & in dire need of a service but this made no difference. The car drives ok at full pelt in fact it prefers it but hates sitting there idling or doing the traffic jam thing so the journey to work was going to prove interesting! People were asking me why I keep revving the car (I'm not) & getting strange looks from people thinking I'm just a prat in a racey car. Despite all this I wasn't overly concerned that the car was about to let me down in any big way it was just letting me know it wants some attention. Until last night that is when it completely died on the roundabout at the bottom of the road, it was most disconcerting & surely quite dangerous as the power steering was gone without warning & I had to try & heave the car round out of the blue & nearly didn't make the turn! (brown trouser time!). Don't know WTF was going on there! But anyway I pulled over, turned her off then on again & went on my way as if nothing had happened (obviously a tad nervously) but obviously still revving all over the place, using copious amounts of petrol in the process! As you can imagine I'm rather weary of taking it anywhere today so I haven't, despite needing to go places but I think we've used up our quota of AA call outs (what's the point of being a member I ask?!) so it's a risk I'm a bit adversed to take but on the other hand I don't like the idea of the car just sitting there when I have things I need to do & I could be wasting money on taxis unnecessarily if the car is still ok to use. It would help if I knew what was wrong with it then I would know whether to completely forget about trying to use it & start saving up my pennies or just put it in for a service & then bob's your uncle job done that's all it needs (and in the meantime I can still use it to get about in without risk of breakdown)! So anybody any ideas about what's causing this & how serious it is (i.e. Costly?) or even if it is serious at all!? Thanks in great anticipation!

[pogweasel]

 

My eyes went dizzy after about the 5th line.

[micky0604]

Greatï¼Â---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Never, never, never, never give up.While there is life there is hope. Nothing is impossible! world of warcraft power leveling world of warcraft powerleveling wow power leveling wow powerleveling world of warcraft power leveling -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[pogweasel]

Greatï¼Â

Zzzzzz

[r.welfare]

Do you have a Haynes manual Reg, or can you buy an Alfa factory workshop bootleg CD on eBay? (Bloody useful those things, I have one for the Accord as J Haynes did not get off his fat, beardy rich arse to do one of his jokebooks).EDIT: This is what you'd be wanting: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Alfa-Romeo-145-and-146-workshop-service-manual_W0QQitemZ350086091348I'd have a go at removing the idle control valve and giving it a good squirt-through with carburettor cleaner for a kickoff. If this doesn't work I'd buy a new one. Shouldn't be too hard to fit?I'd also check the air filter, spark plugs and fuel filter as well. When did you last have it properly serviced?

[kelvin2008]

kinda sounds like an air leak on the inlet, maybe a vacum pipe split connected to the inlet manifold?

[Jazzy Jeff]

It is quite amusing how hopeless modern cars are when the power steering goes isn't it? My Skoda stalled the other day for no real reason and to get it to go around a corner was like wrestling a bear.

[micky0604]

Greatï¼Â----------------------------------------------------------------------------Never, never, never, never give up.While there is life there is hope. Nothing is impossible! wow power leveling wow powerleveling power leveling powerleveling world of warcraft accounts -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Twiggy]

Had exactly the same problem with a Fiat Croma, and it eventually turned out to be the temperature sensor in the thermostat housing. Not a difficult job to do, but no guarantee that it`s the same problem on yours. I discovered it was the temperature sender when I accidentally knocked the connection off, and it started revving it`s thingies off.It later started to cut out too, and that was the ECU, subsequently repaired by Marsh and Jeffrey in Manchester.

[Mr Lobster]

Had a similar problem with my 145 Cloverleaf, idle speed fluctuates then just completely dies and won'rt restart.Sadly in my case at least it wasn't cheap or easy, however before you get too involved it is worth pulling the big fuses out of the big black box of nonsence in the engine bay and giving them a clean - as you are stood in front of it with the bonnet open it should be in front of you and towards the right a bit (on the passenger side).If that doesn't work then pull the carpet up in the passenger front footwell - the ECU lives here and they can suffer from damp;If neither of these is the problem (and to be honest I don't think they will be but its worth trying the easy stuuf first!) then it sounds like either the airflow meter or cam speed sensor.Hope this is of use and its not too much hassle! Great cars when they are working though.....

[vicsmith]

I had a Mk1 Seat Ibiza that exhibited a problem that was possibly similar, that turned out to be the autochoke that had called it a day, I downgraded to a manual choke and the problem vanished.

[nigel bickle]

A service wouldnt go amiss....

[Father Ted]

Just finished moving house, although won't be online for maybe a couple of weeks. but fortunately for all you guys I can view this site through my mobile & of course there's always the internet at work. Although we're off to Malta in a couple of weeks so I can see me not getting onto the web at home before September, but on the bright side I should certainly have plenty to show you by then! Mr Bickle very kindly A-framed my R14 to the new place, so it should have been a case of Settling in & getting things sorted in the house but instead I've now got the Alfa to worry about! It's sense of timing is impeccable! Only two things make this a slightly better situation than when I last couldn't use it; the fact I now live in the same street as my colleagues so lifts shouldn't be a problem & the fact that we're out of the country for a couple of weeks so the car will be irrelevant for most of this month. If this ends up being a complicated or expensive problem to fix then the car is just going to sit there till we come back from holiday because I refuse to blow all my holiday money on it, sorry rephrasing that; I CAN'T blow all my holiday money on it, so I really hope there's an easy solution! Right here goes; the last few days the ever erratic idle revs have gone from unsettled to wild, they're now up & down like a yo yo. I am led to believe that a sensor or air flow meter is up the creek but the difference between now & normal is the extremity of it's highs & lows & the fact the injector light is now permanently lit. I tried yesterday using some of that Redex petrol system cleaner as when revving at full throttle you get a bit of black smoke suggesting it's a bit coked up & in dire need of a service but this made no difference. The car drives ok at full pelt in fact it prefers it but hates sitting there idling or doing the traffic jam thing so the journey to work was going to prove interesting! People were asking me why I keep revving the car (I'm not) & getting strange looks from people thinking I'm just a prat in a racey car. Despite all this I wasn't overly concerned that the car was about to let me down in any big way it was just letting me know it wants some attention. Until last night that is when it completely died on the roundabout at the bottom of the road, it was most disconcerting & surely quite dangerous as the power steering was gone without warning & I had to try & heave the car round out of the blue & nearly didn't make the turn! (brown trouser time!). Don't know WTF was going on there! But anyway I pulled over, turned her off then on again & went on my way as if nothing had happened (obviously a tad nervously) but obviously still revving all over the place, using copious amounts of petrol in the process! As you can imagine I'm rather weary of taking it anywhere today so I haven't, despite needing to go places but I think we've used up our quota of AA call outs (what's the point of being a member I ask?!) so it's a risk I'm a bit adversed to take but on the other hand I don't like the idea of the car just sitting there when I have things I need to do & I could be wasting money on taxis unnecessarily if the car is still ok to use. It would help if I knew what was wrong with it then I would know whether to completely forget about trying to use it & start saving up my pennies or just put it in for a service & then bob's your uncle job done that's all it needs (and in the meantime I can still use it to get about in without risk of breakdown)! So anybody any ideas about what's causing this & how serious it is (i.e. Costly?) or even if it is serious at all!? Thanks in great anticipation!

And, breathe.I would have a crack at the idle control valve using eithr brake or carb cleaner as Richard says, also service (oil, filters, plugs) you would be amaxed what a difference running clean oil through can make sometimes. Then check the condition of the ECU as our crustatian friend says, they suffer badly if they get damp and make the car do all sorts of weird and wonderful things. Check the fuel and vaccum pipes for perishing and splits, also might be an idea to check the condition of plug leads and even dizzy cap (assuming it has one and not a coil pack per plug) as an EFi Fiesta I once ran had very similar issues and it turned out to be leads that were arcing out in damp weather - new leads and loadsa silicone spray did the trick there.Again things like air mass sensors and so on - clean with brake cleaner and try before you spend £££ replacing.Finally - you want to try driving a BX when the engine stalls, loss of brakes, steering and suspension makes for brown trousers driving.

[r.welfare]

Reg, get yourself down to your local friendly motor factor this Saturday and get some service parts for a kickoff - plugs, filters etc - this will help. Sounds like the learned Mr Bickle has identified a lack of maintenance (also referenced in your R14 maladies), you can get away with no servicing in a Nissan Sunny but not in something Italian and tempremental like a 146! It'll also give you a lot of satisfaction to do some spannerwork, basic servicing is how I started out a few years ago...

[AXrescuer]

Greatï¼Â----------------------------------------------------------------------------Never, never, never, never give up.While there is life there is hope. Nothing is impossible! wow power leveling wow powerleveling power leveling powerleveling world of warcraft accounts -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shouldn't this arse be booted now.

[MrRegieRitmo]

I've also had a couple of replies on http://forum.alfa145.com/index.php?showtopic=13115"I would try the following, in the order specified and if one of them resolves your problem the you don't need to go any futher...Try the MAF and Lambda sensor unplug test (separately, one at a time). If either test resolves the problem then replace that particular sensor.Perform the throttle actuator reset procedure (see this post).Clean out the throttle body (see this post).Replace the Temperature Coolant Sensor (~£15).If none of those resolve the issue then suspect a faulty Idle Stepper Motor (the black box bolted to the side of the throttle body)."and"Hi ALFred, my revs were very irratic on tick over when I fiddled with the BBOB relays in front of the battery, this also made it difficult to drive with changing gear for biting point and trying to cut out, so I removed each one and cleaned with sandpaper one at a time, nothing happened or improved it after cleaning and replacing each one and then trying it untill I did the last one (last red one on the right as you look at them), after this one she started and settled immediately!worth a try if nothing else?"Do these tally with what you guys were thinking?It seems typing in a little message box on my mobile removes the need for paragraphing! :oops:Thanks for your replies, I'll have a try at anything that costs £0 first & see if I can rule things out.The 2nd response above from the 145 forum is leading me to think I have an inkling about what might be going on. Some months back the car was causing me problems, the only time to date the car has actually broken down on me, I was sat by the side of the road, on a pitch black country lane on a cold February evening, heart wrenchingly near to the burger van but too far for me to abandon the car unlocked (I needed to keep the lights on to prevent somebody ploughing into me!) so I sat there for nearly an hour freezing my butt off waiting for the AA to arrive. Then when they finally did arrive I was stood by the side of the road trying to keep warm for about another 90mins whilst the guy fiddled about under the bonnet, then under the rear seats, then back under the bonnet again.....there appeared to be something wrong with the little fuse boxes that sit in front of the battery, the connection of the one responsible for the fuel line was dodgy, probably due to damp & dirt getting in there & it was cutting out. He made a very temporary fix, i.e. enough to see me down the bottom of the road back to work but not enough to see me the rest of the 28 miles of the 30 mile journey home, so that week I never actually made it home I had to stay at my sister's just down the road in Portsmouth.The AA guy gave me the number of an Auto Electrician who was very good but also very busy, he couldn't come out to me till the end of the week so my car just stayed parked up in the car park at work, hence why I never made it home that week!Anyway, to cut a long story long, when the guy came out to sort me out, after all the fretting it only turned out to be a £20 job (plus £35 call out charge) but even so I was quite happy with £55 considering I hadn't even been given a ball park figure until he'd seen what he was dealing with! Now here's the crucial bit, he too could only perform a temporary fix, as he had suitable parts to make the repairs but they weren't absolutely spot on, and therefore he wasn't 100% happy with the job. He explained that the fix should last ok & there was no reason to think it would fail again in the near future but he said that he would order me the exact correct parts which would only be a few quid each & then arrange to see me again & make the repairs spot on. The problem was basically that one or two of the little fuses boxes / plugs had corroded or deteriorated so what he'd done was to cut the ends off them down to the good wire then affix some new ends on, and it's these new ends that he wasn't 100% happy with but that's all he had on him at the time.A few weeks down the line when I was due to see him again, I postponed it because I was a touch brassick & as the car seemed to be running fine as it was, I didn't see any urgency. That's how things stayed as not long after that was the major disaster that was this year's MOT test which dragged on for over a month, trying to pass it, failing twice & costing me a fair bit to sort out. In the meantime this overdue job which needed to be made 100% right on the fuseboxes had got pushed right back down the priority list as it paled in comparison to just trying to get the damn thing roadworthy in the eyes of the law, even though it had still been driving fine. Finally the MOT was passed back in May (it expired early April), then in June came the palava of the brake discs, where basically I was in desperate need of some new discs which were an advisory on the MOT but it was the Pads which were a failure. I had the pads changed & then got back on the road for a few weeks with my intention being to make buying new discs my next priority but by the time I'd been able to purchase some discs, the front offside wheel was making quite a bit of noise & was protesting audibly & physically where the new pad was grating on the admittedly very worn old disc (which was so worn it had a ridge carved around the circumference of it!). One day I was driving back from the petrol stsation & the steering wheel started wobbling all over the place & there was a worrying scraping noise coming from the front offside wheel & the car was veering all over the road. Basically there'd been so much vibration & friction between the new pad & the old disc that it had broken all of the wheels bolts, two had dropped out as the thread had broken higher up (and are probably still lying in the road somewhere between here & Tesco) and the other two had sheared much lower down the thread so thankfully stayed in to just about hold the wheel on otherwise it wouldn't have beared thinking about. Shame the two bolts that stayed in weren't at opposite sides which would have helped a bit! Anyway I had to have the car taken to my mechanic on the back of a flatbed recovery truck & what would have been a £50 job to change the discs became a £176 job to change the discs, drill the remains of the broken wheel bolts out of the hub, then recol the threads in the hub which had worn away!Fast forward to now & you can see why this fuse box job had gone completely out of the window, as until now there had been no sign of any problem, but I was just wondering whether this was a sign that the 'temporary repairs' had reached the end of their natural life? But then the symptoms don't match, if it was electrical surely the power would blip all the time, but have a fluctuating rev? The only time it has cut out was when it died at the roundabout & I had to manually steer it, but then as soon as I turned it off & on again it sprang straight back into life. When I had the electrical problem I referred to, it really struggled to start, sometimes I had to sit & wait for 5 - 10 minutes before it would start, giving several failed attempts to start in the meantime. Also back in February we had had a period of soggy weather, wetter than it has been recently which played havoc with the electrics but this current problem was happening when it was bone dry! Either way I know I should get this electrical job finished off as that may be the key, I'm just reluctant to spend money on anything I can't be certain will definitely 'sort it'! Like the servicing, although it could definitely do with one, no one can be certain that it will definitely 'do the trick' can they!?

[Dead_E23]

I suspect the throttle body or the lambda sensor. Try cleaning the insides of the throttle body with a can of Carburettor Cleaner (about a fiver from the motor factor) before replacing anything - if you follow the pipe from the air cleaner it's the bit nearest the engine.Also, get the poor thing serviced! Second only to a trip round the track, neglecting services is the surest way to get an old car an appointment with the fragger!

[mk2_craig]

Do you sometimes wish you'd bought the Galant instead Regie?

[MrRegieRitmo]

Do you sometimes wish you'd bought the Galant instead Regie?

Nah, VR4 aside I don't think I could have had this much fun with the Galant! This Alfa has been entertaining on the move OR stationary! At the moment it's a very entertaining ornament! It's certainly been an adventure & somewhat character building. When it's gone it will have been a very memorable car for better or worse.I knew right at the start I could possibly expect problems as nobody needs to be told about Alfa's reputation, however sometimes you just have to experience a car for yourself, listen to the warnings then do it anyway!I don't hold anything against the car, in many ways it's been better than I expected, it seems like it's been a bit of a nightmare but to be fair I believe it had been neglected long before I got hold of it, otherwise how come such a struggle to pass the MOT?! The garage I bought it from put a fresh MOT on it, they made no mention of whether it needed any work & in the absence of an advisory sheet it appeared to pass with flying colours, yet 12 months down the line it had 2 illegal tyres, the other 2 were near the limit, all four brake pads were illegal, the discs were past it, the exhaust was broken in 3 places by corrosion, there was a list of advisories as long as your arm, hardly the hallmarks of a cared for car, how could any of this not been a problem the previous year? I must have just been incredibly unlucky all of this stuff needed doing at once! I got the garage to carry out the cambelt service before I collected the car & in the service book were plenty of dealer stamps showing the scheduled servicing but then in later times this appeared to peter out to nothing.Anyway apart from the car needing overdue replacement parts, it has only had two times of actual trouble where it has left me unable to drive it; this current problem & the one back in Feb (the brake disc saga was unnecessary, I brought it on myself & the car) and only once where it has actually broken down & would not move any further without assistance which was the February break down. This current thing has left me unable to drive it due to not wanting to provoke the problem or give it a chance to get worse as the thing where it died & I had to heave it off the road has left me wary. However the car still works, starts / runs, if I got in it & took it up the road it would do it, so this isn't a break down.The way Alfa's are perceived I imagined I would be breaking down every week which has been completely far from the truth, the in-between times (which have been months, not days or weeks) it has been a fast, reliable, enjoyable & rather thirsty chariot! Would I do it again? Of course! Don't regret it at all, you endure the bad times to get to the good, which with this car definitely are good, otherwise I would have got shot of it by now!

[r.welfare]

Was the garage you bought the 146 from the same garage that put the fresh MOT on it? If so, d'you smell a rat now? For reference, if the MOT cert states there WAS an advisory notice issued, but you never got it, you can always go on to www.motinfo.gov.uk and get the last X years (where X is the point that the car first received a "computerised" MOT, usually 2005/06) MOT details including advisories.Dealer stamps, unfortunately, don't mean a lot without the invoices to back 'em up. It's quite possible to go to a dealer and get a small service done - with the corresponding stamp in the book - at, say, 60,000 miles, when the car actually needs the cambelt, waterpump or lots of other important stuff done. Also, you'd still get the stamp for the "service" even if there was loads of other work recommended to be done, for which the customer can tell the dealer they won't bother.Still, keep a stiff upper lip and do try to sort out that message formatting, I'm getting a migraine And for God's sake do get it serviced, it may not "do the trick this time", as you put it, but it'll sure as hell make it less likely to have a future catastrophic mechanical failure. Honestly, regular servicing is cheap, easy to do yourself, therapeutic (or maybe I'm just odd) and the best insurance against mechanical meltdown you can get. If the problem is the throttle body, 5 will get you 10 it's got gunged up because the oil hasn't been changed regularly - which could have been alleviated by regular servicing - QED my dear Regie.

[AnthonyG]

Reg, I'm probably as allergic to spannerwork and/or spending money as you, but you really need to budget for a service, otherwise the car will just deliver more and more problems. Either DIY, as RW suggests, or find a friendly small garage, possibly a Italian car specialist.

[nigel bickle]

Change the oil & filters, clean the plugs, wipe the HT leads with a solvent, flush the airflow meter (cheap carb cleaner will do) and it should be dandy. My Croma does it occasionally -telling me the airflow needs a clean. 2 mins -jobs a good 'un.Its not going to die on you Reg -its a different fault -but you are pissing it right off!And -as you've learnt - '' a stitch in time...''

[MrRegieRitmo]

Does that go for the episode I had on the roundabout too when it did indeed 'die on me' even though the journey continued once I'd turned it off & on again?

 

To add to my problems I returned from work this afternoon to find that my car had been backed away from the garage meaning we had a tighter turn to manoeuvre around it in order to park up. When we did park up we discovered the reason....the strong winds had blown down the satellite dish which in turn had taken down some of the ceramic guttering with it which had it's fall softened by my car bonnet! Mum had backed my car away to spare it from any possible further damage, not wishing to take any chances. Nice ding now on the front offside edge of the bonnet along with a good graze of yet more paint (for good measure) removed from this car since I took ownership of it last year in very good condition - it's now looking decidedly tatty!

After the pheasant that committed suicide in front of me last year, taking my offside foglight, surrounding panel & lots of paint with it, I've decided mother nature must really have it in for me! *

This is turning into a real battle now, as I have the failing mechanics to deal with & now something has decided that my car should have nothing going for it whatsoever by ruining the exterior too! I need this like a hole in the head! Can't wait to end what is turning out to be a shitty week by fleeing to Malta this weekend! I so need it.

Back on Monday, when my girlfriend & I were having a deep & meaningful conversation, the result of which was that we decided it would be best if we went our separate ways, a thoroughly delicious spot drove tantalisingly past at the most inconvenient of moments causing my eyes to follow it, my head to swivel & my thoughts to wishing I could get away with interrupting this important discussion to whip my phone camera out! You can imagine how well that would have gone down! Anyway despite the darkness there was no mistaking the R reg Fiat 128 3P as it growled past! Do hope I see it again in daylight sometime!

 

*other times when mother nature has shown a lack of consideration towards my possessions include both the last house & the house before that when rodents invaded the loft / garage & nibbled their way through plenty of my stuff with utter contempt!

[nigel bickle]

Life's like that -we all have good & bad luck.Presumably -as you'll be away a week -it would be a damn good time to give it to a spanner monkey?

[MrRegieRitmo]

Presumably -as you'll be away a week -it would be a damn good time to give it to a spanner monkey?

What to leave in the care of whilst we're away? We're away for a couple.

[nigel bickle]

Hey Reg -I'm just trying to help.The issues with your car arent major -just inconveniencing. Its probably overfuelling -and the surge is being limited by the anti stall device. However- having followed you t'other day (towing your 14) the exhaust was relatively clean -nothing serious. It wont cost a lot to sort....I wasnt there when it wouldnt restart but I suspect -not knowing the fault ,that you flooded it -applyi g too much throttle. Its likely that nailing it to the floor -AND KEEPING IT THERE -would have got it going again, as the high air flow lowers the mixture till it coughs into life. If it happens again -try it -but dont lose faith and move your foot after 15seconds. If you do -it won't go for an hour or so -till it sorts itself out.We all get dents- it happens. Lucky it didnt come through the roof with chimney attached!! 2 people have died in these storms.''Away in the sun'' gives you the opportunity to take it into someone capable/pragmatic/sensibly priced. They can fit it into a spare (cheap)moment -and drive it a bit to analyse issues etc. if you dont know anyone -PM me and I'll make a recomendation or two.Sh*t happens -smile at 'adversity' and move on.

[mk2_craig]

Hope you get it all sorted out Rich, it sounds like the car's getting dangerously close to being scrappable and it would be a shame if that happened.

[MrRegieRitmo]

Hey Reg -I'm just trying to help.

I appreciate that, I just wasn't sure what you meant, as hadn't ever considered leaving a car with someone whilst I'm out of the country, I didn't know garages would 'look after your car for you'......I know our mechanic doesn't like to 'hold' vehicles as he's too busy to worry about them & has no where to put them.

 

The issues with your car arent major -just inconveniencing. Its probably overfuelling -and the surge is being limited by the anti stall device. However- having followed you t'other day (towing your 14) the exhaust was relatively clean -nothing serious. It wont cost a lot to sort....

Sounds about right, fingers crossed. I'm just concerned about taking it somewhere & saying "please sort!" and then get presented with a big bill to 'put everything right' because I couldn't say to them exactly what it required to 'put it right', so they could go over the car & just do a belt & braces type approach & just attend to everything that might need doing leading to a scary bill

 

I wasnt there when it wouldnt restart but I suspect -not knowing the fault ,that you flooded it -applyi g too much throttle. Its likely that nailing it to the floor -AND KEEPING IT THERE -would have got it going again, as the high air flow lowers the mixture till it coughs into life. If it happens again -try it -but dont lose faith and move your foot after 15seconds. If you do -it won't go for an hour or so -till it sorts itself out.

It was weird, it's hard to say whether it died or not, all I know is the power steering went & I had to crawl round the roundabout heaving the steering round, just missing the kerb. Then I pulled over, turned it off, then on again & carried on driving. It did it earlier that day too but so briefly that I wondered whether I had imagined it. I went to make a left turn & the power steering went & I really struggled to get the car to make the turn but then the car carried on running & didn't die so I carried on driving - with the power steering back - wondering what the hell had just happened!

 

We all get dents- it happens. Lucky it didnt come through the roof with chimney attached!! 2 people have died in these storms.

Sh*t happens -smile at 'adversity' and move on.

Yes I know in the grand scheme of things it's really nothing, I've got plenty to be thankful for, it's just one more thing to sort out which I could do without, and it does kinda feel like my cars are magnets for damage (I know yours are too but then I should have a far easier job keeping my three in good shape than you have!) and the fact that I haven't been able to really frustrates me. Of the 5 cars I've owned my poor record reads likes this; Panda = broken into, nodding dog & furry dice nicked, Ritmo = driven into, damage to offside rear inc bumper, rear light & bodywork, Fiesta = wow I can't think of anything notable apart from dodgy reliability, R14 = rock thrown through rear windscreen by vandals,

146 = pheasant ran out in front wrecking the offside front foglight & surround, paint ruined in the vicinity; now bonnet dented & scratched by falling satellite dish / non plastic roof guttering. I know this pales in comparison to the loss you suffered through the barn fire, but that's my point about you having so many more cars to look after & I can't manage to look after 3, so proportionately I have a worse ratio of damaged vehicles.

 

''Away in the sun'' gives you the opportunity to take it into someone capable/pragmatic/sensibly priced. They can fit it into a spare (cheap)moment -and drive it a bit to analyse issues etc. if you dont know anyone -PM me and I'll make a recomendation or two.

All I know really is my mechanic on Durban Road, they're honest & fair but they still have to go to other people for parts, so despite shopping around for a best price they are at the mercy of suppliers. If someone was trustworthy & knowledgeable, even if it wasn't to even do the work but just to give an opinion (unless it's a 5 minute job). I'm not aware of any Italian car specialists around here unfortunately, another Alfa owner asked me where I take mine because they were 'a bit specialist' but I couldn't help him! I'm just a bit wary of handing the car over to someone & then going on holiday out of the country. I'll send you a PM thanks

[nigel bickle]

PM replied too. Go up and meet him -its worth the gallon of fuel. And -he has place to 'store' -which means he can fit it in when he's 'quiet'.

[mouseflakes]

Bad luck with the R14 rear screen Reg. I must have missed out on that when it happened (if indeed you have mentioned it here before).Do we all need to look out for a spare for you or is that sorted? Let us know.