I intend giving it a good reverse flush when it is next back here so that should remove any that is left. You'll have taken some more of it out with the water pump change too so it's slowly being removed and replaced.

I've had a bit of spare time today and have been doing a bit of tidying up outside. The bucket I'd used to drain Nigel's coolant into was still out there and this is what I found

Seems that OAT and Steel Seal form a gel when left. The bucket has just been sitting outside, no hot sunshine even but despite it only supposed to do anything when it gets very hot, it obviously has. That's obviously why his radiator wasn't flowing too well.

For anyone wanting DAB and Line In while keeping the original stereo and not wanting to spend the money on a Grom, I've just bought one of these to put in her indoor's Merc https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254817833872. I had a couple of Sonichi s100 units (https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-car-stereos/sonichi-s100-digital-radio-adapter-342136.html), one in her car and one that I used in the company van which was recently put in the Ascot. The one in the Ascot packed up so I was going to get another when I saw the Autoleads unit. Just installed it and it is pretty damn good. Connects to the stereo using RF but encodes the station name to RDS so the car display shows the DAB station you are listening to. Has a small, very neat wireless control so no cables need to be run to it either. Her car already had a DAB aerial fitted so I used that but it even comes with an amplified aerial too.

On petrol it's a standard right hand thread, so you whack the top of the spanner from right to left to undo it. I'm not sure the viscous even needs to come off though, there's a fair amount of space between the front of the fan and the back of the radiator.

The electrical document that Marshall uploaded has tests that can be carried out with a multimeter at the connector to the gearbox. I'd be doing them and confirming you are seeing what you should be seeing.

I give them 10 years. Toyota bought electric cars into the mainstream with the Prius, now they have announced the Mirai running on a Hydrogen fuel cell. Similar refuelling time to petrol, similar or better range on a fill than a BEV and zero emissions. What is there to not like about it? It should also be possible to get a conventional petrol engine to run on Hydrogen too.

If the blades are only chipped and not cracked, I'd leave it, particularly as you don't have the spanner to take it off. As you've discovered from the diagram, there's not need to take the fan off to fit the belt, it can just be threaded through. Fit it onto all pulleys except the alternator and make sure it is on straight, then heave on the tensioner bolt to give some slack and slip it onto the alternator. Don't trap your fingers, don't want you to end up in A&E.......

Yup, that's why I enjoy driving in Europe so much. The roads are clear so your cruising speed is your average speed, still the odd arsehole but nothing like as bad as over here and no roadworks, or when there are the speed limit drops to 110 kph not the 50 mph crawl, which invariably drops to 40 mph.

I understand lots of new cars are delayed due to a lack of the microchips needed to make them work. Maybe it will force some manufacturers to go back to basics?

That is for the non-electronic gearbox as fitted to the earlier Classic and not the electronically controlled one in the P38. I agree it sounds like it could be an A clutch problem but the fact that it drives in limp mode with the electronics disconnected means that the A clutch is engaging then but not when the TCM is connected.

We aren't trying to teach you to suck eggs, just need to be sure the basics are fully covered before getting more involved. I know one owner who's car was driving perfectly until he parked it nose up on a steep driveway and found it wouldn't drive out, no gears at all. When it was finally towed out and onto the flat, it drove perfectly again. That was purely down to a lack of fluid in the gearbox.

Your problem is sounding more electrical if it drives in limp mode with the TCM disconnected yet doesn't with it connected, assuming I've got that right. That sounds as though the TCM isn't allowing it to work for some reason.

That should be a nice run although not the easiest, or, more to the point, cheapest. France has the most expensive LPG in Europe while Spain doesn't have that many stations and they were the only country to adopt the Euro filler so yet another adapter you need to buy. The nice thing about a P38 is you can sit back, wind it up to 80 mph and relax for a couple of hours before you need to stop for another tankful and a coffee or meal break.

We drove down to the Lot region in SW France for a mate's son's wedding a couple of weekends ago. Filled the tank before setting off on Thursday, drove to Dover and filled it there, then stops for fuel just south of Paris, Vierzon and finally Cahors. Did some running around while we were there, runs to assorted hotels picking up guests and having to drive to the local hospital for our Boris mandated Covid tests so we could get back into the UK, so decided to fill up before setting off to head home on the Sunday afternoon and really confused the Autoroute toll station. Got onto the A20 at J 56 and headed south, stopped at the services and filled up then headed north to get off at the same junction. It couldn't cope with someone getting on the Autoroute and getting off at the same junction......

I missed that bit. Yes, it must be checked with the engine running and the gearbox in Neutral. As soon as the gearbox stops turning the fluid drains back into it so the level will be higher. That could mean you are simply low on fluid, showing low when not running and showing normal after it has been run for a while then switched off. If you waited a short time you'd probably see the level rise as more drained back.

Only half an inch? That isn't right. This is mine after it has been standing overnight and before being started

After starting it, running through the gears and checking it in Neutral, it was showing a bit low and only just reaching the top of the black plastic blob. Bottom mark to top mark is only around 250 ml so it doesn't need much at all. It looks like you have insufficient fluid level and/or flow. The level isn't dropping as much as I would expect it to when running. Could be a weak pump or maybe a restriction in the flow in the cooler?

Running through the gears makes sure the torque converter and oil cooler is filled, if you check without doing that first the level is about 4 inches above the max mark on the dipstick. It might be worth checking it before starting the engine just to be sure it is that high. If it is still at the max mark then that would suggest the pump isn't pumping the fluid.

sdoglb wrote:

yes I had the trans fluid and filter changed and the gearbox oil was checked four months ago.

That rings alarm bells with me, you didn't check it yourself so how do you know whoever did it did it properly? Transmission fluid has to be checked cold, in Neutral with the engine running after you have cycled through all the gears. If it was checked with the engine not running, you'll be a least 3 litres short.

No I don't, I drive because I love driving. Given the choice between a 3 hour flight or a 26 hour drive to visit the in-laws, I'll take the drive any day. Cheaper if there's 3 of us in the car too.

I saw a truck the other day loaded with a load of LPG tanks, all with Avanti Propane on the side of them, so obviously another supplier. EuroGarages and Applegreen both have a fair number of stations selling LPG too. For a couple of brothers from Yorkshire, the owners of EuroGarages seem to be doing quite well for themselves, first they bought Asda and I found a Eurogarages filling station in France a couple of weeks ago. I've been filling up at a couple of Morrisons just recently and not noticed any difference and autogas in this country should be 100% Propane except for the lubricant for the pumps. Continental LPG is a mix of Propane and Butane that varies during the year with less Butane in the winter (as it remains a liquid and doesn't vaporise below around 3 degrees C.

A few Shell branded garages have gone elsewhere. There's one in Luton where the pumps and tanks were labelled Autogas, from Shell and Calor. Then the tanks got a new coat of paint and Flogas stickers with the pumps following a bit later.

It's interesting that Propane with Road Fuel Duty paid is actually cheaper than buying it in a bottle without the RFD paid. Most filling stations have a notice saying not to fill bottles and as they don't have an 80% stop valve you could overfill them anyway. Then again, most have a notice saying not to use an adapter either but I've seen plenty of people using them. I know a lot of the bigger motorhomes, particularly the US built ones with a big V8 powering them, have a dual takeoff tank installed so they can run the engine on LPG liquid but with a vapour takeoff to run heating and cooking.

Every weekend? I'm filling up about 3 times a week, sometimes 3 times a day!! Filled up 5 times in 24 hours a couple of weeks ago......

I'm not so sure about that, or they were using it as an excuse. My local Flogas depot sells at 58p a litre but less than a mile away there's a filling station supplied by Flogas selling at 68.9. Flogas depot is only open 8:00-16:30 Monday to Friday but the filling station is 24 hour so they still do a decent amount of trade. I highly doubt they are paying 58p a litre for it when buying in bulk but even if they were, that's still 11p per litre profit, far more than they make on petrol.

Then again, now Nigel (Nigelbb) has discovered that a P38 runs perfectly well on E85 maybe it's time to start brewing some Ethanol?