GRRRRR what a night............

matthab

matthab

matthab

Soldato
Joined
19 Apr 2009
Posts
3,159
Hi Guys

I thought I would share my current driving woes/excitement for tonight :rolleyes:

---Problem 1---
A couple of weeks ago the car started making a mid pitch whine when i hit 40mph and would dissapear at about 50mph (i think this is more down to the tyre and wind noise over powering it). But this is since been getting louder. Also ive noticed a knocking noise when going over some bumps and round some round abouts coming from the front left .Any idea what this is? I hope these are associated some how?

P.s. The front left alloy was damaged last year thanks to a pot hole. new alloy and tyre required.

---Problem 2---

Today I thought ill go for a late night session at the gym at work. So i parked up as I always do and did my 1hr work out. Came out to my car turned the ignition and it just sat there turning over :(. By this time security had come over and asked if i was ok. As i had parked my car on a slight slope leaning towards the drivers side they helped me push it onto a flat spot where I left it and had a cup of coffee. Came back after 10minutes and it fired straight up. So what on earth happened here?

The fuel light had been on and off all the way to the gym but I had driven the car all the time like that and never had an issue. And it drove there perfectly fine.

---end---

The car is a Renault Clio 2002 1.2ltr and has been a VERY reliable runner. So im some what gutted its now decided this month to remind me what owning a car is like. Its done 103,000miles and has never not started or failed to get me where I need to be.

Any help on these to problems would be great as im going to drop it off to my mechanic this week and it would be nice if I could double check whats wrong my self first?

Matt
 
yeh see when it had its MOT it had to have something welded on the drive shaft. Ill have to whip out the invoice later to see what they did again. The front left has been plagued with issues since that pot hole.

Well looks like the its the motorbike tommorow till my mechanic can look at it.
 
The reason it wouldn't start is that the way you parked it must have meant the fuel pump couldn't draw fuel from the tank - they pick fuel up from a certain point and if you have next to no fuel in it and then park on a hill - doesn't take a genius!

Don't be a ***** and put some fuel in your damn car before you do some damage.
 
If it's been that reliable, I don't see why a few little problems with a 100k mile, 8 year old french city car should be such a surprise/annoyance?
 
rover416i said:
The reason it wouldn't start is that the way you parked it must have meant the fuel pump couldn't draw fuel from the tank - they pick fuel up from a certain point and if you have next to no fuel in it and then park on a hill - doesn't take a genius!

Don't be a ***** and put some fuel in your damn car before you do some damage.
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There's a swirl pot in the tank where the pump is submerged so you could in theory park on a 1/2 slope and still be okay. Even if you have next to no fuel as I often store my car with the gauge in the red. Although it sounds like it took a while for the fuel system to prime up before starting, I suggest turning the ignition on and off a few times to give the system a chance to prime fully before starting in the same situation.

The other issue is down to wear and tear, these things happen. Not much point getting that upset about it.
 
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Problem one sounds more like a wheel bearing than a CV joint to me. CV joints tend to exhibit more on tight turns (the knocking gets louder when you apply throttle).

Problem two is just lol. You might want to change your fuel filter if it's never been done, now that it's picked up a load of gunk from the bottom of the tank.
 
Robbie G said:
Problem two is just lol. You might want to change your fuel filter if it's never been done, now that it's picked up a load of gunk from the bottom of the tank.
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:confused: what, where the fuel is drawn even when the tank is full?

I pulled out the tank on my Fiesta with 82k on the clock and the bottom of the tank was more or less spotless , only a small amount of crap floating about outside of the swirl pot.
 
Robbie G said:
Problem two is just lol. You might want to change your fuel filter if it's never been done, now that it's picked up a load of gunk from the bottom of the tank.
Click to expand...

Where do you think the fuel goes through all the time? It should be clean unless left empty for months.
 
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Basically.
 
Duke said:
Where do you think the fuel goes through all the time? It should be clean unless left empty for months.
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When run low, the crap that was floating on top of the petrol gets picked up as it's now at the bottom of the tank.

Janesy B said:
I pulled out the tank on my Fiesta with 82k on the clock and the bottom of the tank was more or less spotless , only a small amount of crap floating about outside of the swirl pot.
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Lucky you :confused:.

Thanks for the diagram by the way Jane.
 
It's very unlikely for a tank to have crap floating around at the top of the tank, you'll most likely see sediment settled at the bottom of the tank.
 
Wow, I didn't know that petrol was perfectly clear of deposits and that nothing can ever get into your tank when you're filling it up, even over the course of running a 103k miles Clio, thanks guys! Guess I'll just go and remove my fuel filter now since it's totally pointless and no crap can ever get in my tank.
 
If the car was near empty and he had been parked on a slope, its entirely possible that even the swirl pot was left empty.
 
Robbie G said:
Wow, I didn't know that petrol was perfectly clear of deposits and that nothing can ever get into your tank when you're filling it up, even over the course of running a 103k miles Clio, thanks guys! Guess I'll just go and remove my fuel filter now since it's totally pointless and no crap can ever get in my tank.
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Calm down dear, I did say you'd most likely have sediment rather than stuff floating around. You obviously need a fuel filter BUT having an emptyish tank does not mean you drag up loads of crap from the bottom of the tank, because the sediment is always at the bottom anyway. The swirl pot helps but you still need filtration.
 
matthab said:
The car is a Renault Clio 2002 1.2ltr and has been a VERY reliable runner. So im some what gutted its now decided this month to remind me what owning a car is like.
Click to expand...

That's the problem isn't it. I knocked about in older cards for years and had one too many weekends ruined by breakdowns. The money you didn't account for, the hassle, the time.

I bought a 2004 Punto brand new and it's the best thing I ever bought. i've still got it 6 years on and it's never broke down. I've had 2 front tyres and a back box. Oh and on the last MOT I had to have a rear shock absorber.

The MOT warning list is as long as my arm. The other rear shock absorber, front suspension both sides, 3 tyres, break pads and some other stuff PLUS whatever wears out in the 12 months to the next MOT (this July). I'm not paying to get all that done for the clutch or something to go 6 months later. Plus I'm still running on the original, starter motor, alternator, battery - all the stuff that's due to pack in soon. I've already put a deposit down on a new car that will be ready mid-June. I just can't be bothered with it all. I still feel the pain from 1997-2004. It was cheaper having the new car and paying the 0% finance then running the old cars. I paid £124.89 a month for 4 years. I saved about £50 a month in petrol (i average 45-51mpg over a tank. I rarely use motorways, it's all round town in traffic etc), about £20 in insurance. Road tax i think was about £70 a year less. And that's without thinking of the warranty and no MOT's. Oh and I got 3 years Full AA cover for all of europe.

I was very happy with those figures but don't forget the main thing, I was driving round in a brand new car.
 
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I'd say wheel bearing more likely too, especially after knocking the rim a while back.


Fuel starvation through leaving it on a slope with next to no fuel in the tank is the most likely cause there..


Crap doesn't float on fuel in tanks, it sinks to the bottom in nearly all cases I've ever seen and being as the pump sucks from the bottom it's never an issue.
Just make sure the filter is changed when required.
 
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