I really am not good with cars - I mean, I look under the bonnet and freak out. What are all these pipes, caps and strange things???? What does it all mean? How do I do ....?
OK, it is not quite so bad. I have not driven the house owner's car for several weeks, and she had problems with it. When the owner came back to Australia for a couple of days, she drove her Commodore and it overheated. She filled up the radiator with water and all appeared to be well.
So on Wednesday I decided to use the car - but of course I am smart enough to check the water before I leave the driveway, especially after knowing the story. The radiator is empty. In my car (Daihatsu) I add coolant via a cap near the radiator, so I figured the Commodore would be the same, especially as the cap says "coolant". But the coolant just ran out under the car.
I phoned RACQ - the car emergency association of which I and the owners are members. The guy came, and filled the radiator with water. We started the car, and all seemed well. He tested a few things and suggested I take the car to a mechanic to check. So I set off to see Mario at Wynnum Mechanical, who looks after my car.
Dear Mario looked under, in and around the car, put the pressure testing kit to work, and all without finding out what was wrong. He didn't think it was the thermostat. So we left - happy to know there was a bottle of water on the back seat of the car - just in case. I then took the car to Nitro Crew at Wynnum to get the tyres checked. He said the tyres had deteriorated since I was last there. I've not driven the car for nearly four weeks!!! Still, I will pass on the information to the owners.
I did use the Commodore that night - I went into the State Library - in particular to The Edge to do a class on animation with Flash. I found it really difficult, but did learn a few things. Would like to have been able to read the screen - it was too far away for any of us to see what the tutor was doing.
I checked the water before we set off on the return journey - with my two friends waiting in the car - but all was well.
Still, we have the mystery of why the Commodore is running out of water in the radiator. I'll keep my bottle of water handy, and check the temperature gauge regularly.
OK, it is not quite so bad. I have not driven the house owner's car for several weeks, and she had problems with it. When the owner came back to Australia for a couple of days, she drove her Commodore and it overheated. She filled up the radiator with water and all appeared to be well.
So on Wednesday I decided to use the car - but of course I am smart enough to check the water before I leave the driveway, especially after knowing the story. The radiator is empty. In my car (Daihatsu) I add coolant via a cap near the radiator, so I figured the Commodore would be the same, especially as the cap says "coolant". But the coolant just ran out under the car.
I phoned RACQ - the car emergency association of which I and the owners are members. The guy came, and filled the radiator with water. We started the car, and all seemed well. He tested a few things and suggested I take the car to a mechanic to check. So I set off to see Mario at Wynnum Mechanical, who looks after my car.
Dear Mario looked under, in and around the car, put the pressure testing kit to work, and all without finding out what was wrong. He didn't think it was the thermostat. So we left - happy to know there was a bottle of water on the back seat of the car - just in case. I then took the car to Nitro Crew at Wynnum to get the tyres checked. He said the tyres had deteriorated since I was last there. I've not driven the car for nearly four weeks!!! Still, I will pass on the information to the owners.
I did use the Commodore that night - I went into the State Library - in particular to The Edge to do a class on animation with Flash. I found it really difficult, but did learn a few things. Would like to have been able to read the screen - it was too far away for any of us to see what the tutor was doing.
I checked the water before we set off on the return journey - with my two friends waiting in the car - but all was well.
Still, we have the mystery of why the Commodore is running out of water in the radiator. I'll keep my bottle of water handy, and check the temperature gauge regularly.
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