does a week go by when a panda doesnt have some form of tantrum?...

It was a lovely drive from north wales to runcorn (cheshire) on saturday, until i got in a traffic jam on the runcorn-widnes bridge and the panda decided it would cook things up... to 125 degrees! yes, the traffic was down to one lane, near standstill and my car is threatening to explode on me! After getting the car moving and picking up some speed to cool the engine off, we got it down to about 110 degrees before i could make a stop. The bonnet off, massive amount of steam and a nicely dripping leak of coolant from the water pump area. fantastic!

however, just when i thought gaskets had gone and the rad was fooked, a usually hair pulling panda moment turned into a relative dream when my friend pointed me to a cracking little auto parts place where i picked up a brand new pump for 19 quid. fitted and the system refilled, its running like a dream. gave it a new air filter for the journey back to bangor, and mr panda is smiling again

happy days!

rob

hah thats ace.
glad things went your way !
my panda can scare me a bit when in traffic on hot days !

my last engine leaked at th epump was annoying.. and after 2 new gaskets ect.. i realised it was the shaft leaking !
touch wood im ok now !!!

aran

aye
i was rather scared, especially when the temp guage was actually moving before my eyes! Its good to sort these things, and it gives a renewed appreciation of the personalities these cars have!

rob

That is quite a story. Hope nothing else was damaged from the heat.

robmills said:

aye
i was rather scared, especially when the temp guage was actually moving before my eyes! Its good to sort these things, and it gives a renewed appreciation of the personalities these cars have!

rob

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...and renewed appreciation of just how easily these little cars are fixed!

the heat did worry me actually, especially when i started thinking about gaskets and such. as it happens, it appeared everything was intact and seems to be ok after about 100 miles driving today.

<and renewed appreciation of just how easily these little cars are fixed!>

i agree completely! I'm totally new to car mechanics, but owning a panda has taught me so much, they are so easy to play around with! simple machines, but do a crackin job!

rob

Amen.

overheating when stuck in traffic usually suggests the cooling fan not kicking in - you've not mentioned this - it's fine when your moving as you've got airflow through the rad - so unless you've considered this, Mr Panda might not be smiling next time you hit a long queue! Presumably it kicks in and out when ticking over if left for a few mins or so?

robmills said:

until i got in a traffic jam on the runcorn-widnes bridge

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oh why does that sound soooooo familiar!

lightweightmick said:

overheating when stuck in traffic usually suggests the cooling fan not kicking in - you've not mentioned this - it's fine when your moving as you've got airflow through the rad - so unless you've considered this, Mr Panda might not be smiling next time you hit a long queue! Presumably it kicks in and out when ticking over if left for a few mins or so?

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yeh, i thought the thermostat might be screwed, but it was not kicking in due a sheer lack of coolant. its working fine now, in fact, since a drain and refill it has been working much better!

cheers
rob

mog1571 said:

oh why does that sound soooooo familiar!

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ahh, another halton resident i'm originally from runcorn, and my ladyfriend from widnes, so i'm well used to sitting for ages in traffic. bring on the new crossing! In about 10 years!

rob

"...not kicking in due a sheer lack of coolant..."
ssst, nasty - you were lucky there then!
Good thing about the Panda cooling fan - it's very audible!

robmills said:

ahh, another halton resident i'm originally from runcorn, and my ladyfriend from widnes, so i'm well used to sitting for ages in traffic. bring on the new crossing! In about 10 years!

rob

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yer if you feel like paying the toll charges! my dad works in ellesmere port and leaves at half 7 every morning just to miss the rush hour crush through the bridge! its unbelievable!