Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

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Poundboy
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Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by Poundboy » Wed Jul 30, 2014 7:49 pm

Hi there, I bought this fantastic 410 and sadly it ended up sat in the street for the best part of a year not moving. I pushed it around to a local mechanic who fixed the fuel lines, fitted a new radiator cap and thermostat but it's sill overheating. Would love to have a go myself but I wouldn't know where to start and really just want to get her moving asap. The bloke I took it to said he didn't usually touch things more than 10 years old and couldn't do any more with it. Can anyone recommend someone good with fair pricing in my neck of the woods or even better, someone I could pay to teach me how to do it. I'm keen to have a go but don't wanna mess it up any further.

Cheers
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donkeychomp
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Re: Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by donkeychomp » Wed Jul 30, 2014 10:19 pm

Yes, but whereabouts are you? London's pretty big...
If it ticks over...leave it

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Edweird
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Re: Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by Edweird » Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:01 pm

Poundboy wrote:The bloke I took it to said he didn't usually touch things more than 10 years old and couldn't do any more with it.
That's because he can't just plug in a diagnostic machine and have the car tell him what's wrong; he has to use his brain to figure out the problem.

Could possibly try a rad/coolant flush. What's the rad like?
There's three ways of doing things:

The right way,
The wrong way
And my way, which is like the wrong way but faster.

Poundboy
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Re: Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by Poundboy » Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:31 pm

Hey Donkeychomp

Good point, it's huge and with the temperature rising so quick I haven't driven it for more than 20mins at a time just in case it blows. I'm over in East London, Hackney so anyone on this side would be great but I can slowly move it across town if required!

Cheers

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AntD
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Re: Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by AntD » Thu Jul 31, 2014 8:09 pm

That's depressingly tidy!

Poundboy
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Re: Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by Poundboy » Thu Jul 31, 2014 8:57 pm

Hey Edweird

Ridiculous right, he also said that cars like mine from the 70's were always a problem! He was a really nice guy but come on... Couldn't look more 80's!

I haven't checked the rad or flushed anything, will look into that!

Cheers

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donkeychomp
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Re: Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by donkeychomp » Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:14 pm

According to google maps you are 30 miles from my mechanic, using the M25 and M4. Will it make it that far?
If it ticks over...leave it

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Edweird
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Re: Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by Edweird » Fri Aug 01, 2014 12:25 am

donkeychomp wrote:According to google maps you are 30 miles from my mechanic, using the M25 and M4. Will it make it that far?
Could probably just about manage that with NO coolant whatsoever.

Are you sure it's not just the temperature gauge that's not right or does it get seriously hot? My temperature gauge always reads a bit low. If mine gets up past half then I start to worry.
There's three ways of doing things:

The right way,
The wrong way
And my way, which is like the wrong way but faster.

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maxsixpence
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Re: Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by maxsixpence » Fri Aug 01, 2014 2:39 pm

Head gasket gone? JAT there`s a garage in Harlow called Ricky`s who`s a bloody good mechanic.Sorted out my exhaust probs a treat.I`ll get his number if you want it.
Still looking for Buckeye road.

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Re: Recommendations for mechanic in or near London

Post by twiss » Fri Aug 01, 2014 2:47 pm

Check for bubbles in your radiator... thats a head gasket probably...
Otherwise you might have an air lock in the system, could have been a result of being refilled while the heater was set to "cold"
If you rev the engine with the radiator cap removed can you see water flowing left to right?
(standing at the front looking towards the windscreen)
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