Leaking And Driving....

[eMsta]

Hi All,

Just got a couple of questions regarding the car.

1) When you are driving the manual, do you slow down using the gears and the brakes, or do you just use the brakes?

2) Also, there is a small leakage under the car - it feels like water/oil sorta mix - dad thinks it could be the coolant piping. Is this a major concern - or can I wait for another 2 or 3 weeks before i take it to the dealer(im getting some new lights for the car in about 3 weeks from japan - and the dealer is taking care of that)?

thanx all

[Paradizzle]

When coming up to lights just use brakes, better to wear out your brakes then gearbox.

[Medium Dave]

Id say dont wait, mine was low on oil (didnt realise, supid dave)... cost me big$$ when it went bang

[thommo]

i'd be very careful when leaking and driving, you don't want to miss the bottle and get piss all over your car

sorry, just saw the title and couldn't help myself.

in regards to the leaking, i found a leaking coolant line and replaced it in my 33. if you have just bought the car from a dealer, i would definately take it straight back to them and make them find the problem and fix it.

[saff_cossie]

I normally change down either block change or through each gear if I am aware of the requirement to stop or slow down in advance. If a set of lights turn amber quickly, tend to just brake. I much prefer using gears which stems from driving in poor road conditions a lot of the time with either a fair amount of standing water or ice/snow.

With the leak, I would check all the visable checkable points to keep an eye on the levels. Have you tried tracing the leak on the underneath of the car. Could it just be air conditioning condensation with a small oil leak? Try and follow it up the hoses to the point of where it is coming from. And also depends how much you drive it, once a week out of the garage or everyday for an hour to work?

[eMsta]

i'd be very careful when leaking and driving, you don't want to miss the bottle and get piss all over your car

sorry, just saw the title and couldn't help myself.

lmao! Yeah sorry, I didnt quite know how to word it, cos I had 2 questions to ask. But thanks for the info guys

I have been keeping tabs on it, the line in the coolant reservoir (next to the windscreen washer tank) has been decreasing - thats what lead my dad to believe that its a leak in the coolant piping. The Aircon work as just done before - a couple of weeks after i bought the car - but I havent been using the aircon much. Anyway, I will talk to Wayne and see if he can have a look at it for me.

[adznight]

When learning to drive they teach you to gear down, not to hold the clutch in and just use the brakes. Not to sure why it is. I tend to gear down and brake at the same time, the more you drive the easier it is. I think it's always better to be in gear just incase you even need to take off again.

With the leak, degrease the whole engine bay, wash it down being carefull of elecronics and trace the leak. Small thing left unchecked can turn into big probems.

[foznice]

yeah I'm the same as adz, this is always when I slow down out of habbit, even though it wears out the clutch and box quicker :s

[eMsta]

Well, took it to GTAuto today, and it seems that the leak is coming from the water pump. So Wayne and Jarod are gonna take care of that for me. But for now, Im driving a 1989 Benz 260E - boy i miss my skyline....

Oh well, she should be back by wednesday or thursday

[eMsta]

as per usual, wayne and jarrod from GTAuto did a fantastic job - the car is back in the garage, and she drives fantastic! They also changed the timing belt too. The water pump was covered by the warranty and I paid 100 for the timing belt!

WOOHOO!! I GOT THE CAR BACK!!!!