Board logo

Caution lack of oil may cause sudden DEATH
Krismc - 28/9/09 at 05:20 PM

If anyone goes out in there car for the first time, just like i did this morning then your check list for SVA might not have a item on it which caused me a bit of bother today.

DIFF OIL..... i had no bloody oil in my diff. Diff went 10.5 miles according to my speedo and decided to give up while i was on motorway doing 60MPH, my rear wheels locked up, and i slowed down instantly and i was stuck solid in middle lane.

After a bit of reving, clutch smoke and avoiding cars doing 70mph and a large truck or too i managed to get it into the near lane.

...pictures will follow.

So now ive missed my SVA and got a broke diff for the sake of a little oil.

big_wasa - 28/9/09 at 05:23 PM

Easy done.

flak monkey - 28/9/09 at 05:27 PM

Balls

I leave drain plugs loose and write notes and stick them to the dash to remind me to fill up with oil when building

David

Dangle_kt - 28/9/09 at 05:29 PM

You did well making it from the middle lane safetly! I wouldn't fancy a whollop at 70 in a seven!

Krismc - 28/9/09 at 05:29 PM

I put the diff on the car in 2006 and it must have been on my todo list!!! so i must have a litre of diff oil sumwhere

Worst thing about it is ive ran the car loads on the rolling road and my first SVA etc and it never made a noise and it gave up the first time on the road on the Busy A1 just past metrocentre in newcastle.

Wish it had done it on way home instead.

clairetoo - 28/9/09 at 05:36 PM

quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
Easy done.

Sure is........I lost a load of oil from my gearbox tipping it up to fit it , and just plain forgot to top it up when the car got back on the road , about a year later - no major problem's , but a couple of thousand miles of use and it started whining
18 months later it still whine's - I will change it for the replacement sitting in the shed , but sounds so much like a straight cut box I just havnt got round to it

Krismc - 28/9/09 at 05:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Dangle_kt
You did well making it from the middle lane safetly! I wouldn't fancy a whollop at 70 in a seven!


If it hadnt been for Coozer id have been squished, he was coming to SVA with me as a back up car and was following at a safe distance and im bloody glad he did- he slammed on ancors and put on his hazards and made the traffic go round him as well.

But i still felt like a small tool sitting on a motorway in a orange bath tub, i thought id be picking fibre glass out my arse for weeks to come.

lotusmadandy - 28/9/09 at 05:56 PM

Bad luck kris,just been speaking to steve
and has told me all about it.
More kit car woe's mate but at least you didnt die.
I have a spare diff you can use if you need one i a hurry.

Andy

Ben_Copeland - 28/9/09 at 06:28 PM

I know someone else that did that, on a track day...... With a customer in the car. Whoops. Diff locked and car spun, luckily i guess it was on a track not on the motorway !

SteveWalker - 28/9/09 at 06:40 PM

When I SVA'd mine, I remembered to check just in time whether there was oil in the gearbox and diff and ended up putting it in the gearbox at one in the morning!

whitestu - 28/9/09 at 07:24 PM

I had to double check mine before SVA to make sure I had put oil in the diff and gearbox!

speedyxjs - 28/9/09 at 07:45 PM

I lost aload of oil from my gearbox when i was cleaning it and took all the oil out of me diff when i took it out of the donor.
I have stuck little post-it notes on the dash to make sure i dont do that.

I drove my little MG 85 miles with no oil in the gearbox and that was fine

MautoK - 28/9/09 at 07:46 PM

It took me from April to August to find that I hadn't fully tightened the brake light switch.
There was an imperceptible leak down the finger-tight thread and I put the drop in fluid level down to the brakes bedding in.
Felt a bit twitchy at the consequences if I'd not spotted it!
All sorted now, though.
John.

scottc - 28/9/09 at 08:02 PM

Unlucky mate. Could have been a hell of a lot worse though. Thank god Coozer was behind you.

I still remember you losing your gearbox oil, loading the car onto a trailer

02GF74 - 28/9/09 at 08:51 PM

nasty - not good doing a 70-0 mph stoppie in the middle lane.

... but at least you're ok.

mediabloke - 28/9/09 at 09:00 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Krismc
my rear wheels locked up, and i slowed down instantly and i was stuck solid in middle lane.

Blimey!! Glad you got out of this unscathed. Iirc, that's one busy stretch of road...
I confess that gear / diff level checks have been on my list for the last few weeks. You've just convinced me to move it up the priority list.


[Edited on 28/9/09 by mediabloke]

f1ngers - 28/9/09 at 09:10 PM

You are not alone! I did exactly the same in my haste to prepare the car for SVA but trailered mine and fortunately it held out for the SVA braking and self centre tests plus a couple of road tests

Note to self - Put oil in diff before retest!

coozer - 28/9/09 at 11:03 PM

All I can say is that seeing Kris lock up in front of me, rear tyres smoking, snaking up the middle lane and the car behind me coming up as I stamped on the brakes was very scary..

I'm so glad they all reacted correctly and we managed to get to the side of the A1

Even standing at side of the road watching everything thundering by was bad enough..

And for the first time, thanks to the Highway Agency (incident support on a motorcycle) for attending within 5 minutes, and recovery, and to the two nob cars who drove passed without stopping!

Steve

Davey D - 29/9/09 at 06:30 AM

i bet your bung hole was twitching when that happened!

did you realise straight away what it was when it happened?

what happens now with getting your car tested? can you get another SVA date, or are you stuck now having to take the IVA?

James - 1/10/09 at 12:34 PM

Kris,

Looking at your post history, you must be the unluckiest builder in Locost history!

Good luck for the re-test!

Cheers,
James

Krismc - 1/10/09 at 05:09 PM

Cheers every one, im affraid Diff cant be fixed- so might have to take andy up on the borrowed diff offer for now.

The only appointment left is wed next week 1230.

oh and what should the gearbox oil level be and how to check again.

beaver34 - 1/10/09 at 05:18 PM

sorry to hear that,

what diff is it

Krismc - 1/10/09 at 05:21 PM

3.62 LSD 7 inch Ford.

Jon Ison - 1/10/09 at 06:18 PM

This post needs photos,

commiserations btw, been there done that but got away with it.

DarrenW - 1/10/09 at 07:15 PM

Kris,

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I guess there is no substitute for a good final checklist and regular maintenance.

Gearbox level - plug on side of gearbox, remove it, put oil in here and fill until it starts to come out of the hole. I took the top cover off mine and filled until level was at bottom of the plug. I think diff is filled in same way. Use correct spec oil.

Fingers crossed for next test.

Krismc - 1/10/09 at 08:10 PM

I took lid off cause i cant get to side now box is in, so where exactlly do i fill up too looking into lid??