Just when things were going so well.....

£50 worth of Mobil 1 on the road

caused by a brick in the middle of the road - had a choice of trying to clear it or doing a head-on into oncoming traffic.

It looks like the brick flicked up and hold the sump.

Why can't I just have a few weeks of hassle-free motoring?

Might have taken my lower brace out as well - awaiting Motormech's diagnosis

Ouch! Did you turn the engine off before the oil left the sump? I did this on a Merc in March this year, managed to use some 'liquid metal' and seal the hole. The steam caused by hot oil on the road made me think at first it was the rad I had bashed in.

Hope it's nothing more than a replacement sump.

arse
sorry to hear nigel

Ouch. Is that a dint in the bonnet too?

Oof nasty ...

I have no plastic tray either .. umm.. Carlt :P)

gutted, i just bought mobil one today funily enough.

07749 069057

How much are these, I'd be interested price dependant, and I suppose they need to be picked up...bit awkward to post!?

Ah feck Nigel, gutted for you !

Sorry to hear it Nigel

Jesus Nigel, you have rotten luck with your Coupé.

I'm pretty sure the engine will be fine - I hit the brick at about 60 - the brick disintegrated and rattled about under the car (hoping I haven't taken out any brake lines)

I was off the throttle instantly and within a second, I could see blue smoke behind me, so I pulled over and killed the engine. oil continued to pour out of the sump for a couple of minutes, so there was still quite a bit in while the engine was running.

Having had a look underneath, it would appear that the brick hit the thick steel protector plate - however, this is only mounted on the sump, so I've probably cracked the casting.

Paul is booked solid tomorrow, so I won't get it back until Thursday.

Annoying thing was that I was on the way to my Mum's - its her 70th birthday today - I had to get her to drive out to meet me to collect her pressie

Not only is that completely unlucky, paul's sooo not gonna be happy at the prospect of a sump change.

It's all gotta come good at some point sure Nigel.

Really bad luck Nigel, although hopefully one of your easier problems to fix...

wrong place wrong time sorry Nigel?

Where there is a blame there's a claim...........get in touch with the council!

Unlikely, I'd have thought - the brick probably feel off another vehicle?

Unlucky Nig...my sump was taken out in a similar fashion...replace brick with raised iron works...

Fingers crossed its just the sump...when i had mine whacked - i got a 20vt sump - my local grease monkey couldnt fit it..so Paul kindly agreed to swap it for an NA - Im sure he will sort you out....

Bad luck Nigel, hope you get it sorted soon. Sounds like you saved the engine though.

The roads authority have a duty of care to keep the roads clear of debris.......

Bad luck Nigel. Hope its just the sump. I had this on a Tipo. Took the sump, and tyre out!!

Andy.

Bad luck Nigel

Hmm, they always have a get-out clause though, it's something like you have to prove that they knew about the brick and did nothing about it. My son knackered an alloy on a big pothole and tried to claim, they sent back a legal-ese letter saying that since they hadn't been previously notified of the pothole and had checked the road according to their regular schedule, they weren't liable as they hadn't ignored their responsibilities, blah blah.

Oh - Ar*e Nigel. Bloody annoyed for you.....

Hope Paul gets you back on the road soon

and that this is the end of your recent bad luck

on that note could you not ring up and complain about the hole (as someone else) then call up as yourself and claim?

That oil looks a bit black. When did you last change it?

Seriously though, bad luck. Hope it's fixed soon.

Bad luck!

No way can you claim due to a brick in the road. 2 years ago I tried claiming off 'Kirklees council' - West Yorkshire, because their tree surgeons left a load of debris in the road which punctured the sump on my 205 GTi Mi16, this went on for a few months, but in the end the verdict was, they weren't given any prior warning of the debris. Supposedly you need to give them a chance to rectify the problem, and since they had carried out their daily checks and there was no debris at the time, they aren't liable. Secondly, there was no solid proof that the debris was from their tree surgeons. I could have tried persuing this further but I had exams looming at the time so gave up and had the car fixed for £400 (sump, rad, hoses and new NOS connectors).

Why is the Coupe sump so much harder to replace than most others?

I had exactly the same thing happen to me a couple of months ago

Thankfully changing the sump isn't a huge job, but it's money I'd rather have in my pocket ^^

Bad luck mate