Bother!!

Call from Broadland Leisure and there wasn't much good news. First off my suspicion that the van was using petrol and gas at the same time was confirmed. The wiring from the dash switch to the rear had been routed in the most peculiar way. In parts it was strapped to a metal ring which had worn it through causing shorting across the various wires. It was also partly wrapped around the gear linkage so wear was happening there every time I changed gear! The shorting had caused problems with the switch and the solenoid, While it was up on the ramp I could see the new fuel filter which had been attached either side to horrendous old piping so there was a little seepage of petrol in parts. The intermittent brake warning light was caused by low brake fluid caused by a cylinder failure. There were a few other niggly things that should have been noted by the very recent service and MOT including two very illegal tyres. All that can be relatively easily fixed, new wiring from the dash switch, replacement solenoid, new fuel pipes and tyres etc however....

.....there was one more thing, a blown head gasket. This had obviously been seeping water for quite a while looking at the amount of deposits all around the area and considering that it had just had a service in the month of February it was a surprise to find absolutely no antifreeze in the system, not even a trace. The guess is that continual replenishing of the leaking coolant was done with plain water. So, a new head gasket. Except getting the head off from one of these engines could result in a broken stud and that's the engine kaput so it might need a replacement engine.

There was some good news, they thought that the overall condition of the van was excellent so once this work is done it should be OK for a while.