2 Q's. Speed bump compensation & how to repair a cracked sump

Hello to all, I read regularly but rarely post. My 25 yo son decided to visit his aged parents for the weekend. On arrival at our village he banged the sump of his car on a lump in the road. This is a 30mph single carriageway through a 15C coaching village and the lad is not a boy racer. Car is a '96 Escort 1.7td, entirely original and unmodified. After a short while we saw that engine oil was dripping onto the drive. Oh dear! Put the car up on ramps and slid under for a look. Very wet. Wiped all down thoroughly and there are 4 oil seeps from the cast alloy sump. From what I can see it would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace the sump without removing the entire engine/gearbox assy. Whilst warm, I have just drained the sump and will leave it to trickle overnight. I have marked the previously seen areas of leakage.

Q1. Any ideas please on how to effect an in-situ repair? My son needs to be back home on Monday. He can borrow my car if neccessary but I would rather get his going. In theory, my son's car will be replaced in November this year so I don't want to spend a fortune.

Q2. Can I make any claim against the highway authority , in this case local council, for damage incurred?

Perhaps I should have made this 2 separate posts.

Thank you in advance for any replies.

Nick.

Reply to
Nick
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Check the height and "attack angle" of the humps - they might not conform to the regs. I can't find the specific link to the regs, but this is a start...

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Reply to
Colin Wilson

IIRC you can do it but it's a pain & you're noy going to get a new sumop before Monday. Petrol tank repair putty's probably your best bet for a bodge.

Possibly,

Reply to
Duncan Wood

No. He went over them too quickly. Simple as.

Reply to
Conor

Just use some of that metal filler stuff you get in tubes from the local motorfactors.

Reply to
Conor

I wouldn't be so sure about that, speed bumps are meant to slow you down to under a certain speed, if the lad was under that speed no damage should occur - unless the bumps are of an illegal size / shape, in which case I think he might have a claim.

Reply to
Pete M

He will not have any claim as humps are designed not to affect a "normal", "unmodified" or "non-speeding" car! He was probably speeding, which is why they had the desired effect. That might teach him to slow down next time. There should be a minimum ground clearance for UK cars which is enforced as it is in other countries. I have never known any car to be damaged by a speed hump. I have seen cars that have been speeding, they have suffered burst tyres, cracked lower bumpers, tracking knocked off, sumps and exhausts damaged. Holes in the roads are much more of a problem to sensible drivers - they DO cause unavoidable damage at times.

Reply to
Rob

I drive an unmodified car, and it is absolutely UNSAFE and dangerous to use a road at its' stated speed limit with the humps they have on them - at least around here.

In my experience, the most you can do safely on many 30mph stretches with humps is 10-15mph (Barnham Drive L16 5ES is particularly bad, as is the stretch along Rupert Road L36 9TE)

Reply to
Colin Wilson

"Colin Wilson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news.motzarella.org...

Many around here are the same. I was arguing the point with a local councillor, if my car (multipla/clio) bangs uncomfortably over them at 20+ then they aren't working properly.

Reply to
R D S

Does that explain your lack of joy with car reliability - you've been buying extremely dodgy cut'n'shut jobs? :-)

cheers, clive

Reply to
Clive George

Gotta wonder haven't you.

Seriously though, it looks like a chad valley play mat round here.

Reply to
R D S

He will certainly have a claim if the speed bump doesn't satisfy the required design regulations on height and ramp angle plus proper markings. Such cases has been successfully won in the past, I remember a motoring magazine had a long article on the issue.

Reply to
johannes

Gateacre Park Drive is the killer, along with Thirlmere Road in Anfield.

To get over the ones in Thirlmere, I actually raise the suspension on the Rangie..

Reply to
Pete M

Barnham Drive runs into Gateacre Park Drive, it's the Barnham bit that has the humps (I checked the A-Z before posting :-} )

Reply to
Colin Wilson

I drive a 22 year old Ford Capri that seems to have no problems whatsoever with speed humps of any size and I can't straddle the small square ones like most modern cars can.

Maybe you should try maintaining your vehicle if you have such a problem

Reply to
Conor

This question was asked and replied in honestjohn.co.uk (the Daily Telegraphs motoring agony aunt ) on saturday - asked by someone else, I recall he was told to "go away- I don't believe you" but nicely

Reply to
Tommy

You wouldn't want to drive it just south of me though, the gearbox on a standard Capri catches on the 2nd speedbump on the road.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Bought in '98 and it's never failed an MOT yet.

Perhaps all the speed bumps in your neck of the woods are all car- friendly, but I can assure you not all areas are like that.

Pete M has already confirmed one stretch I named as being "the killer" which would tend to indicate that it isn't just me who feels the road is unsafe at its' stated speed limit.

I, to be fair, have very little knowledge as far as cars are concerned

- whereas Pete M can quite safely be called a petrol head and is far more qualified to comment !

Reply to
Colin Wilson

Off on a tangent here, but perhaps you'd also like to be reg'd disabled with a bad back and have to traverse these parasites on a daily basis !

Reply to
Colin Wilson

Err, I am mate. Had an operation on two discs in my lower spine in 1993 and the one above them failed in 2003 and is inoperable. Got to the point where I couldn't walk 50ft in 2003 and had to give up work and currently I can't drive a lorry anywhere within 30 miles of Bridlington because of the crap roads.

Reply to
Conor

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