or it could be time for a new clutch

55-60 in 3rd... i do like to rag now and then but im only ever doing that sort of speed to get momentum up hill... i'd be changing into 4th a little sooner on the flats

i would have done, but if i did that the car wanted to stop. thats why its f*cked.

Is it leaking oil Joe? you say the revs rise and no extra speed is gained, is that all the time since you first mentioned the problem, or just this time it's occured?

Is it leaking oil anywhere?

What do you mean by "the car wanted to stop" when you changed up to 4th? it had a lack of power and died or the engine speed rose and the car slowed?

Try taking the car for a gentle drive, using the brakes as little as possible. When you stop, open the bonnet and carefully feel the temperature of the brake callipers, if either or both are excessively hot that could be the problem. After a gentle drive they shouldn't be much more than warm, but mind out for the exhaust, that will be hot.

If your clutch is on the way out you'll notice the engine revs rising without an increase in speed, it will be worst in higher gears, 3rd and 4th, and when using full throttle. If you drive slowly using low gears and small amounts of accelerator it's possible to make a knackered clutch last ages (I know,I'm tight) on the other hand, a couple of boy racer starts and a caning up the dual carriageway should finish it off.

If it's neither the clutch nor brakes then it's time for someone who knows to take a look, because it's sounding nasty.

Joe,
both Viking and Joolz have suggested that the root of this problem may be binding brakes and I'd tend to agree with them.
( Just to clarify matters, when you wrote this "...this time i couldnt use 3rd gear unless it was down hill...", did you mean 4th gear?)

As an initial check, maybe jack the front end of the car up and see if the wheels spin freely, especially just after the brakes have been applied and released again.

Another check would be to investigate how easy it is to push the brake pads away from the discs. There's no need to remove the pads, since all that you're checking is whether or not the caliper seals are binding.
( If they do move freely, don't forget to pump the pedal enough times to bring the pads back into contact with the discs before driving again.)

ken.

what i mean by the car wanted to stop in 4th is that, if i changed to 4th the car would judder until it stopped (not that i found out if it would stop) it was normally okay once it got down to 40mph but at that speed 3rd gear did the same as 4th so i had to keep it just below 40 in 2nd gear until it stopped smelling!

Brakes : would that fact that the occassions that this has happened on have been about 2 hours into a journey??? and there was no sign of the problem before that. up until these events, the car felt like it could sit (and should) at 65 all day.


Thanks for all of the help! giving my mechanic a call tomorrow, ive got that horrible feeling that it is going to cost me ( which i cant afford at the moment) so the car will probably go sorn and sit on my drive in bournemouth

Joe.

scenario...

casuall driving along.... 65-70mph.... car is absolutely fine for say... an hour... going up a gradual hill and trying to hold the revs to keep the speed up... car starts to slow down, gets very hot inside and maybe gets abit noisy? starts to loose speed and if you try to carry on it starts kangaroo'ing untill you can pull over to which it will tick over perfectly and act asif nothing has happend? can you hear it pinking when it's under load? could it be that your timing is out a little causing it to get too hot? i used to have situations like this with both my previous 2 engines... my original was much better than the D*lly engine... D*lly engine didnt like anything over 70 on the flat for too long... let alone uphill...

i'm told its a partial seizure... i dont know fully what a partial seizure actually is... and would like to know why it happens... ive always thought it was the engine getting too hot and basically "overheating"

and yes... when she got all hot and spluttery.... i could smell a horrible burning smell inside...

edit... just dug this out...

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=296

well, it seems to be getting worse. at 40mph it does the same thing. sit at the side of the road for 30 seconds and it carries on like nothing is wrong. i couldnt get hold of the mechanic. so im a bit screwed right now! i hate cars.

oh and the car is burning ALOT of oil. it has never done this before. before every journey i do i check the oli level. it was bang in the middle level when i checked it at the petrol station. when i got back the other day it was considerable under the min. im not sure whether this is the cause to the problem, or a symptom of something else. i cant see any oli leaks atall. none when it is being parked here or at uni. so i figure its being burned?