Shortly before the trip, I noticed the car was beginning to use more water than I would consider normal, but as this was literally days before, I did a quick compression test, which showed nothing untoward and set off. I had to fill the car with water a couple of times a day throughout the trip, and ensured that it didn't overheat at any point. The other thing that I noticed, was that even when the car was fully warmed up, when sitting, there was always some white steam coming from the exhaust. The day before I headed for home, I checked my water level again, as usual, and noticed creamy deposits in the coolant system. Since getting home, I've done another compression test, and one cylinder is showing higher compression than the others.
However, the car became increasingly unreliable throughout the course of my trip, unfortunately. I lost my brake lights on the Saturday, which was something of a nuisance, but as I was travelling in a convoy with my friends, it wasn't seen to be a huge problem, but was far from ideal. The next day, one of my friends noticed that my reverse lights were only working periodically, and never both came on. At the time, I assumed this was a poor connection, and continued.
On the second last day, the car became very difficult to start, with the starter clicking, and getting nowhere.
Another problem which arose on the last day, was that at low speeds, the car would cut out when coming to a stop, without warning.
Finally, I tried to start the car, after stopping for a moment in Carlisle, and nothing. I think that the inhibitor switch had failed. After a bit of fiddling, the starter would turn, but the car wouldn't start. At which point, I decided that it was wise to get transported home, since my car had a tendency to cut out when at low town speeds, wouldn't start, and had no brake lights. I was rather disappointed, especially after having spent so much time trying to put everything right, and also since the car had behaved impeccably for a couple of months, until last week. :cry:
There is one other little problem, which is my fault really. One of the roads I had to come down was a 33% and even with engine braking, the brakes were still working pretty hard. It's just unfortunate that there was a ford at the bottom. As always, hot brakes and cold water don't mix, and I've slightly warped a disc, but at least it's an easy fix.