Bought for a snip and advertised by a local dealer as a part exchange bargain, this little 2000 Ford Ka had given the owner six months of trouble free motoring, so at this point he was happy that he had got his money’s worth out of the motor.

He was slightly less pleased when he heard a thump from under the bonnet and felt something shift, making the going a little lumpy. Lifting the bonnet he was dismayed to see the back end of the engine much lower than it should have been. Thankfully he was not too far away and decided to limp round to see me.

A quick look revealed the gearbox mounting bracket had failed and allowed the gearbox, along with the back end of the engine to drop around 6 inches. Once fitted the bargain basement motor was back up and running again.

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