Arriva North West - Bootle Depot

[M113 YKC]

RE: Arriva North West - Bootle Depot
I had Pulsar CX58 EXH (2916) on my 311 journey from Skelmersdale to Aintree this afternoon. There was strange clunking and grinding noises coming from underneath the bus - specifically when the bus was going off of the line, travelling at high speeds and turning corners, which suggests (or does it?) that the problem is the differential... Its gearbox also seemed to be struggling at times - again, specifically when the bus was turning corners.

I also had Pulsar CX58 EXK (2918) on my 53A journey from Aintree to Netherton this afternoon. This bus is definitely "getting old" - it sounded very strange in idle (odd, not-in-sequence clanging). The ride-quality wasn't great, either. Speed-wise, this bus has been "slow" since January of 2012! A friend (driver at Bootle) told me that this has a lot of mileage on its clock, along with CX58 FZA (2920) - although the latter has already had its original engine replaced.