Changed mine for a Monroe and again, didn't make the steering feel any heavier.

I ran without the drivers side one for about 2 years with no ill effects. Mainly because once the manifold is bolted to the head you can't actually get them in place, you have to sit them in place before fitting the manifold. Passenger side can probably be fitted with the manifold in place. Mine only have about 4 of the original 150 or so tiny bolts holding them on and they don't rattle so maybe you can un-mangle yours and refit them?

Seems that they didn't fit one on the front axle of the diesel as it would foul on the sump, diesels only got them on the rear. Some very early cars didn't get them at all but there was a TSB about fitting one to the rear axle if a customer complained of vibration and they then became standard fit. That just seems to leave the propshaft UJs. You won't be able to feel any slack with them still attached, you'll need to undo at least one end to check them properly.

Of course the other way is to undo the manifold to downpipe studs (which should come off easily as you changed the exhaust recently) and take the head off with the manifold still attached. With the heatshield off you can get to all the head bolts easily enough..

Yes but you need something short on the socket, a ratchet is usually too fat. I ground the threaded bit of a 17mm headed bolt down to a square so effectively I had a 17mm hex on the back of the socket and could use a ratchet ring spanner on it.

I've never known one to burst, especially when the car is just sitting there, they usually just leak when they are perished.

RHD panhard rod is ANR3666 and is listed by some of the suppliers, not cheap though at just over 100 notes a go. Don't forget that for some reason the Lemforder drag link and track rods don't come with nuts so it might be worth ordering them too.

I'd be looking at a bad connection to the GPS antenna, which, according to RAVE, is under the plastic bit at the lower RH side of the windscreen.

Morat wrote:

Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not excessive movement (Front bushes in NS OS Axle mounts to tie bar) - WTF is that?

I suspect that is the panhard rod bushes which will allow the axle to move from side to side and result in some very weird steering. When you turn the steering instead of the wheel turning it pushes the axle from side to side.

If you've got a rear wheel bearing with slight play, it's well knackered. One of mine was rough as hell but there was no play because the half shaft kept it solid.

I had to replace my drag link a few weeks ago. Slight play in one ball joint was an advisory on my MoT too which I wasn't expecting as I'd fitted a new Lemforder one for the MoT 2 years ago. Admittedly it has done the best part of 40,000 miles between the two tests but even so I'd have expected it to last longer than that. Boots, some sort of vinyl rather than rubber, were split on both ends too.

Out of balance rear wheels usually make their presence felt at around 60mph, they are rotating too slowly to set up any resonance at lower speeds. I'd be looking for a seized UJ or the harmonic balancer has fallen off one of your axles.

At only £50 a pop for brand new, why would you buy S/H?

Especially when you look at the full size picture and see the cracks in the lacquer around the AC sensor grille and the buttons for the sat nav. A grand? More like a tenner......

Rears are easy but no matter how much you pump the pedal no fluid will come out. They are on the power circuit so you just rest your foot on the pedal and turn the ignition on.

Kunifer can be found here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263908695438 but the seller doesn't list unions. This guy has them but not in stainless https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brake-Pipe-Nut-Fittings-Metric-Imperial-Unf-Copper-Pipe-Brass-Tubing-3-8-M10-M12/351413035486 but you can get stainless from here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTOMEC-Brake-Pipe-Stainless-Steel-Union-Fittings-Male-10mm-x-1mm-Pitch-x-21-5mm/192503935314, bloody expensive though.

You've obviously not looked into the differences. Converting a manual to an auto involves a complete loom and ECU as well as the mechanical bits, swapping the engine involves even more, even the fuseboxes are different between petrol and diesel, then there's the BeCM, engine ECU, lockset (to match the BeCM) and hundreds of other bits. About the only thing you could do is reinstate the air suspension.

I suspect Sloth still has the scar on his leg from when him and Marty tried to do just that at the first summer camp. Marty wanted to change his steering box but the new one didn't have the drop arm so the old one had to be removed and refitted. If I remember correctly it involved at least 4 people, assorted wedges and a sledge hammer.......

https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/tools/sockets-accessories/laser-locking-wheel-nut-remover they have a tapered LH thread inside so the more grunt you put on it the tighter it grips. Laser also do a set of 4 different sizes but if you've only got the weedy little 17mm hex headed bolts not proper big buggers like we've got, I would think the Halfords set will do the job. I've also successfully used the largest socket out of a set of Irwin nut removers (these https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p63045) on a Peugeot wheel bolt with a missing wheel nut key

First thing I'd check, preferably before he drives it again, would be that the wheels are bolted on properly. Some places nip them up then finish off with a torque wrench, others just hammer them on with the rattle gun. I've had one wheel work loose on me and the noises it made made me wonder what the hell was going on.

A manual, base model diesel on springs, got absolutely nothing going for it in my book.

A couple of cars I've worked on recently the ABS sensors have just pulled out no problem. In fact one needed a rear wheel bearing so I got a complete hub and halfshaft assembly to swap in making it a much quicker job and as I pulled the old one out it rolled over and the ABS sensor just fell out! Unlike my daughter's MR2 that needed a rear wheel bearing and the ABS sensor came out in 3 pieces joined with miles of very fine copper wire. That showed how cheap parts are for our cars, Toyota price for an ABS sensor, £360 +VAT, Eurocarparts, £245 but out of stock, Online Car Parts.co.uk, who are actually based in Germany despite the .co.uk web address, £28 including delivery for a genuine Denso one too. Admittedly I think the courier they used put it in his pocket and walked from Germany as she drove around for almost 3 weeks with the ABS fuse and relay pulled and a permanent warning light on the dash.