42hp diesel? What's the use in that, you'd never be able to ski behind it?

Huh? That's a new one. when you unlock the doors, does the drivers door unlock? The boot release button gets an earth from the lock/unlock microswitch in the RH front door, so if that is locked the boot will be too. However, the locking/unlocking of the doors suggest that as soon as you press the button, an earth rather than power is being sent to the door latch and that is triggering the central locking. If you can get to it, behind the RH side panel in the boot (you'll need to get in from the front) there's a multi way connector where all the wires on one side are white and the others are different colours. If you unplug that and apply an earth to the white wire that would have been connected to the Green/Red wire on pin 10, the the boot release should work to at least get it open. Then you are going to be looking for a short to ground somewhere. The boot release gets power from fuse 15 on the BeCM to the release solenoid, then to the button and then to this connector back to the switch in the door latch so the short is going to be somewhere along that line (although I would have expected the release solenoid to be permanently engaged or the fuse to have blown if that was the case).

Problem with mine is that it's GEMS and I suspect you'd need a Thor as a basis. Both the Thor and the earlier L322 use the Bosch Motronic engine management so it should, in theory, be easier to make the engine talk to the rest of the car.

That's the way to do it if the boat comes out of the water, in the case of this one it sat at a salt water mooring all the time and only came out once a year to be de-fouled. He bought it in that state and it hadn't been used in 2 years. Got it at a very good price because of the water leaks which he sorted with a pair of replacement heads and a rebuild kit.

Put it on full lock, jack up both front wheels and try spinning a wheel while looking at the CV joints. If they are OK, then start looking at the front propshaft UJs. Certainly doesn't sound like gearbox or torque converter.

Sounds more like a CV joint if it is more pronounced when turning a corner.

Ouch! There's not a lot you can do with that, I somehow suspect that Radweld wouldn't work and welding cast iron isn't really an option. The one in my mates boat was running but not that well and he found rusty holes in one of the heads where the coolant passages had rusted through to the surface.

That was a Ford Windsor 351cu based engine though (in a Cranchi Turchese 24), the Chevy was in his previous boat.

For me the ideal would be a P38 but with the 295 bhp from the 4.4 BMW lump fitted to the pre-2005 L322. I use my car predominately for long distance journeys around Europe (France 3 times and Holland once, clocking up 4,500 miles in the last 5 weeks). I want something that is going to get me there and the L322 has far too many seemingly insignificant things that can stop the car. At least with a P38, if the cooling system is kept in good order, any faults can be either ignored as they don't stop the car from being used or dealt with at the roadside.

Can't count mine then, I don't have any (other than ones I've put on)

Why, just out of interest? I always just leave mine on Auto, 20 degrees and AC on. Keeps me warm in the winter and cool in the summer no matter what temperature it is outside. I like the way that the fans speed up when the sun hits the solar sensor and slow down again when it is in the shade. Considering it's a system that dates back over 20 years, it works extremely well.

Orangebean wrote:

Darn things are getting far too common now- that's 3 of us on the forum :)

4 unless you are excluding Gordon (which, as he runs the forum is probably not a good idea......).

Welcome, that makes 4 then, Gordon's early one, OB's late one, another late one that David Hallworth is bringing back up to scratch and now yours. With those and the only LHD Linley ever made owned by JMCLuimni has (along with a Holland and Holland) we're doing quite well with the rarer ones.

blueplasticsoulman wrote:

Didn't even use it today. Lol.

How do you know? If you've got the system set on Auto, it'll use the AC even in the middle of winter to dehumidify rather than cool.

The Masser is pre-R134a so needs R12. I used to be able to get some stuff called Isceon MO49 which was a drop in replacement for R12 but it's like rocking horse manure these days in small quantities. This stuff http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Duracool-12a-natural-organic-refrigerant-substitute-R12-R134a-6ozcan/251647591580 works (neighbour has a Mk2 Granada and we put some in that) so does Johnsens Freeze 12 which I used in my '93 Range Rover Classic.

i must have gone 15 years never having to buy a light bulb and had so many spare fuses and relays I had to find a box to keep them in.......

That's the one, just like that.

Found another Vogue SE at the weekend. 02 registration in metallic green with the same extra speaker on top of the dash that OB has. The badge on the back was a one piece Vogue SE badge. Not sure if it will still be on the DVLA lists though as it was parked at the roadside in Scheveningen so it may belong to an ex-pat who is just running it around on the UK plates. Looked very tidy though and didn't have the half inch thick layer of dead insects on the front that mine currently has.

Sloth wrote:

The problem I see with the DIY kits is on a system with no gas in it, how do you displace the air, and get a proper charge? As well as removing the air, pulling a vacuum on a system properly will boil off the moisture on surfaces inside too.

Before I got my Maserati someone had tidied up the hoses with tie wraps and the outlet hose on the compressor was too close to the back of the power steering belt and wore through it. I got a new hose made up and refilled it with some R12 compatible refrigerant using a DIY hose. I was warned that I had to get all the air out first but as I didn't have a means of doing that, I just bunged the stuff in and it worked perfectly......

and leather seats, it would be unbearable in this weather.

My daughter had a Japanese imported Toyota MR2 Roadster with AC that was written off for her just after Christmas. She's replaced it with a newer version of the same car but being a UK spec and not one of the special equipment limited editions, the new one doesn't have AC. I got a text from her a couple of days ago asking how the hell anyone is supposed to use a black car with red leather seats in this weather. Being a convertible, with a black cloth roof too, the heat goes straight through the roof rather than partially reflecting off it like it would with a fixed tin roof. Opening the door after it's stood in the sun for a few hours gives a blast of hot air much like opening the oven.

They are simple enough, marinised version of a small block Chevy. I've got a set of cam followers for one if you need them. My mate had a noise that sounded just like a tappet on his so changed the followers. They all looked fine but from the noise one of them must have been worn. After putting it back together the noise was still there until he started the engine without the drive belt to find the noise was coming from the alternator.....

It was fathers day here too but all I got was a text from my daughter this morning. Just got back home after a weekend in The Hague (or Den Haag as you call it) and Scheveningen. I spent the weekend being force fed herring (as it was the annual herring festival) and large quantities of alcohol with a friend of Dina's who works there. Best part is filling up with LPG in Belgium. It cost me 26 Euros to fill my tank in Belgium and I've just got home still running on that same fill up.

I've got a helicoil set and inserts for head bolt threads if you need it. Won't be home until late tonight though, currently in Ferryman country.....