It's good to have an ally :) The only problem now is that Marty's workshop is at the end of a filthy track so there's very little point cleaning anything there!
Anyway, the point of $seasoncamp is to fix the nasty oily bits :)

MHT wrote:

Yes I steamed the leather - I tried a few different ways but the best method seemed to be by using the little brush attachment that came with the steamer. I soaked, agitated, steam with the brush (only a bit bigger than a toothbrush) and then wiped. On the front seats it has exposed the cracks in the leather a little more, but seeing as it was basically dirt plugging the holes I wasn't too concerned. Plus, I plan on filling and dying the leather over the damaged sections so will remedy this down the line.

That's sounds ideal. I'd never considered steam cleaning leather before but it obviously gets the crap out of the cracks without the risk of causing further damage by scrubbing too hard on a weakened area. Nice one.

Does anything else work in the driver's door?
Honestly, unless you can read the wiring diagrams in RAVE you're going to need Marty to point you at the next steps for diagnostics.

You steamed the leather? Interesting - it certainly seems to get the job done !
My wife has a steam cleaner, I might have to nick it :)

Welcome! I've been where you are, it isn't fun :(

If you can get access to the interior without going deaf you'll be able to sort this out. It'll probably mean buying a refurbished driver's door lock from Marty which is well worth the price.

Is the car somewhere safe?

Absolutely anything can happen! It's a great game. You wear a blindfold while someone cuts (or shorts) one or more random wires in the loom and you get to diagnose and fix it!
I cheated and called Marty :)

I'd go with a new kit, and frankly I've gone with getting a decent installer to do the whole damn lot twice now and the LPG still pays back in a year. There's little more frustrating than a bad LPG install. If you've got the skills to install, fine but it's a hell of a lot easier to learn on something that worked once than to go from scratch.

Gilbertd wrote:

We've only done one before but people either travelled each day (if they weren't that far away) or 3 of us stayed in a hotel. Marty's workshop is at a farm near Marlborough in Wiltshire down a nicely muddy and rutted track.

It came about because there were people that had jobs that needed doing that they either didn't feel confident doing on their own, didn't have the specialist tools needed or jobs that needed two people. It wasn't really organised, it just sort of happened. My partner came along as she is always up for a bit of brake pedal pressing and the like but also thought about feeding us. Morat did the same so he was responsible for the BBQ while others fettled his car for him.

Don't forget my frankly heroic "standing on a steering arm while Marty beat the carp out of it with a sledgehammer". We took 50% casualties on that mission!

I had that error intermittently and Marty swapped out my driver pack for one he'd fixed. I haven't seen that fault since.

Sounds like fun :) I can't commit until I've seen dates, and possibly the weather seeing as we were using wading mode ON the road round here in January last year!

Here's another red one for Monsieur l'Orange
http://tinyurl.com/go3rh7t

Probably not all that close to you but definitely closer than Newcastle!

Gordon mentioned he might start a thread like this, but he hasn't yet. So without wishing to step on toes, here's my attempt.

What could we attempt as a group?
I'd be in for:
Headlining
Possibly Ball Joints

Hmm, looks like you got a free Christmas tree with that one!
Nice blue, looking well too.
Have you tried Gliptone on those seats yet? The cleaner does well down in the cracks.

It looks like you've got a very hungry spider somewhere in your HEVAC ducts, I can't imagine may flies get past the pollen filter!

I'm all for it, January might be a tad damp... but if we go large on the barbeque we could keep warm!
February might be a little easier on the finances?

Bloody Hell, you sound like the perfect candidate for this place - welcome :)
First of all, learn by my mistakes: go and buy yourself a Nanocom before you've got a flashing locked out paranoid Range Rover that won't move.
The ability to read all the systems yourself gives great peace of mind when on a long trip.
Second - we need photos :) Have you got a link to the advert?

Sounds like you've got lots of fun ahead, enjoy the trip!

Thanks Richard, I'll get some grease on the pipe.
I've checked and you can pull the wheel up and down a tiny amount but like you say, it's really no issue.
The garage we used is well known for being picky but at least they're thorough. They replaced the jubillee clip on the radiator -> Expansion tank return pipe to try and stop the slow leak there, which was braver than I was when faced with the chance of snapping off the plastic stub :)

Advisories
one for the missing seatbelt buckle cover.

Steering column top bearing slightly worn
Anti-roll bar linkage has slight play in a ball joint nearside front (the ARBs have balljoints?)
Suspension arm has slight play in a ball joint offside front
Road wheel with a slightly distorted bead rim nearside rear

Brake pipe slightly corroded offside rear

Hmm, I wonder how many of these will turn into a fail by next year, and if any are likely to cause jiggly steering over bumps (especially surface changes)

You are kidding!!!
How much is postage to you from the UK?

Well it's done, and we've got a fresh ticket.
There were some advisories, most of which seem likely to be related to the wiggly front end.
Steering column top bearing worn? New to me!
I'll list them tomorrow...for your sadistic pleasure :)

Nice one Gordon :)