Ok, I'm not intimidated by Richard's heroics!
I changed the tailgate straps. They were almost unrecognisable lumps of rust but PlusGas rescued me once again. It took a while to work out what size the bolts were (10mm) but after tapping a socket on to the bolt, my small bar took them out without a murmur. The new ones are on with plenty of copper grease, let's see how they last.
The Britpart straps have a 11mm bolt head so you can tell if yours are originals.

Well, the oil is in - and a new filter. This time I have a Mann (which I like) instead of what turned out to be a Wix, which I don't remember buying.

I also tried to fix the Cruise Control by sorting out the vacuum lines at the usual T piece, but it didn't work despite looking like they're all sealed properly now :(

Well, now I know what VI is :)

In my dreams I'd fit an AJP8 but I'd have to find one first, and a large pile of cash.

183, according to the doc in the link.
Which is quite pleasing compared to Castrol Edge Supercar 5w50 (boosted with TITANIUM no less!) which has a VI of 170 and costs £48.95 for four litres from Opie Oils but is out of stock.

My 5w50 oil has arrived :) Hopefully I'll get a change done this weekend.
For some reason it was only £27.49 for 5L on Amazon for the Comma stuff so I got two. I like Comma oils and this is one with plenty of Zinc for flat tappets.

Maybe Island have un-furloughed some people?
I ordered two tailgate straps on Sunday and they arrived this morning (Tuesday).
Which was nice...

I have General Grabber AT - a more road biased AT but still good in all seasons and very quiet indeed. Sadly I've worn the shoulders out with the front end shenanigans and they don't make them any more or I'd get another set in a second. I'll be watching this thread!

18st is a distant memory for me :(

Super, thank you!
I shall start the PlusGas treatment in advance.

Well, if you've got a spare on the shelf... you just need a box of Tuits. I'd lend you some but I'm running out myself :(

I sat on the tailgate and broke one of the straps - lovely and rusty.
Are the Britpart ones OK? Island have them at a tenner each, which would make it worth doing both of them.
I semi-remember hearing that the replacements don't have the pivot - does this matter in practice?

And an excellent excuse to drive around dropping them off to the next guy :)

Well, it can't be great news - but I can't think of a reason to stress about it until you lose drive/gears. Unless you're the kind of guy who can rebuild an auto transmission I'd say leave it till it breaks. It might be time to read up on pulling the autobox and browsing Ashcrofts site ready for the day. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow - but some time... ;)

Donald Trump

BrianH wrote:

Your first mistake is reading the Express. Any webpage with that horrific formatting doesn't deserve to be looked at.

Note that a lot of that relates to carb vehicles as well which obviously can go out of tune and need adjustment, you have fuel injection which will adjust itself anyway so running lean shouldn't be an issue as long as its working properly anyway.

Correct Answer. The Express is a not a factual publication nor is the Mail, Mail on Sunday, Daily Mirror or even whatever they're calling the Independent these days.
Having seen the story with my own eyes on a couple of occasions and then read about it later in the papers - it's all shite.

I think the "Portal" button is basically the same as What's New - isn't it?

Watched my wife drive over a football that had been left underneath the front left. That was quite a loud bang!
"Was it a tyre??"
"Err, no. How could it be a tyre when you're sitting level??"

nevermind - £10 from amazon prime for a new football.

What a bargain! Is it going to be the basis for a "don't care if I scrach it" Offroader or are you going to cherish it like a new member of the family? :)

EAS and Aircon... well it could be a lot worse. How does the engine sound?