boost monkey

well taking the cooler off will expose the oil lines, so the oil will dribble out first, and then taking the hoses off will leak the coolant. I'm sure if you're methodical you won't lose too much of either :) The VR6 is different in that the cooler isn't sitting behind the oil filter like it does on the 4-cyl engines.

surely a sensor is an electrical fault, and the ring is a mechanical fault?

I didn't use a kit, I just grabbed some good brushes from a spare Alt and tried those. Sorry.

CV joints can sound like a drum roll, but if you're going slow enough it would sound like dnk...dnk...dnk....dnk. Jack it up and grab the driveshaft and try twisting it.

Ridiculous pricing.

I would check the brushes anyways mate, this is exactly what my alternator was doing and it was the brushes in the end. In fact, I swapped the brushes with some genuine Bosch ones and it was fine after that. The whole dash used to kind of pulse! lol. Also, if the belt was slipping you would hear it squeal. So i'm guessing you know whether or not this is the case.

Are allowed to come even if we're not US SPEC?

I fixed the horn and bulb tonight :D :D :D Horn was very very straightforward. Out of the 3 thin bolts which hold the two stalks in place, the bottom one had come loose and was sitting proud and at just the right distance to hit the steering wheel ring contact! :lol: on closer inspection it's rounded off the thread in the ally bracket thing it attaches to, so I'll have to look into filling that (chemical metal perhaps?) and then drilling and retapping the hole. Prodigal says you can replace the big ally bracket thing, but I thought it was part of the steering column :-s The bulb was a bit harder. Firstly the seal had died as one corner of the plastic bulb cover was cracked. Second, the screws were rusty and started to round off :-( I got one out and I thought it would be a good idea to hammer the screwdriver end whilst it was in place to undo screw number two as this would break the rust. This ended up shattering the plastic cover. So I have one screw out, and chunks of the cover left. Luckily there is still enough of the screw tabs to reattach later. I pull the bulb out and am met by green contacts. Ah, the oxide. I unplug the bulb housing, and quickly realise that I can remove the copper contacts from the housing. I get them out and attack them with a wire brush. To make sure they still work whilst they are out of the housing I plug them directly into the wired connector and directly onto the bulb. They work! Good. I reassemble the bulb housing with copper contacts, reattach the wiring connector and kinda gingerly recover them with half a housing. It'll do for the retest in the morning, and then I'll replace them. It seems the tailgate rot spread further than I thought. Another good thing I found out recently, I have zero battery tray rot :D so that makes 1 out of 2 then... :lol: Lastly, coolant guage didn't get above the lowest edge of the first white block tonight, ambient was 8-9 degrees. Is that normal or is my sensor still playing up? Oil didn't get much above 70.

Congratulations :D Been a long time since I have run in an engine, but it's just so much better when you get the chance to put your foot down! :D

dirty fuel? have you run the tank low recently? ignition? do the spark plugs look nice and sandy colour? have you checked all the earths, especially at the coil?

Yeah could be that. Also if you know there's a leak at the cooler why don't you just fix the seal or replace the cooler? You'd be impressed how much water can leak from a small dribble when the system is pressurised.

you mean the rear bump stops that the bonnet sits on when closed?

Yeah of course it will. Put the seats down and turn the boot panel sideways :D

Fuel pump relay is 80, the after run control unit is relay 90.

I'm having trouble with some weeds in my garden, any advice you can give me? Thanks.

I've been on the course twice! caught 2 times in 5 years :lol: so Thames Valley Police are always willing to send you on the course if you qualify.

that's the problem guys, there are no early MFA stalks left (I need the one which DOESN'T have the hazard light on the column) and there are none on ebay. Only a couple of non-MFA stalks hence my modding plans. ---------- Post added at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:56 PM ---------- My current stalk (thanks to Prodigal for the pics!): So it's been pinned by a brass bolt, and held in place with Araldite 2-part slow setting epoxy and cable ties to secure bolt whilst drying. I think only one tie is left on it now and it works great!

I've been warned this could happen:

your pistons will probably melt from the map being 1 degree out.

Circular part is definitely different. Mine doesn't have that white toothed piece, it's built into the housing and there are contacts in the straight black bit that goes above the white teeth on yours.

Mainland only? isn't that a bit racist?

What kind of coffee are we talking about here? instant or freshly ground?

That may work.... i'm not sure the circuits and contacts will be in the same place though.

Not sure mate, I guess it will be a test. If not, I don't mind securing the wire another way so it's not in the way of anything. May have to drill a small hole through for the wire also, but these are mods I really don't mind doing!

I've used short bolts. They make good paperweights. Seriously though, don't risk using short bolts. They won't fasten properly and may damage the banjo, and brakes really aren't an area where you want to bodge something.