Turbocharger

I think it's a long way for Streaky to come, just to work on your Ninety. I agree, Sir Clarkson of CO2fordshire is there to make entertainment. Read his newspaper columns and he'll contradict himself in three consecutive weeks, but the prose is always entertaining and sometimes thought-provoking. I find it refreshing that he's got a strong view (on everything), even if I don't agree with it. Much like Mr Streaky's post above, in fact.

Tim at Muddyweb.co.uk also does vinyls if you're still looking... and he's a LR nut

Or extend the idea further:

I could have sold you some steel plate worthy of a Nige-mount and taken the pan off your hands! Still, each to their own...

After my trip through a river, the replacement of rotating equipment continues (note shiney alternator also). Removing the serpentine and wiggling the water pump pulley confirmed the source of the rumbling noise. I don't understand how it wasn't leaking with 3mm of movement at the pulley. In a Hayneson style: You will need: 10mm & 13mm sockets and ratchet adjustable spanner hammer (of course) angle grinder (in my case) a sharp knife Slacken the 3 bolts holding the pulley to the power steering pump and water pump (you need both). Do this now to save you refitting the serpentine. Then use the adjustable spanner to take the tension off the belt and remove that too. I can't remember why I removed the serpentine tensioner (13mm socket needed) but it made sense at the time. Pull the three bolts to remove the water pump pulley: and the PAS pump pulley: Undo the bolts holding the water pump to the front of the engine. Make sure you place a bucket under the car, even though none of your coolant will end up in it - sods law says it'll run along edges, down bars and pipes and leave the bucket bone dry. Be aware that the bolts for the water pump are different lengths - for those who have muddled these up, here's the layout: Use the sharp knife to scrape off the remains of the old gasket: The design of my new and old pumps is different, I suspect the new one is a pattern part. I had a problem with the casting - it was rough and a little thicker than the old one, so the bolt + coolant pipe bracket here was thick enough that the bolt head fouled on the pulley when it was bolted up. After 30 mins attention from a square person I'm not that keen on( ) I gave up and introduced my Indian friend, Mr Agrinder. I've removed the coolant pipes to improve access for the sparky spanner - if the pulley on your pump spins ok when installed then it's not necessary. And plenty of clearance afterwards. Top up the coolant with your favourite flavour of antifreeze and go for a thrap to check for leaks. Then, if you're me, spend 5 hours in the next two days on the motorway snatching the radio onto mute whenever you hear an odd noise. I wonder how long this one will last...?

Visually, yes.

While my gearbox is out in a couple of weeks, I'll look at repairing the leak at the rear of the engine. If there's oil getting into the bellhousing, it's the dreaded 300Tdi crank rear seal? What bits do I need? I've heard that the seal might be fine but the housing/carrier leaking instead? TIA John

Why do we have to ban anything? 'Banning' is such a bull-in-chinashop approach to legislation. Clever legislation would make it uneconomic or unattractive to <insert irritant>, but still mean you were able if you had to. For example, HGVs in town centres? We're already there, they're horrible places for 38 tonnes, so the trunk roads look more attractive. If you have a problem with HGVs, this is a symptom of insufficient attractive alternatives. Where necessary, charge them until they find an alternative route, but blanket-banning them won't help. Homework: apply this logic to a problem of your choice.

...which leads nicely to - with plenty of horsepower, you'll look at the transmission but what about the suspension and brakes?

Sorry

I'm afraid that's down to the poor emissions kit that MOT stations have. There may be less smoke but the CO2, NOx etc levels will be much worse on the LR. Proper emissions kit is £100,000s upwards so it's just not affordable or practical to test cars annually.

Fair play Will, you're not scared to throw your hat in the ring, are you?

Anyone who sits in lane 3, waiting for everyone to get out of the way so they can overtake. When everyone's doing it, it becomes a one-lane road. Actually, no, keep them. Then I can quietly drift up lane 1 with a higher average speed and a safer braking distance. Why not ban banning?

That has to be the best quality post of 2007 so far. :D

I'm absolutely no help here, but: "lathe" is NOT a verb, it's a noun. The word you're looking for is "turn". Service will now resume as normal.

What you needed was your own 'Guardian Womble'© to deploy a thousand strobe lights, protect your vehicle and remove any stray litter you may have dropped? What's that? The door? On a hard shoulder? You're very kind <slam>

There was a chap in the Series forum who had a 1.4? 1.9? Audi diesel in his Series 3 - he reckoned it flew because of so little weight, and was returning 40mpg plus...

My dear father does a lot of work with large gensets in his line of work (100kVA) which they're looking at the DC possibilities for intermediary battery storage so they can decouple the engine speed from the output frequency and run variable-speed. He may have some contacts who may consult - I'll ask tomorrow.

Are you sure they're not Highways wombles? [door closing]

The issue I've found is mainly just the hassle factor. The income and asset appreciation are significant, but so is driving 200 miles to evict a tenant, only to find he's fled and taken your carpets and interior doors! The management company were hopeless (they gave the deposit back) and it makes the tidy return on investment less attractive. Some food for thought here guys, thanks for your views. I think independent advice may be money well spent, especially if it explores options outside property investment too. Since this is so far off topic, I guess it can go to the graveyard now unless anyone else is interested?

A chap on the news last night said there was £800-worth of damage to his car, worth £400. He was nearly in tears. Radio 1 suggests that refineries, filling stations and the tanks of affected vehicles have been dipped, nothing found. I've got to do 200 miles tomorrow and I'm really worried tha... oh no, that's right, mine's a diesel

... and this is the issue I face. I need to get info from someone I trust, ideally from lots of people I trust. Frankly, I trust you guys on here more than someone I meet once or twice through my bank/accountant/from an advert. If he was so good, how come he's not making his money that way, instead of advising me with mine? The idea of mortgaging, reinvesting and using a management company has been tried before, but when I get calls at 4am from the 'management' company saying the boiler's bust and asking me to travel 200 miles to fix it, I lose my faith somewhat. Where to get a decent manager or estate agent? You'd do better looking for sensible legal advice... Thanks for the info so far guys - it's good to get another perspective, and especially from people who've been there before.

Don't worry, I have the phrase 'Free advice is worth what you pay for it' firmly in my mind. We intend to see a proper advisor recommended by a friend but most are angling for a sale of their favourite product or reticent to give advice in case we sue!

Question for the more financially astute, and absolutely nothing to do with LRs: My brothers and I inherited my grandparent's house 'in trust' six years ago. It's currently let with tenants in Manchester, but the rest of my family are scattered across the country and not particularly local, so it's difficult to manage. I'd like to reinvest in two smaller flats nearer to one of us, for a better return on investment, easier to manage and hopefully spreading the risk. However: if we sell up, we pay 40% in capital gains tax. Current options: bite the bullet and sell it, using 3 personal allowances for the CGT (3x £8800). Not attractive. keep it, let it, manage it from afar. This is a pain, but looks like the most efficient option. Anyone want a 3-bed house in Manchester? move into it - if it's a 'primary' residence it qualifies for CGT relief, but it's a helluva commute to work form a limited company?? with three of us holding 100% of issued share capital, to hold the asset (but how does the asset transfer to the company without a sale incurring CGT?) Does anyone here know anything about this, or know where I should be looking (before I go hunting for hand-rubbing financial advisors)? I need a www.CGT4x4.com with equally helpful advice

I've got a serpentine that's too long for my (normal) 300Tdi - yours for beer tokens if it helps? I could even read the numbers off it tomorrow...