Gandalf

It's not actually that difficult a job to DIY. You basically undo the support bracket for the bearing, take off the lower or upper steerting joint and then pivot the hub outwards, that lets the shaft draw out. The biggest problem as noted will be to stop it leaking again - clean the shaft with 600 grade grit and make sure that the seal goes home fully. If there is a bright ring on the shaft where the old lip has born DONT clean it at all, it'll just be a perished seal.

You may be surprised... I left my fuel cap open on the BMW a few days ago and it made an enourmous noise flapping about in the breeze and on corners, even though the spring was holding it shut against the lock. It's probably worth a go rather than something more expensive with the suspension. The other thing to check is that the spare and associated stuff like that is bouncing about and making a noise as well.

Check the lower bracket where the gearbox is attached to the bulkhead.

All the diesels from the first TDDi have a fairly good immobilisier built in. Alarms were option extras on most of the range for the Mk1 and 1.5

Clutch bearing will be noisy the other way round usually. If the noise goes when then clutch is disengaged then it's gearbox related, usually the input shaft bearing. Have you checked the gerabox has oil in it?

Insulation on the wires will be good to at least 120C so I wouldn't worry. I would take out the alignment motors if fitted though as it will probably upset and displace the gearbox grease

Run a very hot tub of water then in the sink and dip the lamp in it - that may work instead. Otherwise it's find a bigger oven I'm afraid....

Whats wrong with poouring a kettle over them? You can transfer a lot of heat with hot water really fasty and it may well be sufficient. As long as you re sela them it won't matter if some water goes inside either - as long as it's allowed to dry before resealing.

Why?

Disks and pads is a myth that the motor industry has perpatuated to sell extras to scared people because it's brakes and you cannot be too careful. Not long back when we had asbestos pads discs would last seemingly forever - at least 100,000 miles, often for the life of the car. Now they may only last for three sets of pads (but the pads last longer so not that bad) but they love to sell them new each time - nice little earner for discs that only cost a few quid to make and sell for five times that. Pads will bed onto discs that are scored without any problems and new discs will always sco

It does sound like water is getting in somewhere - check round the lights and the top of the headlining. It could also be a split rear washer hose leaking water as well

But torque is not power - a small engine may well produce less torque but it spins faster than a large engine. A compressor will generally need the same amount of power to do the job and will abstract that much power from the engine regardless of the torque needed so the reduction in mpg will equate to the same power loss - it all depends on what the starting mpg is really.

If the engine can turn over then it's no less likley to fire second time around. Most people seem to expect modern cars to fir striaght away which is an unrealistic expectation - it wasn't that long ago that you would hear a car cranking for a good five or ten seconds before firing. When you first start up a car, it has to build pressure in the fuel rail, measure air temperature, fire the cold start injector if appropriate, disable immobilisers - there is a lot that has to happen. Everyone I've met who said it failed to start is invariably letting go the key too early - not deliberatly but

It seems to knock at least 4mpg off on most cars. It'll have a bigger effect on smaller engined ones though for certain.

I wouldn't take anything I ever owned to Qwak Fit. A decent garage will charge very little just to swap the oil and will fill it with the right stuff - I wouldn't trust QF to do that at all.

It was mega black before, I think next time I'll have the engine flushed to be sure . it is a lot quieter than before and is a lot smoother, Don't flush it - there is no need and it can easily do more harm than good. All diesels soot oil up very very fast - that's why they make diesel formulations to cope with the soot loading. If you flush it all you will do is run the risk of starving a bearing of lube during the flushing process and if you get the oil in there perfectly clean I assure you it will go as black as midnight in a mine again within a thousand miles.

You top it up when and if it needs it. If you need to top it up too frequently then you have a problem. I've never owned any car that ever required topping up between oil changes.

It will go black instantly - there is always enough residual oils in the galleries to mix with the new stuff and make it go jet black - all diesels do it and it's nothing to worry about.

You should make up with 50% water, 50% antifreeze. Then find out where the leak is. Oil wise the handbook will give you the correct grade but it should be if memory serves 5W30 to ACEA A1/B1 or A3/B3

It's a big job - the compressor will almost certainly be a sealed for life unit and be swapped whole. That also means the system needs evacuation, recharging, a new receiver-drier etc... I'd find a decent independant air-con specialist and see what they reckon first.

I would - hard braking from about 60mph a half dozen times is the best way to bed new pads in. Prfereably on a quiet road though which means you may have to drive a bit to find one if you live in the smoke.

You can get belt slip when there is a really high load on the alternator - eg when there is a totally flat battery being charged. Have a look at the Winter battery FAQ I wrote in the Electricals section sticky - tells you how to diagnose and check a battery and charging issue

Air or a really badly adjusted handbrake if you have rear drums.

If they ever get their site working again.... Happy New Year though.

There is at least one fairly recent recall that affects the 2 litre diesels... http://www.ffoc.co.uk/modules.php?name= ... c&t=177621