The Gates thermostat is awesome though. Toasty warm

That is the sort of situation I dread 😬. My TD4 has been running so well the last 8 weeks after sitting still for 2.5 years while I was unavailable it seems unnatural.
Be careful not to offend it. The older they get the more sensitive they become.
 
Fan zone central…

I’ve been suitably impressed with Freddie in the (almost) 1 year that I’ve had him. Yes, I spent some £££ at first, but because I wanted to ensure he behaved! So, new VCU and bearings, 2 driveshafts, gearbox, IRD and diff oil changes, as well as 2 oil/filter services, other odds and sods under the bonnet and a nice set of AT tyres… and (touchwood/cross fingers/avoid ladders), he is doing well as he approaches 20!

My bank balance not so.

He has good bodywork all over, some patina (ok, flaky paint), and apart from the saggy headlining, a nice leather interior. As well as everyday use, I regularly take him green laning and am genuinely impressed each time.

Most importantly, he brings a smile to my face every time I take him out.
 
Fan zone central…

I’ve been suitably impressed with Freddie in the (almost) 1 year that I’ve had him. Yes, I spent some £££ at first, but because I wanted to ensure he behaved! So, new VCU and bearings, 2 driveshafts, gearbox, IRD and diff oil changes, as well as 2 oil/filter services, other odds and sods under the bonnet and a nice set of AT tyres… and (touchwood/cross fingers/avoid ladders), he is doing well as he approaches 20!

My bank balance not so.

He has good bodywork all over, some patina (ok, flaky paint), and apart from the saggy headlining, a nice leather interior. As well as everyday use, I regularly take him green laning and am genuinely impressed each time.

Most importantly, he brings a smile to my face every time I take him out.
The smile: that is important.
 
Replaced the hideous twisted rotten window seals with the not quite so bad ones off the S

Before
IMG_20231223_123031641.jpg

IMG_20231223_123022678.jpg

And believe it or not the other side was worse. o_O

And after
IMG_20231223_165225623.jpg

Still not perfect but not anywhere near so bad.

Then I swapped the half broken SE electric folding mirrors for standard ones off the S after spraying them with satin black

IMG_20231223_205040892.jpg

For reasons best known to LR the mirror is made from a rubbish plastic that fades after a few years but the part that supports
it is still nice and black so I masked off the good part and sprayed the mirror satin black. It looks very different in the photos but is not so much in real life. I suspect it will fade a bit after a while too.
While I was at it I replaced the faulty passenger side front speaker with one from the donor car. I still need to replace the rear passenger side window regulator and corroded seal but that can wait for another day.
 
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Time for a Christmas tour again. Drove 530 km to eastern Finland today with our two dogs. My grille cover seems to work well in winter temps and temp gauge stays in the middle even when driving motorway speeds 100 km/h. The average consumption for TD4 today was 8l/100km, driving with studded winter tyres 80-110 km/h speeds.
 
living in the global south with perfect weather all the time i have no idea of why a grill cover is needed

surely the engine is producing more heat than can be frozen by the air even at highway speeds
 
living in the global south with perfect weather all the time i have no idea of why a grill cover is needed

surely the engine is producing more heat than can be frozen by the air even at highway speeds
You would be surprised at what cold air can do
I had a few Abarth Stradas 130tc with twin Weber 40s facing the front grill with a foam filler instead of factory and on cold nights it could freeze the fuelling up causing spluttering
 
Finally got round to fitting replacement drop-links. Got rid of that annoying clonking from the front end. Now have to deal with a knocking CVJ on the back end!
 
Good to see you making the most of battery power Ali.;)
Today I used it to carry tools and stuff to my daughters new house so I could hang pictures. :)
So far since rewiring the boot contactors it hasn't cut out but I've only used it for a couple of miles. It will be a while before I can say it's fixed.
 
Today I used it to carry tools and stuff to my daughters new house so I could hang pictures. :)
So far since rewiring the boot contactors it hasn't cut out but I've only used it for a couple of miles. It will be a while before I can say it's fixed.
But you also have the benefit of cheaper running per mile, so once it's guaranteed reliable, it's a win win. ;)
 

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