I've been out lying on my back in the rain this afternoon. I renewed a couple of brake pipes; the one that goes from the brake balance valve to the back axle, and the little curly one that goes from the passenger side front flexible hose to the calliper. The old ones weren't quite as bad as I thought, but at least they're nice and fresh now and it was an opportunity to run some new brake fluid through. Interestingly it wasn't such a long job bleeding them as I've experienced previously. The bubbles came through pretty much first time and I have a nice firm pedal. Maybe because the front to rear pipe is now more direct with smooth curves rather than kinks and right angle bends. I also tackled a little job with the windscreen wipers. The driver's side one describes a really small arc and sometimes it decides to wipe the A pillar rather than the glass. Seeing as the passenger side one is OK, I think it is a wheelbox problem. The gear wheel is slipping on the shaft, especially after the snow on my trip to Scotland a couple of weeks ago overloaded them I think. I managed to get the old wheelbox out and a new one in, and I think it's better. Now the lights on the speedometer don't work. The other instruments are OK though. Pulling the bulbs and giving them a quick continuity test suggests they're blown. I wonder why they both went at once? No photos, because the light was so appalling all afternoon.
The BF Goodrich All Terrains are actually starting to look worn now, after nearly 50000 miles. Not bald yet by any means, but down to the last 6mm or so. I hope to be able to save up and get some more in the new year.
