I'm more bothered about someone pinching the wheels for the tyres, than the scabby old alloys I have on mine. The locking wheel nuts have a letter code associated with them. A main dealer can either look up your VIN and tell you the letter your key is, ( they can do this with the radio code...

Sorry to hear Berti has to go, and the forced change of employment. You sound resourceful, so I think the latter will bring about new opportunities. Good luck going forward! Jim

Sadly I think these 'disgusting diesel cars' will be taxed off the roads in the coming years, even though the alternatives are not really viable at the moment, and only hide the emissions elsewhere. Let alone all the unnecessary pollution caused by scrapping. If the tax rates were to remain...

If you don't want to sell your vehicle, the best bet might be to buy a 'spares or repair' vehicle and transplant the relevant bits over. There are lots of HGF failed vehicles people have given up on. It would give you a load more spare parts also.

When I had my 2007 GS I had to buy the mud flaps as extras. Maybe on the higher spec' d models they came as standard? Jim

A CV joint boot split?

Does it look like it may have come out of the guide pins? These should move freely, and should have some grease on them to help them do so. They are normally protected by a little rubber boot that can either split or become unseated.

Manual or auto? Diff has a single plug used to drain and fill. So you will need a syringe. Or remove the whole back plate. Gearbox is the normal 2 plug arrangement, for filling and draining. Just make sure you loosen the full plug first to avoid ending up with a dry gearbox. Plenty of...

I tend to steer clear of the first model year of any vehicle as they often have teething problems. The 07 FL2 I bought new back in the day had problems develop that were to become quite common, such as weld splatters in the steering column causing issues, problems with the fuel sender, and then...

Thanks Nodge. Anything that prolongs not having the hassle of having to do a replacement! - I've got the rear card and shedder off at the moment, having just replaced the door handle that had rotted on the studs. So now is the perfect time for me to do this. I'm going to clean the door out also...

Apart from not using the tailgate, are there any preventative measures such as greasing the cables etc, that help extend the life of these mechanisms?

The painted door mirrors look great. And so do the others I've seen using stonechip for the wheel carrier etc. Seeing the oily marks from splatted flies on my grey faded mirrors look terrible now too. So with the decent weather, I'm going to take the plunge too, and use some stonechip. Did you...

I've seen some of you have mentioned in posts about using stonechip to spruce up tatty mirror covers and the spare wheel carrier. These are both jobs I want to do in the coming weeks, so was wondering if there were any comments on how these spray jobs have held up over time. Do they still look...

These guys seem to be using a Tepui roof tent. Some of the photos on their facebook page of using it in the snow make me feel quite cold!

Indeed, which is why I said it before one of the tratterers came up with something equally original. :-) Tratters are great, but I know what what vehicle I'd rather be sitting in to avoid being shaken and deafened at the same time on a long journey.

And hair tongs / dryer :-)

You could try testing and doing most the things outlined above yourself and save a few quid. I doubt too if a garage will clean out the gook in the manifold anywhere near as well an owner does. All the jobs listed are perfectly doable with a basic set of tools, and taking a look at the related...

Thanks, will give it a go. I've seen things like this, but always been a bit sceptical. But the finish looks a great improvement. :)

Steering wheel came up nicely!. What did you use to restore life back in to it? Mine currently looks like your original picture :(

Thanks for the write up and photos. - I'm not sure if it puts me off or makes me feel more confident about undertaking the challenge, when the time comes... Excellent to hear it all seems to have gone ok. Looks like it was a mammoth job! Hope you get the SRS light and boot access sorted. Jim