Better than being called an "old bus" (which my Resident Expert does... at which point she usually stalls in the middle of an intersection and gets called a good few other names)! :D

Thanks - nothing like a Series 3 to keep you out of mischief! :D Definite work in progress though....

Guess you're lucky then! :) Seen the same issues on a number of other TD5s.

Is your mileage around 200K kms? If so... that seems to be the point at which TD5 engines start to fail. My partner's one started with the same nonsense before bursting a succession of water pipes and heading for suspected head gasket problems. We hardly go anywhere without checking water...

Dunno about Defenders, but my boyfriend's Disco 2 automatically locks the doors shortly after the engine is started, as you start to drive (safety mechanism I guess so people don't try open the doors and rob you in transit). Seems to be on a timer. Perhaps a similar thing on yours? Do they...

Hi Paul - from a little further south..

And hi from another SEffrican :)

Been there, done that - except for attempting to set the truck on fire! :D Best way to get the rubber out of the metal sleeves on those bushes? Saturate it with thinners - it slides right out. And the metal bits will come out easier too..