Message received and understood. I didn't want to see the Titanic anyway...

Just trying to work out which trim piece on the tailgate needs bending. The tailgate on my P38 has a squashy neoprene tube all the way round the outside and a corresponding flat track on the two parts of the tailgate. There is also a neoprene tube between the two halves of the tailgate. Looks...

More details please !!!

Oh boy, another problem I didn’t know I had…

OK, that's a clear message coming through - hand wash - as ever, many thanks.

Yep - new filters and sealed covers. Did that as soon as advised by the experts on Landyzone... :)

Don't want to find out the hard way that my P38 won't fit into a standard garage car wash - will it fit? Or will I lose mirrors and possibly paintwork??

The alarming event of the blocked radiator bleed pipe had left the P38's cooling system full of plain water more or less, so I drained the radiator (which releases 4 litres) and filled via the header tank with OAT pink concentrate. Having learnt a great deal from the various postings above, I...

The finger check is OK if the coupling is working correctly or has failed "free-wheeling", but if it has failed "stuck" there might be bits of finger detaching from their owner. I favour the "slight drag and not free-wheeling when cold and all switched off" check. As to which newspaper to use -...

I found this Youtube explanation of the viscous coupling really useful. There are also some good videos on the newspaper test - not as scary as it sounds. I thought you stuffed a rolled up Sunday Times straight into the fan, but it's more gentle than that....

Glad it's not just me, then. Silicone sealant - the bodger's delight...!! Just went for a quick run - all seems OK. Any excuse to drive my P38 - I feel like a kid with a new bike...

OK, I'll grant that they are useful in carpentry - saves all that twiddling to fasten wood screws - just bang them straight in. My P38 PO clearly believed that an alternative to nyloc nuts was to cross-thread plain nuts. Stops 'em from coming loose.

Actually that’s sort of reassuring to hear. As with all previous owners, my PO caused a lot of damage…. I imagine the guy’s toolkit was a pair of mole grips and a claw hammer…

So, confident that the cooling system was sorted, off I drove. After about 15 miles of cool runnings, instant and major overheating: the header tank had decided to disgorge its contents and more. No burst pipes, so I took out the header tank to check it for leaks. The radiator bleed pipe...

Old radiator cap as spare, with new viton o-rings fitted. Old rings were worn and hard. Sizes: 3.5mm thickness x 34mm ID and 35mm ID. Top seal was OK, not changed.

There seems to be a bewildering choice of these devices at a very wide range of prices, and an equally wide range of the software that you need to run on your phone to read them. Any recommendations to suit my 1997 4.0SE?

Perfect technical description..thank you!

Interesting tests. My fan doesn't do any of that - when cold it is pretty easy to rotate the blades by hand. From what you say, when cold it should be pretty difficult to turn. Time for a new (Febi Bilstein) coupling methinks...

Interesting - I’ll try!!

That's very useful tip above; rev to ~2,000 and watch for coolant piddling into the reservoir. Works a treat and gives me confidence that the last bit of air has left the radiator - thank you! Now I just have to worry about the fan viscous coupling failing (if it hasn't done so already) ...and...