Southernspeed

Mine has been making a knocking noise over even slightly bumpy road surfaces and Abbey diagnosed it as the rear ARB drop link ends. They're replacing them with their own upgraded ones. As Alex says, worth getting it diagnosed properly first as drop links are a lot easier to do than bushes!

Did they do a leak down test to see why it's down on pressure? Could be a valve lash issue rather than a bore issue. In which case getting someone (who knows what they are doing) to do the valve clearances would keep you on the road

Sometimes there is no difference in free play so spin the wheel and listen for a rumble/harshness as it spins.

Was your wife's mouth open at the time? Seriously though, first thing I'd check is for witness marks around door and boot sealing rubbers. Make sure you're getting good contact all the way around. Perhaps if the side window contact is very light in any position it could be getting sucked away from the seal at speed.

Yep, Abbey for sure 01883 732331

Very frustrating , especially after such a bad journey there, but I guess just one of those glitches we could all do without. Bad for you, bad for Abbey. I know from my own business how frustrating it is when some equipment goes wrong, losing me time and income and upsetting the customer. I'm sure they'll sort you out soon enough

Cool, I'm sure Mark will appreciate a relaxing day in the dyno room after his busy weekend!

You can appeal by asking the test station for an appeal form. You have to pay a fee then the vehicle is re inspected by the area vehicle inspector with the original NTs present. If finds them wrong, you get your fee back and a pass. Bit of a fag compared to just chnging your pads though!

John's got some great in car footage that really gives you an idea of the ferociousness of that car! Also check out http://www.youtube.com/user/BramsRacingTV

Welcome Sir JB and thanks for a great year's racing entertainment Mark. (Banger's Mash! )

Did you reset by disconnecting the battery or unplugging the ecu? If it was the battery I expect it would've zero'd the mpg so it started from fresh and you've been driving in that mpg region since then, hence the good reading. If you've been having fun (so the guage shows 12mpg for example) and then cruise on the motorway at 34mpg (or there abouts) it'll take a long time for the gauge to show 34mpg as it is, after all, an 'average' so it has to average out mileage.

When I was selling my BMW they offer £1.5k less than the dealer I traded it in with against the Z!

You could try Mark at Abbey Motorsport, they've just bought some forged rods and pistons at a very good price.

Certainly sounds like they're bending over backwards to accommadate you

How much did you pay for your car? Is there any benefit in just getting your money back and buying privately? There are many for sale and prices have tumbled of late.

If you think you're going to be driving in snow with winter tyres go for a narrow tyre. Above certain altitudes in most mountainous regions you're also required to carry chains. Not sure how the TC is going to react to 16" wheels?

ouch!!!! You've gotta have some money to lose that sort of money!

I'll put the old one back in when I get a chance and do some miles to check it.

No of course not!! But there wasn't any recorded faults so Mark changed the sensor as it seemed most likely cause. I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced the same issue and could throw any light on it. Abbey didn't look at it as a 'job' this morning, Mark just kindly tried to get me back on the road. If it happens again it'll get booked in for a proper inspection. They're busy boys down there, the Zs were lined up!!

Accelerating briskly through 3rd, changed to 4th and it died. I rolled to a halt and tried to restart it. It cranked, fired then , as if running out of fuel, the idle dropped as the misfired then died (about 2 seconds duration) After re trying several times with the same result I phoned Abbey. Mark suggested I tried a few things including a reset. After the reset (which I ballsed up by not reconnecting the ecu plug properly, sorry about all the phone calls Mark!) it was the same, though seemed to be idling longer each time until it ran ok. I went straight to Abbey though as I'd done a reset there was no codes stored (despite dying a few times after the reset) Mark suggested an air flow sensor as a possible cause which he kindly changed , I've given it some full throttle runs up through the gears on the way home with no problem at all. Anyone else had this experience? It really felt like fuel related but you could hear the pump prime. I hope it was the air flow meter but I hate it when a fault disappears without me knowing what it was.

There was actually some question raised in the media last year about the legality of these on non snow/ice surfaces (C&U etc) but I don't remember what the outcome was.

I think you'll have a battle on your hands getting them to take responsibility, and can't really see why they would even consider it unless they specifically worked on the handbrake recently, but even then.... Glad it wasn't worse damage or injuries though! I was riding down Clapham High street many years ago when a car pulled away from the kerbside just ahead of me. I carried on and went to overtake without really thinking about it but when the car kept coming out past the white line pushing me further over I turned to have a go at the driver. Hmmm...... no driver !!!

You can soon rack up thousands in parts and labour when they start going wrong .... and they do go wrong! If you're in a possition to do all the work yourself and have all the diagnostic equipment needed then maybe not so bad. Obviously (hopefully!) they're not all going to be bad news but all the ones I know of have been. My 3 series even started becoming a liability.

I know 2 people who bought early 2000 and something X5s and they've been a money pit nightmare. They are now both in so deep they may as well burn them. Plus, even with winter tyres on they are crap in the snow as the tyres are so bloody wide. Range rovers/discos rot. Land rovers are way over priced. If you must have a '4x4' I'd suggest a landcruiser colorado maybe? Boring but reliable and don't rot. I'm looking for a winter hack and am considering a quattro having given up on expensive land rovers. Just my opinion

Fluid should be clear-ish really, the darker it is, the more contaminated it is which is more likely to fail. Try fresh fluid before spending money IMO.