THE DFS WORLD OF CHOD - Running repairs required. 11/10.

[dougiefourspeed]

PHILOSOPHY CORNER. 

 

Confucius say: The urge to acquire more chod grows stronger only when existing chod requires all your time, attention and cash. 

 

To that end, I have spent about 98% of the past week glued to eBay and Bumtree looking at more unwanted heaps blue-chip investments, the yearning is very strong. I need to eject the Astra from the fleet, but I'm still using it a bit and will be until the BMW is FINALLY MOT'd. This will be occurring in the next couple of weeks - I don't see any obvious FAILZ lurking, although the rear tyres are looking a little past their best now with a little bit of sidewall cracking but plenty of tread. Aside from that, anything that crops up will most likely be something you cannot see like emissions or some such guff. 

 

Speaking of the Astra, as soon as the BMW is MOT'd it'll most likely be up for ROFFLE at £11.50 a throw if there is any early interest? Full details on the car to be found earlier in this thread. When the time comes (the draw will be next month most likely) I'll make a new Roffle thread.

 

Anyway, because I am quite literally unhinged. I've been casting my eye over various beauties in the classifieds this week. When I'm not working, pretty much all my free time is being taken up attempting to sort out my garden. Without drifting off on some kind of Tichmarsh-based tangent, the old dear who lived there before me had become too old and frail (lame excuse) to do much with it. As a consequence it currently looks like the set of Jumanji. So I'll be spending most of the rest of the summer carting rubble sacks full of garden waste to the tip and carting around ladders, shovels, and dogs. What I really need is a nice old estate, an old V40 looks a promising candidate or perhaps an old Focus wagon to use as a workhorse.  

 

It should therefore come as no surprise to you all that my top three eBay searches this week have been as follows;

1. BMW E39 Saloon.
2. Citroen AX.
3. Peugeot 106.

I'm not very good at this, am I? Although to be fair, my ideal two car garage would be a nice E39 Auto saloon for high-days and holidays and something SMOLL and PSA for commuting and dog-carrying. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Split_Pin]

I do not need another project. I do not need another project. I do not need another project.

 

1 random please.

[dougiefourspeed]

I need another project. I need another project. I need another project.

 

1 random please.

 

EFA.

[dougiefourspeed]

This evening I went to see a man to get a new tyre (£16 Nexen eBay BARG) fitted to the Kompakts LIGHT ALLOY RIM and also to sweet talk him into taking it for its test (which is looking as though it may happen as soon as next week!), because he has trade insurance and I don’t much fancy spending 45 poonds on a day insure for a two mile round trip.

 

The lad I went to see I think I have mentioned in this thread before and is a serial tat poker. The current fleet includes a 306 with a borked clutch, a Rover V8-powered P100 truck and a Mk5 Scrote with a Focus ST engine. He’s also into 205s and has owned loads over the years. Whenever I go in there the subject of old Pugs always comes up. He happened to mention that his tidy little G-reg 1360 had blown its engine and he was thinking of possibly shifting it on.

 

Those of you with long memories may remember that about six hours ago I posted in this thread saying that I could really do with an estate car to help with my garden clearance...

 

... preliminary interest in this fucked 205 has been registered. Naturally.

[Rave]

You can get quite a lot of garden waste in the back of a 106. Not much more than half as much as a Mondeo estate admittedly, but since my 106 does more than twice as many Emm Pee Gees as my Mondy I figure I can do twice as many trips and still win. I once even managed to get two petrol mowers in for the return trip after bribing the council employee there to look the other way...

[dougiefourspeed]

So, almost a fugging YEAR after I bought it, the BMW is finally booked in for an MOT!

 

Forget the world cup, forget the Trump-Kim summit. THIS is the event of the year for me.

 

1200 hrs. LIVE! Only on Autoshite.com.

[dougiefourspeed]

This evening I have been doing MOT preparations on the Bruvvas Motor Wheelz, and by that I don’t mean a Bo11ox-esque marathon welding the two halves of the chassis together the night before the test.

 

I broke out my preferred Detailing World approved bottle of Morrison’s own brand car shampoo and washed about 63% of the dirt off of it on the basis that in my mind a clean car is more likely to pass than a filthy one covered in moss and dust. Fired it up and it ran sweet as ever (I like these little four pot Bee Emm engines. They’re sweet little torquey motors that live in the shadow of the six cyl jobs) All lights working. Tyres seem to have air in and around them and the brakes work well enough to bring it to a stop from 1 MPH on my driveway.

 

I could only find two issues. One of the front fog lamp lenses is cracked but the light is intact and working, and the pipe for the rear wash wipe has disintegrated. But I don’t believe these are testable items so we should be all go for tomorrow! I AM EXCITE!

 

Here it is awaiting JUDGEMENT DAY.

 

[dougiefourspeed]

Unfortunately I am working today so was not there for the momentous event but...

 

 

New MOT? Pah! I laugh in the face of your new MOT.

[Datsuncog]

^^^ Congrats on the MOT pass!

 

Very annoyed with myself that I managed to miss this thread the first time around; top writing, top shiteing.

 

Fair play to you - and I hope the Compact shows significantly more gratitude than your previous steers have done, in terms of not leaving puddles of fluid where none ought to be.

 

Enjoy!

[dougiefourspeed]

^^^ Congrats on the MOT pass!

 

Very annoyed with myself that I managed to miss this thread the first time around; top writing, top shiteing.

 

Fair play to you - and I hope the Compact shows significantly more gratitude than your previous steers have done, in terms of not leaving puddles of fluid where none ought to be.

 

Enjoy!

Cheers Mr Cog! It’s encouraging to know people are enjoying reading my drivel!

 

A quick updizzle whilst I’m hizzle;

 

The Ass-tra has been dumped in my works yard in disgrace. The coolant pipe between the rad and turbo ruptured on Thursday morning. Fortunately I was only about two miles from work and was able to stop immediately so no major damage done. I taped the pipe up and refilled the system which held fast the rest of the way. I need to order a replacement pipe from Vauxhall (£80! For a pipe with a banjo bolt wedged in it. Phuckers!) I’ll fit that and then stick it on eBay as ‘SPEARS OR REPRES!!! NOT GOLF, SCOOBY, CHEVY CORVAIR, GAMMON JOINT.’ Unless anyone here wants it. The sooner I get it out of my hair, the better.

 

After it’s MOT success on Wednesday I’ve been using the BMW every day and it’s been great. The drivers electric window doesn’t work which is a bit of a pain in this weather but the sunroof and the other window are fine so it’s not the end of the world.

 

I’ve been driving it to work and using it as a garden waste clearance unit all weekend and I have to say it’s been pretty damn good. I do quite like these little four pot engines that BMW did in the 90s. It’s no hot hatch, but it’s plenty quick enough and has a nice torquey feel to it. It sings along like a sewing machine and the gearbox is lovely and slick. A bit of WD40 application has helped to alleviate a very sticky throttle pedal. It seems to be decently economical as well, although I’m used to 29 MPG in the Vauxhall so anything is better really.

 

Here it is being resplendent in the sunny Sussex countryside yesterday.

 

 

I know it took a while to get it on the road but I’m very glad I saved this old thing from the bridge. It drives like a dream. I’m becoming rather fond of it!

[dougiefourspeed]

Here's one for you BMW licking shiters at large...

 

The drivers window on this Compact does not work. Apparently it needs two little plastic 'slider' clips replacing on the regulator which I've ordered off the bay. I'm told this is quite common with the E36 although my last ones never had this problem. Is replacement straightforward or will the regulator/motor need to come out first? I'd like to get it done this weekend if the clips turn up in time but I don't have much time free so I don't really want to end up having to drive around for the following week with the door half-dismantled or window stuck down etc. Any tips?

 

These are the little chaps in question I believe.

 

[dougiefourspeed]

C U L8R!

 

 

So the Astra that I bought last year in the misguided hope that a more modern vehicle might be more dependable finally disappeared from my life today.

 

Conversely, after having zero interest online (unsurprisingly) and being dicked about for a week by people I know who were “definitely interested” but never showed up. I bit the bullet and stuck it on Gumtree yesterday night and it was on a flatbed Sprinter being carted away after being purchased by a Vauxhall breakers at 10.30 this morning! Great stuff.

 

So at this point I would like to issue a BIG UP to Adam and Brett from Vauxparts in Gravesend for breaking the mould and turning up at the appointed time with the right amount of cash and generally making life very simple. 648/10 WOULD SELL KNACKERED ELLESMERE PORT TAT TO AGAIN.

 

I sold it for £500 so lost a chunk on it, and learnt the lesson that whilst not all Vauxhall’s are shit, the post 2000 ones definitely are. Oh and also, only buy chod that you know you can fix if it borks. This Astra was the newest car I have ever purchased outright and also the least reliable.

 

Speaking of which. The DFS Chod Count now stands at 1 for the first time in 2018. Which is far too low a number for a man with three parking spaces innit?

[dougiefourspeed]

Smoll update.

 

Not a lot of news seeing as the BMW continues to run well and is in everyday use. I've done almost 1000 miles in it now.

 

The only fly in the ointment so to speak is a high pitched noise which seems to be coming from the engine room. But it comes and goes, for example when I drove into work this morning it was noticeable on start-up and seems to rise and fall with the revs and was there for the entirety of the 17 mile drive. 

 

I just started it up now after it had been sat since 8AM and there was no noise at all at any RPM. I know these M43 lumps had the crappy plastic impeller water pumps, so is that a likely culprit?

 

The aux belt also looks as though it has seen better days mind, so I am wondering if it could be the tensioner causing the noise. It sounds almost like a supercharger whine.

 

Any guidance much appreciated as always!

[Datsuncog]

^^^ Might be an alternator issue, mebbe?

 

My last Phase 1 Laguna had this on-off whine of a similar bent, rising and falling with revs, which I tracked down to the pulley on the alternator. A squirt of 3-in-1 oil (not on the pulley itself, but onto the shaft behind) would silence it for a few weeks at a time. Never worked out why sometimes it would be dreadful, then fine again, then dreadful.

 

Luckily*, it permanently solved itself in the usual French car way - something even more terminal occurred, so it was au revoir and off to its doom.

 

I appreciate that may not be a satisfactory conclusion in your case, since this is now your sole transport.

 

It's either that, or a roaming band of tiny petrolhead gnomes has crept under the bonnet and surreptitiously fitted a supercharger in the night. Play your cards right, and you might get a big-bore exhaust and set of uprated calipers too.

[mrbenn]

Check the PAS pump, too. I've experienced noise from a couple. One was silenced with a spray of WD40 behind the pulley, the other one was quietened by adding PAS fluid......

[dougiefourspeed]

^^^ Might be an alternator issue, mebbe?

 

My last Phase 1 Laguna had this on-off whine of a similar bent, rising and falling with revs, which I tracked down to the pulley on the alternator. A squirt of 3-in-1 oil (not on the pulley itself, but onto the shaft behind) would silence it for a few weeks at a time. Never worked out why sometimes it would be dreadful, then fine again, then dreadful.

 

Luckily*, it permanently solved itself in the usual French car way - something even more terminal occurred, so it was au revoir and off to its doom.

 

I appreciate that may not be a satisfactory conclusion in your case, since this is now your sole transport.

 

It's either that, or a roaming band of tiny petrolhead gnomes has crept under the bonnet and surreptitiously fitted a supercharger in the night. Play your cards right, and you might get a big-bore exhaust and set of uprated calipers too.

 

Initially I wondered if the alternator could be at fault. I shall check it ahhhht. 

Check the PAS pump, too. I've experienced noise from a couple. One was silenced with a spray of WD40 behind the pulley, the other one was quietened by adding PAS fluid......

 

Hmm. PAS pump was something I hadn't thought of. Will have a check of the fluid level. 

[davehedgehog31]

I had something very similar, in a true bout of automative hypochondrias I utterly convinced myself that the gearbag was fucked. 

 

Turned out it was my shitey stereo being interfered with and emitting a high pitched noise, turned it off and the noise vanished. Felt a right tit.

[Vince70]

My old M44 Z3 would make a make a similar noise when the engine was cold and it’s the same set up with the alternator power steering belt as your motor.

 

When it sprung a leak from the rad I decided to change the belt and pump at the same time and when looking at the belt it was completely knackered and that was what caused the noise on my old car.

 

It’s a real easy 5 minute job to do on an M43 as its only spring loaded as such so you turn a spanner basically and the old belt just falls off and with a ecp code a good quality belt is only about £8.

 

When you hear it making the noise again throw some talc over the belt and see if it stops and that should give you the answer.

 

As for the plastic impeller pumps they aren’t that bad as mine was on the original 1996 pump and when I removed it the thing was still like new but I replaced it as I had a new premium range pump which I bought from GSF only to discover that also

had a plastic impeller blade when I opened the box.

 

And I think I’ve said before that’s the most amazing colour I’ve seen on a E36 and If you decide you want to throw a pump and belt on the old girl and do a coolant refresh let me know as I have the spanner’s needed to remove the viscous fan if you need to borrow them as it’s worth doing as the cooling system is the only real weak point on a BMW of that age and I even have the posh tool to turn off the service lights now rather than using a piece of wire to bridge the terminals if you need to borrow that also.

 

If it’s just the clips that have broken it’s a very easy job to fit the new ones but if the mechanism is knackered and needs to be removed it can be a bit of a pig to do as the old one needs to be drilled out and a new unit bolted to the door but don’t make the same mistake as I did and buy a cheap pattern part as they don’t seem to last 5 minutes so in the end I sourced a good secondhand genuine unit and it’s been no problems since repairing it also the very cheap eBay Clips have a habit of popping off.

[dougiefourspeed]

My old M44 Z3 would make a make a similar noise when the engine was cold and it’s the same set up with the alternator power steering belt as your motor.

 

When it sprung a leak from the rad I decided to change the belt and pump at the same time and when looking at the belt it was completely knackered and that was what caused the noise on my old car.

 

It’s a real easy 5 minute job to do on an M43 as its only spring loaded as such so you turn a spanner basically and the old belt just falls off and with a ecp code a good quality belt is only about £8.

 

When you hear it making the noise again throw some talc over the belt and see if it stops and that should give you the answer.

 

As for the plastic impeller pumps they aren’t that bad as mine was on the original 1996 pump and when I removed it the thing was still like new but I replaced it as I had a new premium range pump which I bought from GSF only to discover that also

had a plastic impeller blade when I opened the box.

 

And I think I’ve said before that’s the most amazing colour I’ve seen on a E36 and If you decide you want to throw a pump and belt on the old girl and do a coolant refresh let me know as I have the spanner’s needed to remove the viscous fan if you need to borrow them as it’s worth doing as the cooling system is the only real weak point on a BMW of that age and I even have the posh tool to turn off the service lights now rather than using a piece of wire to bridge the terminals if you need to borrow that also.

 

If it’s just the clips that have broken it’s a very easy job to fit the new ones but if the mechanism is knackered and needs to be removed it can be a bit of a pig to do as the old one needs to be drilled out and a new unit bolted to the door but don’t make the same mistake as I did and buy a cheap pattern part as they don’t seem to last 5 minutes so in the end I sourced a good secondhand genuine unit and it’s been no problems since repairing it also the very cheap eBay Clips have a habit of popping off.

Well after driving home tonight I popped the bonnet to have a listen with the engine nice and hot and there is a definite grumbling coming from the water pump area. So I’ve ordered a new metal impeller pump and a new belt as a precautionary measure. Despite looking a bit worse for wear externally, this car runs so sweetly that I’d be a fool not to change the pump as a matter of course. I can’t see any evidence of a previous change so I reckon 22 years and 96k is a decent innings for a placca impeller pump.

 

Vince, I’d be very grateful for a lend of the viscous fan tool if possible. That’s very kind of you to offer. I can pop over tomorrow or Thursday evening and grab it if that suits you?

[dougiefourspeed]

Smoll update time.

I’ve been a bit inactive over the past few weeks as work has been very busy. The E36 is in daily use and is doing sterling service having racked up around 2000 miles since it went back on the road.

I bought a metal impeller water pump and new aux belt from ECP as a precaution. They were having one of their OMG END OF THE WORLD LAST CHANCE NEVER TO BE REPEATED sales that they have once a week or so and I bagged the pair for less than £40 so that’s handy.

MAD PROPS to the gent who suggested the funny noise could be interference from the stereo. That’s exactly what it was. I usually drive with my gangsta tunes on, but a couple of weeks ago I had to get up very early and go to Bristol. I wasn’t really in the mood for any Wu Tang or Rick Astley at 0400 hrs, so I turned the volume right down and lo, the whining ceased. I felt a bit daft, but was relieved to have cured things with the twiddle of a knob.

I will get the pump and belt changed anyway as a matter of course. But aside from that the car has taken me wherever I’ve wanted to go quietly, comfortably and surprisingly economically. I’m getting around 39 MPG.

I do sometimes wish it had a little more grunt though. It’s fine when you get it up to speed and rowing through the gears is hardly a chore with a change as sweet as this. But I do think I would quite like a 318ti with the twin cam engine. That would pretty much be all the car I could ever need and a reasonable one at a reasonable price is the only car on my radar now.

EDIT. It was davehedgehog who suggested the radio being the culprit. 800 internet points to you sir.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Here's one for you BMW licking shiters at large...

 

The drivers window on this Compact does not work. Apparently it needs two little plastic 'slider' clips replacing on the regulator which I've ordered off the bay. I'm told this is quite common with the E36 although my last ones never had this problem. Is replacement straightforward or will the regulator/motor need to come out first? I'd like to get it done this weekend if the clips turn up in time but I don't have much time free so I don't really want to end up having to drive around for the following week with the door half-dismantled or window stuck down etc. Any tips?

 

These are the little chaps in question I believe.

 

 

 

 

Missed this. How remiss.

 

Easyish. Feed the new sliders into the alloy channels with the U clip pulled right out. Used small gas pliers to snap the steel balls into the white plastic, them push the U clips sideways into the clip. Loads of WD40 and spray grease or Vaseline in the vertical felt runners. Fire the window up and down a few times. Chances are, the top rear corner iof the glass won't sight right in the top rear door corner. Nae botha. There's a 10mm bolt on the rear regulator arm - slacken it and push the arm down, thus pushing the glass into the right place. On old shagged regs you may have to file the hole out. Do it right once with loads of lube on the glass to slide up and down on and they won't need doing again for ages.

 

E36 door trims are utter shit, a fucking disgrace. The plastic towers that there white clips fit into will have broken away from the door card. Card being the right word as they're made by Kelloggs. These need to be refitted and only one product will do, and that's rapid dry Araldite. Nothing else works as well. 

 

I do like a Compact. I have a 318Ti for track days and it's very good. There's a reason lots of folk bought them new rather than shit like Astra III's, Golf III's and Escorts.

[dougiefourspeed]

Missed this. How remiss.

 

Easyish. Feed the new sliders into the alloy channels with the U clip pulled right out. Used small gas pliers to snap the steel balls into the white plastic, them push the U clips sideways into the clip. Loads of WD40 and spray grease or Vaseline in the vertical felt runners. Fire the window up and down a few times. Chances are, the top rear corner iof the glass won't sight right in the top rear door corner. Nae botha. There's a 10mm bolt on the rear regulator arm - slacken it and push the arm down, thus pushing the glass into the right place. On old shagged regs you may have to file the hole out. Do it right once with loads of lube on the glass to slide up and down on and they won't need doing again for ages.

 

E36 door trims are utter shit, a fucking disgrace. The plastic towers that there white clips fit into will have broken away from the door card. Card being the right word as they're made by Kelloggs. These need to be refitted and only one product will do, and that's rapid dry Araldite. Nothing else works as well.

 

I do like a Compact. I have a 318Ti for track days and it's very good. There's a reason lots of folk bought them new rather than shit like Astra III's, Golf III's and Escorts.

Thank you for the advice Rev, to my shame I haven’t even had the door card off yet. But it’s on the list of things to do.

 

I’m a fan of these Compacts too. This is my third. The market for them is a bit odd though. I’ve been browsing for a nice 318ti in idle moments and you seem to get plenty of shabby to middling 316’s well under a grand. Then there are the run-out 2000 cars with the M Sport body kit which seem to get advertised for £2-3k and take an age to sell or don’t sell at all because that’s silly money for a Compact.

 

I’m waiting for a nice useable ti manual to appear in the sub £1250 range. But these are seemingly few and far between now. Not as rare as the diesel mind you.

[Vince70]

Sorry I didn’t reply earlier I forgot all about the post and your more than welcome to use the tools.

I’m in most evenings after 6pm if you need the tools for the pump.

But I know what you mean about the compact as I’m on my second now and out of all my old BMWs I’ve had it’s my favourite car to drive and I did exactly the same and went from a lovely low mileage 316 to a 318ti.

I’ve had it a few years now and even back then it was hard to find a nice low mileage original example.

I do think though the earlier the compact the better the car as the later ones might have the toys but never seemed as well screwed together and the sweet spot is R plate or before.

[dougiefourspeed]

Sorry I didn’t reply earlier I forgot all about the post and your more than welcome to use the tools.

I’m in most evenings after 6pm if you need the tools for the pump.

But I know what you mean about the compact as I’m on my second now and out of all my old BMWs I’ve had it’s my favourite car to drive and I did exactly the same and went from a lovely low mileage 316 to a 318ti.

I’ve had it a few years now and even back then it was hard to find a nice low mileage original example.

I do think though the earlier the compact the better the car as the later ones might have the toys but never seemed as well screwed together and the sweet spot is R plate or before.

 

Thank you Mr. Vince. I've sent you a PM. 

 

The last E36 Compact I had was a V-plated 318Ti in about 2011. It had something like 197k on the clock when I sold it and it still felt pretty good to me build wise. My current P-reg one seems to be brick outhouse grade, but has 100k fewer miles under its belt. The want for another decent Ti is strong though, so much so that for the first time since I was about 18, I've started to save some pennies up should a decent one appear for sale. 

[dougiefourspeed]

Soooo.

I don’t think I’ve posted about this one here before. This weekend I had my Ford Ka brought back from its long term storage location at Fathafourspeeds house near the French town of Bergerac. Which is in France.

Here it is on the driveway after it’s 675 mile journey.



If you’re wondering why I’ve gone to the trouble of buying an old Ka and keeping it in another country, there are two reasons. Firstly, I’m a bit weird. Secondly this was my first road legal car.



I bought it in 2008 with something like 22k on it and it stayed with me for seven years. That car took me all over this country and the continent. It took me and my mates to car shows and festivals, it towed a boat tail Alfa Spider from a ditch in the snow, I taught my step-sisters to drive in it, I un-crashed it when one of them drove it into a tree in 2013. And never gave me a single mechanical problem in that time. Sadly by 2015 the endemic tin-worm had become too much and I simply didn’t have the cash to have the work done.

I very reluctantly broke the car. The engine I still have. The gearbox and alloy wheels were donated to a friend to keep his daughters Ka on the road and the rest got either eBay’d or fragged.

Anyway, when this low owner, low mile example came up for grabs I obviously took the plunge.

Here it is sniffing some Bavarian ass.



It’s a Collection model. Which means Electric windows, central locking, and (working) air con. My blue one was a basic Style which had none of those things.



It has an interior.



Currently on 47k.



I’ve brought it back to the UK because for the last MOT, or the one before I forget which, it needed a patch on the O/S sill. I didn’t have a lot of time to get a really ‘nice’ job done. You can see the tide mark in the first photo But the rest of the car is so nice that I always meant to eventually get it done properly. So it’s over here to be re-done and correctly sprayed by a pro.

You might think me a bit mad putting all this effort into an old Ford Ka but they hold deep sentimental value for me and who knows, if old Escorts and Fiestas are anything to go by, a nice original Ka might be worth some coin in a few years time.

Not much news on the E36 front. It continues to be as dependable as ever. I’ve loaded it up to do a boot fair tomorrow so I can raise some wedge for the Ka works. Great car this.

Depending on how things work out my next update will either be the work on the Ford or potentially a long-distance collection of something totally unrelated!

[dougiefourspeed]

Evenin' all. 

 

Bit of an update as I haven't been on here for a little while. To be honest, I haven't had much to report and it has been nice to be able to just drive around in a working car after the Astra debacle earlier in the year. 

 

But this evening I have something to report on the BMW. Nowt major, but about ten days ago I was going down a steep hill and braking and the brake warning light started flickering. So I checked the fluid and sure enough, it was hovering around the 'MIN' mark. No problem, I topped up with some fresh DOT4 and was on my way. But then on the way home this evening, the light came on again when I was driving down the same steep hill. Stopped asap and sure enough, the fluid was once again low. 

 

 

Bearing in mind that E36's have a propensity to chew through brake pipes, I had a good look underneath, but in the fading light I couldn't see anything obvious. There was nothing pissing out and the brake pipes felt dry where I could get a hand on them. 

 

Filled up the reservoir TO THE MAX and did a few brake tests to make sure everything seemed alright. Pedal was fine, ABS working. So I decided the best thing was to get the car on the ramp ASAP just in case. Very handy having a mate with a garage - fortunately I got there before he locked up for the night. 

 

Once the car was in the air, it was easy to locate the leak. After 22 years the original clutch slave had given up the unequal struggle. Fair enough, I reckon. Only one thing for it then...

 

 

 

£34 later and a new Pagid slave is now en route!

 

Aside from that, the little Compact keeps soldiering on. Apart from another E36, I really am not sure what I would replace it with!

 

Sadly the additional chod that was on the horizon last month, a Suzuki Alto, fell through. But I'd imagine it won't be long until I get offered some more scrap-in-waiting. L8RZ.