Barry Cade

Wd40. Duck oil. Baby oil , all will get rid of tar.

Is it a 108,110 or 112? I had a receipt with mine for a clutch and dmf for 1200 quid 😳

Check the shaft hasn't come loose first, otherwise it'll be walloping around when you tow it..

Not all are. Mine were normal Allen bolts. Was a late 2003, one of the last.

Update on Non Shite ownership. 4 I've really warmed to this thing, so thought I'd give a wee update after about 1500 miles. Still getting my head around a few things, it's a Titanium X will pretty much all the options so a lot to learn! I like the engine- its the 163 BHP 2 litre Peugeot lump so has plenty of pull and far smoother on takeoff than Mondeo's I remember with the 2.0. I was forever stalling them things in the workshop, but the clutch is very forgiving on this, averaging 50MPG , but I'm finding 6th isn't getting a lot of use in the mountains. Fine on the motorway though and it's a cracking cruiser with the cruise set at 70... The park itself thing does indeed park itself. Had a bit of fun with it, but still freaks me out when the steering wheel moves itself. The auto main beam is great, apart from coming over Glenshee.. It thinks the snow poles are another car so dips the lights just when you need them most. Blind spot indicators are OK on the motorway but give loads of false alarms everywhere else. Keyless is great, no messing about -keys just stay in my pocket all the time. Updated to 2019 maps for the sat nav and it's been brilliant so far. Handling is brilliant, you can have loads of fun on the roads round here and can really feel the torque vectoring working. Roscoe's not so keen though- have one of those moulded boot mats and he struggles for traction when I'm pushing on, think he preferred the Jeep... Heated seats,windscreen ,grille shutter and auxilliary electric heating in the heater box make -10 up here a lot more pleasant, and Xenons with washers help after the gritters have been through. No regrets so far and I still go out in it, just for a drive. Towbar and electrics kit on the way to me, so we'll see how it tows after I fit it all.

The bolts fall out of the inner CV joint on these Vito's, unless they've been loctitited in. Caught mine before they unwound completely. I checked mine every month or so after that. Failing that the CV joint has gone. New complete shaft from J+R for under 40 quid delivered. Easy to fit, even roadside.... https://www.jandrcvjoints.co.uk/mercedes_benz-vito-2.2-diesel-2001/product/drive-shafts-509/drive-shaft/DS50

I just got rid of my cherokee. Was glad to see the back of it.. I never did get to the bottom of the mad jerking/shunting but had narrowed it down to sticky valves. Wasn't that nice to drive and gulped down fuel, and was really small inside. Loved my grand cherokee though.. ah well.. another itch scratched. It did make me want to spark up a Marlboro and Woolard in cowboy boots staring into the wide blue yonder. Maybe I should have kept it

Garage has sorted it at their cost- New Osram Ballast boxes are about 50 quid if I ever need another.

Well. A car has been bought. I had it for a day, then the garage has it for another week... It's a Focus. 2014 Focus 2.0 Titanium X manual Diesel estate. I picked it up all shiny and smelling lovely, then noticed a dent in the wing that wasn't there before and dipped beam wasn't working on the passengers side. We were away for the weekend ,collecting the car as part of that ( It was our silver anniversary) The workshop was closed for the weekend so I dropped the car back to them Monday morning to fix it so I had it for a day... I really really like it. Had a wee play with all the buttons, let it park itself for me and messed around with the lane departure shizz. It drives ace and the clutch and gearbox are really smooth- a surprise as I always remember 2 litre denzil Fords having a really sharp clutch. Handles very nicely and was giving over 50MPG on the dash. Anyway, I wasn't happy with driving around with 1 headlight so I whipped out the Halfords Trade card and got a bulb- a fancy Xenon one at over 50 quid. Still no light.. Checked a bit further and it was the Ballast box that had gone- garage can sort that out. A new headlamp from Euro is over 900 quid... Holy ***** A ballast can be had cheaper than a bulb. It had just been through the workshop- I checked and it had been serviced,new rear discs and pads put on and a few other things so maybe lucky the Ballast box went when it did. Anyway it's all sorted now seemingly but it's 150 miles away and I'm working until Monday. Bugger.

A few from my wee village.

I saw enough of those, welding the sills up for MOT's and they are a proper pain in the arse to fit towbars to. Love an XF though!

That is lovely. I think a Mondeo is in order. Titanium X spec. and (gasp) a Diesel .. I've spent another evening under the bonnet of that fucking Jeep. I could have gone to Ballater for chips, if I had a car that worked. Instead I was wet, cold,dirty and pissed off. Nearly lost my phone too as I cable tied it under the bonnet on video to see if I could see what was happening. Every green car I've ever owned has either been a total bastard,or tried to kill me. Should have listened to my Mum. Oh, and a Mondeo is the easiest car in the world to fit a towbar to.

ARGH! That is what kinda got me down this road in the first place- I had a nice one which I really liked- liked much more than I should have. Flung it in for an MOT and it was terminally ROTTEN, not just rusty, ROTTEN. That episode cost me well over a grand, It was a car I bought with my head and vowed just to run it, keep it safe and reliable and it bit me on the arse HARD.. Avensis cost me £500, Saab 9-5 owed me 5 or 600 quid, doblo lost me £200, Broke even on my wee Shogun. Shite has probably cost me best part of 2k in a year, I've never really enjoyed any of them as there has always been something to fix or sort, not to mention all the changing of V5's, insurance, putting dog guards in them, touch up paint, consumables... I'll probably take another £600 hit on this Cherokee. And I do everything myself- no garage bills, all parts at trade and Tyres etc fitted free. This Mingebag motoring is fucking expensive! Subaru's? Every one I've ever worked on has turned into a sodding nightmare. The undersides just crumble away, just like Mazda's. Duster? Top engine is a 1.5.. and too light for my caravan. Renner don't seem to do big cars anymore, neither do Alfa or Fiat ( Which have always been the most reliable cars I've owned)

That's were my head is just now. Apart from 4wd, they are the perfect choice. Been away from Ford for a long time but time to go back to the blue oval I think.

I was a committed autoshiter, have been for nearly 30 years. Cars were my life. Work, hobby, weekends, days off. I bought a Toyota, it ate 3 wheel bearings on holiday and drank oil. A kia.. rotten. Jeep, ECU issues.. just had enough and need something to do what I need it to do. I've spent a fortune in the past year to have a fucked 20 year old jeep sitting outside. When it was fun, it was fun. Now it's not.