Recent content by norseman

Many thanks for that informative post, although I'm not a fan of Ford products I did wonder why such a long standing manufacturer would make such a dubious engineering decision when even mere mortals know that combining oil & rubber is a really bad idea. Obviously it had to be about money but...

Shafted more like.

Unforgiveable that such important info. is not in the manual, I've never had a car that doesn't list it, but then & again the newest I've owned was manuf. in 2006. Maybe it's sign of the times, along with the deletion of dipsticks .. apparently considered unnecessary by marketing.

Many thanks John, my reason for asking is that my old 1998 5 series has an intermittent clonking noise from the front end, when driving over a damaged road surface, for over a year. now. Struts/coil springs/top mounts were renewed by a classic restorer 3yrs/16k ago & the car has since been...

Can I assume that advice goes for any make of car with strut top bearings or specifically related to the OP's model ?

I've still got a Dunlop foot pump from the the 'thirties that I inherited from my late father. Brass casing. black frame with the Dunlop name on a brass plate. I even managed to get a new leather washer for it a few years ago though I confess actually pumping up car tyres with it these days...

With regard to a 12V variant, you can't beat a cordless. I've used them for decades, no trailing a cable around the car & coiling it up again afterwards.

If the thread in the sump fails it can be re-cut & a slightly oversize plug fitted. I know this because it's recently been done to my car because it became impossible to tighten the plug enough to prevent engine oil weeping despite a new crushable washer being employed when the car was serviced.

RR's went 'electronic' in the dizzy department in the early 'eighties, but thank you for your contribution John. nb. yes it was originally the 35D, mine is a 35DM8.

Many thanks to you all for the replies, sometimes a seemingly silly question isn't .. I've shortened the hose to a length I think will match the original spec.

I recently needed to replace the small bore rubber hose that enables vacuum from the plenum of my old V8 RR to advance the distributor timing. The replacement length of hose (now silicone) purchased is one metre, which is longer than required. It's occurred to me that it may need to be a...

Does this ancient tradition still take place? I would have thought disposable coveralls that contribute to environmental decline would be the norm these days? Just kidding, it's been one of those days :whistle:

'Oh I would love that, an emergency perhaps in winter & at the dead of night .. my electric car unusable due to a discharged battery o_O

Thanks for that, I'll probably renew all four tyres after this coming winter & will replace the spare at the same time.

How old are the tyres? Do you know how to check the DOT code on the sidewalls to give you that info? Tyre brands vary when it comes to their resistance to cracking, I had a set of Michelins that (prior to my understanding of the DOT code) were 21 years old & the only indication of an aging...