Mouser

I had mine replaced at ~65k. There was some noise from small air bubbles in the coolant, and some evidence of coolant having leaked. New coolant, belt, pump + fitting came to £260.

If this is something like purple parking at an airport, they'll be able to jump start you if necessary.

I'd suggest unplugging any add on satnavs / dashcams etc.

right click on <<< that picture and view image for gunmetal finish (powder coated).

Assuming it's powder coated, yes you'll get that to some degree.

If it were a serious concern, you could have had them sand / fill / sand them before hand, but you'd have been without your wheels for an extra day. When I had mine done they were very upfront about this, but the end result isn't noticeable unless I really study them, less of an impact than the dust that accumulates over a journey.

... in reality a BMW or AUDI in the same price bracket have next to no features and are extremely common

Same issues as well:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=audi+dpf

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bmw+dpf

The same issue for the same reason, diesel cars are not suited to everyone's driving needs. If you regularly do short journeys then diesel engines are going to give you maintenance woes.

http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/2012/1/9/problems-with-diesel-particulate-filters-may-push-companies-towards-petrol/42044/

It was in response to your question about how to un-seize the slide pins.

If you're seriously concerned about rust on the body, then underseal is the way to go. I just jetwash as best I can, and I've not encountered any serious rust yet.

Tyre wear - set your pressures so that wear is even. The required pressure depends on load, speed, temperature & sidewall stiffness and you'll likely not have a well calibrated gauge - in short, set the pressure so that the tyres wear as they should, rather than obsessing over a specific number.

My tyres are directional, and front & rear are different sizes, so no.

Shocks - clean them off and check back in a weeks time. If oil is leaking you'll see it. Losing two drops since they were first fitted isn't a worry, significant amounts over the course of a week and you'll soon be bouncing along and suffering handling issues (plus a failed MOT).

You can see what gunmetal looks like in my profile picture. Right click and view image for a better look. Brake dust doesn't show up easily, it looks a little meaner than standard, but not murdered out like black wheels can.

Note that some insurers fuss about anything other than default silver and charge a tenner extra, although my current one (AXA) does not.

You asked what to use and were considering WD40 or other penetrating oils. The stuff to use is a 50:50 mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/penetrating-oil-showdown.350800/

Shake well before use and don't get it near your paint.

If that's too much of a fiddle, then penetrating oils designed for issues caused by rust are what you want in this application - not to say bathe it in nitric acid, but you need more than just pure lubrication. Even vinegar will dissolve rust effectively given half an hour.

Please take your discussion offline, illegally sharing of copyrighted material is not permitted on these forums.

Will do. It is important for people to understand that in most cases this is not going to help them though. There is a good how to section on here which covers many of the tasks which someone without access to a garage will be able to do in a huge amount of detail, and I'd strongly advise people to look over there and ask specific questions about tasks they are uncertain of. There isn't always someone online here who's done the task you're looking to accomplish, but generally the user base is knowledgeable and willing to help out.

I know it's an old thread ... anyone still have a copy they can share?

It's 246 MB, what do you propose?

Also, on it's own it'll not turn you into a mechanic, it's a good reference, but you'll still need to know what you're doing.

Axle stands under the axles and chocks on two wheels. Why would you want to use the pinch welds?

As the main jacking points are a long way under the car, I find it easier to use a scissor jack to raise the car off the ground to gain access for my floor jack. It'll fit under, but there's not much room to move the handle to lift it.

I felt the same, and still do when swapping from my VW. In fact, I prefer it since it makes it easier to modulate the braking force applied. I think most modern cars are over-assisted.

Same, jumping in from an A3 S line I felt there might be an issue, but it's just a different approach. It does feel slightly under braked to me, but not enough to be troublesome.

Thought I'd post an update. Oil changed again for a 5W30 semi-synth A3 oil, and the rattle was back with a vengeance.

This time I tried a different additive - archoil AR9100. The MOA is a thick, treacly, clear liquid with a slightly sickly smell, but the AR9100 is a thin oily, muddy liquid which doesn't really smell of anything.

Much to my surprise the AR9100 has completely silenced the engine also.

Why have you chosen a semi synthetic? To the best of my knowledge it's meant to take full synthetic.

I can only spend 5/6k and something with approx 90k miles.

You're not going to find much in that price bracket with all the options, and the ones you do see are likely to have some issues. I've been tracking prices for a while now, as I'm thinking of selling mine, which is a 57 plate SE with ~70k, and private sales are listing between 6-6.5 in normal condition, about 1-1.5 more than that from dealers.

As far as what to look for, full service history and recent MOT (were advisories done?) is a start, but I tend to look at the tyres, appearance and general cleanliness. A 200bhp car on cheap ditchfinders screams to me that the owner hasn't taken care of it. Mismatched or very worn tyres tell me that not only do they not care, but they haven't been able to afford the upkeep, so the oil will be old, the filters will all need changing, several brakes will have seized/worn to nothing and I can expect to find a whole host of broken or worn parts (e.g. leaking shocks, MAF sensors, budget repairs). Given a good set of tyres cost over £400, oil & filters £100, and respraying just the bumpers & bonnet ~£500, it's very easy for a 'bargain' to turn out being the most expensive car listed. If there are more serious issues, then you can be looking at a lot more than that, hence my caution in the first sentence about 'issues'.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-second-generation/783563-wife-drove-over-a-small-pothole-and-the-damage-was-10-153-lexus-is-250-please-look-7.html

must be impressive pot holes there.

That being Texas, perhaps the driver shouldn't have had that fifth McDonald's for breakfast?

I know it's a different car, but I've seen a very similar example with a prius. The terminals and bus bars develop a small amount of corrosion over time, which can easily be cleaned off once disassembled, in the same way that you can clean corrosion off a normal 12V Battery. Because there are a lot of contact points and a lot of current, the voltage drop (and power dissipated) can be enough to cause fault codes with what appears to be very little visually. With the corrosion removed, the example I saw was back to full health, but in the case of a faulty cell it would also be possilbe to replace that (rather than the whole assembly).

Here's the album of the work, showing step by step what can go on inside the Battery, how to test cells and how to fix corrosion induced problems:

http://imgur.com/gallery/j8Bcp/

The standard wheels are 17x8j => 8" diameter front or rear.

I'd strongly agree with toffee_pie, good quality 19" wheels (not heavy clunky ones) plus tyres to fit will cost you a lot more than 18" ones, and the ride will not be as compliant.

As far as style goes, the second ones you posted really don't suit the car, and look like they'd weigh an absolute ton.

That's a decent price for all that. As you highlighted, it's a full days work.

Personally, with paint in that before condition I'd have done a two step correction, with a heavy compound / some wet & dry work to get the deeper damage out prior to a polish. Your before photos are all good, but your after ones should really be taken in a similar light - panels can be quite reflective even when in poor condition, and ambient light hides the swirls and holograms which you can so clearly see in the before photos.

Seeing before photos like that makes me want to reach for my polisher and fix them up :)

Since this is on start up, and it fires initially, fuel pressure or the automatic choke could be responsible. The AA not being able to fix it roadside tells me it's not something trivial or easy to diagnose, so the dealers being unable to help isn't a huge surprise.

Please bear in mind, it's very difficult to help without looking it over. I personally use a local cherished & performance garage for all my professional service needs, because in my experience main dealers (and a lot of other garages too I suppose) take the approach of plug in a computer and replace the part it tells you to. Root cause analysis is more difficult, and although you pay more per hour it gets done right, and the overall issue often costs less because the right part(s) are replaced.

Personally I'm happy with my Dunlop Sportmaxx RTs, but personal experience really isn't worth much, since we can only really drive a single tyre (excluding work vehicles).

You can find a lot of options on review sites like that, and even proper tyre reviews on here.

If the usual simple tricks don't work to fix it I'd strongly suggest having a professional look at it. If it fails when you're driving you can easily write off the vehicle or worse.

Given it's an 07 model, why are you so keen to pay main dealer rates? You're not getting anything extra for it.

The dealer you bought it from should be able to confirm what work was done e.g. spark plugs, but if it's already had the 60k service you're only looking at a minor service - oil & filter, a few checks etc.

That's a decent kit. Do you have some way to clay your car, and do you know how to was it properly as well?

You've got enough time to watch the video series I linked, it's worth your time.

I have a DAS6 Pro, but technique and taking your time is what's going to determine the results more than the equipment you have.

Take a look at Junkman2000's series on Youtube:

Tightening the bolts which hold the seat down sorted out a similar issue for me.