Any updates on E-A
@gills ?
Thanks for the nudge
@dj_efk; I was going to say there's not a lot to report, just gently clocking up the miles, but there have been a number of things worth noting over the past few months.
I had a pair of Goodyear Vector 4Season G2 tyres put on the front, in September, prior to a trip up to Scotland. They are 165/65R15, rather than the 175/60R15 it was on previously, but the new tyres actually seem to have slightly better grip than the old ones and give much better isolation from road surface harshness. I think the 165/65R15 was the standard size on 15" steel wheels, whereas 175/60R15 were fitted to 15" alloys, but they are still a standard A2 tyre size. They should be a vast improvement in the snow - the old Dunlops were dire (I struggled to avoid a car coming up a hill on the wrong side of the road last winter - very scary!)
We had a good trip up to Kirkcudbright and even indulged in a little gentle off-roading along the
Raiders' Road forest trail! The other thing I discovered during the drive up and back down, which my wife drove part of, was how good the rear seats are - riding in the back is far more comfortable and pleasant than the the rear of a small car has any right to be.
A couple of weeks after our return, I went to the car one morning to find what appeared to be a dead battery - the starter motor solenoid was ticking when I turned the key, but the engine wasn't turning over. I tried jump leads, but still the same, so remembering posts I'd seen on the forum, I used one of the jump leads to provide a new earth between the engine and body. After a couple of tries, I made it work and cable tied it up until I could fit a new earth.
When I tried to remove the old earth strap I snapped the bolt going into the chassis leg, so I ended up with a secondary cable between the engine and O/S engine mount, before I later replaced the starter motor earth cable and secured it to the N/S engine mount. This is the new secondary cable:
A couple of weeks later, it got an oil and filter change. I put in Fuchs Titan SuperSyn LongLife Plus, which seems to suit the engine. I've also started adding Millers Diesel Power EcoMax, which I think may be making a small improvement to the economy. I got 68mpg out of the last tank, which I'm pleased with, although I did have the rear seats out for half the distance, which I think helps a bit up and down the hills round here. I'm now running the block heater every morning, so I get a warm start first thing. It should reduce the hit to the economy of the cold weather, but I'll have to wait for the hard frosts to see by how much.
Alan has just ticked over to 160k, so it's doing very well indeed, considering the miles its covered. Here's to many more!