Daily drivers in Peru - Mazda 3 and Discovery 3 (LR3)

Crikey, it's been a while since I updated this..

First of all, a big announcement - I can finally get hold of things like 8.8 and 12.9 bolts and rivnuts from one of the main DIY chains. 

This may not seem like much, but by goodness it's a huge step up from either having to import them or risking life and limb going to a specialist fixings shop in a rough area with no parking.  There may not be a huge selection, but there are some, hex head, socket head (unheard of previously), M4 to M12 (although not many options at M12).  Before living here I never thought something so simple would be cause for celebration, but hey...

Right, other stuff.  LR3 fun and games- 2 weeks ago I get a call from SWMBO- "I've got a suspension failure, 3 warning lights on the dash, and the suspension has dropped to the floor".  Ugh.  Thankfully she was on the way home and only a mile or 2 away, so I told her to take it steady, crawl over bumps and cross fingers.   Errors were comms errors, and brake light switch. There's a whole list of known issues which cause this.  As we'd recently had heavy rain, and a blocked AC drain causing water ingress to the passenger footwell a few weeks prior, I jumped at the option of water ingress in a loom splice in the passenger footwell.  Took it all apart, no loom splice, I later find they fixed that for the '08 models.  Then I do what I should have done at the start, checked the brake lights bulbs.  Sure enough, one was blown.  Change that and all back to normal.  I clean forgot about that quirk of the LR3, that blown or even incorrect resistance of brake light bulbs can cause a total suspension failure.

Prior to that I finally got around to changing a short length of coolant hose which caps an unused water pump outlet - the old one was really soft and bulging terribly.  It took a while as I  couldn't find the hose anywhere, eventually found a NOS one in the UK.

...and prior to that I decided to look at the air inlet for the suspension air compressor - this was the "filter":

It turned to dust as I touched it.  They don't sell the filter separately, only the entire assembly/pipe, for 100 GBP.  The filter is just a bit of foam, so I knocked something up here to use..

Sometime around there I also got around to changing the sump pan gasket as I was doing and oil/filter change.  Not a terrible job (considering how most jobs are on this thing!), reduced the oil leaks a bit, but it does look like the rear main is leaking.  I have absolutely zero intentions of doing anything about that unless box/engine have to come apart for some other reason (torque converter or rear timing chain basically).

On the Mazda,  a few weeks ago I finally got some time to get out the soldering iron and change the MAF connector and last few inches of loom.  Since then I've not registered a single misifre (I was logging 1-5 misfires every drive cycle previously).  I also cleaned up the springs in the coils/boots, #2 and #3 both had some light corrosion where the spring contacts the coils, which can't help.  

Having snapped a rear drop link on the school run a few weeks back (27mm rear bar, bad roads, and RA cheapest supplier don't mix!), I also took 1.5 hrs out of the day to slap the original rear bar and springs back in, with a view to selling.  We've since had a good long sit down and talk and decided due to finances we're best to stick with what we have for the moment, SWMBO has accepted using it more to save fuel and wear on the LR3, and even complemented it this week, mentioning the sound quality was noticeably better than the Landy.   With that in mind, I slapped the stiffer/taller rear springs (cut Mazda 5 rears) back on (I'd scraped a few times recently on the lovely roads around here) one lunchtime, and I'm just waiting for DHL to deliver new rear droplinks to pop the 27mm rear bar back on, and new front brake rotors (existing ones more than 2mm below min thickness!).  Should have arrived yesterday, but DHL have sat on it since 08:30 yesterday, not sure why as they're normally pretty good here.  Also new wipers in that delivery plus spare brake light bulbs and new front pads for the LR3.  The current pads on the LR3 still have some meat on them, but I reckon in 6 months time they'll be needed, and as I'm paying for shipping on the rotors ($140!), the (heavy) pads can go in the box too, and save shipping in the future.

I forgot to say, traffic all week has been horrendous, yesterday the main Pan Am was blocked, so I had to come back through (one of) the rough parts of Lima (rough=dangerous and rough=gravel/pot holes/bumps) and I remember why I chose/built the 3 like this.  I've got a solid 6"-7" ground clearance, it's a mid size grey sedan, so I don't stand out in the dodgy areas, it's fun (enough) to drive, it takes abuse (cheap drop links aside), doesn't need much maintenance, fits the family and a couple of suitcases.  I'm not going to find anything else here that's a similar cost to run and still meets those basic criteria.

Ahhhh RockAuto. 

Nope, it might have a Centric part number on the plain white box, but those 2 rotors are most definitely not the same.  The semi coated is indeed a Centric rotor (and came in a fancy Centric GCX box).  The fully coated, having googled the part number, is a NAPA rotor.  There is enough of a difference I thought the NAPA one felt lighter - yep, 0.5kg lighter.   Happily RA have agreed to send a replacement, hopefully it will actually be a Centric rotor this time..Shame I'll have to pay for a second lot of handling charges with DHL though.

this is one of my favorite threads on this forum. we were going to come to lima and brazil this summer, but with all the political issues (on the news) decided to make plans elsewhere 

really want to get down to peru and was looking to meet you in person once down there 

hopefully next year 

keep up the great threads 

Cool, thanks very much!  

It'd be great to catch up with a fellow GRM-er.  That said, you made a very wise choice not coming, the political issues were pretty bad, and a lot of the details didn't make it to the international press (to put it mildly - we had Mi17, Mi24, Su25 and A37s flying armed overhead "training", the helis all stayed over the city, the FJ stuff would do a circuit, head out to sea, and come back again).  The police got a lot of bad press but IMO they were very reasonable - down in the South one police officer got burned alive in his vehicle, plenty others were killed, some by gunshot, others with improvised weapons. 

Right now we're starting to get more weather issues - they've issued a formal warning of an "El Niño" event (wind/rain/flooding), starting this year, lasting into next year, which is likely to see widespread damage to infrastructure.  In the centre of Lima it won't be too bad (apart from Lima not being able to cope with anything more than a light drizzle!), more damaged roads mostly, but outside of Lima it's likely to get pretty rough.  2017 was the last one, and the've still not repaired all the damage...and they say this one will more severe

That RA box also had some new droplinks for the rear bar - Mevotech Supremes this time.  There aren't really many good options, I shall see how long they last, I swapped them on last night, and they got a baptism of fire today - a crash blocked the Pan Am so I had to improvise a route to school, going past our old apartment, and the roads have gotten worse(!).   Then from there to our warehouse (where I sit typing this), which has always been a rough unsurfaced rocky/gravel/mud track.

Do post on here, when would be a good time to visit, and I know I will make it happen. 

IN the meantime, be safe my friend.

Thanks fella   I'll let you know, although I'd recommend waiting until into next year now - in Lima we're mostly ok, but to do any tourism would be tricky, a fair few bits of the country look like this, and will continue to do so most of the year, and with it there'll be problems on the main highways:

We popped down to the in-laws' beach house for Easter, what is normally a 1.5 hr trip took 5 hours, we hardly got above 20 kph.  We decided to cut short the trip and come back Saturday morning to avoid all the return traffic, which was a good plan, although we got stopped by the Police on the way back (random inspection), he was determined to find something wrong but thankfully I'm very diligent in these things... That took us 3 to 4 minutes.. Just as we got back into Lima the traffic came to a screaming halt and unfortunately it looked like someone had lost their life trying to cross the Pan Americana, sadly I couldn't stop my youngest seeing the body in the road, thankfully it doesn't seem to have had an affect.  Some folk just wander into the road, and it looked like the case here, so I should be thankful that we were stopped by the Police - my in-laws were only 5 mins in front of us, and it hadn't happened when they passed, without that traffic stop it could have been us that hit him.

With this sort of thing, keeping brakes in tip-top condition is always a priority - DHL came through and delivered on Saturday which was a pleasant surprise, then I had 2 matching rotors... So they got put on quickly on Saturday, although I started with a bit of heat stroke - in the shade in our garage it was 38 deg C, and I wasn't in the shade.. The sun is so strong at the moment you can't leave the tools in the sun more than a minute, otherwise you burn your hands...

Old disc, considerably thinner on the inner edge..

New disc for comparison:

Glad that's done. 

Apparently the previous weekend the weather decided enough was enough, our extended summer was over, the sun went away, and the rains came. 

With that come the *even worse* road surfaces.  I'd noticed the last week or so the Mazda seemed to have even more road noise than normal, so having a spare 5 minutes on Saturday I jacked up the only corner which I haven't changed the wheel bearing on and  yep, grumbly rumbly, and felt like a bag of marbles coated in sand, although no play in it yet.    So I've just gotten onto Rockauto, and seeing as the rear rotors were already minimum thickness a few months back, got authorisation from SWMBO to pop some rotors in and a pair of flexis (I did the fronts a year or so ago), as I noticed they were starting to look unhealthy too.  Lucky escape I think, as I was supposed to have been doing my drive up through the back of beyond this week, but it's been postponed.  I'm not sure that bearing would have made the trip (10hrs each way).

In reply to paul_s0 :

serious question: why do you live there?

I've often asked myself the same question...

Long story short - my wife is Peruvian, we met in Spain, did the (very) long distance thing for a few years, she tried living in the UK for a couple of years, wasn't really adjusting to it coupled with some daft red tape which was basically making it impossible for her to work, then had a very bad experience during/after the birth of our eldest (me holding our new-born whilst watching SWMBO fading away because the hospital was basically understaffed, was a very sobering experience), so I agreed to give it a try here, and here we still are 10 years later. Whilst I like to complain about some stuff here, to be fair some aspects are better than our life in the UK, what I really miss though is easily accessible countryside - there's some stunning scenery here to the North/East, but you need several hours driving just to get out of the city limits, and flights are criminally expensive relative to wages here (buying the same flight here costs 30%-50% more than buying the same flight from the UK, whilst wages are around 20% compared to UK!)

We've spoken a few times about moving somewhere "better", but I'm now 10 years out of the industry/job I was doing before here, and my 10 years skill/experience here are pretty specific to where I am.   The company where I was has basically gone, and a lot of that industry is suffering. To go back to the UK would probably mean going in at a lower level (salary) to previously, now with 2 kids in tow.  That said, just before COVID hit, my old boss got in contact with me asking if I was interested in coming back, offering a healthy pay rise compared to previously, plus WFH, company car etc.  Obviously that opportunity has now gone!

One plus would be the red tape issues in the UK for SWMBO have been massively simplified, so her working would be possible within a few months of arrival, but I'd be worried about our eldest adapting with her hearing issues, plus the UK isn't exactly an economic powerhouse at the moment.  Not to mention how the kids eat here - we have a constant supply of fresh fruit/veg free/v cheap (from work), which just wouldn't be viable in the UK.  My diet is a lot healthier here than it ever was in the UK.

We've also looked at elsewhere (States, Canada, Australia), but the employment complications compared to the UK are amplified, without the benefit of having family nearby to rely on if needs be.

DHL kindly delivered the wheel bearing/hub and rotors in pristine condition:

Thankfully everything appeared undamaged, so what do you do in your 1 hour lunchbreak? One whel bearing/hub and 2 rotors.  (I decided to leave the brake flexis for another day when I'm not rushing)

Ok, I reckon that's doable, get those bits off:

Clean that lot up:

Put those bits on:

Job done.  Well, not quite.  30 minutes into the job had everything done with the exception of fitting the caliper.  Now, the old discs were so worn, even with fairly new pads the piston was a long way from clearing, and it did not for the life of me want to wind back in.  After wasting 30 minutes trying (ooops), I grabbed my biggest G clamp and that managed to combine enough *pushing in* force with rotation to get it to go in (internal thread on the piston).  I then quickly slapped the rotor on the other side and jumped in the shower, a 90 minute lunch break.  Oh well, I start work 3 hours early every day, they can forgive me that one.

I've been wondering for a while if I need to consider some reinforcement/bracing..  When I put the 27mm rear bar and higher rate rear springs back on a month or so back, I was sure I was hearing more squeaks and creaks from the back (not just the kids).   It led me to start thinking about which bits could benefit from strengthening, and whilst there's a plethora of info for Mazda's more sporty offerings, there's not really much info about the 3.  Sure you can dive into a parts catalog worth of strut braces, X braces, H braces, etc, but what's actually got any benefit?

Well apparently some bracing in the boot area may be useful:

That can't be good.  I see some places offer a brace which goes across the boot floor just behind the rear seats, and various folk have observed a change in rigidity (for the better).   I think I need to a) fire up the welder and go splatter splatter, and then b) see about getting some tubing/section and fabricating a lower brace.  If I have find myself with some time on my times (haha) I'd seriously consider starting stitch welding some seams..

This has made me think a bit about considering older vehicle options here.  Considering the design of a 3 is what, 10, 15 years newer than an E36, and the E36 is renown for a lack of rigidity, it really makes me fairly certain to not even consider one for a DD here.  Bear in mind my 3 has less than a 100k miles on it...

edit:  apparently not unheard of :  https://www.mazda3forums.com/threads/broken-welds.377167/

I just attacked it with a rotary wire brush in the grinder for 10 minutes at lunchtime...and so it continues:

The spot weld directly under the first also has a crack propagating... Just for reference this is the view (upright) from the boot opening - crack #1 is under the rear shelf, #2 is directly behind the rear seat back.

Hmm.. I was pondering getting into a 3rd gen 4runner as an LR3 stand-in and more robust / suited for 50% of what I drive on, then dismissed it as an unnecessary expense/silly idea due to automotive ADD.  Maybe a body-on-frame SUV not such a silly idea..  Did I mention yesterday morning I thought I heard a timing-chain death rattle from the LR3 (it's the Ford 4.0 SOHC motor)?  I need to investigate that further.

Guess what I get to do this weekend?

Ford SOHC chain tensioners... woohooo.. Fingers crossed (and please, everyone else cross their fingers too) that this takes care of the intermittent startup rattle that started last week.. If not then it's time for chains and guides (and a partial engine stripdown ).  Hoping it's not the guides for the rear chain, as that's an engine out job...

I figured for something like this it was best to get OE..

I'm getting quicker at this, now down to 3 hours to get the inlet manifold off, do what needs doing, and get it back together again.

As soon as I finished work Saturday, I got on with the chain tensioner replacement.  Whilst I was in there I also managed to get access to change this nasty little hose (water pump to an inlet on the top of the V):

Chain tensioners were straightforward (amazingly), front one was indeed exhibiting odd behaviour, having a noticeable sticking point (as in I couldn't compress it further) around where it's at-rest position was, whereas the new one was all lovely and smooth over all it's travel.  With those in, I'm pleased to say the start-up rattle hasn't repeated (as of yet), fingers crossed we caught it quick enough to not have any guide damage..

In reply to paul_s0 :

well done!

Thanks AC

Bear with me whilst I just note down some of my thoughts at the moment.  I keep getting ever closer in my constant A ADD to changing the Mazda.  One of the issues is that I need a car Monday - Friday, so it makes it tricky to sell the Mazda then buy a replacement (trying to do this is what led me to buy this Mazda, even knowing it wasn't great, I'd sold the WJ and had 4 days to find a replacement).  Whilst we're slowly building up some reserves again after building the house, we don't want to wipe them out again straightaway, so I'm finally considering a loan.  I know it's not the best idea, but I'm getting to the point where I'm seriously considering it an option,

The sensible option and what SMWBO wants is another SUV (either a 3rd gen 4runner or R50 Pathfinder), I'd like an E39 or possibly an E60..   The Mazda is worth around $7k.  The SUV options are around $9.5k - $11.5k (any SUV commands a heavy premium, and Toyota Tax is very real here).  E39 $6k - $7k ( plus $1k for a cooling system, then whatever-else it needs), E60 $8k-$10k.

Here's what I have saved currently

Is it worth a $3k-$4k premium for an SUV?  I don't know.  My main worry is getting bored with an SUV, especially if it's slow and auto (I'm looking at you 4runner), then on top of that increased fuel costs.  An LPG conversion on the SUV minimises the fuel cost increase, but increases maintenance and complications (they're often badly installed).   An E39 meets size, performance, comfort, and safety requirements, but falls down on ground clearance, BMW needs, and "it's not an SUV".  Of course going the E39 route, maybe there's then the option of the $3k price difference going towards the LR3 (air compressor is dying, and who knows when the chain guides will finally go).

The cheapest 4runner is a 2001 with 240k kms, LPG installed, new radiator, all fluids done recently (OE Toyota for coolant, Liqui Moly the rest). $9500

Then there's a 2002 for $10900, looks a bit tidy, but no info.  Both are 3.4 / Auto

There's 3 Pathfinders, one for $9800, 3.5 5MT LPG 200k kms, one for $11k with lots of extras (3.5 / Auto), one for $11.5k (3.5/5MT) also tidy, live 1 block from here.

There's 1 E39 528i 5MT, $6000 that looks cared for, and loads of 528i Autos around $7000.

Argh.

Back when I first got my 3, I followed internet wisdom and removed the intake silencer/tract that feeds into the airbox, replacing it with a bit of hi-tech flexi ducting.   Whilst intake temps were ok in free flowing traffic, in the normal stop start I was seeing average intake temps 30 - 40 deg C over ambient.   On top of that as I'm going to visit the warehouse almost daily and it's about 1- 1.5 miles of gravel/sand/dirt track, I'd noticed quite a build up getting dragged in.  Out of interest (and as I'm thinking of selling), I slapped the intake gubbins back on, and in the stop start it's not gone over 20 deg C above ambient, and it's position up high inside the wing will definitely get less dust/sand/stones/smalll children in it.   Driving, it's a little smoother low down, but it does feel a bit throttled higher up the rev range, and throttle response is a bit slower.  Also less intake noise, and I like intake noise.

In a prime example of why I'll probably have to change vehicles, in the not too distant future we shall be taking a day trip, it's only about 250kms round trip, but that equates to 4 -5 hours driving.  I had planned on using the Mazda as the Landy is dripping coolant again (heater hose where they tee'd into it for the LPG conversion), I'm going to have to replace the hoses (original and the LPG hoses) and reroute it into a better position with better fittings (it's between the passenger side head and the firewall, gotta take the inlet manifold off to get access) and I'm just wary taking it out of easy recovery-truck range of the house.  When I said about using the Mazda, I was greeted with "We are not going in your car, I told you I don't like it".  To be fair we'll be taking the dog too, and the back seat gets a bit cramped with 2 kids and the dog, plus the route we'll be doing is full of trucks driving with scant regard for anything else on the road.  So we'll be taking the Landy, but then there's the coolant issue, I need to air up the tyres a bit, fill everything check everything, stuff that I do as a matter of course on the vehicle I'm driving.  Which brings me back to me needing a vehicle that can serve as the family transport without boring me to tears.

The apparently tidy Outback 3.0r is back (apparently took down the advert as he needed the car for another few weeks), about $1800 more than Mazda value:

and the LPG equipped 240k kms 4runner is still there (about $2500 more than Mazda value):

Far too many words and me dithering in the thread.  How about some photos of my previous automotive conquests/mistakes?

My 2nd car, that got me interested.. a Spitfire 1500.  Bought as a basket case when I was 17, and slowly rebuilt to this point (with parents help), started to do navigational rallies in it and realised it wasn't ideal for that, so...

the Spitfire was sold and Dolomites arrived! This one was the last and best of 3 that I had, all 1850s.  This one I built into a Stage Rally car.  Rather slow in a straight line with the standard 1850 lump.  I eventually built it into a Sprint and sourced an LSD, and then it was everything that I wanted, so naturally I sold it.

...and along came FWD, in this case a 309 GTi.  WOW said the number plate, and it was an 'oft repeated phrase.  Poor thing took a beating and just kept on giving.  She was a navigational rally car before I got her, I continued the trend, and so it continued until the next owner put her on her roof.

I sold WOW as I'd gotten an even better number plate for navigational rallies - MAP, my venerable TR7 :

MAP existed in many guises, and was my longest-owned car.  She was with me 8 years, from a totally stock 2.0 8v, through the good 'ole 3.5 V8, until her final guise with the Triumph Sprint (2.0 16v) engine.  Unfortunately 8 years of rallies, year round use in the snow and salt and the rust finally got a good hold, finally ending up with a bent shell after hitting a huge hole on a rally with landing hard enough to wind me.  It bent the chassis leg, peeled the strut towers off, bent the inner wings, and split the transmission tunnel from the rear bulkhead.  Goodbye old friend.

During those 8 years we had a few visitors:

Some were daily drivers, others were stand-ins on events.  Then I met a Latina, and priorities changed.  Flights to Spain became a regular (and expensive) occurrence, things changed.  At this point the AW11 was my daily, and I was working on reshelling MAP.  That all went out the window. 

I shifted focus to Targa rallies and Autosolos, and just having one vaguely interesting dual-use car.  So along came a whole load of different things:

My venerable P10 eGT, she hung around for a good few years whilst various interlopers came and went.

An E36 325TDS, short lived, high mileage.  Took me months to fix a problem with the injection pump, got fed up and sold it after I'd fixed it. I did enjoy it when it was going though:

An E36 318ti.  Sold it as the Primera was considerably more competitive:

The answer.  It was great, unfortunately it's time with me was short as I took the decision to sell it to help fund our wedding..

A Rover 200Vi.  Should have been good, but I just couldn't gel with it.

7

So I went back to the Primera again, until with over 210k miles it was just getting a bit old,

So along came the very sensible understeering 406 V6.  Very comfy, quick in a straight line, not too bad in sweeping corners, terrible in tight stuff:

Right at the end a Xsara VTS dropped in briefly.  It should have been good, but again I just didn't click with it.  I did one Targa Rally in it then sold it on to someone who wanted the engine, just before I left Blighty.

Still ignoring doing anything decisive about the cars, we went on a whirlwind trip of Chile and Argentina with another family (friends through our kids)  Having only been in Peru in South America, I was surprised, in a positive way.  Chile had a very European feel to it, and even Argentina with it's economic woes seemed in considerably better state than here.   Obviously for me the stand out thing was the condition of the roads and the standards of driving.  We were in Santiago 2.5 days, then Bariloche for 3 days and finally Buenos Aires for 3 days.

In Chile we got up to a resort so the kids could see/play with snow (a huge novelty!) whilst we hung out talking rubbish:

Kids really enjoyed the trip, the adults ended up exhausted (4 flights and 1 long bus trip in 10 days).  That lot also ate into my "Change the Mazda" budget, again.  Also whilst we were running around Argentina several potential Mazda replacements sold, however yesterday 2 new possibles cropped up - both 2013 Mazda 3s.  Most 2nd gen 3s here are the 1.6 lump, or the 2.0 MZR with the auto.  These 2 (1 hatch, 1 sedan) are 2.0MZR with the 6MT.  Definitely interesting, however the issue is for SWMBO they're still "just Mazda 3s".   They're a bit comfier/quieter than the 1st gen, but what SWMBO really wants me to get is something BIGGER.  A shame, because a low mileage manual E46 has also popped up.  It was for sale around 4 years ago with 65k kms.   Now it's on 90k kms.  If I was only thinking of me, it'd be my choice, however it's no bigger than the 3 (a touch smaller even).  There's an '08 Civic Si sedan for $10k (roughly same price as the '13 Mazda), the 'nice' Outback 3.0r with 120k kms for $8800, Legacy 3.0R with 86k kms for $8500.

Oh yes and the Ford SOHC has started to rattle it's timing chains again...It nearly lasted 2 months rattle-free since doing the tensioners.. It's only on a cold start for the moment.  This morning I pulled the fuel pump fuse and cranked it for around 5 seconds to pressurise the oil, then started it and we had no rattle.  It appears to come from the front, so here's hoping it stays that way as I can change those guides without pulling the engine.  For the time being I'll be doing the 5 second crank to prolong it's life. 

On top of that, since before we went away, the air supply failure warning for the suspension became a daily event, so we've got a new compressor on the way (by the time we've paid Customs their 30%, it'll be around $700 )

Happy Days...

Sorry to hear the rattle is back. 

I'm feeling your pain on the vehicle search. The SUV doesn't seem like the right fit but those BMWs seem like a really bad idea based on how you've described the roads in your area. There's another option out there...you just need to figure out what it is. 

Thanks!  Yeah, I agree with all those observations  

The more I think about it, the Outback seems like a good compromise, but then I've never had a Subaru, so maybe it's a really bad idea (much like Land Rovers ).   That said, surely an EZ30 shouldn't start having problems yet, it's only got 80k miles on it, and here most folk with any car which isn't a basic appliance are pretty good at changing oil at least, everyone does it at a 5k kms interval.  It's big enough for family/dog, it's a slushbox so SWMBO can use if necessary, it has flappy paddles with 'blip' downshift to amuse me for a while, it has enough ground clearance, it has a full size spare, it's safe. 

In reply to paul_s0 :

I have been eyeing Dolimite Sprints lately, so cool.

I always enjoyed mine, though it has been over 20 years since I had one.. very docile to drive- you could provoke it however you wanted and it would never bite you- great visibility and I always found it 'fit' me very well, very comfy (for something from the 70s).  

The main issue with the Sprints is their contrary water pump, but I believe solutions exist for that now..

In reply to paul_s0 :

That water pump gave relief to the death of BL. Here in the states we only saw it in TR7, that was plenty.

Good news! After getting oil/filter done on both cars, the chains are quiet again - I may to shorten the oil change intervals.  I do a nominal 5000 kms/6 months here (although bearing in mind average speed over a normal week is only 18 kph, engine hours would be better than distance).

SWMBO's cousin's husband (who bought the red 3 hatch) is interested in buying the grey one now, but needs to convince said cousin.  Sadly his hatch is suffering a bit from local mechanics, and where I've sorted most of any mechanical woes on the grey one, and I mentioned thinking about changing it for something bigger, he registered his interest.  Fingers crossed, as at least it takes away the hassle of selling.   That said, I keep looking at that '13 3 even if it may not be the solution, and the asking price has just been dropped under $10k, and the colour does appeal to me...

The LR3's suspension air compressor has arrived, a little over the $700 estimated as it was shipped Fedex and all told they invoiced $200 in customs and handling charges.  I need to see if I can get a couple of hours to change that at the weekend, the *BOING* "Air Supply Failure" is a daily event now.  I'll be interested to strip the old one when it's off and see how it looks.  The only thing I didn't change 2/3 years ago was the piston/cylinder, as apparently they have a tendency to snap bolts rather than undo, and tapping a new thread in them is apparently a game of chance.