A month into ownership the headgasket goes. But not the very spectacular to see plumes of steam, bad running and=20 massive overheating, oh no, just a build up of emulsified oil in the=20 coolant and a slight rise in temp that made the fan run more often.
So I rings the guy that maintained it for the last two owners and gets=20 it booked in (Saabtec in Glossop) for a HG, a 12k mile service, a new=20 torque bush set (red poly bushes) and get the rear screen washer fixed=20 and drove away in a 9-5 lpt auto loan car.=20
4 days later get a call. "Yes, the headgasket gone, must have been on way out for a while as that=20 was the very slight oil leak. All done except during the service=20 inspection the rear discs and pads are only about 4k away from=20 knackered. Can replace both for =A3100".
Figured I might as well get them done now, instead of another 2 hour=20 round trip and the required fuel, in 3 months time.
So, all the above, parts and labour =A3600. Shift is nice and tight now=20 thanks the top mount, fan kicks in less thanks to the new coolant, and=20 I'm going to degrease the front of the engine soon and make sure the oil=20 leak is properly sorted.
Nice car again now.
--=20 Carl Robson Audio stream: