Dropped the old girl into my local garage to have a look over the engine and try to figure out why I am smelling what I thought was burning PS fluid. Smell is noticeable especially when the car has been sitting for a week or so, which she does a lot these days. The found no sign of PS fluid leaking and I had checked, the res is sitting on max, but I had noticed that the rocker cover gaskets were looking increasingly leaky, which they have been since I bought her in 2011! I guess that when she has been sitting around for longer periods, more oil has somehow wept on to the manifolds, hence why it is only really noticeable when sitting around for days.
They quoted me 1.5 hours for the NS and 14 hours for the OS, their book must be saying engine pull for the NS as usual I expect.
I have my the chosen specialists (MRC, RD Garage Services in Shepperton and SJB Autotech) putting quotes together for me now, as I am thinking get the engine pulled for the following reasons -
1. The TC has been a fecking trooper, but has been tired since I bought her over 7 years ago now, with the usual hard as hell bang on downshifts sometimes if using kickdown. Jules and I just use the paddles and drop her down a gear or two before we want to baboon it, and she is perfectly happy doing that, we never forget to do that these days. I have a spare TC sitting in a box in my garage, could get that shipped to Yankland and uprated, plop that in one time.
2. Possibly send the gearbox off to say Chester Transmissions etc for a look over/recondition one time?
3. I know that the turbos must have slight weeping on the oil seals, as when she has been sitting around and you fire her up, you can get a little bit of smoke. I really do mean little, but enough to tell and again, they have done bloody well, especially with the extra boost they have been pushing through all these years. Either get them reconditioned or uprated one time? Would be rude not to squeeze some more power out of her if easy enough to achieve, she still hasn't hit 90k yet
4. Look at other general stuff like Bufkin pipe mod etc. and anything else that is far cheaper to do while the lump is out of the car.
I am pretty sure I am right in thinking north of £5k for that lot, but having a wife that says it is the right thing to do, that beast has been so reliable over the years and that she doesn't want me selling the old girl, isn't making it easy for me to say no..... In the daft Bint's own words "I can't help loving the 6's so much!", so it looks like we will continue to own two.
Thoughts, comical or otherwise, appreciated.
CheeRS,
Nick
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