[quote=""Turks""]What were you doing in Lancaster? [/quote] I was student scum, sorry ! And it was a long time ago now :( Went back for a weekend a couple of years ago, the town hadn't changed too much but the campus was almost unrecognisable. The whole south campus didn't exist ...

I lived in Lancaster for a while, I liked the town, but know what you mean about the job prospects.

Already got two dogs here so can't help on the homing, sorry !

[quote=""kkodal78""]500 miles total driving distance and used 1+1/2 tank of petrol is not bad with the average speed i did i guess.[/quote]
17mpg ?

Slightly o/t but I was thinking of getting one of THESE for the back of mine. Anyone tried them ?

For an E53 in Titan Silver, rear bumper and upper / lower tailgate. Some marks from storage but all straight and rust-free. I don't need them and they're currently taking up too much space in my garage so £50 for the lot . Collection only ! I'm in Sandhurst, Berkshire. http://www.sundayjumper.com/e...

Just to throw something in regarding the Eicher pads, I fitted some of these to the back of my wife's E46 and noticed that the friction area was much smaller than the pads that came out. Same thickness but didn't go all the way to each end of the pad. Can't say I've noticed any difference in perform...

I got home from work on Monday and spotted this in the osr tyre: http://www.sundayjumper.com/e53_screw.jpg :( They were quite worn anyway so it's time for two new rear tyres. Are Toyos still the value-for-money favourite ? I'd prefer a non-directional tread pattern really, but I don't want to spend ...

My personal thoughts (not that anyone cares :)) Exterior - I like the blue a lot, and the colour-coding looks better than I expected. I normally like the way the black plastics break it up. Maybe it's just fully coded silver cars I don't like. Leather - spot-on, very very nice. Engine cover - no, no...

Hey, he's right you know.

The tracks on the light housing have a tendancy to burn right through at the point the bulb holder touches. Take the lights right out (three or four nuts, you need a deep 10mm socket IIRC), clean the tracks, flow some solder over the affected parts and should be good as new. This was one of the firs...

Definitely sounds like a thermostat to me. They're usually designed to fail open, as a cold engine is far less of a risk than an overheating one. Does the temperature creep up if you're stationary for a while ?

Shouldn't be a hard job to replace it.

[quote=""jamesturner""]National Tyre will do oil change for under £70 using Castrol edge and 8 litres.[/quote]
Kwik Fit too, £44.95 for a an oil service with Mobil 1 - CLICK. I need to get mine booked in. With the amount of oil the V8 takes, it's got to be a no-brainer !

[quote=""gmc15""]I use one of these and find it great [/quote]
I have the predecessor, the RAC600, and it's been fine. The new version for under £20 is a bargain !

There's cheaper ones but they're not a patch on the Westfalia kit.

Try typing "E53 towbar" into ebay and see what comes up.

Another vote here for Thule It's the only brand I've used for about ten years now, roof bars & bike carriers.