Yesterday actually.
Swapped out the summer wheels/tyres for the winters. Pulled a large lump of rust about 9" square of rusted outer skin off the bottom of the rear silencer box - wouldn't have looked good for the MOT which is due
. Briefly investigated noises from underneath the car, which I think are the front subframe bushes deteriorating, but sprayed the front anti-roll bar bushes with silicone lubricant in the vain hope the noises will go away. Noticed during the wheel change that the driver's side rear brake pads are worn to their limit only one year after replacing the pads, discs and handbrake shoes, so I'm guessing the caliper is a little sticky, in which case I need to repair or replace. The passenger side wasn't so bad, but still more worn than I'd have expected (from previous experience, they should last around 50k miles at least) I've also found that the car is using a little water (only about 300ml or so every 6 weeks), so I thought I'd try to locate the source of any external leak which I failed to do. Noticed while I was underneath that there was some oil round the bottom where the sump meets the auto box. The car was oil tight for years, but over the last year or so there seems to have been a few wet patches appearing.
To cap it all, the battery went flat while I was using the compressor to set the tyre pressures on the winter tyres, which has been resolved by an overnight charge, but there is no way it should have flattened so quickly. Tomorrow I will be visiting the local accessory shop for a replacement in preparation for the winter. I knew it had been replaced here in Austria within the last five years, but I couldn't find the receipt to check when. A quick forum search here showed that it was 3 years ago to within a couple of days. Not good, but seems to be not unusual. So that will be €100 or so.
The overall picture is worrying. Nothing of any great note, and nothing that needs addressing ultra-urgently except for the rear pads, no point replacing them if I don't fix the root cause of the problem. There's a steady picture of old age deterioration building up (and not just the car
). Subframe bushes I'm guessing might cost around €500, rear calipers and pads (would do both) €300 minimum supplied and fitted. Water/oil leaks - head gasket? So at 217,000 miles I'm wondering just how much money to sink in to the old bus, particularly given the cosmetic rust patches appearing round the rear wheel arches.
