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As saabman says its corosion of the alloy. Mine were not very nice at all so I took them off the car and performed a highly succesfull re spray job on them.

Once off the car I masked of the whole of the plastic mirro assembly with 2 inch 3m tape. I then took of a rubber seal and sanded the black frame down using first coarse sand aper then wet and dry to get a smooth base. At least 3 coats of primer then some satin black paint.Again wet and dry between coats.The last coat was a dream and it does look like new.
I cant recall the paint I used at present but the primer and paint was same maker and I think I got it from one of the big chains like focus etc.Not B+Q though.
It really is an easy job and gives much satisfaction.Just mask off well and prepare thoroughly. Also dont rush the paint coats.

A few weeks ago I had a terrible noise as described.Yes something from the road must have hit the disc guard and put it out of alignment.  Guard had a very deep groove worn it it. Just pushed it back in place with a screw driver as said.No need to take the wheel off either. Mind you once poked and prodded in one area of the guard you may have to compensate by pushing the guard at the bottom of it to get an even gap around disc.

When my blower failed last year it was just a case of it being either frozen or stuck as the spindle was coroded a bit.
I just took off the cabin filter on the bulkhead and got my hands down to the fan and freed it off.Then I sprayed with lubricant as a temp measure.
Later in warm weather I took the fan out and cleaned off all corrision on the shaft and covered in grease. So far with the latest cold snap its all okay.

This post reminds me to give it another spray this week.  Its easy to access though from the engine bay to free up. Actually taking the blower motor out though a different matter, very fiddly I thought.

Thanks Phoenix, thats an interesting scenario about the gearbox basically being a sealed unit with regard to draining and re filling with fluid.

Theres nowt wrong with gear shift but being old fashioned I have the oil and car is 7 years old so thought I might as well change.
I know its supposed to be long life oil etc but I like to look after my cars and oil changes etc get done every 10k at least. None of this 2 year or 16k intervals for me.
Thanks again David

Thanks Phoenix. Mines the 5 speed box but hopefully I may see the capacity in the Haynes manual or the handbook. Havent checked yet as in work but it surely cant be such a tough job as doing the 9 5 .Sub frame member in the way of the drain plug and it was a right pain to get access and leverage on the allen key.

Hi again,  I have changed gearbox oil on my previous car, a 9 5 Aero, as it was a good few years old.I still have some of the fluid left and was contemplating changing the fluid on the current car,2004 9 3 Aero. Cant find a great deal of info on this so my question is has anyone done this. If so any info would be usefull. Does anyone have the gearbox oil capacity.

It was a tricky job on the 9 5 as you had to use a cut down allen key to get to the drain plug so I was hoping on the 9 3 its a bit easier.
Thanks in advance David

I have had the odd problem with brakes in the last 6 weeks as well. Not the same problem as yours.
Have you any idea when the brake fluid was changed? You say brake reservoir is full but if brake fluid older than 2 years that may be your problem.Brake fluid does need regular changing as it absorbs moisture thus making the fluid less efficient.
Doesnt sound like you have any external leaks and you say problem is only intermittent.

I used Collinite marque d,elegance for the main wax and found it very good.
But another good product for a quick shine when required is the Autoglym Aqua Wax.
Its very quick to do and works well.