Mike_eng

Hi Trevor, Well you win the exotic homes competition hands down! Botswana?? Crikey. I think I've got you beaten on the most dismal destination though, The Falkland islands in May, think Wales in November............ with the power turned off and no convenient toll bridge back to civilisation! Hi Frank, You're right, just up the road in Higham, small world isn't it?

Originally Camberwell but I've lived all over, including Cornwall, Hampshire, Scotland, Italy and the Netherlands not quite sure how I ended up here!

Everything is relative Trevor! Compared to Charlie Northamptonshire is well Sarf though innit ? Anyway I was born south of the Thames which makes me officially a southerner and I'm only here in the Midlands on sabbatical (about 15 years now) Cheers all Mike

Hi Charlie, Are they for eating your Cranachan from? We eat ours out of bowls down South. ;) Cheers, Mike

Hi Charlie, Forgot to mention that the bulbs are only a few months old and fitted by the stealership when it was serviced last. Cheers, Mike

Hi Guys, My fog lights work, sort of! The lights come on and if you're stood in front of the car they look ok, however from inside there is almost no illumination of the road. Are all the pre facelift lights this poor or is it just mine? Cheers, Mike

4.2 V8 SE

Hi Keith I average 28 and on a long run I've had as high as 34 and that's from a V8! Ever considered keeping it under 120!!!

I can recommend Nene Jags, small but perfectly formed! When my radiator committed suicide Clive lent me his wife's car for the weekend as their free courtesy S Type was already booked out. Nene Jag Specialists 8 Harvester Way Fengate Peterborough PE1 5UT Tel: (01733) 349042

Nice shade of Blue Colin, mine is a rather dull slate grey, on the upside it almost never looks dirty!

Hi Colin, It's only a personal recommendation but I fitted Pagid discs and pads to the front of my V8 this summer and they're excellent. Considering the skinned knuckles and attendant swearing I would pay someone else to do it next time! Regards, Mike

The "lurch" as it's known is a firmware problem that only applies to the later 6 speed ZF gearboxes, the earlier ford 'box is immune. I think the ZF box came in around 2002/2003 so I would suggest your problem lies elsewhere. You might get more joy from a transmission specialist than a Jaguar one on this occasion

Hi Steve, You're right, when I had mine done it was for a fixed price, £45 for the front and an extra £35 if the back needed adjusting (which it did). Unfortunately you're a bit far away or I'd recommend you use STS in Bedford. Having the camber off front and back can seriously affect the handling, I'd get that sorted before I started looking at replacing hardware. Cheers, Mike

Hi Martin, SNG Barratt are usually able to get most parts www.sngbarratt.com Cheers, Mike

Hi Steve, I'm afraid you're going to have to cough up and have the camber sorted, it will make a huge difference, I had my full alignment done and it transformed the handling. I just spent two weeks in the Italian Alps and it handled better than most of the sports cars I've ever owned. Sorry, no quick fixes that I can think of :-( Mike

Hi Kevin, To be honest the shift quality was very good to start with so I'm not sure how much better it could get. The lurch was quite noticeable though and although not completely gone is better. Cheers, Mike

Hi Kevin, The shift quality is only marginally better, but the "lurch" between 40 and 60 is noticeably improved, not gone but much less evident. Cheers, Mike

Hi Kevin, Sounds like a good deal, I paid £410 for a gearbox service at a local auto box specialist but that did include a new sump and switch cover, both had minor leaks and I think the filters are in the sump. When I spoke to ZF at Nottingham they recommended servicing every 100,000 km. I had the firmware upgraded for £70.00 at Nene Jags Cheers, Mike

Hi Muhammad, I have an 04 V8 (non S/C) I've had it over 100 on several occasions and never had any warnings, if this didn't happen until after your diff replacement I would stay on the dealerships case until they get it sorted, after all it was fine until they messed with it. Good luck Mike

Trevor, Born and lived most of my life in South London followed by Italy and Hampshire, only ventured into the wilds of Northamptonshire about ten years ago. Still waiting to see my first dragon though (no wife or mother in law jokes please). Mike

Gentlemen, I must say you two obviously had deprived childhoods, now Peter, being from t' north has some justification as I believe televisual communication of moving images has only just made it past the Watford gap. You Trevor have no such excuse being from what is, ostensibly at least, a civilised part of the country. I do take exception to the term "Northerner" being from South of the Thames. I will grant that anyone whose feet aren't wet is in fact North of you but I still think you're pushing it! Mike

Surely you watched the muppets as a lad Trevor?? Damn it, now I'm off topic! Mike

Hi Danny, In answer to your question, I've only ever seen one and that had been customized, It looked rather nice actually. Mike PS. ignore Statler and Waldorf, they're apt to wander off topic given half a chance!

Hi Graham, I've had the 4.2 for about a year and a half now and I think the best way to describe it is "effortless". I absolutely adore mine, around town it's shocking on fuel but I live in the country and it averages 28 to the gallon, on a run to Leeds it did 35 so not too shabby. Performance is definitely there if you want it, or it does a lovely line in waft if not. Hope that helps,

Early morning A303, I remember it well. I used to live near the other end 15 years ago, near Newbury. That should make up for the rest, surely? As long as it's caravan free. Cheers Mike P.S I do like being called "young man"