The Voices

Parking space ? You were lucky ! I used to have to work a 72 hour shift.................................................. A two post lift would be awesome ! You could recoup some of the cost by hiring it out to fellow enthusiasts !

Getting soft in my old age. I probably can fix it myself, but I am working by the roadside, my driveway is on a slope so not the most practical ! Used to enjoy a bit (or a lot) of 'spannering', but these days I can't really be bothered, lazy b**t**d that I am ! My current idea of working on the car would involve heating, lighting, background music and a ramp (and no deadline for when it has to be ready)

Thanks guys ! I am itching to have a go at the hoses myself but don't have the use of my friends garage anymore. My garage is not big enough to get the car in and have any room to work. Just have to bide my time and wait for Andy to get back from his hols. He said he was going away in a camper van, I asked him 'camper than what ?'

Got the new tyres fitted this morning and MOT'd this afternoon. Went through with no advisories, just need Andy back to sort the hoses !

The picture below shows some of the intake setup (filter box to supercharger / throttle body inlet) I haven't looked where the feed comes into the airbox. From what I can tell, the STR upgrade is either 'panel' filter or cone with heatshield, usually with a one piece stainless intake pipe that does away with the corrugated plastic one.

I was more concerned about it getting hot whilst doing the emission test. Temperature seems fine when the car is moving and has airflow but not monitored the coolant temperature at a standstill ?

I think the one I bought came from either Lidl or Aldi, just need to get round to putting it together ! Andy was unable to do anything before he went on holiday, did not want to pull it in bits and then not have time to re-assemble before he left. Had to nurse it home as I could not really leave it at the dealership for two weeks. I will have a quick look myself, the new hoses are in the boot but not examined them yet. Pain in the neck is that the MOT is due whilst Andy is away and would rather not take it in with the coolant leak.

Just wish I had worked it out a week ago ! I did the cut 'freehand' with the mini grinder so not the neatest job. Now I have the urge to build the stand I bought a while ago that turns the mini grinder into a chop saw, then I could make a neater version of the cut down socket !

Very possibly with me in a motor home with a trailer towing the STR !

May have a problem. It was 5.30pm yesterday when we ordered the hoses, cut off for next day delivery is 4pm. Consequently, hoses don't arrive until tomorrow ! If I had been thinking straight, I should have asked for them to be ordered VOR (vehicle off road) to get priority delivery. Only problem is that I would not have got any discount if ordered VOR but I would have been willing to pay 'full up' for a change if the parts arrived more quickly. Chances of a 'proper' fix tomorrow are slim, given how difficult it is to get to the hoses. Andy did mention the possibility of a temporary solution so I can at least get the MOT done whilst he is away on holiday ? I presume a 'patch' of some kind over the pinhole to minimise coolant loss ? The only 'good' thing is that in 35 miles of driving it didn't loose enough liquid to bring up the 'low coolant' warning. MOT is due 19th September, nothing obvious I can see other than rear tyres are close to the limit, new Michelin Pilot Sport 4's arrived today so need to get them fitted at some point.

Well ! I finally managed to get jubilee clips on the hose and tightened up. Remembered I had a set of these: http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/tools/sockets-accessories/halfords-advanced-ratchet-spanner-adaptor-set Basically allows you to use a ratchet spanner and attach sockets, much smaller profile than a normal ratchet handle. Used the 1/4 inch drive version, which fits a 10mm ratchet spanner. Had to grind down a cheap 7mm socket to make it 'shorter' and managed to get it onto the nut on the jubilee clip. I then wedged a pry bar behind the spanner, so that it could not slip off and finally managed to tighten the damn thing up ! Refilled the coolant, fitted new radiator cap and fired up the car, monitored the coolant temperature on my tablet using the 'Torque' App. Turned the heater up and down to help get rid of any air pockets. So far, so good ! Until.................... I got out and had a look under the car, only to see more pink coolant dripping off the undertray ! Looked under the bonnet and could hear a hissing sound near the bulkhead. On closer inspection, there was a fine spray coming from somewhere behind the supercharger. It looks as though this was the initial cause of the coolant loss plus the collapsing hoses, my contribution was the split hose which was loosing a lot more ! Let it cool down, topped it up again (minimal loss) and nursed it to Bolton for Andy to get on with fixing it (nervously monitoring the temperature on the tablet all the way and took it very easy) Got to the dealership in one piece and let him take a look after he finished work. He had a look using a torch and mirror and showed me a 'pinhole' in one of the hoses. I ordered the hoses that could be the cause of the problem (throttle body coolant hoses ?) so that he can replace them all at the same time. Fingers crossed that he manages to fix it, he goes away on holiday for two weeks come Friday evening !

Thanks Joe, I had already ordered one just in case.

Day off tomorrow so going to have another go at the hose ! Getting the 'bottom' clamp on is the problem but I have a few ideas to try, so fingers crossed !

I will feel more confident with the Michelins fitted, mainly because Sue will be the main day to day driver. Tyres are due to arrive by 12th September, hopefully by then I will have a car that I can drive !

Steve, I would look at the overall condition and evidence of servicing and repairs rather than low mileage. For example, you might find the lowest mileage, most expensive 2002 STR but most of the components would still be 14 years old. In the case of things like rubber hoses, I can't say with any certainty that it is mileage, age or the number of 'heat cycles' that the hose has been through that cause the failure ? My personal theory is that, generally, the manufacturer irons out more of the problems as the model life of a car continues, so buy the newest that I can for the budget. My 'budget' high mileage STR stands me at less than half the price of the similar age cars on Autotrader. Some of those cars are still on 80k+ miles, which might be low mileage on a 2006 registered vehicle but for me does not justify the extra expense. Who knows, I might have spent the extra and still had some teething troubles and the associated expense ?

No problem Russ, worse case would have been to order a set of each type and return the ones that didn't fit.

Just wanted to conclude this thread. I finally gave in to paranoia and purchased a pair of Michelin Pilot Sport 4's based on the excellent reviews. £158 each online with free UK delivery, will get them fitted at work.

Hi Steve, The DSC is a reasonable safety net, but in the words of Star Treks' Scotty, 'you cannae change the laws of physics !' The 'valley pipe' is a coolant pipe located in the 'v' of the engine, under the supercharger. They are prone to failure at 100k miles or so, the pipe itself is reasonably cheap but the labour involved, including removal and refitting the supercharger, is quite expensive. Dealer prices can easily be upwards of £1,000 to replace the pipe.

Gave in and ordered a pair of Michelin Pilot Sport 4's. Bought them online from 'Tyres Outlet', £158.36 per tyre with free UK delivery. http://www.tyres-outlet.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl The weird thing is that they appear to be part of 'mytyres' but prices are lower (about £10 per tyre in this case !)

Thanks for the info regarding the Nexens, I am not usually a brand snob but just paranoid about getting the best wet weather grip on the back of the car. My 3rd 325i came to a very sticky end out of a damp roundabout (exited backwards at about 50mph) and been driving AWD Imprezas since 2002 so going back to a 'quick' RWD car is a bit nerve wracking !

Hi Steve, flat bed collection is my last resort. The other option is to kidnap Andy and make him fix it by the roadside ! I will need to tow his 'Snap On' toolbox behind the car however !

47, but still don't know what I want to be when I grow up !

Hi Russ, glad all going well. At the moment a 2CV is faster than my STR ! I had to drive the Impreza on Wednesday so that Sue could use my XE. It was a lot of fun for a while but not for any great distance, very uncomfortable and rattles a lot ! Mind you, the roads were damp and all four wheels getting 'squirrelly' under power is awesome.

It is the kind of car where one major failure can write it off but I knew that when I bought it. My next day off is Wednesday so will probably leave it until then to mess about with the annoying hose. I just want to get it driveable so that I can get it to my mechanic, he can replace the other hoses and thermostat and bleed the system.

I used to work on old Fords, you could practically climb into the engine bay and walk around it ! The problem is that the hose is not very flexible and getting any type of clamp into place is proving to be difficult. If I try to re-use the 'spring' type clamp, access is very poor to hold the clip open to slide it down the hose. Next idea was to use a 'jubilee' type hose clip but then I can't seem to get access to the nut to tighten it up. Not really in the mood to mess with it after work, I leave at 7.30am and get back around 7.30pm, so by the time I have eaten and got changed it is not worth bothering.