Then, as the mot is due end of the month I thought I’d replace the brake pipe which runs over the rear subframe. It was dodgy last year, I rubbed the flakey bits off and smothered it in a mixture of grease and stonechip which had held up remarkably well.
Utter sod of a job. Spent ages removing a huge underside guard to get better access. It didn’t help at all. Ended up dropping the subframe to get the pipe union. Even then could only get 1/3 of a turn at a time on it.
Finally got the wheels back on and dropped it to the ground at 7:30
At least I won’t have the worry that the rusty pipe could pop at any moment any more
Tyres are wearing thin on the inside edge, all x5s do it to some degree, mine being lower doesn’t help and there’s limited adjustment in the standard suspension. Need to decide whether a set of adjustable upper arms will pay for themselves in reduced tyre wear
Another Lotus forum user who had used the same cold-blackening process on a brand new set of bolts seemed to have far longer lasting results.
