Suffered a diff failure, probably less than a fortnight after getting back on the road, although I think that was a combination of having never been serviced and then chucking some extra power through it. On inspection it looked as though a bearing had died, but I think the ton of metal floating in there had been the root cause of failure. The clutches were badly worn too.
Luckily I got a replacement for a bargain 50 quid, which made all the difference, I didn't really notice before, but the old one had got really lazy and loose, now it bites up instantly, with the added benefit of feeling that bit more predictable.
The t5 has worked out well, aside from being a bit of a tractor box, and 3rd gear being a bit of a bugger to find in a rush. Its nowhere near as quiet or refined as the old 6spd (reverse is almost loud enough to be an embarrassment!). The ratios work better with the engine, letting it stay on boost longer and getting rid of one gear change.
Another job on the list is going to be the exhaust, I'm not sure if the 2.5" from the (ex) cat is quite large enough, and it has been slowly developing the world's most irritating squeak when it gets really hot. I suspect the squeak will be the manifold flange to turbo again, so this time its getting welded 😛
Since Titch won't be around for possibly another 7 months, and I have no way of getting in contact with him until he returns, I won't be doing too much more to the car until then, as I don't want to welcome him back and then tell him he owes me a pile of money. So for the meantime I've just been giving it the occasional run out and enjoying it while I can, because something tells me I won't want to give it away 😢
