doctor austin

I have that too and have concluded its for tyre pressure reading ...not available on the JDM's

Oh come orf it.............Dont you still believe me! why on earth would I make it up. Its a late 2003 JDM with leather seats and Brembo's, 18 wheels................. I am just a bit curious why some assume imports have smaller petrol tanks, with my car I got all the standard Japanese documentation including two copies of the owners handbook, both showing 80L. I doubt if its had a new tank also. But anyways having owned the car for a year now I love it and still really enjoy driving it...till it comes to filling the tank

Petrol is expensive...but so much cheaper than Stella and more fun! I could not imagine driving a car that I found boring but still had to pay for the fuel

Here a extract from the manual for all those who dont believe.... and today I have just put in £90 worth at £1.30/L again and still on well over a quarter tank.

So my first image ...... Here is an extract from my Japanese manual stating the tank capacity is 80L

Yes I often encounter these types..( i do 55 weddings a year with vintage cars) you did the right thing after all you are the customer and in the end there are loads of photographers around...shame you are not local to me (Cambridge) as I could suggest many. Dont worry you'll find someone better and very best wishes

Yes I agree I real good guide that gives you confidence to tackle the job and save £££'s. I have to say that there is so much help here, its sooo brilliant and makes owning a Zed much more pleasant and easier to diy.

Easy to repair

For interest today I completed my commute home having set the trip and drove like I was about to run out of petrol...25 miles and mostly on A14 dual with averaging cameras and heavy traffic. I kept in the left lane at 55 -60 in queues of lorries etc and didn't go about 2000rpm in 6th...overall managed 37 MPG! by the time i got to my drive, but couldn't do it every day. Well boring but just interested what I can get.......usually its 27-28MPG.....But if to be honest I dont usually look best not to know these things and have fun

I dont know how too But I have scanned in the page with it on so hoped to just paste it. Is there a easy way to load in an image to a post??? Yes I know i am a bit out of touch..sorry.. its me age.

Mr Biscuit...yes I know what you are saying and dont dissagree, however, I strongly urge anyone looking at cars not to just go for the book and look for some stamps....go on condition and if possible meet the person that owned it and suss him/her out. Personally I would not trust any garage with any of my cars including the Zed...okay maybe some!!!

I check on the condition of the car and judge myself if its been looked after...a stamp in the book is just that a stamp in a book...so what!!!!

My JDM is 80L (I routinely fill it with 70 Litres)and my Jap manual states 80 litre in the spec ..honest

I do it all myself....its so easy...if you do it yourself you know its been done and you WILL save £100s. Even belt changes take less than an hour...could be done in 15mins if you dont bother to clean etc. I used a large syringe to get oil in the diff and gearbox, but it is all very simple and straight forward.

Yep must suss this one out.. I have used the peddle method..its okay once you get used to it. I got my wife to help and used a stop watch...timing is critical. Without the fault code it could be so many things its not worth listing. Personally if it keeps coming back on once you have reset it I would not drive the car any more than needed. Best of luck and start stamping that acc peddle>>>>>>>

My JDM has the same tank size as the UK Zed...£80 is when the gauge reads just under half.....even the jap manual states (its the only bit that I can read!!) the same size as UK

I usually put in £80 worth (£131 a litre here!) and The trip computer reads on average 26 mpg but can go to 28 if I take it easy and 18 when i really give it some...not sure what I get per tank full. Overall I have concluded I dont drive the Zed to conserve £££ I drve it cos its real fun.

I seem to remember the final bit that covers the speakers etc 'just' pops off but needs loads of force...either way just persevere ..I think i got to the stage of giving up to and gave it a final go ..once you suss out one clip the others then become obvious. next attempt you'll win!!!

When I got my JDM Zed it didn't have the rears working...so took the covers of..sounds worse than it really is btw...and yes it had speakers and yes they looked as new but both had blown coils. So simply replaced them with same size new ones and oh what a difference. Just be well careful with all that plastic especially if its cold weather, maybe worth warming it up in a warm garage or at least take the car out to warm the interior. Best of luck!

Well I would clean it (and have!), remove the mass airflow sensor and carefully clean it with switch cleaner (or carb cleaner maybe, but don’t linger on the plastic)...best use switch cleaner as its less aggressive...anyways clean it but don’t touch with fingers or cloth, just spray all over it concentrating on the hot wire filament and the contacts on the plug/socket. Allow to dry before refitting and trying. It is delicate so don’t be tempted to touch it!

10 mins..plug and play

No... its best to jack it up as you need to take the wheels off to get good access.

All I did was take off the drop links and re pack then with grease as best as i could and soak in thin oil(WD40 will do). They get dry over time..I thing the bearing surfaces of the ball joint is Nylon of something...anyways it stopped the annoying creak and that was several months ago. Hard bit is undoing the mounting nuts as thay may be seized, but once off the car it is easy to wiggle the ball joints to help get the lubrication to penetrate. zero cost and about an hour to do.

What a Zed expensive to run..no I dont think so. 28mpg on a run, dead simple to service all service items are very easy to get at and not expensive (no cam belt change), then there's the fact that they are such a bargain to purchase when secondhand. I guess you CAN spend a lot of cash on them but so can some on Fords or whatever. Most things in life cost money but the Zed gives so much fun

Well ..me... yes Dr Austin is just a name that stuck due to a slight infatuation with 1920'2 Austin motor cars having restored 9 of them, friends started calling me the doctor so Dr Austin it is!