Whether it’s safe to drive, depends on what is whining.

Generic advise is to get it recovered, but that would depend on what recovery you’ve got, or if you want to pay for it.

Having thought about it a bit more, and given the engine management light has come on, I’d hazard a guess it could be something turbo/boost related, such as a turbo hose blown of/split, which isn’t unknown, especially on the 1.4/1.6 HDIs. If it is then it’ll still be safe to drive, just be totally lacking in power.
A bearing failure in itself won’t bring on the engine management light, unless it’s something directly related to the engine running.

Whining is normally caused by either a failed bearing, or something rubbing.

When does it make the noise?
All the time the engine is running?
Just when moving?
Only when the clutch is engaged?

Depending on the car, mate. Many modern cars are more sophisticated than that.

Very true, mate.
But I was keeping things simple, and you’ll find all modern cars are more sophisticated ;-)

Northwind, you’ve kind of got the right idea, but as battery voltage rises/electrical load decreases, the amount of power produced by the alterntor will also decrease, and so will the amount of power required to spin the alternator.

If you want more information on how they work, google brushless alternators. The most basic ones have no regulation (typically only produce a few amps, and any lights will run of unrectified AC power), but may have some form of external regulation, while more advanced ones use exciter field coils to regulate output.

Regarding the original question. Yes.
Whenever the aircon compressor is spinning, extra fuel is being used.
And even with the heating set to hot, the compressor will still be running, unless the outside temperature is below about 4degC. Below that temp, most common aircon systems risk freezing up, which is bad for the system, and there’s no benefit to having it running anyway, as there’s very little moisture left in the air to have any noticeable effect on humidity.

Also, windows steaming up after the aircon is switched of is entirely normal. With the air con on, moisture condenses on the cold evaporator, and drains via a drain pipe (that’s why you get can get pools of water underneath vehicles in hot weather). When you switch the air con of, the evaporator then warms up, and any surface moisture left on it will evaporate and be blown into the passenger compartment, which if the air outside is cooler and windows cold, will condense onto the windows.
Strange odours that appear after you turn the aircon of, are usually caused by mould/bacteria on the evaporator that get blown in by the water evaporating of the evaporator. Best cure for this is a can of air con treatment spray (most you put aircon on full with recirculate on, stand the can in the footwell, activate the can, then shut the door and leave it running for 15min)

Not entirely normal, but give it a few days and see if things improve.

Bosch/Valeo are the better aftermarket brands for exchange starters.
(genuine ford starter is likely to be a recon valeo anyway).
Unless you’re planning on getting shot of the car soon, I’d personally avoid the cheap brands.

Glow plugs, Bosch/Beru/NGK are the main brands.
For the cost of glow plugs, it’s not really worth getting the cheap brands, as chances are they won’t last long.

You didn’t fall for the old ‘just a couple miles more’ chestnut did you?

That bit on Falla Brae would be Cliff Richard (something about being pretty dull and slightly bent from what I remember…I thankfully missed that naming session!)

Stu, who's forgotten what?

What race link?

Zoom or Bust (exits at the green) and Shallow Grave (exits onto spooky wood), are the only ones on that list that were originally built as race links. The other racelinks weren't trailfairy projects AFAIK.

Ho Chi Min has always been a walkers path.

I think T2R is the only one that gives you the option of shuttle days to the other riding spots in the area.

Some pics from a mates collection-
(I was too lazy to take a camera!)

Unfortunetly, I can't find any of the Northshore pics from last years trip, and it's another 5 weeks until I'm there again this year :D

Don't put strawberries in the fridge!

Keep them somewhere cool, but don't chill them.

<soft fruit geek warning>
Depends on the varieties.

Glen Moy or Glen Ample is about the best raspberries you can get, unless you like your rasps properly bitter, in which case try some Glen Clova.

For strawberries with flavour, Tamella is still the bench mark, however it's a dated variety which is pretty disease prone. Symphony has pretty much the same flavour but is a slightly harder fruit.
Although you're very unlikely to find either of those in supermarkets, as they all want Elsanta for it's extended shelf life (despite the fact they have **** all flavour, and some can be used as golf ball they're that tough)

</soft fruit geek warning>

As has been said, oil change is usually the first thing, followed by cleaning the pickup filter for the internal oil pumps.

Autos of that age rely on brake bands for gear selection, and they eventually wear, contaminating the oil and choking filters.

10years 10months 2days.

Technology is forever changing, and I enjoy certain parts of the job, but it is starting to grind me down (mainly cause I seem to end up with others shit because they can't be bothered, yet nothing is ever said about their incompetence to even manage simple jobs).
It's certainly not what I want to spend the next 30years doing, but the benefits and pension make it a hard job to leave :-/

Probably find it's a local thing.

One place will of started it, and everybody else will of started doing it for the fear of losing work.

Provided there is distinctly cold air getting blown in on hot sunny days, the air con is working.

As has been mentioned above, get a tin of aircon cleaner, and follow the instructions.

However, some people just don't get on with aircon, mainly due to it drying the air.

You can get them deodorised – a standard aircon recharge does this (Costs, £30-£40ish usually).
Standard air con service typically only involves regassing the system. Some places may also use a tin of aircon cleaner, but it's not that common.

Looks like the top-out spring/assembly.

I'm pretty sure it should be attached to something!
Download the service or parts (exploded parts diagram should show where it goes) manual and see what it should be attached to.

A lot of DOT 4 fluids have a much higher wet boiling point than DOT 5.1

Not entirely true.
The last figures I can remember looking at, 5.1 has higher boiling points, but it can't absorb as much water as 4, meaning it becomes saturated at a lower moisture content, leading to the wet boiling point dropping of far quicker than 4.

5 was hailed as being the all new all signing all dancing brake fluid when it came out, but the boffins never allowed for the moisture issue in your typical vehicle braking system (all braking systems will suffer from moisture ingress, as it's near impossible to make and maintain a perfectly sealed system)
With a hygroscopic fluid (aka 3, 4 & 5.1), any moisture in a brake system will be absorbed pretty uniformly by the brake fluid, leading to a gradual drop in boiling point.
With a non-hygroscopic fluid (aka 5), any moisture will gather in the braking system, and gradually settle to the lowest point (usually the brake caliper/cylinders). This then leads to a drop of water with a boiling point of 100degC within the hottest part of the brake system.

If it's under warranty, then don't call the manufacturers breakdown, and don't take it near a dealer.

Doing either of those means it'll be recorded as a contaminated fuel breakdown, meaning they'll void any remaining warranty unless you spend copious amounts of money replacing bits.

The main long term issue with petrol in diesel, is the lack of lubrication of the fuel system components.
Personally, provided it's running ok, then don't worry about it, and run it until the tank is well down before refuelling, as that way you get rid of the petrol quicker, rather than diluting it over a longer time.

Might have got away with it, but petrol engines will usually tolerate some diesel more than diesel engines will tolerate petrol

With petrol in diesel, the biggest issue is destroying the fuel system, as if you try to get a diesel to run on petrol, it'll just cough and splutter before dieing. If you were to run a diesel on petrol for an extended time, then you may risk premature upper engine wear due to lack of lubrication, but the fuel system would die long before that became an issue.

With diesel in petrol, the biggest issue is localised overheating of the engine. Diesel burns hotter and slower than petrol, which means that the combustion chamber is exposed to higher temperatures and pressures for longer, which can cook everything within the combustion chamber fairly quickly, as petrol engines are not designed to withstand the extra heat.

One issue with petrol is that it lowers cetane value, which is basically a measure of how much power is in the fuel (not quite like octane for petrol)

Cetane is a rating of how easy a fuel is to ignite. The higher the cetane rating the easier and generally slower the fuel will burn (whereas octane is a measurement of how hard a fuel is to ignite). It is only vaguely related to how high the calorific value of the fuel is.

Less reliable. Roller doors are quite frankly a pain, and less secure.

Plus roller door conversions were not a standard ford option AFAIK, so it'll of been added by a bodybuilder.

Only transits I've ever seen with roller doors were Royal Mail ones.

All vehicles over 3.5t (that aren't registered as motorhomes) are required to be fitted with a tacho. From about 2005 they'll have digital tachos fitted.

I'm pretty sure that provided you're not driving the vehicle for hire or reward, then you don't need to worry about keeping a record. However, it would be best to check with the hire company (if they're a decent company, then they'll be able to check with the BVRLA for clarification).

What happens if you give it a bit rev before you try moving?
Any clouds of smoke when it first starts?

It's great fun. I done it last year, and despite having to prop myself up with lemsip and a continual supply of jelly babies due to a case of Man Flu, I enjoyed it.

I'm entered again for this year, and am hoping I don't get struck down with Man Flu this time. That way I might have energy to pre-ride the stages aswell, instead of racing it blind…

No problem jedi.

The problem has been identified in several browsers (IE, FF & Safari), and the cause identified. It's just needing a little style tweakage, which I'm sure the designer will get done quickly.

A proper transit, is nothing like a connect.

Just needs reprogrammed, but you'll need to go visit a dealer (or at least somebody with the genuine Ford diagnostic kit).

If a fox wants your hens, they’ll get them.

Foxes will quite happily scale a netting fence, or jump your typical electric fence netting. They’ll also manage to squeeze through very small gaps/holes, even holes that the hens can’t get through.
My parents have only stopped having fox issues since running a solitary electrified wire just above the existing 5ft net fencing. The fox will climb the fence, but as soon as they put their paws over the electric wire, they get kicked back of.

Other technique that apparently works is a single wire mounted about 6″ above ground level in long grass. The foxes nose hits the wire as they’re moving in, and because they can’t see it, they’ll give up and move away again.

As for feeders, if you’ve got room, use a feeder suspended from a wire (wire is less grippy than string/rope for mice to try scaling). That way feeding is kept up of the ground, out of the reach of vermin.

AA or RAC if you want a consistent level of service, and trained patrols who’ll actually attempt roadside repairs (patrols don’t get as much bonus for having to recover vehicles, so it’s in their interest to repair)

All the others use local contractors, so level/quality of service varies greatly.

I’ve got a thing for straight 6s.

Straight 6 DB7’s just sound sweet from idle right through to flat out. Maybe not as quick as the V8s/12s, but they just sound perfect.

Although, I also like the sound of a nice 6 cylinder lorry just plodding along on full power.