The Dispatch | Expert | Scudo Hub

Having the 2.0 HDI lump too I'd be interested to know just in case.
As for the cause not sure, but had the larger intercooler pipe come off on my galaxy a couple of times
and that was very loud and sounded a bit like a bad exhaust leak with the typical loss of power
but fortunately on the Galaxy it was easy enough to access and rectify.

A hissing sound would make me suspect a smaller pipe, maybe one from the vac pump to actuator perhaps
or one in the manifold area, possibly a split/leak on the larger pipe work causing loss of pressure?
The snag is as you've already pointed out, is it's all stuffed between the engine and bulkhead
so good luck with that.
A torch and phone cam may help you take a peek.

For a moment I thought Longniddry Bents was a euphemism until I realised it was a real place   

North Berwick I know because of a family connection and knew there was a town called Longniddry
but the bents was unknown to me and caused a snigger or two.

Oh I dunno
Dogging comes to mind
I hear some folk are very keen on that sort of thing

Are they of much plenty cheapness?

5.2 l/100Km is 54mpg
That sounds pretty good to me if your kilometer reading can be relied on.

Without knowing the age mileage and history, its hard to say if they're prone to head gasket failures or not
I've not heard of it, maybe like a lot of vans they're more prone to neglect and abuse by
non owning drivers?

In your case as you've already got the lump out, I'd check and skim the head and give it a good inspection all
round before refitting as you at least know some of its history.

I did a 600 ish mile trip this weekend mostly on motorways and noticed my 2006 Expert speedo
consistently read 2mph higher than my sat nav

RH sliding door sealed up
deflectors fitted to doors
and partition done
Its so much quieter to drive now
Daily driving about the town it's very nice but it was at motorway speeds it got really unpleasant so I took it on my 'private test track' at speeds up to 90 and it was so much nicer to drive.
At 70 its not much different than my old Galaxy
that'll do me
Hopefully that's the last of the bigger jobs done and I can do all the tarting and tittivating and gadgets as and when

The roof rack has been disassembled and is now stowed up under the rh side roof/wall
and the fittings serviced and boxed up for when/if I need it.

I'd be careful about sticking your finger in a hole where it may get trapped in gears.
I'd lift the nearest wheel and use a mirror/torch sort of thing to see if the gear turns whilst the wheel is
being turned.
I'm still not convinced the sender drive shaft is supposed to be friction driven.
Never seen that and even if it was true it would prone to all sorts of potential errors and faults.

Magnetic induction/hall effect probably
yeah, but no, I dont buy that.
Possible, but my moneys on PSA using a cheap, tried and tested device
they have warehouses full of that eventually fell apart after 20 years of use
Why go to the cost of developing a unique, more costly and complex device?

I know this is a massive ballache for you
having what should be a simple job made such a PITA

But I'm still wondering what drives/drove the pulser?
your shaft has no inner plastic looking insert as per my previous pic and your sender doesn't seem to have a square drive
so how did it work?

I'll hazard some guesses:
The insert broke away and is stuck inside the pulser thereby concealing it
or bits fell off as it was removed?
You may need a new shaft as well if this the case but I'd rebuild it with epoxy
cos I'm a cheap bastard and hate to spend when I can fix it myself

It may be my imagination but there seems to be an echo of a square in the pic of the end your shaft
is that original material or gunk stuck in there?
try picking it out and see what you find