New discs & pads all round this weekend and greased the UJ & shaft nipples. Couldn't find a nipple on the front shaft for the life of me! Took it out to bed in the brakes and the wobble seems to have largely gone...not getting overly excited yet as I've not been for a proper drive yet, but...

Found the page in the manual, no idea how I didn't spot it before. Happy I know its nothing to worry about! Full size here

Best photo I have at the moment, wheel nuts are pretty big so could well be 22mm, will check when I get chance.

Straps were OK, buts nuts at each were rusting nicely!

Cool, grease ordered. Machine mart down the road has a 3 way grease gun.

More great info thanks! I have a can on Lithium grease thats already stopped one of the doors squeaking, Halfords | 3-IN-ONE Professional White Lithium Grease 400ml is this good enough? EDIT: Thinking about it a suspect you mean more like this stuff...

One thing I missed when I was first looking at it (or it didn't do it) was this funny orange 'laser' symbol on the dash when starting. Starts fine(even when warm) and goes away once started. Can't see it in the manuals anywhere though. Full image here...

Thanks for the feedback. Are you saying to avoid those discs/pads? Can you point me towards ones that you would recommend? Checked the carpet when I first viewed it, seems nice and dry with no stains. "grease U/J's & Prop shaft", do you mean to apply a good amount of grease to the joints of...

Ah, good tip! The straps don't seem to be under much tension, I though they were a kind of failsafe...will look at them closely!

So I've taken the plunge and acquired a 1998 2.5 DSE, plenty of jobs to do on it but the important safety ones are getting the brakes & tyres sorted. Brakes, looking at getting front & rear disc/pad sets from Island 4x4, britpart discs & mintex pads. Do these sound OK? Tyres, the front ones...

Well I took the plunge! Got it home without it exploding or falling apart. Didn't get close to 90mph though, the wobbling was far to pronounced at 70 to go any quicker. Its already costing me money! Got stuck in the wrong lane at the Dartford crossing so didn't get any change. Not noticed any...

Any good points? :) I'm well aware of the potential disaster area I'm getting into, however I want a project car and something more interesting...of course when I'm back here cursing it I reserve the right to contradict myself

I'll take you up on the airbag guide please. It was slow going back up after I lowered the suspension so I suspect there may be a leak at the rear (front bags looked pretty new)

That's reassuring, not a nightmare by any means. I should just clarify that its the whole body that wobble, not through the steering. In fact the steering felt pretty much sorted.

Thanks for the response! Prepared (in fact looking forward to) doing some DIY so gearbox oil etc no problem (yes it is an auto). Are any of the bushes/swivels etc particularly hard to do or expensive?

Looked at a diesel '98 P38 today, generally in pretty good condition given its age (done 120K miles). Just wanted to check 2 things before taking the plunge, 1) After the test drive the engine bay seemed very hot, very hot air being blasted around by the fan. The temp gauge went up from...

Cheers, yup that's my thinking, plenty more fish in the sea.

If the corrosion had been limited to just easily replaceable areas I'd not have been worried, ie the lower tailgate, but rust around the strap hanger had spread into the body itself and the doors as well. Combine that with the other items, gaps in the history and lots of owners and it felt like...

Well I took a look at it... Not too bad, but not going part with my money, Turns out it actually had 7 previous keepers! Bubbling on the inside edge of 2 doors (at the very bottom) Corrosion on the very lower edge of the boot (under the black plastic flap) Air bags looking tired and I think...

Thanks for the offer about your P38...Jersey is a bit far for a test drive though (I'm in Kent)