Mark - if they do take the pan off, get them to check the flange with a straight edge and make sure none of the bolt holes are tweaked. If they are, they can be flattened out with a couple of chunks of steel and a vice. Torque values for the bolts are in the 5HP service manual. You'll need a new gasket obviously, and I find Blue Hylomar helps seal them up nicely. Problem with doing it on the car is that two of the bolts at the back are obscured by the driver's side cat so its impossible to get a torque wrench on them. You have to get a feel for what the others are tightening to with the torque wrench and use a calibrated wrist on those two!

I don't suppose you have (or could have by Monday) breakdown cover that would "get you to your destination for that planned trip you had to Glasgow?

Yep, and even to get to those 2 buggers you need a very short tool bit to get on them - that'll be the 2 that were left loose by the last person to 'service' the gearbox on mine....

That's what I did, or at least that was my plan in case my car didn't make it to Glasgow.

I phoned the RAC and extended my cover the day before but I didn't need it as it turned out. Despite continual complaining and thumping from the box, it pulled into Makie's car park under its own steam.

Thanks MJ, that's very helpful info. I shall let them know :)

Thank you all so much for your thoughts, it's very reassuring knowing others have been there before! Hopefully Monday will reveal much more, he's coming in the afternoon now and I'm keeping all my fingers and all my toes crossed. It makes walking really difficult! And walking is what I am doing a lot of, at least for now.

I don't really want to mess about with it until we have a scan. I have never actually tried the car is S or tried the tiptronic as it happens?

I do have super dooper breakdown cover so that should be okay, if it comes to it. I am aware of David, I think he's in Crawley? However in all honesty I don't want to move it an inch under it's own steam like that. I'm still not assuming the worst but I can't pretend it's at the back of my mind.

Assuming it's not a total box rebuilt, are the other jobs something a half competent mechanic should be able to do? It will be going to Devon later in the year for some real D2 love and this car deserves that.

I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed a car so much and I've had a few! And I've clearly been lucky with gearboxes in the last 30 years!

Just a thought I've had, about a week ago I was on the Cowes chain ferry (don't ask!) and getting off I had a dreaded scrape on the bottom of the car (won't be going on there again).

Without this being a straw grasping exercise, might a knock underneath knocked the sump and lost fluid??

Unlikely - there's a couple of sacrificial alloy plates under the middle of the car to prevent you doing any major damage to the important bits.

David is indeed in Crawley - there's a thread under recommendations +++

Given how small IoW is (I was born there!) I wouldn't be too worried about getting to the mainland with the car in limp mode, then pull out of the ferry terminal and ring breakdown folk to do the rest of the journey....

Thanks Adrian, I'll see what the scan throws up tomorrow afternoon. Obviously I am hoping for the best!

Where was you born?! Are you a proper islander??

Born in the one and only maternity unit at the time, in Newport. Lived in Cowes until I was 5 and we moved to the South West. My parents moved to IoW quite a while before I was born and my dad ran the HGV testing station on the island, which isn’t there any more

Born with diesel fumes in the nostrils!