[ilmiont]

Thanks all, it was frustrating, but rewarding too. Went out for an hour today, mostly to give the battery a chance to recover. Much smoother when on and off the throttle but some of the clunks persist. I still need to get that right-hand side mount in and the top and bottom mounts should probably be done too, although they look like a much trickier job and not something I want to attempt myself yet.

Thanks for all the suggestions re. the sump plug, but regrettably I have neither the time or tools to pursue them this week. In my current situation I've decided it's best to call tomorrow morning and try and get her booked into local specialist this week so they can undo their handiwork, drain and change the oil with my supplies, and fit a new drainplug so I can stand a chance of doing the next change myself. I'm simply not going to have time this week to attempt anything myself and it will probably be quicker overall to take her there, give it 30 minutes to drain, and come home again.

Re. vacuum extraction - personally it doesn't appeal to me, I just like to do things by the book and I'd worry it wasn't really grabbing everything. In an engine where the only real weakness is sludge problems, I'd rather not take the chance. Anyway I intend to get the sump plug situation resolved then keep the new one in good health going forwards and replace when needed. As it should be only me touching the sump from then on, probably changing oil every six months, it shouldn't have a chance to get neglected again.

All I've done today is a PCV glove test which I've had in mind for weeks, to put my mind at rest about the state of that system. It exhibited what I think to be a good pass - strong suction from idle, with the glove flattening out against the grate in the filling neck. So nothing to worry about there for the moment hopefully.