In reply to all:
Thanks ladies and gents. All comments of course taken with a pinch of salt, and thoroughly disclaimed
I think I'm going to head to work with it tomorrow, drive like a grandad, only turn right
and see how it goes. I just called our mechanic neighbour who's going to be home tomorrow and take a look at it, so hopefully he can confirm it, get the parts ordered, and have it fixed by the end of the week. I'm certainly not planning on just driving round till it explodes on me!
Thanks for the advice!