geoffbeaumont

We're all busy working on our trucks

Cheers - he just says on the YORC site that the engine came out of his old Range Rover. Shame my 3.9 is in bits in my garage...

It's still somewhere to start from... If anyone has this data I'd be very interested too, since I'm (finally) about to start installing the Megasquirt'n'EDIS in the Range Rover. Is anyone in touch with Dave White from the Yorkshire Off Road Club? He's Megasquirt'n'EDISed his 100" Defender, so must have fuel and ignition maps for it. Don't know what size engine he runs.

Very likely...you'd probably pull whatever it's stuck to apart before the grip fill gave in!

Final drive is different between what? LT77 and R380? LT230 and BW? If it's the latter might swing the descision in favour of a new BW... Ashcrofts don't say anything about whining LT77/LT230s, and only about specific sticking problems with the gearchange - I'd guess this one's fine, maybe just needs an oil change or even is perfectly normal for an LT77. I've never driven one, so I've nothing to compare it against. Come to that I haven't driven this one yet, either... Lower tailgate looked okay - could do with tidying up. Amazingly it's still got an intact strip between the boot floor and tailgate, so I haven't had a look at the inner corners yet. Upper tailgate is usable and shuts pretty well, but it's rusty so not sure whether that'll be worth much. The bonnet has some rust on the inside, but the outside is immaculate - the one on Gemima needs attention so it'll be painted and swopped with that, then I'll tidy up my old one and sell it. Won't make quite as much, but I'll get a better bonnet out of it. I'll sell the LT77 - possibly the LT230 depending how much I make from the other bits. If I make enough I might sell it and refurb the BW. Jonathan's got his eye on the engine and one of the diffs, if he manages to scrounge his sisters knackered rangie. I owe him a few favours so I wouldn't make anything from them, although I guess he'd swop it over to the hotwire EFI from the existing engine, so I'd have a few bits to sell. He was eyeing up the interior as well, but I can't afford to give him all the good bits...

I wasn't saying it was a bad suggestion Might well get a tarp rather than a proper car cover - that should be a good bit cheaper, and more generally useful.

Well, she's here. Cypress green with manual transmission (wasn't expecting that - I really did buy this sight unseen...). Surprisingly tidy cosmetically for its age - wheels are a bit rough and there're a few bits of rust on the bullbars and so on, but from a distance she's pretty smart. Panels are in good nick. Pretty clean inside too - pretty basic spec, so no shag pile carpets sadly It's a grey interior anyway, so wrong colour (Gemima's beige). Engine runs very nicely although it smells a bit rich and the exhaust is blowing a bit. Underneath, however, is an object lesson in why waxoyl is a Good Thing I haven't found anywhere on the chassis that's actually holed yet, but it's all in a bit of a state. Inner sills are holed. Does the chassis actually have to be holed for an MOT failure? Apparently the 'trouble' that the previous owner had with the gearbox was that it whined a bit - Jonathan said it wasn't that noisy, but the gearchange was a bit stiff. Does that sound normal for an LT77? Is the transfer box on the manual exactly the same as on the auto? I'll have a proper look over it on Saturday, in daylight, but it doesn't look like a bad buy for the money

Which sharp edges would those be? I'm not planning on cutting it up...

That'd cost about as much as the truck did...

The front prop is sat on my workbench...has been since I worked out the BW was seized. I'd rather have another BW, but I could do with paying for the last few repairs first...I'll probably put the LT230 in for now but keep the BW for exchange/rebuild when I can afford it (and be bothered, depending how I get on with the manual unit). The plan is to strip off the bits I need plus the most profitable other bits then get rid of what's left of it. Unfortunately I'm not very well equipped for breaking trucks - I live in a suburban semi with an open plan garden, and I don't run to an engine hoist or any other heavy workshop tools, so I won't be able to properly dismantle the truck. I can't think of any way to get the engine out and I need to always leave it in a state that's safe with kids playing around it.

Spoken to the owner directly now - it's an 86/E, and he thinks it's got a manual transfer box (I'm guessing this vehicle hasn't seen a lot of mud....). Sounds like it'll definitely be an LT230, then. Aside from the rotten chassis, he says he had some (unspecified) trouble with the gearbox last summer, so that might not be any good. Get it tomorrow night, anyway, so we'll see how much of the rest of it is worth keeping.

Err...no...but I figure I can sell enough bits off it to at least break even, so it's a short term loss. Even better

It seems I may have a solution... Been offered a 3.5 V8 Rangie (1990, I think) which has just failed its MOT on chassis rot, but was being driven prior to this. It'll have a manual transfer box not a Borg Warner, but I suppose that might be a good thing from a longevity point of view ( I liked the BW). I haven't seen it, but it allegedly is otherwise in good order (take that as you will...) and as I could do with a few other bits off it and can doubtless flog some others I reckon for £200 I can't really lose...?

I'd have thought that's exactly why the pickup is well off the bottom?

Ditto the brake cleaner, at least as far as you hands go (doesn't seem to be too bad on plastics, but...). Not sure what's in it, my current can just says that it doesn't contain trichlorethylene....

Brake cleaner works pretty well (actually, seems to work pretty well on most things - aggressive stuff). Not sure who to credit that tip too - I got it from Robhybrid who got it from someone else on here

It didn't last...found the cause of it wandering all over the road...noticed when I swung it round on the gravel at work that it was scuffing its tyres, so I jacked it up when I got home. Yup, viscous coupling has seized up solid Taken the front propshaft off for now - it'll have to stay like that at least for the time being

Hmm, maybe. There are two basic ways to make money from a product - sell a few of them for a lot of money (high margin, low volume) or vice versa (low margin, high volume). Okay, three if you're a supermarket and can manage high margin and high volume... There are pros and cons to both, but with something that's very technical in nature such as this one of the big cons to a high volume approach is the very high cost of providing adequate support. Chances are garages send their mechanics on courses to learn how to use the kit (possibly included in the cost of the more upmarket options). You and I wouldn't be prepared to fork out for them, nor to attend on a weekday, but we'd still expect the manufacturer to help us when we got stuck...

You missed the risk of overinflating a bladder and popping it off a plunger... Fixable, but a pain in the proverbial. Plus the bang will make you jump a bit... The main reason I haven't tinkered with this even though it would be easy to do is that I really don't fancy persuading my insurers that it's a good idea... I also think it needs some kind of lockout so the suspension doesn't accidentally get adjusted on the road - say a switch on the hi-lo lever so you could only use it when in low range, or maybe just an activation key so you have to deliberately put the pots in the circuit.

I am so jealous That road's great fun in the summer, never mind with several inches of snow on it

I doubt Nige would let you, with your track record...

It's not the seats I'm after - I've got a nice set of leather ones already I'll bear that in mind if I get it a bit damp in there again. Maybe that should be when, taking Land Rover door seals into consideration... Newspaper underneath seams to be doing the trick - I reckon a few more days changing the paper every day so see it nice and dry under there again, so I won't hack it up this time.

Sorry...pet hate of mine It's amazing how many people don't clear the snow of their cars, isn't it - even up round Aberdeen, where they can hardly plead lack of winter driving experience...

Or just do what someone on this forum has suggested before and stick some variable resistors in series with the height sensors. Crude, but should be perfectly effective!

No fun if you brake with that on your roof...or for the guy behind when it blows off...