Harald Hansen

I'm a bit embarassed to admit that the problem was air in the cooling system. After I bled it as per the workshop manual everything was fine. But I have no idea how the air came in or the coolant escaped. There are no signs of any leaks, nor any water in the oil or excessive smoke from the exhaust. I had a useful Sunday in a rented, heated garage anyways. I managed to fix the fuel burning heater as well, and used the rest of my time to sort out small faults on the car.

Oh, excellent info, thanks! I'll run out later and have a go!

Thanks, Gordon! I had a look, but it seems to me that blend motors usually stop when they fail, not open and close at random? Maybe they're just having a difficult time opening, hence the long period with cold air, and an easier time of it closing, hence the short period with warm air? I'll have a look with the Hawkeye box to see if I can run them manually and read out their position. Any other suggestions?

The winter has arrived here up north, and of course the Disco heater decided to act up. I can't really make heads or tails of the symptoms, though, and hope the forum have some ideas: Mostly just cold air comes out of the vents, but from time to time a blast of heated air comes on for a minute or two. I've put the temperature control to "HI", which I believe to mean "output heated air no matter what the temperature is". No specific temperature give me much warm air anyway. The engine temp stays rock solid throughout. But still cold air for most of the time. What could cause this? Other things that probably does not have any bearing on this, but I include them just in case: The fan is on the way out, and sometimes needs a small knock on the casing to start. Once started it keeps going, though. The Webasto fuel heater has given up the ghost, but as far as I can tell that should not impinge on the rest of the system. The lights for the lower HVAC control panel have gone out. I've rented a heated space for Sunday to look into this. Mucking about outside in -21C does not appeal to me...

I'll try to remember and update in a while. I'm keeping an eye on my mileage anyway, as it has been in the 14-15 l/100 km range for a while now. For the record, the breathing for this engine is completely stock. No aftermarket filters, no raised air intake or anything like that.

Thanks for the feedback, Ally. On that note, I cleaned the AFM out with both brake and electronics cleaner, and left it overnight to dry out. I got a new set of numbers this morning: RPM______New airflow _800_______~64 1500______~150 2000______~220 3000______~420 So quite a bit higher. I had a test drive, but it was difficult to tell if it translated into increased power, but I'll keep an eye on the MPGs the next weeks.

I've got a Hawkeye diagnostics tool for the Td5, and as the old girl is a bit tired, I had a look at the numbers for the MAF to see if maybe the meter needed replacing (2000 Disco Td5). I took a few readings from a mate's Disco (same year and engine) for comparison: RPM______My airflow___Mate's airflow ___0_________4.4____________4.4 _800_______~42____________~55 1500______~100___________~120 2000______~140___________~170 3000______~280___________~310 4000______~500_______________ Most of the numbers are approximate. The fault log had a "3030 Air flow high" error stored. I tried to get Google to find me some numbers to compare with, but came up empty handed. Any ideas if these numbers are within normal range?

The H1 will be in military service a few decades more, but I guess the civvy owners will find it hard to source parts after a while? H1 parts, that is, because the H2 and H3 have quite a few bits and pieces in common with other GM vehicles.

Here in Norway, tractor supply houses have a decent selection of heater cores and complete auxilliary heaters. If you fit an extra heater that draws it's air from inside the cabin, increased fogging of windows can occur. Consider use of external air. Another factor that is often overlooked is that warm, humid air should have a route to escape. Usually in cars this is through a one-way flap arrangment hidden in the back somewhere. If you get a lot of fogging, consider putting in an opening of some kind in the rear. If you crack a rear window (if you have sliding rear windows in your 110), you can see if the increased through ventilation helps to clear the mist off the windows before you take a saw to the bodywork.

I haven't heard of Echo either, but it seems to me like generally you get what you pay for in the roof tent business. I'm partial to the Autohome/Maggiolina "shell" type roof tents. They are easier to handle, especially when packing up, and even more so when wet.

I had a D5W in my Series III 109" diesel, and relocated the battery to fit the heater in the engine bay. Mine was out of a Patrol, but it was an after-market part, so the wiring loom and controls were easy to transplant. It seems there are a lot of fuel heaters on German eBay.

I had a similar problem on my Disco 2, and would advice you to pop the door liner and make a permanent repair, because the next time it will fail is when you've packed three weeks worth of luggage in the rear and have to catch a plane. Guess how I know... :/

My parts pusher, normally a knowledgable bloke, explained to me that the "twisted" roller bearing on the reverse idler gear is out of production and has been impossible to obtain the last couple of years. All he could offer me was a new reverse idler gear with a straight roller bearing, which means that my gearbox will still jump out of reverse under load after I've reassembled it. Does anyone know of a source for the "twisted" bearing (or got one kicking around somewhere)?

Can't they tailor a chassis for you? Too expensive?

This engine (Toyta V8 1UZFE) is also a nice bit of kit, and somewhat more available. No Rover genes, tough...