Peaklander

@landroversforeverthey are only for sitting as we have a big bedroom upstairs 😄 The 100mm is an upgrade from the first ones and they are great. The seat bases are 400mm deep which is 250mm past the original wheel boxes. The cloth on them is to stop the bases slipping off when travelling Thanks @Badger110

Not speaking for FF here 🥷 - ours are 100mm foam with square corners. It was ordered from gbfoamdirect.co.uk, cut to size then the covers were made to fit, zips and all. If our Alucab roof is down I can just sit with my head scraping the ceiling of the bed above.

How did you know - wouldn't start I presume? I used to remove the rotor arm on my S3 88" and was teased about it by a mate who then had his 110 TD5 stolen followed by another a few months later. I'd put it down to a prank - someone trying to annoy you maybe? Have you upset anyone near where you parked?

I recently removed the Transfer Box using a trolley jack but needed a crane to lift it back. I just couldn't do it from the floor and I think it was because the vehicle was too low and I was in a bad position. Next time I will get the wheels up on stilts. I'm sure a proper jack / scissor would be better. I also had some long shank bolts screwed in - that certainly helped with the sliding.

I want to hold a spare regulator pack for my alternator and brushes and solenoid contacts for my starter motor. This is so that I can carry them on our trips. I have had a regulator pack fail before and was very lucky to be in a town in mid-Spain where I could source one. However I now have a Hella 100A alternator YLE10113G with CA1337CF 140432170918 on the labels but I can't find the regulator pack. My starter motor is, I think (the original) ERR5009 (0 001 218 168), so one day soon the brushes will fail or the solenoid will burn out. I have looked for a solenoid repair kit but the 'hits' all seem to be for TD5 motors. Are they the same? As I say, the reason for doing this is to save time, especially when we are away. I may find I have a missing tool but to have the spare part would help if I got to a repair place. Can anyone help? Honestly I'm going around in circles.

The fabric came from a well known textile company called Shufflebothams in Macclesfield. They have thousands of rolls. That material was the last 6m on the roll and is very 1970s but we loved it the moment we saw it. The owner said that it came from a mill that he had 'cleared' and would have been the 'leader cloth'. So it was a test print onto cloth but only for a run to check the print before being used for paper printing.

Used to braze stuff that was too flaky for real welding - that was a lot of my Fiat 850 coupé

Here’s our cushions and seat bases. This is the second version, the first were old curtains!

Nothing has changed in that regard Ralph. If anything, the pivots are better lubricated. There’s five new rubber bits. The seal and cover on the slave and master plus the extra smaller seal in the master. I was surprised at just how tight the covers are, the pushrods are restricted, even with some red grease. Maybe it will all ‘settle down’ with use.

Ok ta. I wonder if the standard spring providing the pedal return is just too strong. It doesn’t need to be so and thus the green one looks lighter and is, when in operation. Edit although that wouldn’t explain the 80% lighter than no spring. What makes the pedal so hard if there’s no spring to return it?

Hmm not sure. This is off the LOF site. It looks very similar to mine. Claim is 80% lighter than no spring and 45% lighter than the spring fitted to Pumas

Even more off topic ☺️...I wasn't in the RAF but did go to St Athan a lot in the 90s as we lived nearby. Our kids had swimming lessons there in the fantastic pool. I believe it was used as a warm-up / training pool when the Empire pool in Cardiff was hosting a major tournament.

Thanks @Anderzander. I have made another short journey today. No creak, no judder going forward, just a slight one reversing up the drive. Not sure why. The change though is that the pedal is definitely harder. This can only be caused by the resealing of the master and slave. Maybe it will ease a bit - I hope so. I have never thought of it as heavy until now. This is my spring, I think it's the standard pedal return and not the solution providing a light foot. Perhaps I should investigate the better spring.

I have 'linked' to their Master. They also do the Slave which is what is being discussed. I am only skim reading but they say don't fit them as a pair?? *Cannot be fitted in conjunction with the LOF POWER Slave cylinder* *

Hi @Arjan, I have just looked at it here https://lofclutches.com/shop/td5/lof-power-master-for-defender-series/ Having just re-sealed my 'normal' cylinder, I'm interested to read about this one.

I learnt to drive and passed my test in my mother’s 850 in 1976. It seemed a long way from 2nd to 3rd and during that gear change, driving with one hand on the wheel for a second or two was difficult in my first drives. Later that year we realised that the tax had run out months earlier. 🤷🏻‍♂️

That's a scary sized dog if those paw prints are anything to go by.

@Mo Murphy are you referring to the actual chassis mounts, that receive the engine rubber mount and would be bolted to the chassis rail, rather than welded? Have you a pic? The difficult stud on the rubber mount has nut #7 in this diagram from LR Workshop (here)

@cackshifter, I keep a spreadsheet detailing all purchases and work done, although right at the start of this ownership in 2015 I probably missed a few items, including the belt. I have been with my Dad today; he's had a pacemaker fitted in Sheffield but I almost feel I need one myself after scanning the spending on that sheet. So I can't be sure but it was probably 2015 - so it's 7 years old and around 35K miles. I always carry a spare and even if I'm not carrying tools, I have a breaker bar and 15mm socket (as well as 27mm for the wheel nuts). So I can change the belt easily but obviously catching it before breaking is ideal. @Mo Murphy what is the bolt spec that you've used? i think this would be a good mod, even before the next time it's needed.

I think that's a better idea and Mike at Brit said the same to me. However I didn't have suitable bolts and as I said in the post earlier, I couldn't remove one of the studs anyway. It's a bit of a soft excuse I know but I didn't want any dramas at this stage. With the rhs bracket removed and the stud at the lhs out and a squirt of silicone spray, it slid back easily. Edit: but next time: yes that is the way to do it I think

On the ferry to Dublin a few years ago, we were swamped by Minis going to their annual meet - that year in Westport. They were everywhere and turned up on the first night in the middle of Ireland where we were all overnighting. Four blokes got out of the yellow one - from Zagreb I think.

New front prop fitted this morning and then I made a few more checks before driving just a few miles into the back roads here to change gear a few times. It all feels and sounds fine. The judder has gone and so has the creak! The clutch feels just a little heavier which I think is either the new seals in the hydraulics or a slightly different pedal position. Not sure about the latter as when I refitted the master cylinder, I set the rod to the instructions in the workshop manual. Lessons learnt: I think the judder was the release bearing not sliding smoothly along the splines and the creak was definitely the pivot in the fork. I should have used more grease in both places when I fitted the new clutch at chassis change time in 2018. Also, removing the engine is very straightforward except the mounts. Next time (?) I will disconnect the mounting bracket at both sides (six bolts each). It would be far better doing this (on both sides) than lifting the lump up and over, for the studs to clear, whilst trying to engage the gearbox shaft.

I second that - he got me a door loom / connector for a Honda CRV. Saved a lot of work and expense to find one .

The last job? I hope so. I pulled myself out from underneath this morning by pulling on the front prop and found that the rear UJ joint was slightly loose at the flange. I only recently removed them and greased the UJs - about 560 miles ago in fact. So I removed it and there was indeed a slight movement in the flange. I carry a spare so confidently removed it and replaced. The fixed half was fine but the first bearing cap to go in the flange was loose. It just tapped through, past the circlip groove. So I assume the hole has some wear. I thought there might be a flange available but couldn't verify a part number so have assumed the rest will be wearing too and am replacing. I think this prop might be the original. I hope to go for a drive tomorrow to check the clutch, if I can stop finding other maintenance items.

On refitting the serpentine belt I had a close look at it. Normally I lean over the front and glance down and give it a quick once over. Even though it's very easy to remove it, I haven't but this time I gave it a proper inspection. As I looked at the smooth side I saw a mark so turned it over and looked at the corresponding ribs. It was only when I squeezed that I saw the split. This is further learning for me as I get through the jobs.