Retroanaconda

Starting price is to be ‘around £45k’ so about the same as the bottom of the Defender range. It definitely won’t be competing with the cheap pickup market, more in line with the posher versions, but they’re really pushing the durability and reliability angle as being worth the extra cash.

Will you be over 30m2 in internal floor space? If so then you need building regs and will likely need the base signed off by an engineer - particularly given your clay soil - and so you’re probably best to seek advice from one first. They may want strip foundations depending on the building construction and site conditions. With the way building material prices are at the moment though I would be holding off on any non-essential projects as you’ll pay 25-30% more for it all than normal

Fairly common as it’s where the internal leaks from windscreen or vent seals end up, and the lapped panels are not seam sealed at that point.

Gibsons Autos in Cumnock are quite highly rated by all accounts, and not far from Glasgow. A small hole isn’t an issue to fix, the problem is more that a small hole is almost inevitably the tip of a rather nasty iceberg.

I think a digital dash is better too - the one in the 110 is fantastic and can be configured to a variety of different layouts depending on preference. They are more adaptable and infinitely updatable, and people like them, so I’m not surprised it’s got one - though I still think it’s daft not having it in front of the driver. My point - somewhat tongue in cheek - was more that they have made a big song and dance over de-computerising it as much as possible, including boasting in the video about the manually adjustable seats, and then somehow forgotten about that completely when it comes to the dash display, instead putting in the very essence of ‘unnecessary technology’ that people have been complaining about.

I think that’s maybe a slot for a phone or something? Far too small for a meaningful binnacle with dials etc. After all the crowing about unnecessary computers and screens and then they don’t even give you a proper speedo and gauges? The dashboard aside, it looks fairly good and does seem to have been designed with some practicality in mind. As above it would have been nice to see some of the rest of the interior, proper details of loadspace etc. but hopefully that will come in time.

Where are the dials/gauges? Surely not on the touchscreen?

It looks alright, the switches are a bit ‘faux flight deck’ but I guess that’s a styling thing.

I’ve never had a puncture, but I’ve needed the spare a few times. Once when off road some dirt or debris got into the bead and started letting the tyre down slowly, and once when a set of wheel nuts came loose and damaged the wheel. I personally wouldn’t go without one, but on balance of risk I can see why for many folk who only ever drive on normal roads in easy/quick reach of breakdown services it’s not required.

Ok, thanks folks. If some of the painting process needs to happen first then I’ll have to speak to the guy doing the painting and see what his thoughts on it are.

My comparison of durability and longevity was between road tyres and ATs, apologies that wasn’t particularly clear. My experience is with the three sets of BFG ATs (both old and new style) that I’ve worn out, and I’ve found no discernible impact to noise and MPG compared to the road tyres I’ve also used (Continental Cross-contact and Michelin XPC/Latitude Cross) but off-road grip is definitely improved. This is on a 200Tdi 90 - of course the results may be different on other vehicles, particularly in terms of noise.

I look at it from the opposite direction - decent ATs give no negative impact to noise or MPG deficiency over road tyres and so for me it’s a choice of them or MTs. While I agree the grip performance of ATs over road tyres is less of an improvement than say MTs compared to ATs, for me it’s more about durability and longevity of the tyre and this is far better in an AT.

Clamped to a known true surface on a lathe, high point marked and then the flywheel dismounted and remounted 180 degrees round and the high point still observed to be where previously marked.

Thanks all - looks like the Sika 252 is a good option so I’ll get some of that and see how I get on.

Turns out the flywheel was out of true by 6 thou - now nice and flat and ready to go back on

Morning all, Will be starting work on preparing the galvanised bulkhead for painting this weekend. As part of the pre-galvanising preparation I had to remove all the seal sealer and I would like to reapply, but am unsure what stage in the process it is best to do this. My assumption at the moment is: 1 - clean and degrease 2 - t-wash 3 - seam sealer 4 - etch primer and paint Any recommendations for seam sealer itself? There seem to be brushable types and ones applied with a skeleton gun.

Worth taking the rocker cover off to make sure the rockers themselves are all moving as they should, and check that you haven’t got a broken rocker shaft or slipped timing etc.

Yep I just p-clipped mine to the top of the chassis rail with tek-screws. In a conduit if you wish, but the Td5 loom already has a protective sleeve and it’s pretty well protected on the top.

Surely as they're not buried up to the door sills in a quarry mud hole or fitted with a cherry picker, they can’t possibly be ‘being used properly’? The 130 looks a good option for those needing the extra space. The third row seating on the 110 is not very generous at all and only really of use for small children or short journeys.

You can’t mix UNF and metric threads - you need the correct ones. The steel wheels will rust anyway where the nuts destroy the paint as they’re done up - there’s no way to avoid this, so I would just use normal wheel nuts. However the Wrington link above would be the solution if you’re really keen.

I am sure that he has solved the issue in the intervening 13 years.

It was the foamy stuff I was trying yes. I’ll mask up the back of the engine properly to keep it off everything else and then give it a proper dose to see what happens. I’m not particularly keen to use any kind of abrasive on the sealing surface if I can avoid it. I know in theory a very fine wet and dry could be used with some oil to polish it but that comes with a risk of ballsing it up, so if I can avoid that I will!

It would seem after further research that it’s residue from oil that’s built up over time. Some oven cleaner has had a small impact on it, so that may be an option to remove it - with a lot of effort. Is it safe to use a brass wire brush on the crankshaft surface?

Puzzled by this one. The surface of the journal on the back of my 200Tdi’s crankshaft has some kind of substance on it, aft of where the seal runs. It’s fairly hard - I managed to scrap a few high points (almost like paint drips) off with my fingernail but the rest of it won’t budge. I am really not keen to use any kind of metal scraper on this sealing surface lest I damage it. I’ve noticed there’s more of what looks like the same stuff inside the flywheel housing. Any thoughts on what it could be and how I can get it off?

The system changed from the rod-operated* expander mechanism to the above cable-operated mechanism around the introduction of the 300Tdi. * there’s still a cable, it just connects to a bracket on the box which transfers the movement to the rod.