Cranberry

Tanuki - thanks for that explanation re the welding - I got the feeling that the garage wasn't keen, but were offering me a cheap, if short-term way out of the problem. The Turner engine looks tempting, but it will be the same price as the LR unit, and has the disadvantage that I can't get it through my garage, and having a single point of contact if things go wrong might save trouble in the long term. So, I've decided to go for the LR re-manufactured engine. Not cheap, and I really could do with not having to splash that amount of cash, but I love my 110, and couldn't imagine not having it.

I've just been informed that the engine in my 110 has a problem greater than just a replacement cylinder head. Apparently there has been a crack in the cylinder head leaking coolant and this has damaged the top of the lower part of the engine. I've been told that they can remove the corrosion from the lower block, weld some metal onto it and then skim it. Doing this would not be a guaranteed fix. Cost €3000+ The other option was to fit a Land Rover re-manufactured engine. Cost €6000. What other options do I have, and what are the risks and costs ? I guess I can get a 2nd hand engine from somewhere, but without any sort of guarantee of it being OK, and I could end up back to square one within a year or two. Are Turners engines as good as/better than a LR replacement ? Is there another company offering reconditioned engines/2nd hand engines ? Basically, I could do with some sage advice from people who have been in the not overly nice position I am in now, as to where I can go from here, and how much it's going to hurt.

If you think finding Land Rovers on another planet is special, check out the end of Ice Cold In Alex - they can even move back in time. :-)

Here in Holland, and I am fairly certain in Germany the policy is for the car so once it is insured anyone can drive it = most handy.

Shant - I'm in The Hague, not sure of the Landy breakers that you are referring to, but I know that there is one up in Ter Horst. If you need an extra pair of hands/a bit of help/a sympathetic ear and a pint get in touch. EDIT: there is a nice list of Land Rover businesses on the LRCH website here EDIT2: This is the place I was thinking about RangeRoverRecycling.nl

How I Learned To Love Wheel Chocks By Cranberry, aged 38 1/2 Many moons ago I had a SIIa as my first car, and I loved it. We went greenlaning one day, and on the way there got separated from the other vehicle. I stopped on a steep bit of country road and waited for the others to catch up with us. Eventually got fed up, and went to set off. *STALL*. Tried again. *STALL* - Herman did _NOT_ want to move. I'd been working on the handbrake recently, trying to get it to be a bit more effective. I put Herman in gear ( No, really I *did* ). Took out the panel between the front seats, and could see that the handbrake linkage was stuck. So leaning in from the passenger side, I applied Land Rover Special Tool #1 to the problem. Ping went the linkage, releasing the handbrake Hmmm went Cranberry, thankful at solving the problem Pop went the gearstick, jumping into neutral Weeeeeee* went Cranberry freewheeling down a steep hill half in and half out of the passenger side of a Landy. I learned two things that day: 1 No matter how hard you try, you can't stop a Land Rover rolling down a 1 in 4 hill by holding onto the back door. 2 Wheel chocks can be a very good idea. Herman hit a tree and stoved in his front wing, mashed a spring and bent the chassis. I used some very intemperate language when describing the tree's parentage. Then I saw what was on the other side of it - a 30 foot drop down to a stream, and quietly thanked the tree for putting itself in the way. * Actually it could have been "Arrgggggggggggg"

It is an easy job - just don't get cheap hinges. I did and spent a few months thinking that my door was knackered. When I finally fitted a good quality hinge the problem went away immediately.

It could be that the nut securing the main light switch has worked loose - remove the bottom cover from the steering column ( only a few screws ) and check.

spray brake cleaner into the loom at the engine end every so often and it'll help the oil make it's way along towards the ECU. I wrapped paper towel around the red plug in order to soak the oil up.

Elite Automotive also do Defender kits - http://www.eliteautomotive.co.uk/html/TD5LH.html - anyone tried them?

Not in the 2 years I have owned mine - would guess that it wasn't correctly tightened to start off with?

The certificate of conformity shouldn't be that expensive ( I seem to recall that I got mine sent to a UK address though ). As for the Headlights - yes, it is that easy - swap the lenses and away you go. You might need to check the fog light position if taking a UK vehicle -> France ( I only have experience of crossing the channel in the other direction, but needed a fog light on the driver's side before it would pass the MOT ).

Welcome. Defenders do take a bit of getting used to if you've previously driven cars. However I wouldn't swap mine for anything else. The 90 is more manoeuvrable than the 110, but suffers, in my estimation, from a lack of space. A 110 is slightly harder to park, but gives you far more usable space. People will tell you to steer away from the TD5, because it has electrics, but they are fine, and more refined motors than the 200/300 series. They can suffer from oil in their wiring loom - this is easily and cheaply fixed. You can tell this problem if there is oil in the connector to the ECU ( under the driver's seat for RHD models ).

As Western says - a van will be 185 a year.

What sort of 110 is it - CSW / Van?

Same for me, though my garage fitted it anyway, then wondered why there was an extra hole in the bottom of the new tank that wasn't connected to anything. Whenever I have talked to Safari Equip on the phone ( and that was many more times that I should have needed to ) they have always been friendly and polite, but I got the impression that a drinking session in a brewery would be a tricky thing for them to organise.

Had the same last year - water disappearing, and no obvious sign ( except the heater stopped putting out hot air ). Turned out to be a small leak in the radiator .

Where did you get that from / is there a hi-res version available ?

A bit of duct tape will see that right as rain.

There's lots of info on importing a vehicle here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/ImportingAndExportingAVehicle/index.htm You will need to carry out the following modifications ( as well as making sure that the wheels fit within the wheelarches ): 1. Fit a speedo that is calibrated in MPH 2. Replace the headlight lenses with UK spec ones 3. Fit an extra foglight on the right rear. After that you can get an MOT and then register the vehicle.

Thanks for that - I'll try to make sense of it in the morning when there is a little bit less red wine kicking around.

I have fitted an Iron Goat dash to my Defender, and I am looking to replace the original rear wash/wipe switch with a Carling mom-off-mom switch. It is easy to wire up so that both the wash and wipe functions work, but I can't work out how to get the rear wiper to automatically park itself. Can anyone give me an explanation of how I have to wire things up to work properly?

Right - to clarify, as I should have done in the first post - I currently have allegedly convex glass in standard defender mirror heads - the glass I bought from Scorpion Racing and it is *slightly* better than the standard glass, but not that good. I have a LHD vehicle, and spend most of my time in Holland, but return several times a year to the UK - in both places my mirrors are decidedly lacking in terms of showing me what is to the side/rear of the vehicle. When driving in the UK I have a particular problem turning left or entering certain roundabouts - taking up the normal road position means I simply can't see what is coming. I suppose I am looking for additional convex mirrors to mount above/below the current ones - ideally something that could be mounted on the current mirror arms.

I did pick up a pair of little mirrors from Halfords a while back - they help a bit, but I was looking for something bigger and better - my 110 is a hard top and LHD, so could do with all the help that I can get.

Can anyone suggest a good pair of blind spot mirrors for a 110 hard top - something that will remove the element of chance from leaving slip roads and overtaking?