David Sparkes

Central. Turn the shaft fully clockwise until it stops. Put aligning marks on the column and the shaft to show the end of travel. Turn the shaft fully anticlockwise until it stops, counting the number of times the mark on the shaft passes the mark on the column. When the shaft stops, put a second mark on the column to align with the mark on the shaft. Put a third mark on the column midway between the 1st & 2nd marks. Count the number of turns the shaft made between column mark 1 and 2; this might be in the region of 4.75 (I haven't checked again). Turn the shaft clockwise around half the 4.75, until the shaft mark meets the third column mark. That's the centre. Double check the number of rotations from the centre to each side is the same, adjust the column mark as required to ensure the number of turns in each direction is the same. When confirmed, make the shaft mark and the final column mark more obvious, as these will be the reference point, until the box is rebuilt. Mount the drop arm so that it hangs vertically downwards, assuming the chassis is level fore and aft. Remember the arm will swing forwards and backwards MORE than when the steering links are in place, because it's not until then that the swivel steering lock stops come into play. Those stops will prevent the box travelling to its limits, which is how it should be. It you test the box without the swivel lock stops in play the drop arm may strike the bulkhead. Ignore this, because when completed the swivel lock stops will stop the drop arm moving so far. When you come to fit the steering wheel, ensure the shaft is in its central position, then fit the wheel where you want to, then mark the wheel centre and the shaft so you can repeat the positioning. If, in service, the wheel appears misaligned, DO NOT move the wheel, correct the steering link lengths until the wheel alignment is correct. Regards.

There is one possible 'gotcha' I failed to mention before. Each Speedisleeve comes with an 'applicator', sized for the diameter of the seal. Obviously these suit the diameter of the seal, but are often too short for the length of the shaft which protrudes through the sleeve. There are two common solutions: One is to find a longer tube in your scrap pile, the diameter has to be close, but it does not need to be super precise. The other is to make a hole in the 'closed' end of the applicator large enough pass over the shaft, then find a length of tube to push on the applicator. The advantage of this method is that the 'designed for the job' applicator still interfaces with the sleeve, minimising the risk of damage, and that your scrap piece of tube doesn't need to be that precise or 'clean'. Pictures are from a sleeve and modified applicator being used on a Series steering relay, the 'scrap piece of tube' in this case is a socket. They show the increased area the tube has available to push against. Regards.

I have installed Speedisleeves, but not in this area. However I would say that I would have no hesitation in choosing speedi sleeves if it was cost effective. From a post on the forum of the Series 2 Club: Speedi Sleeve for transfer box output shafts, SKF 99162 (for 1 5/8" dia shaft) Regards.

I cannot see the grill, but I can see the absence of any external door hinges, the presence of which were probably also indicators of Mk 1's. Regards

Oh I'm not going to argue about wheel performance, but I am going to point out the overall costs of moving away from standard (wheels, tyres, studs, nuts) and the significant increase in unsprung weight on a 60+ year old vehicle design, or are new springs and shock absorbers to be added to the costs, in an effort to nullify the disadvantages? For what? Per mile of travel, what are the performance advantages being used for? The OP started off commenting (complaining) about the cost of replacement studs, indicating the cost of modification was starting to exceed 'reasonable'. I started by trying to point out that the proposal did not appear to be value for money. It might look good on a spec sheet, but that appears to be all. To me, the comment by Deep, especially relating to the views of his younger brother, seem highly relevant. Regards.

OK, I suspected you knew the answers, but asking the questions was a 'form' to ensure the non-UK person was aware of points that need to be addressed. Regards.

Fine, how do you suggest the 20 existing splayed end threaded studs are removed? Are you aware that the hubs machined for screwed in studs do not have a recess to take the circular flange on the splined studs? Unless corrected, this leads to the splined stud protruding less from the front of the hub, compared to the original threaded stud. I suggest this 561886 stud does not meet the OPs strongly expressed requirement for a stud that is longer than normal. Regards.

I'm not sure about 'SIII or Defender nuts' but surely older 90s and 110s would use M16 studs, not the 9/16" indicated by the double ended nuts? If this is the case the Hobson Industries precedent is not valid. Regards.

Where to start? Wheel Nuts: these can be either 9'16" BSF or 16mm, BUT the double ended wheel nuts you have pictured were only available in 9/16" BSF, so that's the size and thread settled. These double ended nuts are longer than single ends nuts, so make the 'short' studs seem more obvious. The other characteristic of 9/16" BSF studs is that they threaded into the hub and the inner end of the stud was then splayed out mechanically to stop the stud screwing out unintentionally. If you were to change out all 20 studs you would have to find some way of removing the splayed section. Because of brute force and ignorance (power tools and / or high tightening torque) the splayed studs are sometimes wound out of the hub, damaging the hub thread. To cope with this there are repair studs with the 9/16" BSF thread but with a splined inner end, but these are shorter than the original studs so don't help you. Your basic mistake is fitting the Wolf wheels. These are made of thicker steel then the original Series wheels. There were made for a later Land Rover so are made wider, to suit wider tyres, which together with the thicker steel means they weigh a lot more than Series wheels. I don't know where you got the idea of Wolf wheels (and probably wider tyres) from, but I think it was bad / inappropriate advice. My advice is to revert to standard tyre sizes on standard Series wheels. Regards.

I'm guessing that, like a lot of other contributors to this thread, you don't have a lot of direct experience with even one EV. If you had you would not come out with that 'super-simple plumbing' comment. I did about 6 months research before making a buying decision, and I've been running one as my only roadworthy car since since April 2018. As I always tend to do, I obtained a copy of the Workshop Manual; it is actually a manufacturers technical book for their American personnel. Given the total balderdash presented in many 'assessments' in Forums and videos I have viewed I don't spend a lot of time reading every last one. I simply can't be bothered to invest the energy, so this posting is unusual. I have no time for the suggestion that an existing vehicle can be sensibly converted into an EV, as the basic vehicle is too heavy, so the performance envelope is too small (speed v range). The cost of each conversion also makes any EV from a mainstream manufacturer seem cheap. Regards.

No-one seems to have recalled the fact that a Series is designed to allow the use of a starting handle. This means that there is a direct path from the crankshaft nut to outside the front of the chassis. I didn't feel particularly 'clever' at the time, but from an Army Surplus store I bought a very obviously 'pre-used' 3/4 drive socket, that had enough internal space to go over the starting dog, a 3/4 straight extension, and a 3/4 'flex handle'. I can now operate on the nut without space restriction. Regards.

I'd say the 'preferred' rise depends on what 'you' want to achieve. On a Series 2 I wanted to lift the seat runners so they could slide back without hitting the raised flange at the rear of the seat box. I don't know if a Defender has the same seat box design. Regards.

If you go with the timer option, just be aware that the charge current must not go through the timer. The PodPoint device has a contactor in it, you will have to wire the operate coil through the time switch. I strongly suspect this will be non-standard wiring, you may void the warranty on your Pod Point, whether you do the wiring change or whether you get an accredited Charge Point electrician to do it. In a PHEV I'm not sure why you are worrying about cheap rate grid charging. In general a PHEV has so little battery capacity that it won't take long to charge from the mains. While 3 phase is good for machine tools, in my view it is taking future proofing to an extreme if current demand is only for a PHEV. My background is that I ordered a BEV in September 2017, it was put on the road in April 2018. If you want an EV forum to ask your question in I would suggest SPEAKEV. They have various subforums, so you can pick the Land Rover one, or the Charging one for background reading on the home charging trials and tribulations. Regards.

My understanding is that Sheffield City Council preferred management technique is to level & reseed every year. It will take me a little time to find details of what happened over the last 5 years (say).

Two points, TW2 has 'built up revenue' for GLASS, but that is because membership has increased, with the result that GLASS has become more powerful overall. Also the additional revenue has increased the opportunity to employ 'specialists' be they in computing, legal services, or Rights of Way officers. The ROW officers are often ex local council people and are able to speak the same language as serving council officials. Having seen some of the resultant correspondence I can see that 'speaking the same language' is a tremendous help in resolving problem areas. I'm not privy to exact numbers, but GLASS membership has increased about 4 fold, and is still increasing, compared to when the TW project was initiated. At that time membership was falling, so TW and TW2 has meant the survival of the organisation. I couldn't have answered the point about TRO signposting, so am glad to see Peaklander has picked up that point. Regards.

Yes, Often. There is one in place now, by Sheffield City Council. Trailwise 2 ID SK2288-02 The comments on the TW2 page show it was 'impassable' '2 months ago'. Street map view Regards.

I can't comment on any of the other aspect you mention, but my recollection is that those mounting points were for attaching a mass vibration damper. I don't recollect which models had mass vibration dampers from the factory, but I am sure that some people say they removed them and couldn't notice any difference, without realising what that might be saying about their personal 'sensitivity'. Regards.

I thought that one of the Doogee S96 positives was that at 4G it had more 'space' to have a better aerial (or whatever components are required to use a weak signal). I took mine to a February GLASS meeting in a Peak District Derbyshire pub which historically had weak signals within the thick stone walled building. Naturally, the last test was at least 12 months ago. When I raised the discussion point, it transpired that all 4 attendees (with different phones) had a 2 bar 4G signal, although some were nominally 5G phones. Someone did suggest there had been improvements in the 4G network 'recently', but I considered that point as 'unproven'. The only other point about the Doogee S96 was that its combination of weight and size made it difficult for my arthritic stiff fingers to hold it. I bought a 'silicone' case which has more friction and has eased to problem slightly. eBay item 114673595525, Cover Case TPU SMOOTH 100% TRANSPARENT for DOOGEE S96 PRO Gel Silicone. Regards.

Many years ago I used a VDO tachometer and had to create a W terminal, as there wasn't one present on the alternator. It wasn't a LR engine. The W terminal is connected to the output of one of the 3 coils, before that output reaches the diode pack. It doesn't matter which coil. The output is obviously alternating (AC), and as I suspect you realize, it is the frequency of the AC which matters. At the time I had no means of measuring the frequency, but I do recall measuring the voltage using the AC scale of a multimeter. I do not recall the reading, except it seemed rather low. You ask about the waveform; I'd assume sinusoidal, but I'm thinking you actually meant the frequency, the 650Hz you mentioned. The tachometer is actually going to measure the speed of the alternator, the switches and fine tuning are to cater for the different mechanical drive ratios (crankshaft pulley and alternator pulley sizes). To know whether your 650Hz is correct for an engine idle speed of say 1,000 rpm you need to know these sizes (diameters), and thus calculate the drive ratio. I did not have one at the time, but nowadays I have an optical tachometer which responds to a dash of white paint (or silver sticker) on the pulley. I have used this to measure crankshaft speed when setting the idle speed, but obviously the optical tachometer is not designed to be used whilst the vehicle is in motion! Not the exact answer, but the closest I could get 🙂 Regards.

A longer example of a leather welders apron might be a useful compromise in these conditions. A google starter search for '10'. Regards.

Surely it still doesn't answer the objection that creating plant based fuel means decreasing the area that can be used for food production? Or is anyone saying the the plants for fuel creation can grow, and be harvested from, land that cannot economically be used for growing food crops? I see this statement in the Crown literature, but don't actually understand it. The feedstocks used to manufacture Crown HVO are 100% waste, drawn from primary sources which have bypassed damage to the environment, natural ecosystem and the drive for global deforestation. If HVO use increases, surely it needs more source materials? Are we expected to believe there is so much waste 'now' that the '100%' claim will continue to be valid? Regards.

In the UK, going on what I read on the forum of the Series 2 Club, the Distributor Doctor gets consistently favourable reviews. I wouldn't know myself as I have no petrol engine experience within the last 10 years (at least). Regards.

Mussolini - His part in my Downfall, in which is classified a Psycho Neurotic after a mortar near miss. Didn't leave me in a positive mood. Regards.

I wonder what ugly complete looks like? (Bored, and reading a Spike Milligan book. His approach must be catching). Regards.

The 'wafetiness' of parabolic springs with a 109 is something mentioned, adversely, by TeriAnn Wakeman, although she is running a motorhome equipped vehicle, so always has more weight higher up than most people do. This is due to the parabolic springs having little internal friction, so have less inbuilt anti-roll effect than multi-leaf springs. When the vehicle rolls the springs twist along their length, the parabolics twist more easily; the waftiness is the other side of the increased articulation coin. You mentioned one ton dampers, this phrasing is generally used in relation to multi-leaf springs, where the increased weight limit is catered for by stiffer leaves, or more leaves. However it is achieved, the internal friction, of one leaf against the other is increased, especially as the spring is compressed in 'bump'. Once the spring is compressed there is a lot more energy stored in the compressed spring (compared with a standard multi-leaf). This means that one ton dampers need different settings; they are not just stiffer. Due to the increased internal friction damping when in bump, the one ton dampers are softer than standard in compression, but due to the increased stored energy when the spring is compressed the one ton dampers are stiffer in rebound (than standard). In the UK people often combine one-ton dampers with standard multi-leaf springs as this gives a softer ride, both in absorbing the initial bump and delaying the rebound response. Changing the dampers is cheaper than changing the springs and dampers. Many (most?) UK users do not expect to load their vehicles towards maximum weight, so retaining the standard load capacity is not a problem. As you haven't driven the vehicle I would suggest leaving the springs as they are (cleaning and de-rusting is cosmetic, do as you please). After you have driven it in your style of use (loading and speed), assess its waftey performance then consider changing the springs. Regards.