Mediamab

To be honest I have no idea if they’re original or not as only had the truck a month. How do I ensure they are matched? ill give the sender a test at some point and see if that sheds any light. i assume I’m right to be expecting the gauge to be in the middle?

So I have ensured coolant all topped up and running through the system which is all working well. Thermostat appears to be kicking in when engine gets warm but idle the temp gauge barely hits the white area, even when running only goes slightly into that white area and nowhere near the middle. I’ve checked the gauge by earthing the sender wire and it tops out so it’s working fine. Would this suggest I need to replace the temp sender? The engine definitely is very hot, as coolant pipe I can’t hold for long once up to temp.

Ah I see ok. Some days I’m wary I’m even getting that tho ha but hard to tell properly ey. There is a slight tapping noise when engines warm - I’ll attach a video that should show it.. just wandering if that could be an issue with warn tappets? Or if it’s just a normal tap noise ha. Challenge is I’ve always had Td5s so trying to adjust to V8 and understand what’s standard! IMG_0307.mov

Ah ok great. Well I guess if it is original which I believe it is then likely to be 8.13:1 which I assume is low compression?

With regards to timing I’d read to aim for 6degrees off TDC for idle, would that be a good starting point? When you say advancing, should that gap become greater then? Also what are the advance weights? Also with float levels, am I looking at a set measurement for my v8? sorry for all the possibly dumb questions, just trying to learn as much as I can

Ah where / how do I find which engine I have? Afaik it is original from 1988.

Hi! Yeah a little tricky as the carb was fitted before I made purchase so I’m not sure exactly what the carb is fitted with. I’m mildly wary the engine feels quite sluggish, even compared to my stage 1 TD5. Would the carb setup be likely to cause this? How easy is it to see what it’s been setup with? Planning to upgrade the ignition system to see if that helps on performance with a kit from RPI.

Hey! So I’m keen to check the setup on my v8 as I fear it’s running too lean, lots of popping with high revs etc. It appears from what I’ve read I can use the idle mixture screws and plug a vacuum gauge in to help determine the sweet spot. What I’m confused about, what is the key pressure I’m looking to achieve? is it simply the highest? Many thanks!!

Ah I see so the fact the 2 rocker covers are attached directly like they are now with that T piece isn’t right then? and so it doesn’t matter which rocker cover I connect the pipe to above the throttle body? filter on the other, is that like one of those small mushroom filters? many thanks!!

Yep!

Yeah I think that’s why I’m struggling to work out if it’s meant to be attached to anything or not. I read about flame traps so wasn’t sure if one is meant to be where that T section is. It’s looks clean and relatively new though…? (only had truck a few weeks so still learning about it all and trying to workout a bunch of connections and why there and not there ha)

Slowly trying to learn and understand the engine in my new v8 to ensure it’s setup properly as am finding a few strange things and I’m not sure if they’re correct or not! So maybe a dumb question but I’m struggling to find details around what I assume are breather pipes? Picture below shows the two pipes coming from each rocker cover and connected with a T piece. Is this correct and how it should be? Many thanks!!

So does that mean the cable is likely to not be damaged behind the gauges? Or do you just mean it goes via the ecu first? Where does the wire come from? Just trying to establish where to look

The panel with all the warning lights in looks to be connected fine. Would assumption here be that one of the wires going into the connector has broken when pulling the gauges around? What colour wire would it be?

Ah so this may not be my issue? The battery stopped charging (when engines running) since I reconnected everything and the battery light also no longer shows when I turn on ignition. Any thoughts?

Hi! Jumping in as I’ve managed to cause this issue with my TD5, no battery light and now charge when engine running. I’m a bit confused where to find this wire and connector though? I was changing the bulbs so assume I’ve knocked it out but struggling to know what to look for?

Brilliant - thanks so much!!! Just getting my head around all the electrics!! Slight side question - I have front and rear lights that are both controlled by relays but I’d like there to be two methods to turn the lights on and only want them to be off when both aren’t sending a signal. Can I simply connect two wires to the signal input or is that not the way to do it?

Ah ok - would that be safe to do so? What sort of guage wire would I need? It would be near the best so a short wire. What sort of ampage would I need bud bar to support? I assume it would need to match the power to starter motor?

So I have a lovely rats nest of mess in my battery box and as part of my battery upgrade I’m thinking a good time to improve! I have a lot of connections straight into the battery. I’m keen to simplify this down to one and then run all the connections off a bus bar. I’ve read that when doing that I should have a fuse running inbetween. The question is what fuse rating / type do I need to use as all the electrics including the starter motor will run off that. I’m upgrading to Odyssey PC2150 so cranking output is very high. Any other advice or best practice examples you all have the better. I want it to be as neat / safe / easy to manage as possible especially with fitting such an expensive new battery! I’m also not sure how to manage the connection from the alternator? I assume they may need to directly connect to battery? Alternatives to my idea above I’m also open to just want things simple and from reading up I felt that it’s maybe the best option! (Not that I should trust Google that much!!)

I could always just buy the original bracket parts as look cheap. Just wandering if there are better versions out there that have proven to work well

Also - while I’m at it I’m keen to tidy up the battery box. The terminals both have a cable going directly into them. How would I go about removing those and what type of connector connections would I need to purchase? Just keen for a single wire connection to both terminals and while I’m upgrading battery want to make it all super safe! With the new battery can I also seal the battery box or will it still require ventilation?

Taking the plunge and going for a new Odyssey PC2150. The current original bracket holder in my battery box has seen better days so figure now is a good chance to improve it and ensure the new beast is held down well! So really just looking for product advice on what others have used to ensure it’s secure and safe? I seem to be coming across lots of dual battery brackets but not for just one… Many thanks!!!

Hi all! I need to replace my front seatbelts on my TD5 90. I have been given two options for buckles below - as you can see very different prices. The more expensive one matches what I have but I wandered if anyone has changed over to the other version and if they still work fine and if they need to be mounted in a different position. Whilst I appreciate the importance of their safety the price difference is rather hefty - so any thoughts would be appreciated!! https://www.lrparts.net/evl104360-defender-td5-seat-belt-buckle-right-hand-fits-from-1998-2006-non-audible.html https://www.lrparts.net/lrc2301-defender-seat-belt-kit-left-hand-front-buckle-and-belt-with-l-shaped-bracket-for-2001-2006.html (the bottom one is just the buckle with the belt but buckles works out at around 10£ compared to 100£!!

Ah brilliant - I don’t think mine has any grommets in that position but I’m sure I can easily drill through a hole. Your route sounds much better than my current plan so I’ll give that a whirl with some heavy duty clips!

So I put all the cables in place coming out of the radio (down behind the Fusebox) ready to go to the amp behind the seats over the weekend which adds up to a lot of cabling with 3 rca’a etc and I’m looking at it a little wary of the best route to task as it would be a lot running along the floor or on the gearbox tunnel which could be really annoying when works done on the clutch. Any better ideas with route to go? Feels like the side pillars will be crammed and then no sensible route to get behind the seats?