Kim Horsevad

Have you considered that these rather strongly worded responses from the forum admin might be an (albeit unsuccesfull) attempt to avoid a time-wasting 6 page long discussion whether the threads should be locked or not? I agree that the remarks in question _can_ be read as downright provocative; but they can also be read as an admin trying to steer the right course without stiring up a fuss about it....

You probably know this already, but wrapping some self-amalgamating tape round theese connectors keep them free from corrosion-provoking moisture, even when driving in deep water. LINK

You need lots of theese: Which are to be placed in the ruts. Using stone or pebbles to build up tracks is the old way of making tracks for use in agricultural or forrest use. You dont need that great quantity of pebbles or stones before such a track becomes driveable. Just remeber to drive rather slowly - you dont want the wheels spinning. Other suggestions would be to buy a set of 900-16 tyres with agricultural (tractor) pattern. They work very good in clay, and dosent tear up the track unless you let the wheels spin.. Prohibiting the use of bigger tires and aggresive thread patterns could actually make the tracks more rutted and un-negotiable... With a good off-road tire (as a tractor tire) the slopes can be negotiated in a slow and controlled manner, which dosent leave large ruts in the landscape. On lesser tires the driver must use sheer momentum (build up speed) and let the wheels spin to clear the threads. Therefore could more road-biased tires actually cause more damage than off-road tires.

I have been reading LR4x4 since 2005 and it is the best source for technical information about landrovers I have ever seen. Most of the other forums are filled with chat and people voicing their opinions about how a specific task is performed - On LR4x4 the answers are not usually based on opinions, but based on technical knowledge and engineering expirience. That is how I would like LR4x4 to continue! Regarding the Off-topic threads, I think that the moderators are doing the necessary thing, namely to lock the threads which gets totally out of control. If everything was allowed then the technical content would be diluted to the point of vanishing... My view on this thread is that some members maybe has read some of the comments a little to harsh. This continuing bashing on the moderators (especially Les) are something which this forum easily could do without. Maybe there is some dis-agreement over which threds are too far off-topic, and maybe some comments could have been written more polite, however such dis-agreements does not need to turn into "wars", with people calling each others Hitlers (post 29183) and the like. Surely some of the messages from the admins could have been worded in a less provocative way; but then again - trying to maintain a technical focus on such a big website is quite a challenging task, and maybe the wording is chosen to reflect that... A few off-topic threads actually has a function as keeping the memberbase together as a community, but then again - too much off-topic has the effect of pushing the few knowledgeable "experts" into the background. This is actually a rather demaning task to try to measure the value of a given thread. My opinion would be that members who have contributed large amount of tech should also be allowed a wider rein with regards to off-topic threads. Maybe some would find this un-just, or un-democratic, but it would still be my view on this subject. It is a good democratical principle that each individual is uniqe and has value as an individual. But like the normal everyday life some are much more knowlegdgeable in specific areas than others. The huge amount of members on LR4x4 should therefore be thankfull that some of theese knowlegdeable members have devoted some of their time to keeping LR4x4 a nice place to be. Suggestions such as "rolling moderators" (voiced in post #288533) would never be realistic - as the amount of knowledge and expirience greatly varies from person to person. This would create a moderating effort without any kind of strategy or general consensus form the userbase. As to who guards the guardians - ("Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" - from posting #288533): I dont see the mods or admins as guardians... I see them as volunteers who have volunteered for a diffucult job to help the community. Hopefully this issue gets resolved in an constructive way!

Thanks for the explanation.... 1.1 rating is just plain crazy... It is significantly lower than aluminium! I think there is some kind of H&S regulation i Denmark which forbids sale of bolts and nuts with lower than 8.8 rating.... If there is no corresponding regulation in your contry then I can see some of the problems arising from non-mechanical people trying to create a cheap solution on their cars...

Why is it that everyone critizises use of studding? Is studding only avalilble in low strength materials in UK?.... Here in Denmark normal studding is 8.8 and can - without problems - be bougt as 10.9 or 12.9. One should - of course - remember that the nuts should be of the same tensile strenght. If the studding and the nuts used have an adequate tensile rating (10.9 or 12.9) I can see no problems with using such studding....

As you probably know, if the timing belt has been contaminated with diesel it will usually break after a couple of days.

2mm sticking out is plenty. Either: 1: locate a nut which fits loosely over the stud, position over the stud and puddle weld the two together. Let cool somewhat, then undo by normal means. The heat from the welding will normally break any rust holding the bolt. or 2: Locate a bolt of sligthly larger diameter than the broken one. Sharpen the bolt to a point, and then weld onto the broken bolt/stud.

I have seen people run them worse for several years... However, you need to keep an eye on the fluid level in the swirvel box. Maybe replace with some moly-grease. The seal can be replaced without disassembeling the whole swirvelbox - just unbolt the caliper and hang out of the way, then unbolt the swirvel assembly from the axle, and pull it out with stub axle. Then the new seal can be fitted easily. The rust will wreck the seals, but it takes take to wreck them totally... I have seen some swirvel balls "repaired" using two-component epoxy steel. One just need to make a decent surface finish - the seal dosent care wether is runs against chrome or epoxy.

Since the portal box obviously is manufactured to cope with a great amount of shock it requires a material which is rather ductile and retains rather high tensile strength. This would at the same time mean that the amount of carbon in the casting is comparable to weldable steel. Whether you weld it with stick or mig/mag should be of no specific importance. For more rare kinds of castings you have a greather selection of special rods with stick welding. Your primary concern is to reduce heat stress during - and after - welding. Plan the welding to minimise heat stress. If you have the means of heating the area before welding, and after welding, and then allowing it to cool naturally, that would be the preferred way. As it - with considerable degree of certanity - is NOT ordinary (grey) cast iron, there should be no reason to heat it red hot - about 200- 300 degress should do fine. If it is important to find out precise what kind of material the portal box is made of you would need to attack the box with an angle grinder in a place where a small amount of grinding dont produce any damage. Observe the sparks. Do the travel far? In straigt or curved lines? Do the stay near the grinding wheel? What colour does the sparks have? Also observe the fracture - what is the crystalline structure? When attacked with a cold chisel, how does the material chip away? I have attached to scans from an old book about metal fabrication. It should be possible to identify the material using these sheets.

Short answer: You can connect them without problems - at least for the short term, but the batteries will try to "destroy" each other over time. Best practice is to fit some kind of split charge system, such that the batteries only are connected when the alternator is charging. (Simple versionof a split-charge-system: trigger a 40amp relay (or winch solenoid) from D+ on alternator). If you want a more in-depth answer let me know.

There is absolutely no reason to "hammer" the mechanism. Observe how the mechanism works. By using the lever there is no force acting upon the spring mechanism which is to be manipulated. A small tap is more than enough, if the springs still work. In fact the mechanism can easily be manipulated using only your fingers (probably wildly unsafe...) If the springs are broken or totally collapsed, the hi-lift kan still be used - you just have to manipulate the mechanism with a pair of pliers. Of course it is highly un-desireable, but from my viewpoint and my expirience none of these actions are uncontrollable, or makes the operation unsafe. If the above quote refers to one of my postings I would like to make clear that none of my postings are meant in a provocative or "forceful" way. English is not my native language - we speak another thing over here in Denmark....

I DO belive you. Mud or grit can bring any unprotected moving mechanism to a halt. But the spring loaded mechanism of a hi-lift is actually really simple. When it is stuck because of mud or grit it only needs a gentle tap on the relevant spring mechanism to make it work. If it is really bad you might need to tap the spring for each movement of the lever.

You just tap it lightly to make it work again. Remember to clean the mechanism before lubricating it - else the grit will be caught in the oil and function as some sort of grinding compund. My hi-lift rides at the back of the truck mounted on a self-made swing-away carrier. I dont wrap it in covers or other - just clean it with the pressure washer and apply new oil from time to time.

Got one very similar to that photo. Mine is somewhat older though. Stamped with "1957" and some weird french name... Works really well. And gives the operator more control of the process than a modern pneumatic tire machine. The machine can both be used to mount a tire on a rim, and remove a tire from a rim. Using the lever at the front one can also loosen the tire bead. Really recommendable piece of kit; but works only when bolted to a sturdy floor.

For anyone running a linux/unix type enviroment as a router/internet server/proxy/whatever... a small modification to the IPTABLES firewall blocking all ASCII references to cmd.exe and cmd32.exe usually block around 90% of computervirusses. A simple and generic IPTABLES command for such blocking would be: iptables -I FORWARD -j DROP -p tcp -s 0.0.0.0/0 -m string --string "cmd.exe" One would probably want to expand that a little - adding some logging and such.... If the desktop enviroment also is linux there are no specific reason to implement such blocking. It is only to protect fragile windows-installations. Linux itself is pretty much in-vulnerable to such virus-attacks...

As for the original question on 12 volt from 24 volt - it is normally considered bad practice, because of the reasons already mentioned. Modern day car batteries are pretty resillient though, so as long as the current draw is low enough you might get away with it. If you draw high currents from a single battery in such an arrangment you are actually killing both batteries. One is overcharged, and one is left undercharged. If I remember correctly it think I have seen some landcruisers with a similar arrangement - 24 system, but 12 volt headlights. Weird, but factory provided setup - the headlights were balanced between both of the batteries.

You probably are very aware of this; but you dont need remote sensed alternators to "trick" them to other output voltages. As long as one can control the amount of electricity flowing in the field windings, nearly any output voltage can be achieved. Plenty of free schmatics for such "home-made" voltage regulators on the web. How are you going to achieve 50Hz on the 230 volt setup? I would think it would be easier to run a 230V alternator from a separate pulley, than trick a 12 volt alternator to produce usable 230volt... Are the welding current going to be straight DC or high frequency AC? I dont think you are going to get a cooling problem - alternators usually dont mind beeing run at other voltages.

The NATO hitch is probably OK for landrover recovery. After all the landrover weighs only about 3 tonnes fully laden. The reason for not using the NATO hook for recovery could be that some bigger military trucks also is equipped with NATO-hooks, and there are some diffence between trying to extract a 3 tonne landrover and a 12-tonne magirus (or whatever you have over there). Probably easier in the military to just make one rule - "do not use it" - instead of trying to educate all personell as to which situations the NATO hook can be used, and to which is should not be used... Even then - please remember that the NATO hook is only bolted to a relative thin cross-member. It may not be torn directly off, but it dont need too much sideway pull to bend that rear crossmember - even with the strengthening plate on.

Your explanation is correct. The alternator needs current input from battery over charge warning light to D+ on alternator. On startup the regulator shorts the field windings and D+, thereby making current flow. This turns on the ignition light, as a current flows through it. When the field windings are energised the alternator begins to produce current, and D+ is effectively coupled to B+ (main output from alternator). Therefore the charge warning light recives no current, as there is no difference in the electrical potential on each side. To make a charge warning light, you would want to locate som ignition switched supply, connect a 2 watt bulb and run a wire back to D+ on the alternator. Make sure the supply is ignition feed - else the bulb will be on whenever the alternator is not charging (vehicle at standstill)

OK, if you are sure about this, then please disregard my post above.... (If it was either a CV, axle or drive member, you would have to lock the center differential to get the truck moving - at least with standard open diffs)

To set the anchor while being alone, usually you have to dig a hole for the anchor to rest in, while you winch in. If going out without a ground anchor remember that the spare wheel works really well as a ground anchor. Dig a hole about a metre deep, connect some strong rope, chain. strops, etc to the spare wheel and burry it in the hole. Even in soft sand such an arrangment easily holds several tonnes of pulling force.

CV, axle or drive member. Since the steering locked up, it is most probably a CV. They are not difficult to change.

One more thing to consider is the relative weak structure of the rear crossmember the recovery point is mounted onto. The weldings holding the rear crossmember in place is sometimes quite faulty, even on a new vehicle. There was an example here in denmark where a new defender 90" (driven by the importer himself!) was really stuck in a river crossing on the beach. Three other landrovers connected up to pull it free - only to pull the whole rear crossmember clean off. For heavy recovery I dont thrust any recovery point which is only mounted (welded or bolted) to the rear crossmember. For real strenght is has to be connected to the main frame rails.

You probably have a short somewhere. I dont think it is the starter; but you can test it this way: Switch everything electric off, unbolt the earth cable and measure the current between the negative post on the battery and the earth cable. A better idea, if availble, would be to use a clamp on amp-meter. Otherwise you might want to start the measuring with a simple 12 volt lamp - as a multi-meter normally wouldnt like big amounts of current going through it. If the current flow between the battery negative and the earth cable is anything more than a few milli-amps,then you have a short circut somewhere - probably in an unfused connection. That narrows to cables running to and from alternator and starter.