SacredDog

I too have read somewhere (I thought it was on Ashcrofts Site) that you should never drive with a disconnected cable because it directly controls the main pressure that works (among other things) the clutches and needs to have a certain amount of tension to avoid burning them out (I should imagine the other extreme would give very harsh changes as well). But I can't find where it was I read it to that sort of detail, the best I can find is the 'don't drive without cable connected warning'. I discovered to my cost that the cable fitted to mine was damaged (was only hanging on by a couple of strands), I only managed to drive out of my drive & turn it around before I lost drive in reverse. After changing the cable I found it works OK on the flat but slips like mad up even the slightest incline (at the time my drive had quite a slope). Colin.

If at all possible get it away from your insurance company and any garages they are in league with and don't part with any documents relating to the car. We lost a car that way, it went to a garage to be 'assessed' and before we knew it it had been shipped of to a scrapyard because it was 'beyond repair' in their eyes. We then had to argue as to it's value. Somewhere in their small print it said that once the vehicle was in their possession or one of their agents (one of their recommended garages) then it was entirely up to them what happened to it subject to an independent valuation (or words to that effect). Assuming you have or can find somewhere to keep it, hang on to it (saying you want to buy it back subject to valuation, even if you don't want to). You then have something to bargain with and should get the maximum value for it and pay the minimum for what is left of the wreckage, they can't have it both ways. The final icing on the cake, was when (a few years later) we received a Speeding Ticket for the vehicle that had been supposedly written off. The wonderful Insurance Company didn't inform DVLA about the write off and it looks like the breakers yard re-built it. It was a good job we kept all the relevant paperwork to copy to the Police (who were very interested in what had happened). Best of Luck (I fear you will need it dealing with insurance companies), Colin.

Yep, good idea Steve and/or send Dave a PM. You could use the picture from MicroCat http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?act=atta...st&id=20791 to describe exactly what's broken. Colin

Is the attached any use?

I read it somewhere. Off the top of my head I think the Kickdown mechanism directly controls the oil pressure, if the cable is far too loose I think it blows up some clutches. I'll see if I can find the 'definitive answer', probably on the Ashcroft site somewhere. Colin.

As PaintMan said look here: http://www.green-oval.com it's in the RAVE for RRC, I just cut & pasted the 2 relevant pages together. Colin.

That sounds a bit like the problem I had after replacing a Joiner in the cable on my trailer (not an Ifor though). On mine I solved the pulsing by reducing the slack before the brakes start to operate. I think the cause was the Landy slowing substantially more that the trailer (when loaded) and in effect running into the back then the trailers brake suddenly coming on hard. It was most noticeable when just easing off the throttle when going downhill, the harder I braked the less it was noticable. I think I now have about 1cm of movement before the brake start to apply compared with about 2.5 before. The brakes locking when unladen still happens now but bu no means as bad. It's worst when the road is slightly bumpy, I get the impression that the suspension is just way over-damped when unladen. Colin.

From what I've read (see attached) it's not that difficult to replace the pump. Colin.

I'm no expert but having converted a Defender to Auto (not entirely successfully i might add) it sounds like you have damaged the Oil Pump when you fitted the Torque Converter. Hopefully Dave (AshTrans) will see this & give you some expert advice. Failing that it might be worth PMing him. I'll see what Ielse I can find out & post something tomorrow, unless some others more knowledgeable get there first. Colin.

As I think I said before, I reduced the icing problem on my Fiesta by fitting a 'baffle' to direct some of the hot air from the exhaust towards the Air Filter. Being a Transverse Engine this was quite easy just a flat piece of metal over the top of the exhaust. I think the ideal temperature at the inlet is something like 34 degrees C, you may be able to rig up something like some cars have that regulate the inlet temperature, most just use a bimetal temperature sensor near the carb inlet that uses the vacuum from the engine to control a flap that varies the flow of Cold fresh air and Hot air from the exhaust. I'm sure you could raid a scrappy for an old carb inlet system. Colin.

Now I feel stupid, I never realise what was in the picture There was someone selling some on eBay dirt cheap a while back complete with the pin (saves all the pain as well ). Colin.

Looks just like what we have on our '88 3.5EFI, it's just a normal expansion tank. It will up when the Water expands and the water siphons back out when it contracts. Looks just right from what I can see in the pics. Colin.

Yep, I can see that would work well at a reasonable speed. But most of my problems are steering out of muddy ruts from a standstill, does your rear TrueTrac help with that situation? That said, if I was going back locker first I would probably go for a Detroit. I'm just interested in your views as I doubt I would ever be able to afford to get lockers both back & front in one go.

I'm probably in the minority but if I had a free Truetrac I would put it in the front (so I had some steering in the mud). And then start saving for a Detroit to go in the Back . Colin.

I don't know about Diesel 90's but all the V8 110 Land Rovers, 130 Defenders and RRC's have been M10 Metric requiring an 11mm spanner. If that's any help. Colin.

Trailer Breakaway Cable perhaps? Colin.

I can confirm the icing with my Fiesta was at it's worst when the temperature was above 0 degrees. Below 0 and I think the air tends to be dry enough for it not to be a problem. I had a quick release Air Filter (Pipercross I think). If I whipped the Filter off just after it had totally died the main venturi would be almost totally blocked with ice, until the first time I saw that ice I didn't have a clue what the problem was. One quick & easy way I used to get it defrosted (for when I didn't want to wait 5-10 mins) was to squirt some alcohol (the type you degrease with, not drink) into the venturi, that dissolved the ice and allowed the water to mix with the petrol a bit easier. It would then fire up almost instantly. Colin.

I used to get Carb icing problems on my old highly tuned crosssflow Fiesta, on a cold damp day travelling at continuous Motorway speeds it would start coughing after 20-30 mins and die altogether after about 40 mins unless I slowed down considerably or pulled over for 5-10 mins. After 5-10 mins (ideally with the Filter off) it would fire up & run fine for another 30 mins or so. Of course this was many years ago when you could run at high speeds for over half an hour without hitting a traffic jam . I did improve matter by fitting a heat deflector above the exhaust that pushed some hot air towards the Carb. Colin.

I'm no expert but looking at the handbook: If the TC light was always on even when you weren't spinning wheels I think it indicates a fault, see attached page from the manual. The other possibility is that if all 4 wheels were spinning then the TC may not be detecting enough of a differential in wheel speeds to operate correctly. Colin.

Yep, having looked at various websites (including Daves) it looks like it will not lock up in 1st (I guess you don't want it to stall if you have the TC locked up when you have to stop). I would have thought that 2nd Gear Low Box would give enough engine braking for most situations, even our old V8 RRC wouldn't completely run away with me in 2nd Low on fairly steep bits with the standard ZF4 (perhaps I wasn't trying hard enough ) Hopefully Dave can confirm this, or let us know that none of us mere mortals know what we are talking about Colin.

Thanks Mo & Western, I think we've got there in the end. I certainly think from what you've both said there is definitely potential there for it to do exactly what I want (perhaps with a few resistors to tweak my LPG sender output). I'm not too concerned what the actual Low Level indicates (litre wise) so long as I know roughly what it is and it's not something ridiulous like 60litres (but I could always invert it to something useful if need be). That's something to think about anyway and gives me another excuse to get a Td5 speedo Cheers, Colin.

Doesn't the Compushift allow you to manually lockup the TC irrespective of what gear it's in to give you some decent engine braking? or is it a bit more complicated than that? or was I just dreaming? Colin

OK, thanks. Perhaps when I'm feeling brave (and can justify the expense) I will get a Speedo and have a little play around with it to see if I can get it to do what I want. I think I will go back to just reading the Forums for the rest of the day Cheers, Colin.

OK, I think I'm getting more & more confused now (perhaps it's just getting too late in the day and my brain has started to shut down for the day). I'll see if I can ask some simple questions for which even I can understand the answer Do I need a Guage of some sort for the Low Fuel Light output generated by the Speedo to work? If I need a Guage Do you think I could simulate a Guage by using a suitable Resistor instead? Sorry if I'm being too thick. Colin.

Sorry (I'm probably being think) but are you saying 'Yes I don't need a Fuel Guage and can just use a Low Fuel Light' or 'No I need a Guage' or 'You don't know for sure'. If I can run it without a guage then I would probably be best making use of the dampening circuit for the 'Low LPG' warning light as the LPG sloshes about a hell of a lot (and I've got used to the Petrol guage waving about). It will just be a bit hit & miss what the Low LPG level actually equates to, but I can probably adjust it with a few suitable resistors. Colin