David_LLAMA4x4

I suppose it was inevitable that I would have to leap in at this point to defend Rough Country shocks.... There are now hundreds and hundreds of them out there ( with a tiny failure rate that has pleased me greatly ) and soft damping is an issue that has raised it head before but only 2 or 3 times.... therefore leaving hundreds of satisfied ( or mute ) customers who are more than happy. The 'soft' issue has only ever been raised on the 11" travel shocks ( part number 9316 ) which, as it happens, are valved exactly the same as the std and +2" parts. This means on the front there should be no issue as they fit in the manner of a std / +2" part and work in the same plane. On the rear they are inclined forwards slightly ( using a Gwyn Lewis ) bracket. This will of course slightly reduce therir damping effect over the suspension but is what adds to the oberall travel of the kit. One 'soft', bouncy complaint was sorted quickly and easily by fitting new bushes and washers in the right order! The comments all seem to be along the lines of great offroad / bit soft on road, which given the inclined shock on the rear may well be the case. BUT these comments are aimed at an 'offroad' suspension package! There is always a compromise and a shock that os good offroad and acceptable on road fitted to a car that is built for offroading must surely be par for the course if not desireable. I would suggest that the LR with the 11" shock kit on also has some non standard springs, big knobbly mud tyres, non standard steering/suspension geometry and with or without soft or hard dampers will by its very nature handle like a pig!! Even to ask an offroader to 'handle' on the road is an unreasonable request. I am looking at some new bushings in the near future for the 11" shocks but the rate will stay the same until more feedback is received... at the moment 3 or 4 complaints to several hundred satisfied does not offer grounds for changing anything... Many thanks David

Just take a peek at Land Rover vWeekend and it should give you some idea of what I am up to.... David

Hello Tom... Good to see you here - no doubt you will want an invitation to my new show to puch your markets See you on the 26/27 april at powis castle"!!! David

Dogs will be allowed but they need to be kept on leads ( as usual ) as it is a deer park in the surrounding fields.... Many thanks David

After many suggestions I have finally dome it and organised another show/gathering.... The website is obviously not finished yet and will keep changing and being updated towards the event but now is the time to start pronoting things so have a peek at : Land Rover weekend I suppose the overall concept of the show is to go forwards by going backwards... do you remember when shows had a good atmosphere and didn't break the bank to attend? Do you remember 'show special prices' when traders weren't stung so hard on the price of their stand they could be haggled with? Even the caterers are being allowed in with no charge so the excuse they always give for the cost of roll is not valid. That should mean the food wwill be sensibly priced - Have a look at the breakfast page of the website £4 for a cooked breakfast must be right..... Trade and public bookings are now being taken so get in touch if you want to come or just want to know more... Many thanks David

I will certainly make a big note of your feedback but have no plans as yet to change the valving as this is the first comment about them being too soft I have received out of something like 650 of them now being out there David

I think the rteason so many people use the Gwyn Lewis kit is because it is good ( damned good ) and sensible money - what it lacks in flashy style it more than makes up for in the fact that it works properly!! That is the very reason I chose to sell Gwyn's bracketry and had Rough Country make a LR valved shock especially to suit the brackets. I choose to sell it in bits rather than as a complete kit so people can choose a different spring etc. but the fact still remains - if you want a quality suspension setup that actually works properly ( and most don't to be honest - bottoming out shocks or going coilbound too soon etc ) Gwyn's brachetry is simply the best on the market David

It will be a lot quicker to explain than type so if you are still stick give me a call on 01938.850382 / 07969.458958 and I will happily talk you through it - this is a job I do quite often for circuit racing customers David

Have a look at the 'Breather Kit' page of www.llama4x4.co.uk... Even if you don't buy the kit, it shows you the way to put your breathgers together etc... Mant thanks David

I have just added a 'downloads' page to my website and the first 2 .pdf files on it are the wiring diagrams for Albright style contactors... Ignore the clour makings as these are, I imagine, unique to Superwinch but they show nice and clearly how to wire a contactor instead of the old type barrel solenoids. This is a question I get asked quite often so hopefully having it online will make life easier for a few people. The difference between the 2 diagrams is for 'normal' 3 terminal motors and the 'earlier' type with just 2 wires to the motor... Hope thay are of some use to you Many thanks David

I also sell black rubber hydraulic hose by the hundreds of metres if you want some but it is no good selling the customer the wrong stuff just because he won't listen to reason. Buy what you want from who you want but if you ask me what I recommend then you get the right stuff for the job and if you won't pay the pennies extra it cost then buy the wrong stuff from someone else with pleaseure. I sell 'posh plumbing' to all sorts of race cars from local club to national championships and I am not going to risk the reputation I have built up in this market on a penny pinching LR owner. David

I sell Setrab coolers and guess where I get them from? Listers!! Andy B is indeed the oracle of all notorsport hydraulic plumbing.. Give him a call as with a bit of luck he will point you to one of their distributors - namely me David

Depends what grade of hose you are using.... R6 / R7 etc...... There are a few rubber goses that will run ATF but you need to be sure you use the right one. More imortant on PAS than gearbox to be fair as all the holes are smaller and easier to clog. I just use teflon / stainless as a matter of course - it is neater, smaller od for the given id and guaranteed not to struggle with the fluid. Only downside is you have to use swaged or compression fittings on it but life is much better without crappy wormdrive clips all over your plumbing anyway David

I have a spare take off plate for an R380... Use the proper hose ( I only suggest teflon / stainless braid ) as it will be running ATF through it which eats most rubber hose, even hydraulic, and if using fuel hose will fill your gearbox and cooler with soggy bits of manky hose liner! Last one I did cost the bloke about£220 for the cooler and 2 stainless steel braided hoses made to length. Cooler only really needs -6jic ends . If you go for an engine oil cooler then the ports will be huge and by the time you have fitted reducers the whole thing will be huge! Give me a call if you need more help Many thanks David

My new show at Powis castle, Welshpool 25 / 27 April Loads more info to be posted soon but keep the dates available David

Could be the handed spring thing cropping up again.... LR springs should be handed though most most aftermarket ones don'r seem to bother ( I know Old man Emu do bother ). The driver's side springs should be 1/2" taller than the ns which would make your car sit level if the correct longer springs were fitted..... Are the Bearmach ones handed? David

I would go for softer busges ( or at least nomal ) and leave the nuts much looser than it sounds like you have been..... the bushes done too tight will not have any movement in them and so will bend / flex the stud until it dies... The most common cause of snapped studs by far is over tightened bushes. ProComp do not help with this issue either by not providing a locknut so you feel as though you have to do them up tight to stop them coming undone. Get a nyloc nut and some new bushes and only tighten them up until the bushes are just pinched - enough to stop the shock lifying but still able to twist it round... The Gwyn Lewis kit ( OME shocks ) and my Rough Country kit both give enormous front travel and have no issues wuth bent pins - both of these shocks come with nyloc nuts and also feature a shoulder on the stud so you cannot overtighten the bushes... Will almost certainly fix your problem for the cost of 4 bushes and 2 nuts! Many thanks David PS the brake hose in that QT kit looks lovely doesn't it??

The reason they exist is becuase if you fit larger style turrets like Gywn Lewis or Devon 4x4 units they have a 6mm lower plate, thus rendering the orginal turret ring bolt to short if used with the correct locking washers this is pushed to the limit if a seperate relocation cone is used as well. I did point out that longer rather than stronger might be a valid argument. Your point about them being strong enough is valid, but i think you might have missed the point as most still retain M8 fixings, just longer than standard. Some do upgrade to M10, which is great if you run external front shocks and hydraulic bump stops where the shocks used to be I accept that if modifications to that degree are carried out then a change might be necessary but what percentage of the buyers have this requirement and what percentage was tempted into the unecessary product by the advert / supplier?? I think it's good that different product is available for vehicles that are famous for being different Agreed ( up to a point ) though it would be nice if the personalised items carried some functional purpose, especially those that claim to!! Still ranting on and on and on..... David

Why does anyone need 'Heavy Duty turret retaining rings'?? Hust seen yet another set plugged in one of the LR comics ( remember when they were worth reading? ) and for purely childish reasons it bugged me... These rings hold the 4 bolts captive that hold the front turrets onto the chassis. The only way these bolts can possible break is if your suspension setup is so poorly thought out that the shock can bottom out and become a solid bar trying to push the turret up. As long as this is not the case then the 4 5/16" threads is more than enough to hold it down - and are indeed a stronger thread than the M8 many of these heavy duty rings replace them with. I can understand the need for longer bolts if you are fitting cones and thicker plate turrets but there is no need for heavy duty in this application. I fear it is another advert selling to people who don't know better ( and why should they? Their knowledge is in their own field as a plumber, solicitor etc ) bu retailers who don't know what they are on about either. Then the price war will begin and soon you will be able to buy the thing you don't need from one supplier 2p cheaper than from another as well as it being of inferior quality. So buy the cheap inferior one now ( OE type ) set up your suspension correctly and don'y bother with another useless piece of offroad bravado kit!! Rant over David

11/16" 16 tpi The taps will cost you a fortune, especially the left hand one.... If you want to go into production I could probably get you the taps at a half sensible price but if you just want a set for your own car then buy a pair - they will be cheaper than the taps.... One of the reasons I stopped making my Llama-bars was the cost of tool replacement was actually becoming a big part of the cost... plus the fact that people were happy to buy crappy ones out of soft cheese rather than pay the much higher price for the ones I was making out of the correct grade steel hex etc... Good luck with the project..... David

Best way is to use a 4 channel Lodar that basically has 2 x in and 2 x out buttons to operate bothe winches from the one control... Cheaper than buying 2 seperate by a long way - by my pricing it save s you about £90 to go for the 4 button controller over using 2 x two button ones... David

I only know 2 people who have ever bought them... 1/ Sold them before fitting them and put the money towards some cranked arms 2/ Fitted them and said that they did seem to have corrected the castor but then did the usual poly thing and only lasted 5 minutes because he actually expected them to work at full articulation A foolish though not uncommon misconception of using poly rather them OEM bushes. David

Correct, the proto uses the Defender swan neck.... a beefed up clamp on jobby sounds the obvious way for RRC ? Disco fitment... David

To answer some of the above..... The 'direct replacement' ram is a straight swap for the steering damper.... that way it means all the brackets are already there but I fear the system might make you fail the mot if used on a vehicle ( AllDef's! ) that wre factory fitted with a damper... The reason I state 4 bolt is that is what I have done a hose kit for and so that is the one I could supply straight away without having to pfaff about.... basically I use existing ports and T into them.... Price is subject to checking but I don't think that price is far off the mark at all..... David

I have already got a complete bolt on / off kit designed and a prototype is running ( and did very well in the Scorpion series ). The stainless braid / ptfe plumbing ( normal rubber hydraulic hose hates ATF ) is all worked into existing bits so no drilling / tapping is required and the production ram will be a direct bolt on replacement with no need to modify or weld any mounts anywhere. The concerns I have are over using such a system on a road going vehicle. I am not sure that they can be deemed as safe ( ie. do not affect the steering from original spec ) enough to leave on a dual purpose LR. I think hydro assist is going to be an offroad aid only. I reckon the whole kit with ram, and all fittings / hoses to work with a std LR pump and a 4-bolt PAS box should not cost more than£280 ish. Doesthis sound of interest to anyone as a production kit could be available on the shelf within 2-3 days.... David