Julian
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Posts posted by Julian
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Any mods should be inspected on completing before the car can continue on the roads, regardless of when an MoT is due, and I'm sure most people do this - I had my Tdi retrofit tested and had the whole suspension, braking, steering and axles poored over by the top man at my local MoT station two weeks ago on completing my axle swap. Sadly, some people are less cautious and will chance a bad mod on the road with little thought to others, so formalising this requirement would help. That should nail most of the chop-shop specials out there.
A lovely 'rose tinted specs' idea, but how is anything other than a 'one size fits all' ever going to work when it comes to EU bureaucracy?
Here's an example: Let's say you've done some extensive mods to an old car and turned it into a hot-rod, LSD, Cal-tracs, NOS, blower, some light alloy suspension components etc etc. All in all a beautiful looking car sounding nice and can run the quarter in 10 seconds. How can an MOT tester decide if it's roadworthy? - keeping it straight on the road may be a challenge, how can he tell that the sprag clutch in the autobox won't let go when the NOS is on turning the machine into an out of control fire-ball? The answer is that he can't, he's not a stress engineer and he certainly can't be expected to come to any proper conclusions.
So to conclude, 'chop-shop-specials' or well executed mods, there's no way to tell what's safe and what isn't acceptably safe for the roads so the blanket ban is the only realistic way forward and forward is the way we're going!
Julian.
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If (like the bike petition) you get all frothy and Daily Mail about it, it will come across as ill-informed and reactionary (as 99% of the petitions on that site are)..
But it's already happened in other EU member states, we've seen it on this forum regarding engine swaps!!!!! I'm not sure what the reasons would be for us _Not_ to comply, we comply (and gold plate - Cameron) every other bloomin regulation.
I believe we have to get our heads out of the proverbial sand and act now!
Julian.
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I have a Sankey, and the prospect of it being banned because of a lack of an E-mark is ludicrous;
You know that, I know that, but a regulation is a regulation - what chance do you think you've actually got keeping it on the road in the face of EU legislation? Do you think for one minute that they will make an exception for a few jolly nice chaps with old Landrovers who like to potter around taking the hedge clippings down to the tip in a Sankey on a Sunday? Trying to sound reasonable by saying that you don't mind it being tested will cut no ice, end of story.
There's only one way to fight this in my opinion, stop all the woolly words and letters and let's have some direct action. We need something akin to the demonstrations in London before the ban on hunting with horses. MP's won't listen, they never do, the only chance you have is on the run-up to an election when they suspect they may have their ars3s kicked down the road. In particular you can expect zero support from MEP's. Why not, well here's a clue. Clegg is going to get £250,000 per annum MEP pension when he retires - do you seriously think anyone will upset the apple cart when that's at stake? We are of secondary importance I'm afraid....
Julian.
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However, ive spilt brake fluid down wings and its never had an effect! So did i get taken for a Muppet and sold fake brake fluid, or does it actually strip paint?
The fluid will eat through old style cellulose paint in no time at all - no question.
I suspect that modern paint which is a water based base coat and two pack lacquer top coat is pretty much impervious to the stuff. I've not experimented though!
Julian.
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I've just realised the directive includes testing of trailers under 3.5 tonnes GVW !!! That should stir anyone with a caravan up as well, so I need to add a bit about that
Yes, one or two hear seem to be of the opinion that trailers should be tested - failing brakes being cited as the reason. (Good thing as I've just managed to narrowly escape yet another runaway trailer with failed brakes this morning :-) )
But I suspect that any trailer that has been modified, is home made and/or doesn't carry a 'CE' marking or have a data plate with serial/type approval number will no longer be allowed on the road. So the likes of Sankey trailers, anything 'home-spun' or tailored for a specific purpose or older trailer without identification will be fubarred!
Be careful what you wish for folks...
Julian.
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I thought it would be worth mentioning these guys:
http://www.steering-racks.co.uk/
They did (I think an Adwest) rack recon for me a year ago and they seem to have a done a really top class job at a very reasonable cost.
Julian.
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ive also been pricing up on brit-car, and they seem to be a little more expensive for the same stuff. also for 200 engine parts, its unclear what manufactured parts you will get, their normal system seems to be vague for 200 engine parts.
They have an on-line text chat facility, I suggest you ask them a few questions. I found this service very useful indeed.
Julian.
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I've been trying to access Paddock's website since yesterday with no luck. The same goes for among others LRDirect, Brookwell and Flatdog.
Craddock and LRSeries can be accessed normally.
It's a public holiday in the UK. The server has probably crashed and there's nobody there to press the re-set button!
Julian.
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Started out on the job earlier on and ended up taking a turn in a different direction!
First I decided upon the rear diff first. (a lucky chance) Got the diff out easily enough and was surprised to find not that much play between crown wheel and pinion cogs and the teeth looking in good condition, so I looked elsewhere for the play and found that the 1/2 shafts were sloppy in the hub flanges.
As the wear had only eaten away a small amount of material I tightened the 1/2 shaft nut back up tight and used new split pins. I expect that they will start 'working' again pretty soon but there's no easy solution other than new flanges and 1/2 shafts. They should be good for another 30 years!
Right, onto the diff. I studied the WS manual and decided to have a go at removing the play between CW & P. The first job was to re torque the propshaft flange nut as this was also lose. I don't have the tools to check pinion protrusion, so I took a chance that it was OK and just re-set the CW to P clearance and set some pre-load in the CW shaft bearings.
I shoved it all back together, filled it with oil and went for a drive. The good news is that the diff noise on the over-run has now just about gone, so I'm going to leave it alone now and use the vehicle some more. I never went near the front diff - that can stay as it is.
Julian.
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It is that simple but a pain to do. Make surd to use something sturdy and stable to support the hubs, if they slip and damage you brake lines it will rapidly become much less straight forward.
I will be doing the same job tomorrow with a bit of luck.
How did you get on? I didn't do mine as the weather was lovely earlier on so I put on the handthrottle that I got off ebay some months ago. Now I've got a series with cruise control
Julian.
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Am i missing anything that could have caused the head gasket failure do you think i was right that it could have been the radiator?
I'm no expert on the matter but from what I understand the HG is a known design weakness and can go without provocation. I presume the normal rules apply here and that the alloy head must be checked to make sure it's free from warps.....
Julian.
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Cheers Phil, that sounds easy enough!
julian.
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Ok, it's giving **** weather tomorrow so I'm going to maybe have a go at swapping the diffs over, front to rear. (This is because my rear diff has a fair amount of slop in the propshaft and is a bit noisy - the front feels much tighter)
Anyway, the rear looks very easy indeed, no more than 30 minutes work to have it out. But what about the front, what do I need to do regarding the front hubs to withdraw the 1/2 shafts enough to get the diff out? I've had swivels to bits before to do bushes and seals etc but can't remember what needs to be done just to get a 1/2 shaft withdrawn enough.
Cheers Julian.
PS I've got two diff gaskets, will I need any other consumables?
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I fitted a 4" bilge blower instead of the original fan on my s3 (it squealed and drove me barmy) - it shifts about twice the amount of air as the original, but it's still pretty pathetic compared to a modern car... I did think of using two of them, or putting them underneath the ducts to the demister vents (in the big empty airbox bit of the dash) but haven't got round to it as yet...
I thought of the bilge blowers too, or brake cooling fans for (for eg) NASCAR cars - as that's also what they are used for.However I've had experience of these little but powerful 'turbine' style fans in the avionics/equipment bays on Boeing aircraft, here they are 200volt 400Hz jobbies that turn at around 10,000 rpm and make such a racket that you need ear plugs if close up to one.
LR's 'snail fan' is fairly large diameter and turns slowly - obviously that's to cut noise - I do however fancy trying it at 24V as I suspect it will still be inaudible above the racket of the 2.25 Diesel :-)
Julian.
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There is little wrong with the defender heater matrix, it's just that the blower is pathetic!
Today, I tried connecting the motor to 24v - and it blew a gale! After 10 mins the motor was warm, but not hot - so its probably happy-ish being over volted.
I've ordered a 12v to 24v converter from China rated at 10A which might be sufficient. It opens up the possibility of a 4 speed heater control - though more likely just a boost switch on the dash somewhere.
I'll keep you posted with how it goes!
Si
You're a genius and I owe you a beer!
I modified the heater on my series three to incorporate two heater matrixes, and with an 88 degree stat I can get very hot air from it but the actual fan is too feeble. I've been racking my brains to find a better fan and even got one from a (Fiat Ducato?) van that looked just the job, but alas it would not quite fit in the space :-(
I'm going to try running my motor at 24 volts as per your brilliant idea, or maybe rig up some sort of dropper resistor so that I can run it at about 18 volts and have it last a bit longer!
Julian.
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, trousers round his knees, baseball cap on backwards, racing a Saxo round Tesco's car park on a Saturday night.
http://www.maniacworld.com/Anatomy-of-an-Urban-Thug.html
Julian :-)
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However, have a read of this, basically saying "calm down dear, it's just a proposal". We should be organised and vigilant, definitely come up with a plan re lobbying MEPs etc, but let's see what the DfT respond to Pistonheads.
Just my £0.02
Edited because I hadn't seen Si's letter post!
''Calm down dear'' is obviously a reference to Mr Cameron . Cameron also coined the word 'gold-plating' with regards to Whitehall’s practice of adding extra regulations to the tsunami of Directives from Brussels.
I don't believe a word these lying two-faced bsuggers say, I have no doubt that we will see this directive become law, it's just a matter of when. I think we need a robust response, the sooner the better.
Julian.
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I'm all for trailers being tested.
A terrific idea, more legislation - bring it on I say. Why stop there, let's have an annual house roof survey incase a high wind should set a tile free and it hit a passing pedestrian, and an annual garden tree survey too for similar reasons, let's employ more civil servants to police it all....
The country is fubarred, we need less of this plopplops, not more, if we are ever able to compete again on the world stage.
Julian.
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Is there not some sort of e-petition to No.10 that can be set up like other campaigns???
Remember that e-petitions are a contrivance set up to allow the great unwashed (you and me) to vent steam. Nothing will happen as a result of an e-petition.
What we need is some sort of massed civil disobedience. So (say) what we need is for everyone to come together ie car owners, bikers, commercial vehicle owners etc etc, basically everyone who may be effected by the new legislation and conduct a protest.
How about if we went to every MP, MEP, politician, Lord and senior civil servant's house early every Sunday morning and blocked them in for the day? That would make the buggers take notice.....
We just need someone with the ability to organise, along the lines of the oil refinery blockades a decade ago....
Julian.
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If rates dropped then everything we bought would drop (knock on effect) as the businesses using the hauliers would have less outlay.
But then the gubbinsment's revenue take from the duty would drop. That would then force then to make up the shortfall via other methods - for you and me that would equate to more income tax, NI or VAT. So again, back to square one!
Julian.
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Many hauliers have gone under in the past few years due to high fuel prices and very little paid for the job undertaken
I read regularly on the internet that the high price of white diesel is causing hauliers to go under.
Certainly I agree that the price of white is high, thus the cost of getting an artic from A to B at 8mpg is substantial. But surely the playing field is level as all hauliers have to pay the same price for fuel? So, if hauliers (say) could legally use red then all that would happen would be hauliers dropping their rates and hence back to square one.
Is it not a case of too many hauliers out their cutting their own throats in search of business?
Julian.
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One way is to phone a contractor and ask if he can tag your job onto a larger one. I got some tractor rear wheels done for peanuts several years ago - I took them down to a boatyard were the contractor was doing a narrow boat hull.
Julian.
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All I'm saying is that the red diesel situation must be one of the biggest fiddles going -
If you abolished red, then the even 'biggest fiddle' ever would be falsified paperwork claiming back duty on white.
There would be no way to tell by the roadside what the situation was via a spot-check. Thus a farmer, construction site worker, fisherman or forester would be running his Diesel Audi on white but put through the books as having gone into the CAT D8, New-Holland or JCB. All you would need is a relatively recent receipt for a few litres of white from a forecourt in your pocket and Bob's your uncle!
You ask for a better idea. I have one: Police the laws properly. For one there's a million uninsured drivers out on the roads and once again we see politicians trumpeting all sorts of initiatives but nothing _really_ gets done....Same with Red, same with drugs, same with our city centres becoming war zones on a Friday evening.......
Julian
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,it may be more help to come up with better ideas rather than just trash mine.I'm not after cheaper fuel for my bikes,but i dont see why other "lesuire users" should be allowed a rebate.
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I don't think that any leisure users are allowed a rebate - are you aware of any?
I have a litle Massey 135 that I restored and plan to take on the odd tractor road run - strickly speaking I should have it on white to do this.
Julian.
Facet Fuel Pump
in Defender Forum (1983 - 2016)
Posted
No relay required, but you may want to consider fitting a G-switch to isolate the pump if you have a bad accident. I fitted one to a car of mine I converted to electric fool pump, it came from a small Rover I think.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fuel-Pump-Inertia-Switch-Kit-car-Westfield-Locost-/170891653101?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27c9efafed
Julian.