crwoody

The ECU has no function in the lighting controls of a Defender so Nanocom won't be any help here, the lights are simply fed from fused switched supplies. There are two 30 amp fuses in the fusebox next to the ECU, one for the sidelights and the other for the headlights, then there are some 10 amp fuses in the passenger compartment fusebox (above the gearbox tunnel) where the left and right side lamps are fused individually. There may also be a dim-dip relay and resistor which supplies a reduced power to the dipped beam headlights when the sidelights and ignition are turned on, I'm not sure which versions have this, mine (a 2001 CSW) doesn't but my Sons 2004 van does? So I guess a fuse check will be the first priority here.

Any kind of fairly heavy use can cause this, specially with the use of a diff locker, I get this on my 90, it pays to check / re-torque them (to 65 Nm) occasionally. A Disco 1 (300tdi) I bought recently also had the dreaded oily wheel syndrome and when I checked I found two out of five on one side were loose and the other three were sheared off in the holes, came to check the other side and four were sheared Overtightened I assumed, although, thinking about it if they're loose they will flex back and forth sideways in the threaded holes and most likely break through fatigue.

"Another question just changed nearside bearing and still getting a knocking noise when turning hard right what should i be checking(this is the side that had nothing in swivel housing)." Sounds like the CV joint could be on it's way out, a clattering sound from the joint when on full lock is a common symptom.

It could the handbrake ON warning, I used to get that on mine quite often until I cleaned and re-positioned the switch by the brake lever.

I've never had a roll bar on mine so I couldn't speak for the before & after, but I find that despite rolling a bit on sharp bends or roundabouts it's fairly civilised and I still get round them faster than many of the "hot hatch" drivers seem to dare.

I left/lost most of mine in a forest in France a couple of years ago and removed the remaining bits when I got home. I never bothered to replace it since being only plastic, it provides little protection to the engine underside anyway. As far as I can make out, it is only there to provide a bit of sound deadening, the same as the plastic cover over the top of the cam cover and the little bit down the back of the engine, something to do with EU noise level targets or some such bovine excrement.

Sounds to me like it's just the ABS modulator doing it's thing. the extreme lack of grip on snow/ice just means it has to work a lot harder, (for little apparent effect!)

Were you thinking in terms of something like this - If so, I would be interested in a pair for a 90 at the right price! Cheers, Clive.

I had a similar problem with mine last year, I eventually found it was due to corrosion/electrical tracking in the two multi connector blocks where the looms come together next to the ECU, (they look like multi-way plugs but not plugged into anything.) These are used as "commoning" connectors where a number of the same colour wires join together. In mine, the water had caused some of the adjacent connections to track across and form a leakage path. To cure it, I just chopped the plugs off and connected the individual bunches of same coloured wires together, I soldered them then covered each group with Heat-shrink sleeving. pic below. Its been fine ever since. Worh checking out before delving too deep into the ECU, they're generally quite well waterproofed along with the ECU multi-plugs.

Another maybe insignificant downside - (depends where you go in it,) is toll charges, for example the Dartford crossing is £1.50 for a car or £2.00 for a van (2 axle goods.) Most others have similar discriminatory charge rates.

Saw some of the Icelandic trucks at Billing the other year, superb looking beasts, pity I didn't think to take a look underneath though.

The only issue that I have with oversize tyres is the need to use wheels with a bigger offset, or add spacers to the standard ones to maintain the turning circle, either way this has the effect of putting a fair bit of extra side force on the wheel bearings (even with normal driving) and shortening their life. You also end up with the outer edge of the tyre showing beyond the wheel arch (potential MOT failure!) and the sides of your motor get extra muddy. (Good / bad? depends on your view!)

How about getting a peice of mirror glass cut to fit into the existing recess and then glue it on top of the original glass?

Sounds more like worn valve stem seals to me.

Might just be worth checking to see if the're fitted correctly, it is just possible to get them in the wrong way round, IE. rotated by 120°.

Check out the link (a bit long) below. http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http...=image&cd=1

I'm afraid it sounds like its coming down to a "Brute Force & Ignorance" approach needed here, with plenty of persuading. I guess the bolts have corroded to the extent where they've become "at-one" with the housing casting, maybe plenty of WD40 and a good "wiggling" might shift it, trouble is of course that you dont want to damage the mounting face by levering it off directly. At least you dont have to worry too much about damaging the housing, assuming your spare is a complete one.

I think you'll find there is a tank breather next to the rear X-member inside the rear passenger side wheelarch, ends up in an inverted "U", could get bunged up with mud, worth checking that out .

Sounds like it could be a blocked fuel filter, (in the drivers side rear wheel arch.) Has it been changed lately? Are there any odd noises from the fuel pump when the problem occurs?

It's 36mm, I got a generic Laser one from my local motor factors (listed as a Ford one if I remember correctly.) You may also need another tool to lock the pulley depending how tight it's been put on. Also bear in mind it's a normal right hand thread not a LH as so many are.

I don't know of any particular year but I would say any after 2002 would be better than pre 2002, thats when they changed from EU2 to EU3 emmissions compliance and changed to a flash programmed UCU, improved injectors and other improvements. They also beefed up the EGR arrangements which I've heard say reduce the performance slightly but can be easily removed. From those I've heard, the later ones seem to run quieter (and smoother?) than the earlier ones.

Depends how quickly the water comes in, a bit of rain water is OK but it can't cope with a proper gush. Thinking about sticking a second snorkel on mine.

You also have an issue where the metal sheet would be a lot thinner than the original glass and would not be held tightly enough by the rubber glazing strip.

"10 minute job" = "kiss of death" Did it again the other day. Oil on the N/S back wheel of my recently aquired Disco (300), "that'll be the drive flange bolts loose, I'll just whip the wheel off and tighten them up", finally got it all back together about 6 hours later after having to remove the hub and drill out 3 broken bolts. Trouble is, yesterday I checked the other side "just to be sure" and found four out of five broken on this side, I think it will have to wait until it gets a bit warmer.

I've had a wing top scoop on mine for a while, doesn't really seem to make much difference though, maybe a slight improvement if travelling at a decent speed but when stopped or going slowly it only hinders the flow as others have said. The other side issue is though, as Hamish Grundy has suggested, even if it does increase airflow, ie. at speed, this could reduce the heater matrix temperature if it's not getting hot enough to start with so you end up with no real benefit anyway. Always good for wetting your passengers feet if you go wading a bit deep and the bow wave comes over the bonnet/wings, best to shut it off first.