Dads Toy

Fortunately they took it back and, as you said, it's rarer so more expensive, they actually refunded me the difference! Now which place am I likely to go back to? Malcolm

Thanks, eventually got that number from a similar parts book. The main agent reluctantly ordered it for me as according to their Microcat it only fits the Td5 and not a 300Tdi. When it arrived - perfect and then he told me their version of Microcat is for the US and is often wrong for older UK vehicles. Brilliant. Malcolm

I have a '95 Hard top (90) with a 300Tdi engine and need the plastic intake grill that sits in the side of the offside front wing. From my copy of microcat and also from the main LR dealer it's MWC 2501 but when it arrived it is the mirror image of the one I need. Any ideas? Thanks Malcolm

Good point Jeff. I think I've got the answer to question 3 with the Ingersoll Rand but my compressor won't run that. So until I can upgrade I'm looking to see if there's an answer to question 1 for the interim and if so what? "The answer's easy, it's the question that's difficult" springs to mind. Malcolm

I adjusted mine by leaving the bolts not quite tight, then you can lever the door up/down/twist to get the best possible gap all round. Then adjust the door striker plate till it sits flush - I had to file out the holes a little for more adjustment. Was really pleased with the result , then put a new seal on to finish the job and can't shut the door without a huge effort! Can't work out how to get it to shut well and flush with the bodywork. Malcolm

It's not the transducer you want to change (I think there's only one) but the gear that drives it. The gear sits in the transfer box and, as has been said already, you can get them with different number of teeth on them. The transducer has a square drive that is turned by the gear to generate the signal. It connects just the same as a speedo cable into the gear but sends an electric signal via wires instead of turning a drive cable all the way to to speedo head. Malcolm

Try the one that happened to me a couple of years ago then. Paid for 12 months but when we got home found they'd only given us a disk for 6. Straight back to be confronted with "prove it". Well how about the form that had 12 months ticked then? No, what's written on the tax disc is what you asked for and the forms not relevant. Getting annoyed now when they said they would have to wait for DVLA to send a statement of all their transactions for the day then tally that with the takings and if there's a difference they mightconsider it. Luckily my missus used to work part time in a local little Post Office and pointed out the woman who'd served us and also the cheque we'd written. Here comes the saving grace, my wife had written the form reference plus the registration and 12 months applied for on the back (as they are supposed to)so they had no options left and cancelled the old disc and issued the correct one. Had it been cash, not sure how we'd have proved anything and it struck me as a possible scam, take for 12 months, issue 6, pocket the difference, especially as the assistant wasn't there again. Moral - use a cheque (as long as they're still around) and write all your info on the back. Oh and don't leave the counter until you've checked you got what you wanted and paid for. Malcolm

They are easy enough to replace but I was disappointed with the result. Just pull the old seal off and the new one pushes into the opening. Before I put the new (moment of shame here , Br***Part) one on, I adjusted the latch so the door shut nicely and flush with the bodywork, but when I put the seal on I had to nearly pull the inside handle off to get it to close. From another thread, I found that there are solid rubber cores inserted at a couple of places inside the seal and this stops the seal compressing and hence the door won't close. Managed to get them out with a pair of long nosed pliers but still not really happy with the result although no longer need a windproof coat whilst driving. I may try using a genuine seal to see if that works better but at £60 each you can see why I went the blue box route first. Malcolm

There are no bulbs in a Carling switch, they're led's. To get in you lift up the catches on the top/bottom of the switch then "carefully" take the back off. You have to be careful as there are small springs that will ping off in all directions plus rocker/s. These make contact with the led wires and connectors on the back. There are some diagrams of how the switches are wired but they're pretty basic really but what you MUST get right is that the power feed to the led has a small spring and an even smaller resistor underneath it. HTH Malcolm

I've just put a set of 235/85R16 on my '90 and the recommendation was the rims should be 6"-7" so I took the opportunity to change them as well. My original 5.5" rims were getting a little tatty and like others have said, you need to check if they are "tubed only". I did have 205/80R16 but they looked silly and the bigger tyres are actually much quieter on the road. Don't forget the speedo issue if you do change sizes. Malcolm

I've put 5 Carling switches plus other re-wiring in my 90 and used this link one from VWP. It accommodates various sizes and also turns the tags over to grip the conductor/insulator. Yes the ratchet version would have been nice but this one works perfectly well and they have a good range of terminals. Malcolm

I had the same problem until I got annoyed and levered it off with a screwdriver Then you see it's only held in by the plastic collar at the end of the cable which clips over the ridge on the speedo head. If you can pull hard enough - yeh where it is makes that difficult, it does just come off. Malcolm

For the brake fluid level warning - check the switch in the cap actually works. Mine was gummed up with old brake fluid, a good clean and it's Ok but they can't be that expensive to replace I wouldn't have thought. Malcolm

Thanks everyone - it seems my initial thought when buying the compressor was right - get the biggest you can! Pity I didn't go with that and was persuaded the smaller one would be fine. I shall look at upgrading that then go for an Ingersoll Rand gun. Malcolm

I'm looking to get an air impact wrench but the questions' in the title - what do I go for? I have a 2hp compressor with a 50litre tank giving 9cfm. I've seen stuff from SIP,Sealey,Clarke but what's the difference between all the different one's? I've also hear Chicago Pneumatic are very good, but would I run out of puff with them? Any help appreciated. Malcolm

Wow there are at least 2 others like me out there then! It only took 5 days of the New year before I'd managed to break a finger - at the gym! Just like Nige, the doc said "A&E" and after an X ray showed I'd chipped a bit off the end of my finger joint, the doc said "show me your other hand so I can compare how much the tip droops" (oo-err). Confused doc when I showed him as I broke the same finger on the other hand a few years ago and it never healed properly. Only 4 more weeks in a daft splint that means I give everyone "the finger". Malcolm

You can certainly take the front off. Muddstuff sell a plastic fork type tool that you slide under the rocker and lever it off. If you reverse the rocker, the led's are in the wrong place as they are in the main housing. Underneath it's a fairly straightforward rocker switch. With a bit of imagination you can alter most things on them but look very carefully at the miniature resistors that allow the led's to work - you'll find them under the slightly shorter springs that will ping off as soon as you open the main body! It took me some time, but with a bit of re-wiring of the switch I managed to get the orange led on my spotlight switch to come on constantly when they are switched on, stay off when it was in the middle position but still come on when the spots come on with main beam. Been told it can't be done! Malcolm

Try the electrical section of Rave manual. I seem to recall all the headers/connectors are shown there. Malcolm

Started off with M&S but then their premium went stupid so last year went with NFU. Just like others, the renewal was a massive increase (no claims) of over 70%. Phone call gets the reply "well all insurance premiums are going up". Loads of phone calls to end up back with M&S at a sensible price. Daftest of all, they have a standard list of modifications and when I ticked "spotlights" the premium came down £5! I guess NFU either think we're daft enough to just cough up or don't want us any more. Either way they're going to lose a LOT of business. Malcolm

Check it's not the rubber spill pipes that take excess fuel back to the tank. They deteriorate over time and fuel drips from them down the injectors. That's what happened on my 300Tdi and it took ages to find as I thought it was the rocker gasket. Malcolm

Did the rears last week and the fronts today. All with o.e. standard springs. Mine now sits with the passenger side down at the front and no I haven't got them on the wrong sides. Hoping it just needs to settle down after being on rotten rusty lumps of bent wire for so long. It rides a huge amount better. Malcolm p.s. last owner didn't bother with 2 of the washers on one of the front shocks so the locating hole was out of round but the correct bits seem to have gone in fine with no real play.

Just got round to doing the rear springs and shocks. Thanks for the advice, I got Gwyn Lewis spring seats, retainer plates and front turrets. They are all galvanised and certainly ought to last longer than the crumbly bits I took off. The biggest problem was undoing the nuts at the base of the shocks and the spring retainers - I ended up cutting them off but you have to be careful as the brake pipes are pretty close. I also replaced the top (dished) washers on the shock mounts as the old one's were badly corroded. The job went fairly straightforward and am ready to tackle the front. Malcolm

Thanks for all the suggestions. Nothing worse than having the landy up on axle stands with all the big bits off when something stupid snaps - and the shops are shut! I can now get most of the bits suggested first and hopefully avoid the neighbours thinking I've started a breakers yard! Malcolm

I'm going to replace my worn out shock absorbers and springs shortly. It will be with standard springs and shocks (no lift or anything else) and apart from the new one's what else am I likely to need to do the job? In other words what else is going to break when I take the old (15+years) one's off. Ta. Malcolm