Chicken Drumstick

I would guess yours might be an exception to the rule. Is it an aftermarket chassis with thicker material? I have in person seen several bent rear crossmembers when attached in this manner. As part of the ALRC regs above, we also contacted Land Rover directly, who confirmed that it isn't suitable to mount in that manner. I don't have the letter from them, but it is held by the ALRC.

Sadly the Td5 onwards rear cross member is not suitable for direct fitting of a tow point such as a NATO hook. If you use the captive nuts it will just bend the crossmember as soon as you pull anything. And runs the risk of pulling through entirely. A lot of effort went into this for the ALRC regs. If you scroll down to the bottom of page 4 there is an example drop plate and attachment. You could then mount a nato hook on the drop plate. https://www.alrc.co.uk/stylesheets/downloads/2021-ALRC-Greenbook-Competition-Rules-and-Regulations.pdf If you are into fabbing then you could remove or drill out the captive nuts and drop the tank and fit a spreader plate behind the crossmember as you would on an older model of course. Don’t forget to use high tensile (min 8.8) nuts and bolts for any tow points.

I think LR also fitted the 1.6:1 transfer box with the 2.8, so as to better exploit its revs and comparable lack of low end grunt. Meant to be good engines and I believe swapping the intake manifold for another BMW factory item is able to release 20-25hp extra from them.

But that would be the fun part!

For me I generally find autos annoying and less fun. So I’d want a manual on this basis. The LT85 is quite agricultural, even for a Land Rover box! Wonder how easy it would be to swap in a ZF 6 speed (Disco3/BMW) manual or Getrag 6 speed from a Puma?

Could be. But it’s hard to say without having a good look around. I had a rear brake calliper shear a mounting flange. That pretty much stopped my Land Rover moving.

No 2wd on a Defender. Just a lockable centre differential. Could be many things that could lock the drivetrain up.

Are those tyres road legal? I've not seen that kind of tread pattern that is before. Personally I think it'll completely kill your crawl speed off road. And on road will be pretty horrendous. 1.4 or even a 1.6 transfer box will help on road (if the tyres are road legal). But won't help off road. I'd have thought a min of 4.10:1 diffs would be needed. And as per Fridge's advice. I can't see stock axles lasting long with any 37" tyre, let alone aggressive ones. Axles are easy enough to break with a 235/85's... However, please do keep us posted. Will be interesting to see how you get on fitting and running them.

Just musing…. I know the PCD of the rims is different. But would normal Land Rover wheelnuts fit the p38 studs? (Steel rims). Or are they a different pitch also. Thanks.

Thanks. I did clean it off a few weeks back with degreaser. But I’ll check the dipstick too. Guess it should have an o-ring to seal. Have some spares in the barn, hopefully one will fit. Will report back once I’ve replaced the oil return. But hopefully between the two items it’ll fix the leak.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m very aware they usually have a shelf life…. 😉

150,000 miles. But to be fair, we've had a few 19j's on the farm and between family. My brothers 19J was good to over 130,000 miles and only gave up due to me getting it stuck in a very deep mud hole and it ingested water. We have two other 19j's on the farm, one is somewhere north of 230,000 miles the other about 170,000 miles. Both of these are still running fine with no issues.

Thanks, have ordered one up. Although I found the same part number on ebay for £21.99 inc postage. So went with that one.

It might be, but def leaking on the pipe highlighted too. I think it spraying it up when being driven, making a mess. It wasn't doing it, a fairly recent development.

I have an oil leak from the oil return pipe from the turbo. I can the pipe is metal from the turbo, then runs down the side of the block to what looks like a rubber hose. It is leaking here. I have put an extra hose clip on, but it hasn't solved it. Due to the weather and other things, I haven't crawled under to take a closer look. Does anyone know if this hose is a specific part, or does it just clip onto another metal fitting to return to the sump? Any idea on the hose size? I'd like to have what I need to fix it when I tackle it. As it's super messy there, so I'll use an engine degreaser to clean the block/pipes down. And do an oil change all at the same time. Thanks.

I don’t run them on mine. But mine is used to trials competitions. Honestly don’t think there is a huge difference with or without. I understand the advantages of them. And the cons.

Don't think the central spot welded bit has any mounts on it. It's no more structural than a sunroof I'd have thought, just on the opposing part of the body.

I’m seeing some 90 rear shocks being listed as different from Td5 (or maybe Puma) onwards. One seller is telling me they are a different ‘fitment’. I’m honestly not sure. But I thought only the damping rate (and supplier) changed over the years compared to Tdi and earlier models. Anyone able to confirm or deny? Thanks.

200kg towing nose weight according to Google.

Green 110 on the white steel wheels today parked up on Ivinghoe Beaocn. Only one I saw today. Shame they don't offer any solid colours like red or even "Land Rover" green......

Round here (Beds/Bucks area) they seem almost common if I'm honest. Even a good number of 90's about. That said I'd guess more than 50% of them are black, with white being the most popular other colour by a big margin. Only seen 1 hard top mind and it was blue. I'd always thought they'd sell well. But they really are a great spiritual successor to the D3. Which also sold very well at launch. And iit certainly fulfil the same brief perfectly. Round this way Range Rover Sports are also plentiful (the most common LR model I'd say). And no lack of L405 Range Rover's either. With deepest regret, it seems the current JLR line-up seems to be the new "Audi" out on the roads. Very popular with a certain type who seem to have money to burn and are fascinated by labels and image. Disco 5's are probably the rarest, don't see all that many. And as an odd observation, the local Suzuki dealership has 50% more used Land Rover's for sale than it does Suzuki's. And I'm pretty sure they aren't trade in's. But ones they have bought to trade on.

It's all relative.... The D3 used a dual chassis design. I'm sure in "automotive terms" it would have been very easy to produce a different upper monocoque for a dual cab pickup, retaining the same structure from the C pillar forwards for the most part.

Always thought they should have done a double cab pickup with the D3. It would have sold well in the USA I'm sure. And would have been easy and cheap to introduce I'd have thought.

Yes I think they are. But not 100% sure. The rear side windows are different as I did the runners in my 1989 Ninety last year too but not sure about the rear truck cab window not sure if it is like a Series window or like the Ninety rear side windows. Here is a link anyway to the Series Runners: https://clubshop.thelandroverclub.co.uk/window-channel-14-c.asp If is like the 90 rear side windows this might be of help.

I did indeed. I used the plastic runners from the Series Owners Club. Let me see if I can find a link.