Don Del

It is chucking down with rain here at the moment but I will see what I can do about getting a photo of the housing tomorrow. In the meantime I have this photo which shows the oil filter cartridge:-

It was originally fitted with a distributor but it was replaced with a "dumpy dizzy" (a cut down distributor to provide drive to the oil pump) when I installed a Megajolt ignition system which incidentally performs brilliantly. Hence the coil packs. Del

The vehicle is a special build, one of a batch of six I believe, for the US DEA here at the time, and is essentially a Td5 with a 3.5 V8 engine with SU carbs, distributor and conventional vee belts on the front pulleys. The engine number is 24G17916B. As I mentioned in my initial post the timing cover has the pre suffix B water pump and the presence of the distributor would indicate the presence of a pre suffix B oil pump. To confirm that the engine is a suffix B unit the outer rows of four cylinder head bolts are not present. Escape's first post clarified things for me after I had been wrong footed by the Overhaul Manual references to differences in suffix B engines. The engine is a suffix B unit with a pre suffix B timing cover to provide for an ignition system using a distributor. Cheers, Del

Thank you for the concise reply which has clarified things for me. cheers, Del

I am a British expat living in La Paz, Bolivia. For the last ten years or so I have owned a 1999 3.5 V8 110 Station Wagon, the V8 being installed for export by the factory as part of an export order for the US Drug Enforcement Agency. It has currently just got a bit under 90,000 miles on the clock. For various reasons I am considering upgrading the camshaft and I am in the process of sourcing the required parts from the UK. From experience of importing parts over the last ten years I know that as a rule of thumb by the time I import a part it will cost me around twice its purchase price in the UK excluding VAT by the time shipping and customs duties are added. Also the option of exchanging an incorrect part is not available to me. For that reason I have to be particularly careful in specifying anything I order when various options exist. The engine in my vehicle has a suffix B serial number and has conventional V belts and a distributor with SU carbs. However the water pump is the STC488 one fitted, according to the overhaul manual I have, to the pre suffix B timing cover. To confuse matters further the oil filter cartidge is angled forward as per the suffix B timing cover. When ordering a camshaft kit it would logically be for a non serpentine engine I would have thought. But what about the overhaul kit for the oil pump? Would it be the for the eccentric gear type fitted to suffix B engines or for the more conventional gear pump previously fitted? I know that I could strip the engine down before ordering parts but I don't particularily want to have the truck off the road for a month waiting for them to arrive. Any help in getting me out of my quandry would be appreciated!! Cheers, Del

While doing some searching about mounting wheel bearings I came across a post by Steve G. dated 21/8/19 about changing the post '99 staked nut and spacer method of mounting wheel bearings back to the twin lock nut method which I have pasted below:- FYI - you can't just reuse the existing spacer after replacing bearings, you have to measure end float and adjust spacers accordingly. This is why most move to early style of locking nuts to save messing around and stocking with various spacers. The later methods is better as its more precise and removes human error, and done correctly the bearings will last longer. Fitting without correctly following spacer method normally results in damaging bearing as you over tighten and pinch bearing. Cheers Steve Given the hassle in possibly (probably?) having to change the spacer size when replacing wheel bearings, especially in the middle of nowhere, it seems a sensible way to go. Anybody care to comment? Cheers, Del

Many thanks! Del

I have read the numerous posts on this site regarding wheel bearing part numbers. My understanding is that bearing part number RTC3429 was superceded by part number STC4382 but the bearing itself remained unaltered. My reason for asking is that I have a '99 Defender 110 Station Wagon which according to the parts manual requires STC4382 bearings and when I checked with the local LR parts (limited) supplier to have some bearings available if the need should arise all they could offer were Timken RTC3429 units. Any feedback appreciated! Cheers, Del

Thanks for the input. Del

The rear ones look fairly straightforward to fabricate so I think I will go with those as a start point. Many thanks for your help! Cheers, Del

I don't intend raising the truck it is just the additional travel in the shocks that has me concerned in a standard suspension set up.

I have been going around previous posts and that is the conclusion that I have come to. Front and rear or just rear?

I have a 1999 Defender 110 Station Wagon currentl fitted with Boge shock absorbers which are the readily available "standard" replacement here in Bolivia. I have noticed recently that one of the front shock absorbers is giving up the ghost with seal failure. I have also had this happen to one of the rear shock absorbers in the past. Rather than go out and buy more Boge units I decided to see what other units I could source locally and found an agent for Ironman in La Paz who could offer their foam cell shock absorbers at a price! From what I have been able to find out these seem a reasonable product. My only concern is that the catalogue lists the units be suitable for both the standard suspension set up and for suspension set ups with a 2" lift. Fitting these units to a standard set up must result in extra suspension travel and articulation being present with the possibility of dislocating the rear springs. I would appreciate any suggestions for methods of overcoming this potential problem. I have alrady done a search of the site and came across someone using heavy duty hose clamps to keep the tops of the springs in place, dislocation cones have been mentioned but without much enthusiasm. Cheers, Del

Good news and bad news! As suggested by Giles, I was able to adjust the actuating rod fairly easily to replicate the original. However when I checked out the master cylinder mounting studs I found that they did not pass through to the back of the unit as oneandtwo suggested might be the case. Therefore rather than proceed I have decided to order a TRW unit from the UK. The truck is not my daily driver and I have no trips planned at the moment so it will not seriously put me out to wait a couple of weeks to get the replacement out here. Chers, Del

I have just done a search of the site and came across a post detailing how someone else had done exactly what you have suggested on a Discovery. The only difference being that in their case the problem had been caused by a change of master cylinder. I am taking the weekend off and will get stuck into it again next week and see what I can do. I checked the difference in face to face dimensions today and found that the original measured 87mm and the Allmakes unit 92mm. My plan at the moment is pull the Allmakes servo off completely together with the pedal box before attempting to make any adjustment. Then I will measure the distance from the front face of the old unit to the pushrod and then attempt to adjust the Allmakes unit to be the same. I will let you know how I get on!!! Cheers, Del

Thanks for the reply. I will definitely check on the studs when I get stuck into it again next week. Cheers, Del

I have a 1999 V8 110 Station Wagon (factory built with V8 for export order) which I have owned since 2010. Back in 2013 when I was ordering up various brake spares from the UK I included a servo in the order to have on hand if the need arose. The supplier, MM 4x4, supplied an Allmakes unit, part number LR013488. This week I needed to strip out both pedal boxes to sort out a problem with the clutch pedal, basically lack of lubrication. Having the brake pedal assembly out I decided to swap out the servo to be on the safe side considering the age of the vehicle and I am fairly confident that the unit fitted is the original. On comparing the two units I noticed that the Allmakes unit is noticeably thicker, I would say by about 20-25mm. All the other features, mounting bolts,etc., were identical. I proceeded to fit the unit and found that while it operates the pedal travel has increased significantly ending up about an inch from the floor when really pressed firmly. To my mind it seems as though the extra thickness of the new servo has not been compensated by an increase in the pushrod length resulting in increased pedal travel. Has anyone come across this problem before or I am I missing something really obvious?

Anybody out there with experience of the Britpart lookalike for the Maxtrax sand track? The Maxtrax units are eye wateringly expensive at the best of times but by the time you add approximately 150% to get them shipped and customs cleared to where I live (La Paz, Bolivia) it is hard to swallow. The Britpart units are more reasonably priced but........???? Cheers, Del

The 24-23 Ashcroft shafts and CVs are on the wish list for next year! The ATB, Truetrac and various other necessary bits and pieces have got as far as Frankfurt courtesy of TNT. With a bit of luck I should be in possession of everything by the end of next week and on schedule to have everything installed by the end of the month. Feedback will definitely be forthcoming! Cheers, Del

Many thanks to everyone for their input. After a bit more checking I have decide to follow Red 90's suggestion and I placed an order today with Ashcroft for one of their ATB units for the front and a Truetrac for the rear. I have ordered up the additional parts that will be needed from MM4x4.With shipping and custom's clearance I don't expect to be in a position to start on the installation before the beginning of February. But all in all a good start to the New Year!

Thanks for the reply confirming selection and the links. I would be interested to hear why you would recommend the Ashcroft unit over the Truetrac for the front. Cheers Del

After agonizing about it for a couple of years I have decided to fit Truetrac differentials fron and rear on my '99 Defender Station Wagon 110. The chassis number is XA159828 and the front axle serial number is M1400125A. The rear axle is a Salisbury unit and the half shafts have 24 splines all round. From my research I have identified part number DTL-912A407 for the front and TT912A593 for the rear. I am located in Bolivia and I spoke with one supplier in the States today and they didn't exactly inspire confidence in the selection of the right units which is understable considering the rarity of Defenders there. When you consider the base cost plus shipping plus customs duty and no possibility of exchange you can appreciate why it is important that I get the selection right. I am fairly confident that I have picked the right units but I would appreciate it if someone can put my mind at rest!

Done! I feel a right pratt because I only posted out of desperation after having made numerous searches of the site without any success. Cheers, Del

Has anybody got an ignition advance map for a MegaJolt unit suitable for a bog standard 3.5. Please not the one from Autosport Labs! At a push a map for a Megasquit installation would do it would just mean a bit of time with some graph paper. Cheers, Del

Many thanks for the replies. And as Litch says "Another layer of security". I think I will definiteiy get out my credit card details and get one ordered. Cheers, Del