petethepilot

Which reminds me of a sticker i once saw: "I´d rather be rich than well hung!"

I would call this iniative!

I use a normal Bosch isolating relay which I bought from the caravaning store, it activates charging from the alternators signal to the warning light. Works well in TD5 and was really cheap (about 20£) and is rated for 70A, which is more than adequate because most universal free time batteries can only take 20A/h of max. charge. If you want to use both your batteries for winching but separate the batteries when the engine is not running, Warn among others makes those relays which are rated to 120A .

Actually couple of companies do advertise them constantly in the LRM magazine, they are about 250£, but can´t remember if it was an outright or exchange unit price.

Yes, I also got tired of those sloppy original Defender stalks, and at least TD5 Defenders have the same intermittent wiper relay as RRC had installed in the factory. So nice and actually very useful addition! Stalks assembly was not a straight forward job, you will have to shorten the steering column tube to get the distance right ( but if you don´t fancy the cruise control then it´s a lot easier as you don´t have to install the spiral which takes about 2cm more depth). The steering shroud was basically cut, carve and try- method which also includes lowering the steering shaft about 2cm to make the shroud fit. But you´ll get a lot more relaxed driving position, at least if you are on the short side of tall like me... The wiring was a pretty straightforward, almost color to color, also the rear wiper switch! And a flashy red hazard warning light on the shroud as an added bonus! Almost forgot that the stalk assembly of the RRC was a couple of mm´s smaller in inner diameter than Defenders steering columns outer tube, so a bit of thrilling drilling there... But the hardest part has definitely been fitting those RRC rear seats...

Seems totally normal to me, I have the same numbers, except on wintertime of course in the city traffic, the temperature starts falling down and I have to put Webasto aux heater on... But it never really has got over 92, not even in Central European vacation traffic jams in hot weather.

Thank You! Btw does anyone have any experience about fast ratio steering boxes in Defenders in normal road/offroad use? Does it get too heavy or put too much strain to steering components thus making it not worthwhile? Was thinking if it could give any better steering response/accuracy on the road... I know I may have too wide tires for the fast steering ( or not enough biceps).

It´s a Range Rover in disguise, heated RRC seats front and rear, RRC transfer box with viscous, RRC steering wheel and Cruise Control, wiper & indicator stalks with built in illumination ( I see this part will at least be appealing to you Mr Western), adjustable intermittent wipe, of course and steering column shrouds and spiral from RRC and hopefully soon ZF 4HP22...and P38 front interior dome light with map lights! Oh, and almost forgot, RRC centre cubby box... It´s still a TD5, but well peppered and noisekilled Yes I know, I´m well beyond recovery (at least mentally), DeRanged? And it all started from the RRC steering wheel...

I really had to attach these, maybe you can spot the differences...

I had a 14" and went for 15". 14" is OK on the road, but bit on the heavy side on the parking lot with wide tyres. I think 15" is a good compromise, good allrounder, but I think it´s very much a matter of opinion...

Yep, I should have kept the leaking original, they say that they leak but they don´t fail... But yes, the newer model seems to be holding, and yes it comes with the new model gasket! So in this case even it was a bit broken, i shouldn´t have fixed it... Britpart:

Thank you all, so Tonga Green it is, the name of the color I´m looking for! My wife´s vote is for that, and I´m also leaning towards it. I think it has some elements of the "real Land Rover green" and that timelessness and dignity of the Bonatti Grey combined... So votes, gentlemen, which it´s gonna be?!

My vote for the seized cylinder also! In Defender they are prone to seizing, that´s why the LR has implemented new wider brake saddles for the rear for the newer Defenders. The wheel spin stoppage may be caused by the seized brake cylinder not capable of returning after braking, but I would still check the wheel bearing also as KKMobile here suggested. Very worn bearings do also seize occasionally before totally jamming. I have quite large wheels/tires and it did considerably lessen the effectiveness of the brakes, I do have now EBC drilled/slotted brake discs and EBC green pads all over but the brakes are now just OK, not great. I was told by my friend who has the LR garage, that I should change the rear saddles for the newer ones to get the rear brakes really working, but that the big wheels will always lessen the braking effectiveness.

Yep! Britpart!!! So nooooot... I replaced original which had dripped for years. New Britpart item lasted less than 600 miles, and failed in the middle of nowhere at nightfall, on the hunting trip to north...luckily only when I was coming back with my father and his dog and one week camping and hunting gear. ..and it was getting below freezing! It took more than 4 hours from the recovery truck to get there. Then at night at 5 o´clock at my friends LR garage we changed an other Britpart- one, thus we didn´t have any originals in the shelf. It lasted less than a week before it blasted, this time 1 mile away from my other working place, so could borrow a Defender 90 soft top and pick up a new original from my friend, who had got them meanwhile. The new original has now lasted over 2 1/2 years without even dripping. It´s a revised version, so should be good. At least haven´t heard of them spilling all the fuel on the road... So go for the Britpart if you are for an adventure! Otherwise don´t do as I did and rather stick onto a dripping original than go for a cheap copy... P.S. 2 tanks full of diesel spilled in the road is more expensive than the difference between the original and the replacement... I would say, wouldn´t I!

Poll added!

That car in the picture is 2006, so last Td5´s. And I ment that this looks more greyish to me than the Tonga Green... or is it just because of the light grey grille and lamps surraounds? Isn´t Epsom Green darker green? Maybe someone finds the colors used on year -06 in Defenders... Btw, I would like to have your opinions of that particular color!

This is Tonga Green Metallic and looks greener to me, although from these pictures one can´t never know... they just look different to me!

but but but isn´t that more greyish?

Hi everyone! I´m considering of painting my Defender 110 over because the old color is kind of boring blue and getting corroded, scratched and dull... so I have (at this moment ) two options: Bonatti Grey, which is very good , timeless and dignified color especially on 110, and the other option is this kind of greyish green, not Tonga Green anyway in my opinion. I really would like to know the name of this color, so does anyone recognize it? I´m not in a hurry, it probably takes months before I can paint her, but I just can´t make up my mind and it´s bothering me! I also like Tangiers Orange very much, but it´s maybe too extrovert, I do hunting and all and it kind of shouts stands out too much from the nature...

Of course it´s sensible, but I disconnect the battery only if I´m doing welding or some electric work to starter or alternator. I think one reason for workshop manual´s statement is a liability issue. If Land Rover has stated so and you neglegted it, they are free from liability if you wake up next morning dead or injured...

The word around here goes that Optima Yellow Tops are S**t not that good. I had one as an auxiliary battery with a separating relay, and the battery lasted less than a year, with only a very little use. But i really don´t have any experiance of those Odysseys. Probably would buy anything else than Optima for sure...

For pre Puma- engine Defenders the factory gives the maximum bank angle of 45 deg for standard vehicle, with no roof carriage. Lifted suspension and roof carriage both will suffieciently worsen that angle. In Puma-engined Defenders the center of gravity lays a bit higher because of the engine, and factory will not allow it to run over 35 deg bank because of the lack of oil circulation over that angle.

I think Zim has set up a trick question, actually he´s color blind. The glue is that he said that all the wires in his loom are "blue and grey"...

I think you made a well reasoned choice. I have now driven about 30 000 kilometers on mine and still think that they own an excellent money/quality ratio...

You haven´t considered buying one for yourself? The cheapest quality chinese sockets may though cost even several £!