Somethingwitty

I've suffered the same issues until recently - found a large and small pair of these type by Churchill on e**y: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Heavy-Duty-Churchill-Circlip-Pliers-Pat-no-728861-Major-7065-used-see-d-/230847089667 Although £45 is a bit steep, mine were about £15-20 each. They do both internal and external and have replaceable bits (a very good thing IMHO). Good British tools that make light work - the big pair will do something like 4-5 inch diameter!

I guess it's been won already but my first stab is this: X-unt-stopper I particularly like the black outer for stowage and yellow for use - good work! Mine is home made from rectangular box and drops over the brake and clutch and stows on the seat boc... like you say - easier to fit the more often it's used. (mine is not that easy..)

Further to my last: Harrison info May not be fully up to date but talks of a 3HP 3ph motor as standard (you would need more than 16A supply) but also mentions a weaker 1ph motor (with reduced top speed). Having looked a the photos it looks very much like what I used at uni - and that was excellent (in my humble capacity as a machining biff).

Nige, I last used a lathe 10 years ago at uni and nor have I played with three phase - however I have been looking at 3 ph for various workshop things (inc a lathe) I have some electrical understanding - probably enough to be dangerous, particularly to a third party! With that in mind, here is a rough understanding: Your options are: 1. Get a 3ph supply rigged to the workshop (and quite possibly get greater capacity at the same time) - prices will vary, you can't take the cabling with you if you move either! 2. Rotary converter - these can be bought or made, the rotary bit is a slave motor of at least the same capacity as your lathe motor that is employed to 'make' a third phase (that may not be the best or most acurate description but essentially you are driving two motors instead of one with a box of capacitors etc to assist.) You have no control over the frequency thus the motor will run at it's design speed (dependent on the number of poles it has, fixed by design) 3. Digital inverter a. 240v 1ph -> 415v 3ph b. 240v 1ph -> 240v 3ph Of the option (3) unsurprisingly (b) is cheaper... but can you use it? It depends on the motor - most more modern motors are 'dual voltage' and can be wired (by bars in a connection box) either for 240 3ph or 415v 3ph - I don't belive there is any significant disadvantage with 240 but it does enable the use of a 'single stage' inverter thus lowering price. (the connections are refered to as 'Delta' and 'Star' - seek clarification as to which is which!) The great advantages of a Digital Inverter are: - Can take it with you when you move - If a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) you can infintely vary the motor speed (reduces the gear / belt changing to probably a hi / lo functionality) - Many provide electrical braking - can make pre-set ramp up / down for more controlled start / stop - kinder to you and machine - can make preset max speed limit (essential you do this with VFD - you could easily exceed design speed of motor) There are probably more but I forget them! Prices are not astronomical (but increase significantly around 4-5 HP) - Invertek 1.5kw / 2 HP IP66 is £267 (probably plus VAT....) but thats the waterproof one, lower IP ratings are cheaper. Why have I mentioned IP rating? It's something I'd not considered but a workshop can be a pretty aggressive environment for electronics - grinding dust, paint spray etc precipitating out or being sucked in - worth considering how you will protect your investment. Beware of 'cabinet mounting' - there are specific ventilation requirments to meet and whilst I've not got my head around it I've seen 11CFM mentioned where a filtered air supply is needed! For more info on inverter drives I suggest the following: www.inverterdrive.com/file/Invertek-Drives-Optidrive-E2-Manual - This will give you an idea of a model range's capability, the source website has more models and prices From that link above for example I can tell you that a 0.75Kw / 1HP motor will reqire 12.5A nominal / 16A fused supply (1.5Kw / 2HP requires 14.8A nominal / 25A fused) - again seek professional guidance but you may need a beefier supply (but this ought to be just a bigger / second cable from your consumer unit rather than a more expensive laying of 2 more phases from wherever they might be available beyond the house). For more on 3 ph motors: Link And real geekyness on Inverter drives (in industrial depth considering significant refinements not a concern for us... but includes points on motor cooling for example, i.e. motor driven well below design speed for long periods may need an independent fan): Link - part of site above and a more practical look at 3ph for lathes (and far more): Lathes.co.uk Finally, recommend looking at: Model Engineer and similar sites - lets face it, most of them have a lathe, most of us sadly do not! Bit long but hope thats useful - Jim

You haven't? Further support for my incredibly slow progress on projects :-) Thanks anyway, I've nipped it up, will give it some abuse, investigate and report back.

Hmmmm.... the plot thickens! Thanks for the link Ralph, had a look and nothing conclusive but useful nonetheless - I'd always assumed all flanges were equal save for thickness... Looking back through Diesel_Jim's conversion LINK I found that, as far as I can see, he also has the same issue. I've tried to attach a close up photo but it may not work - however the image in question can be found by... Scroll down to the photo of the inboard face of the disc / hub combo (off axle). Beneath this is a sequence of three phots of the hub / stub / bearing, lock washer and nuts. The first of those three best illustrates the issue - a partially unsupported inner race. (admittedly I do not know if his hub / bearing was fully home on the stub). Have you encountered a similar situation yet? I'd get a phot of mine but it's bloody cold and I've just put it back together!

Second the comments on the engine having a snag of some sort to be smoking for 30 sec after start - whatever it is needs sorting and may well be the cause. Secondly (!) in additon to Bogmonster's suggestion, ensure that the adjustment screw on the accelerator is set correctly. 'Flat out' on the pedal may not be resulting in full travel at the pump - I *think* that's subtly different from his suggestion (which also should be checked). Only once everything is checked ok should you then seek 'improvement' by playing with the pump etc, otherwise you're making adjustments from an unknown datum and potentialy masking problems that need addressing.

Not quite a thread hijack but... I'm a little way ahead of some of you - yet behind in one aspect! I've been running a rear disc conversion on my 110 since 2008 with few problems (save for eating pads - I think inboard pads suffer from increased wear due lack of mud guards). However, I recently changed discs (due to the aforementioned pad eating) and noted that the inner races of the outer bearings do not fully bear on the stub axle bearing lands - i.e. the reduced stub axle diameter for the threaded / plain portion extends to nearly half the depth of the inner race! I roughly remember noting this as unsat some time ago but time was short so I've just kept an eye on it since. I bring this up now due to the significant (!) play found which required some significant 'nipping up' of the adjusting nut. The conversion uses (I am pretty sure) FRC6139 hubs (ie early 110 front) and the original spec Salisbury drum (FRC8540) stub axles (I am pretty sure - replaced them at some point...) Although not likely to be pertinent I retained the old early halfshafts and flange and used a 6mm spacer for the calipers. The hubs are pretty impossible to confuse with FTC942 (no 'slash' on studs, distinctly different casting on rear face - like Western's photos on Post #93); I also think If I'd inadvertantly fitted FTC1740 (300Tdi) stubs then I'd have been unable to get the locknut on through lack of stub like UdderlyOffRoad's blue hub on post #58 (but I don't know this for sure). I am about to order another stub (FRC8540) on the assumption that I've somehow got the wrong one fitted. However, can anyone shed any light on my predicament please? Is the early 110 hub easy to confuse with another, say RR, with even wider bearing spacer? Is there a similar stub axle to the FRC8540? EDIT: - Or does everyone else run a half-supported outer bearing?! Ralph, I am glad someone else is nearly as slow as me at getting jobs done!

All true... as is the fact that any loose debris (stones, nuts, bolts, empty cases) gets converted into a missile within the vehicle when it hits a mine or IED blast - the boffins knew this but your average tom understandably didn't (I doubt many of us would have thought of it) - hence an educational poster with the back end of a Snatch full of rubbish, entitled 'Nobody likes a dirty Snatch.'

I've got a full width Allisport on my 300Tdi - and it goes bloody well (1.410 box, 255/85 tyres, until recently a Roverdrive) to the extent that I'd very rarely drop out of overdrive 5th on the motorway (provided >70-75 it would still accelerate up most hills!) and I can usualy sit at 75-80 (and maybe a little more ;-) without many snags - so, as you can see, she recieves a thrashing! With that in mind, some observations: Blocking the Rad - yes, indeed I am coolant temperature limited on hot days on the motorway - however, that is after some time of continuous canning it - I back off a fraction, open the vents and turn the heater on (or pre-emptively do this!) and it used to be like this before as well (recently new rad too) However, I think that at most people's 'normal' pace they won't have this issue... slow speed boggy / steep off-road in high ambient temperatures - yes I can see it being a potential issue, but a manageable one and unlikely to bite us in the UK. A larger cooler will (neglecting pressure losses) be better in all circumstances, including the motorway - it will be better able to bring the air closer to ambient than the smaller one. Also important (and not often recognised) is that in intermittent boost (overtaking / steep hills) its larger mass will heat up less rapidly and thus be more efficient for longer than a smaller cooler. Unfortunatly my home-made EGT gauge was too long in development and I stuck the intercooler on first (and played with the pump) - I thus have no idea of the EGT I was achieving on a standard set up; to measure a cooler's true worth in performance you ought to do a 'before & after' on the EGT then tweak the pump to achieve the same EGT with the cooler you had originally - of course you can turn it up further but I wonder how much of the 'performance benefit' we are reaping from the intercooler and how much from a pump adjustment that takes EGT (and thermal stresses) above where they were? For those wondering, after my initial adjustments I finally got the EGT working.... Peak was 915C !!! (I backed off!) I generally drive off the EGT now on the motorway, aiming for 720, happily accepting around 740-750 for short periods and using 800 when I feel the need (but immediately backing off when the moment is passed) It's been running like this a while, though clearly I have been sailing close to the wind! In terms of turbo changes, it depends what you wish to achieve. There's no need initialy to get a bigger turbo - why not adjust the wastegate and get more boost first? if there's not enough (within it's design limits) for the pressure you want then fine, but it's pointless getting a bigger one unless you've run out of capacity on the original. Less lag may be bought with a hybrid but for the money I'd go VNT (if I could justify the expense). Another anti-lag option is a boost controller. As the turbo pressure builds so the wastegate begins to crack open, aledgedly this happens at relatively low pressure (I did once try measuring on mine with a dial gauge and bike pump!) if you can delay the rise in pressure seen by the wastegate actuator you can delay when it cracks open and thus prolong the period when all the exhaust gas is driving the turbo. One day I'll get around to making something (proper engineering is far better than buying stuff all the time!). Hope this helps... and for the record, I'm glad I got the large one! (if you're concerned about nickability etc then I sprayed several thin coats of POR 15 black on the front of mine and it's barely visible; not only has it stuck well it still seems to work, though I've again not done a proper trial, however most say it should make little odds since its only the very front mm or two that are covered.)

wrt to the fuel pickup there is another way (2 in fact): - The Winterised Wolf uses a pipe from one of the Fuel Sedimentor blanking plugs to draw off fuel - ie no requirement to drop the tank, feed in a standpipe etc! - Before I discovered the above... I couldnt be arrsed to drop the tank so did it differently: put a Non Return Valve in the spill return line and AFTER the NRV put a T-piece to the heater... thus with engine off the heater draws up the spill return line FROM THE TANK (assumes the spill return is in fact a standpipe) and with the engine running spilt fuel returns to tank AND feeds the heater. It's not quite 'by the book' and may cause one or two flameouts when heater is cold but once warmed up my heater has been fine (sufficient heat to auto ignite fuel after a moment of starvation. As well as being easier to rig it also means I only need to crack off the line at the heater pump and run the engine at idle and it self primes! (not sure if NRV required but wanted to ensure no danger of pulling diesel out of pump (shouldn't be as no direct line less injector spring overcome? and more particulaly wanted to ensure flowmeter in spill line remained unaffected.)

As above - but with a caveat - if it's done 60k in your ownership and possibly 120k total on same clutch then IF I was taking it away anywhere I wanted it to be 100% I think I'd bugger the cost and put a new one in - it's probably not far off (and not nec due wear but maybe fork or bearing). If just pottering around the UK I'd leave it - there's normaly some warning signs and you can normaly get a fair distance if careful on one that's started to die.

You could ask them if it is very definately 'original' and buy on the basis of returning if not perhaps? Otherwise I'd echo comment above - I can't (without moderation) articulate fully what I think of Britpart. Often if it's the only thing available I shall just walk away, fitting their stuff has almost invariably been a waste of time and money - and that's assuming it actualy fits!!!

That sounds horrid! There also appears to be an absence of smoke which is odd... But the noise at 0:45 odd sounds like almost the turbo is running without oil! That may not be the case but it certainly sounds of an appropriate frequency for compressor / turbine to be rubbing the housing... Have you looked in the compressor yet?

I wouldn't tape the breathers up! If the air / oil within the box, axle etc can not expand then pressure will increase with temperature and you will run the risk of a weeping seal or worst blown seal - which will give you a whole world of issues depending on which one it is! There's nothing wrong with raised breathers, indeed they are a positvely good thing if wading, I'd make sure though it's not in the immediate vacinity of the snorkle intake given that at full load there will be a local drop in pressure... whatever you do ensure the box can breathe! Once outlet adjusted you could remove the breather at the box end and blow through with an airline - whatever the cause you've clearly got a fair bit of oil in the line and due viscosity / surface tension it may well be reluctant to drain back into the box as things cool (does the breather go downhill all the way from vent to box? not sure if it will help but elliminate anywhere oil may build up) - this way you will have a true indication of any improvement)