Dr Goon

If you do jack the vehicle up with the engine running, don't forget to support the vehicle securely on axle stands

Just to add my thanks for a superb day out. Even though I was not taking part in the treasure hunt as such, I had a great time. I had forgotten how much fun Salisbury Plain and the Wiltshire lanes can be. Thanks also to Les Henson for tagging along and putting up with my driving so I didn't have to talk to myself all day Now I have the route on my PDA (if I can remember how to get it to work ) I may try some of the lanes again at some stage. Definately count me in for the next one.

Don't worry - I am camera shy

Took the thing for a decent run yesterday without the viscous fan. No overheating problems even on a long fast motorway/dual carriageway run but still no more heat from the heater. I am looking into the possibility of having a Pacet or Kenlowe fan fitted for summer. I suspect that the heater box is full of mud and that the heater matrix is only heating up a large earthy brick, rather than the air that should be passing over it. I think that the heater box will need to come apart in the New Year and if the matrix is gummed up with mud, I will have a new one fitted. If that doesn't work - I will just give up and wear more layers of thermal underwear!

No time this week I'm afraid - out all day tomorrow with my parents, meeting during the day and working Wednesday night, taking step-daughter's car to have new stereo fitted on Thursday and working again on Friday. Still it was nice to have a day off today - in the office at the moment only to get some software off the 'net to make one of the step-daughter's Christmas presents work! It was going to be a three hour download on dial-up at home Took seconds at work, but I now can't find where the damn thing has saved itself on my computer!!!!!!!! I hate technology

Andy, that's the next job. I have had the truck for 5 years and used it off-road a fair bit. I suspect that there is a lot of dried mud in there, especially when you look at the muck in the radiator. What had accumulated in there was the result of one off-roading weekend only as the rad and intercooler had been out the previous year and been cleaned I suspect that the inside of the heater box resembles a brown brick!!

Oi Steven, my truck's not that heavy!!!!

Les, perhaps you could reinstate the thread, edited to add (clearly in bold at the top) that it is advisable to use axle stands whenever you are working on a vehicle with a wheel removed. It is a pity to lose a potentially useful thread otherwise.

Les checked the stat and it seems to be an 88, which opens and shuts as it should. That was one of my thoughts given the fact that the truck lived in Africa for the first three years of its' life.

Overdrive unit delivered to the office on Friday, having been ordered earlier in the week. Well done Devon 4x4. Didn't realise quite how bl**dy heavy it would be though

Having given the truck a good run yesterday without an engine driven fan fitted, the temp guage needle never went about about the 1/3 mark, which I regard as normal for the vehicle (when the rad is not coated in muddy goo......... ) The heater never really did get properly warm and, when I got home, I opened the bonnet and could hold the top hose without any discomfort at all, suggesting that the coolant is not getting particularly hot.

I am amazed at how much crud there was in that radiator and intercooler. I have jet washed it repeatedly to get it clean after the last off-road venture but obviously with the fan shroud in place, there is an awful lot of the rad that the jet wash nozzle just does not get to. Let's see if there is any difference in heater performance now, especially as Les has left the fan off in readiness for a new viscous unit to be fitted in January. Once again, excellent thread Les.

Now now lads, let's not fall out over a thermostat It looks like I did have the right one fitted and it seems to be opening and closing OK so that was obviously not the cause of my heater problems.

Thanks for all the help and advice. I have now ordered one up from Devon 4x4 and it will hopefully be delivered early in the New Year,

Another thought has sprung to mind, regarding the thermostat. My 110 was exported from new by Conrico to The British High Commission in Cameroon and spent its' first three years in Africa. I have owned it since not long after it returned and I cannot help but wonder whether it was fitted with a cooler stat to cope with African temperatures. I have never had the stat changed and have no reason to believe that it is not the original. I have asked my trusty mechanic to have a look at it tomorrow as the whole cooling system has got to come apart anyway. I will also ask him to check the travel on the heater controls.

I used the 110 today as it is going in to have some work done on it tonight. Very cold this morning and there was ice on both sides of all the windows. The heater is next to useless and only started pushing out lukewarm air after about 30 odd miles. The trip in February may well be in temperatures as cold as this morning, possibly much colder and I was wondering whether there is a way of keeping more heat in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The conclusion I came to was that a wooden bulkhead behind the rear seats may assist as it would reduce the volume of air that needs to be heated. I appreciate that a full bulkhead would render the interior mirror useless but I am not too concerned about that given the amount of stuff that will be in the luggage area, which will effectively block rearwards vision anyway. Has anyone already done this or a similar modification? I was thinking of a bulkhead made from plywood, fitted to the dog guard, and covered in some carpeting over foam on the passenger side, to give the kids a softish headrest for the long, 12 hour plus journey. Is this likely to have any effect at all? Any ideas before I start with a pencil, paper and tape measure?

As it is, this forum is work-safe, quick loading and easy on the eye. I vote to keep it much as it is at the moment. Thanks to all the moderators and admins that keep this place running smoothly.

If I am needed to marshal I will be in the 110csw with roofrack so I too will struggle with height restrictors. I have a winch and I will take full recovery equipment with me. Chris, I have BFG All-Terrains fitted at the moment. Am I likely to need to put the Mud-Terrains back on?

While googling 'overdrive' yesterday I came across this site and e-mailed the owner of the company. He replied within minutes, but unfortunately the Land Rover overdrive he has developed is not yet production ready. I am still waiting for a response to my offer to do some 'beta-testing' of his system for him! Looks like I may have to go with the GKN unit from Devon 4x4. Pity, 'cos I would like to have supported a local(ish) independent company.

Thanks for the info. I think it may be the right way to go although I do appreciate that it is an expensive option. I have had a brief look on the net to try and get some prices. They range from £800 + VAT up to £1150 + VAT at the moment Anyone got any suggestions as to the cheapest place to source one? I hope that my usual trusty mechanic would be able to fit it for me....

As you will have seen from my 'Snowchains' thread, I am off to the Pyrenees in February and will probably cover 3000 miles or so in the week, including the long hauls up and down, most of which will be on the Autoroutes. I am seriously considering fitting a GKN Overdrive unit to improve fuel economy and destress the engine (and my ears!). I have read the 'Overdrive' thread in the technical archive and note that the author of that has a TD5 90 rather than a 300Tdi 110. Having spoken about it in the past to the service manager at the garage where I used to have the thing maintained, I was advised to go down the high ratio transfer gears route rather than fit an overdrive. I am a little reluctant to do that as I will lose some of the extra urge at lower speeds that I gained from having Van Aaken tweak the fuelling a few years back. O/D seems to provide the best of both worlds, and I am familiar with the operation of that system, having owned and driven many overdrive equipped Triumph cars over the last 24 years. Has anyone on here fitted the GKN unit to a 300Tdi (I know you have one on your 200 Ralph....) and what are the drawbacks likely to be (if any)? Many thanks

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am taking them in case we need them and I am not intending to use them off-road. I have e-mailed the company advertising them on e-Bay and I think I will probably get 2 sets to be on the safe side. I have never used them on any vehicle before but I have it in mind that, in winter, it is a legal requirement to carry them in France in mountainous regions.

Thanks Tony, I know this is an incredibly dim question to ask but....... Which one is the charging cable?

A mate who used to be a mechanic at the old Ford dealership in Swindon checked it for me and said that the output is only just enough to power everything and once I had a few electrical ancillaries switched on, it was not really putting out enough to run everything and keep the battery charged. He reckons that may well have been why the batteries kept going down, they were just not getting charged enough. Really must sort out a time to bring the thing over to you to sort out the radiator/intercooler and front brakes. Long trip in February so I need to get it done before then Speak soon

We are off to the Pyrenees in February 2007 in the 110 and, just in case, I would like to take some snow chains with me. Can anyone point me in the direction of a supplier in the UK that will sell chains big enough to fit 235/85x16 BFG All Terrains? Thanks