Dave W

The last time I went off road without a roll cage was in 1991, we were at a P&P day and ended up accidentally driving off the edge of a quarry face. I wasn't convinced either of us was going to survive the drop and it's a credit to Pam (she was driving) that she kept her cool and somehow manage to keep it straight so when we hit the bank of earth at the bottom it stayed on it's wheels and the only damage was the hole in the bottom of the radiator where the front axle hit it (it was quite an impact !). It was sometime around half way down the face of the quarry that I decided, if we survived, I wouldn't off road without a cage again. After getting recovered home I spent the next few months putting a new chassis under it and getting a roll cage fitted.

Optima went backwards as much as any of the other brands went forwards. The early Optimas were made "in house" at the plant that developed the technology. As sales increased they shifted production to the US so they could cope with the volumes. This switch seemed to coincide with the drop off in reliability and quality. At the same time the Exides appeared on the scene and after a failed legal battle over the spiral technology Exide were seen as a possible alternative to the reliability problems that Optima were having and I may be wrong but there was a rumour at the time that Optima were bought out as a result of the failed legal battle. Pam has an early Optima Red Top in her 90, it's now around 8 years old and is still going strong. As it turned out the Exide weren't any better in reliability than Optima so people started looking for another alternative which is when Odyssey came into the limelight and, so far, have seemed to be more reliable than either the Exide or the Optima and they also seem to maintain a more consistent voltage. Numax are the "new kids on the block", I have no experience of them but initial reports seem good and they are cheaper than the Odyssey so if they prove their long term reliability and performance they should be well placed.

I know several people who have cages and are insured with NFU, I have also seen a letter from NFU central office stating that their regional offices are incorrect to issue policies to vehicles with roll cages. My team mate was insured with them for years until he received a letter informing him his policy had been canceled due to having a roll cage fitted (that he disclosed when he took out and renewed the insurance). The policy was issued by a local office and the central office canceled it during a random review of policies. Maybe they've changed their policy since or maybe the regional offices are still issuing policies against the advice of the central office. How would you know unless you're policy was subject to one of their random reviews ? I don't trust them anymore.

For some reason some insurance companies won't insure you at all if you have a cage. NFU, for example.

If you're in the area you're welcome to pop in for a look see, hopefully I'll have my motor at Frickley for the trial, I think I'm setting out with Matthew so we're going to try and give the motors a shake down prior to the Muddy Truckers so you can take a look then if you want to wait.

If you want QT arms why not buy them from QT ? I prefer the Britpart ones myself, not had a problem with the paint on mine though. A lot of suppliers are selling Britpart kit without saying it's Britpart including Devon 4x4. Probably best to check before you order if you want a specific manufacturer/supplier. I did once get a Prestolite starter motor from Paddocks despite phoning the order in and specifically telling them I didn't want a Prestolite motor so checking beforehand is not always fool proof !

If you want to try the RRC seats out I have 2 sat on the patio at the rear of our house you can have if you can take them away ! I used to use them in my Defender and, as far as I can remember, they still have the extended runners on them that I made up. No location in your profile so no idea where you are !

Odyssey As you may remember my Exxides didn't make it back in one piece from Australia in 2005 - completely dead out of the container and never held a charge again afterwards. This time, using Odyssey batteries, my motor started and drove out of the container both in Sydney and back home again and hasn't missed a beat since even when the alternator packed up in Ireland they still managed to start her up again once I'd winched my way out of the hole I was in and replaced the alternator.

If you're really bothered about it, how about taking the gauges apart and using some WD40 on the inside of the "glass". A light coating of it will stop water staying on it. Alternatively Rainex or one of the hundreds of snake oil products that are supposed to stop your visor steaming up on a full face helmet. During my biking yoof I was always told that washing up liquid was a good way of stopping things steaming up although I don't recall it ever working for me The fuel gauge always seems to be the worst offender for this, no idea why but if only one steams up it's always the fuel gauge ! Don't seal your Land Rover up too tight - the doors won't close properly if you seal up all the holes due to air pressure !

Don't think a standard ZF is going to take more than around 250HP with any reliability although you can, with a lot of money, uprate them. When I last enquired it would have cost me around £1500 to upgrade a ZF. As above, a TH400 or 4L80E is a good option as either can be bought comparatively cheaply rated at 1000HP although the dollar exchange rate is a killer at the moment. Matching it to a LR transfer box is doable although an Atlas or similar is an easy option for either of them. The LT230 seems fine with 410 HP 400 lb/ft although the centre diff dies really quickly if you use it on the slippy stuff without the diff lock engaged.

It stops the front axle moving from side to side.

How about fitting one of these into the chassis ? http://www.devon4x4.com/products_b/p1229c2...inch-mount.html

One more thing, as it sounds like you don't mind playing with this kind of stuff, I have a circuit I use to allow my Megasquirt ECU to control the Idle stepper and it also has a manual mode where I can wind the stepper in or out by pressing the appropriate switch on the PCB. It uses a simple PIC chip to control a stepper driver IC. I've used it regularly to test steppers from other vehicles. The Megasquirt 1 ECU can't control a stepper motor directly so this board in it's normal mode translates the PWM output from Megasquirt into a pintle position. More on the board (schematics, pcb layout etc....) here... http://www.msextra.com/viewtopic.php?f=67&...71&start=40

Sounds like whoever set it up was being a bit "creative" with the truth. The idle control is a stepper motor and, as you've already found out can get gunged up and from time to time need cleaning. As long as you're careful they can be taken apart (or at least the plunger part) and cleaned. The unit is basically self calibrating. When you turn the ignition the ECU moves it either all the way in or all the way out (can't remember which on the standard setup, on mine it moves it out. It deliberately winds it out further than it should be able to and the design of the unit allows it to effectively calibrate it's position by doing that. It then moves a predetermined number of steps to the cranking position. Once the engine starts it then closes the stepper down in 3 stages to reach normal idle speed. If you plug the unit in while it's not screwed into the plenum chamber and turn the ignition on you should see it move to an extreme BUT if it is allowed to wind out too far the spring will propel the plunger to the darkest recesses of your engine bay/drive/garage. It's not impossible but it is quite complicated to move the motor "manually" one step at a time. The 4 wires are arranged in pairs, each pair controlling a different winding. Moving the motor is "just" a case of providing 12v across the appropriate winding, reversing polarity as needed... it's a LOT easier to get the ECU to do it It's a bipolar stepper motor - lots of info on t'internet on how they work and how to drive them. As the motor rotates the screw thread on the plunger winds in or out depending on the direction the motor is rotating. If you're happy it's working correctly just stick it back in and turn the ignition on/start the engine a couple of times and it should sort itself out. If you want to test the winding continuity you should get a reading in the region of 50 ohms (off the top of my head) across each pair with no connection between the pairs.

Not sure what you mean... there's no adjustment on the idle stepper motr. Do you mean the Throttle Position Sensor ?

I've tried all different types on my panhard rod and, PITA though they are to fit, the OEM style rubber ones always seem to last the longest. There just seems to be something about the pressure these particular bushes are put under that just destroys anything other than rubber. It probably doesn't help that I'm on imperial axles so the bush is smaller on mine than the later metric ones.

That looks promising, cheers Nick

Thanks I'll see if I can find a number on it and give them a bell.

I'm using a GM (It's actually a Delco unit) CS130D alternator and always carry a spare. I used the spare on the last comp when the original overheated due to mud build up inside. The front bearing has also got a lot of play in it. Other than a front bearing there seems to be very little wrong with it although I need to establish if the voltage drop was down to the safety cutout or the regulator failing. I know in the US there are a few places that will rebuild these alternators and supply spares for them but wondering if anyone knows of a possible UK source ? I've got a manual for the alternator that lists part numbers and shows you how to replace the main parts so might have a go at it myself. All the local "autoelectricians" claim it's not worth rebuilding and want to sell me a new one for a few hundred quid !

As someone who is looking for a fun challenge event to fill in the calendar a bit I like the teamwork involved with 2 vehicle events and would probably not bother turning out for a 1 day event, particularly if I'm travelling any distance. The cost, facilities and format sound spot on to me and I expect to enter a couple of them later in the year.

For the MOT it'd be fine as it is although a clip on the pipe running to the front brake would be a good idea to stop it vibrating against the inner wing. Normally the pipes run down the bulkhead which would probably be neater but best to fit the clutch first (if it has one).

Britpart sell individual poly blue bushes, not sure who makes them, they might be Polybush as they sell their kits ? Super Pro last well and do the job but they're not cheap. I got a kit for mine last year and each of the bushes came in a display type pack which suggests you can buy them individually. OEM rubber might be the best solution though. A year on those bushes isn't bad, I've gone through genuine LR ones a lot quicker than that !

That depends on the nature of the problem ! Most of the real problems that flappers get themselves into is that the cold start injector manages to flood the engine before it starts. It's there, obviously, to richen the mixture when cold but it seems to be a bit over enthusiastic at times. When SWMBO's Rangie had a flapper system it would regularly (once a month) fail to start when it was cold and require me to get out of bed and burn off the spark plugs before it would start. It's a really crude EFi system, a lot of flapper engines will start and run quite happily without the cold start injector and it reduces the risk of flooding significantly. It only takes a few seconds to unplug it and give it a go.

I'd start by SORN'ing it and taking it off the road, that way you can leave a respectable gap and then contact the DVLA/VOSA. If you were to contact them while it is still taxed for free you could leave yourself open to having to pay the back tax

It's a flapper. The easy way to tell is from the plenum chamber, there is a cold start injector on teh side of the plenum chamber. If you're having problems starting it, try unplugging that injector.