Dave W

Maybe more expensive but I used a Disco II cable operated high/low lever on mine, fits the LT230 and gives you a lot more flexibility on it's positioning. Lengthening the lever will require a huge hole in the tunnel to allow for it's full range of movement so you'll need to make a custom cover for it too to seal it whereas the Disco II unit bolts to the underside of the tunnel and seals it.

If there is an access panel, it's under the thick rubbery stuff. You used to be able to get plastic tanks that were a straight replacement for the "multi-vent" tank but no idea if they are still available. There was a design flaw which meant most of the metal tanks of that era rotted out in the first 5 years of their life so there was a huge market for replacements at the time. It wouldn't be too big a job to fit a Disco plastic tank as they are the same size but I'm not sure how compatible things like the fuel level sender would be. The filler pipe may also be a different size which would complicate things - depends on which filler type you have.

Not being funny but how much fuel have you got in it ? Normally a loud whirring indicates the pump is out of the fuel so if you're just going off the fuel gauge it'd be worth just checking it manually somehow. There should already be an access panel in the floor, there was on our old '89 RR although ours was a bit of a changeover model so maybe that was a late feature. It might be possible to cut an access panel if it's not there already BUT you'd have to be extremely accurate on depth and I'd be worried about using power tools around the top of the tanks as it's not unusual for a vehicle of that age to have porous metal fuel pipes. Removing the tank isn't too difficult IF the LR gods are on your side and the nuts and bolts all come undone, the pipes around the filler can be fiddly with the various vent pipes. It's unlikely it'll be on it's original tank so you might be lucky ! An RRC 3.9 fuel pump will work fine, Disco ones too but not the plastic tank version.

Ashcrofts had little to do with inventing this particular wheel, Maddison 4x4 paid for the development and put a lot of time into the research and testing using a TD5 90 as a test bed. That is why Maddison 4x4 are the distributors of the unit. No problem with Ashcrofts selling it as part of their conversion kit but credit where credit is due in this particular case.

The alternator is normally connected to the battery permanently and also connected to ground so it's always possible I suppose. The only connection I can think of with the job you were doing would be if it was using the clutch pipe as a route to earth, not entirely out of the question as it's a metal pipe that effectively connects the bulkhead to the gearbox. Probably not connected though, if you'll forgive the pun !

As above, Ashcrofts can supply you with the information and parts you need including the Maddison 4x4 Compushift for the electronic ZF auto.

Go for a 24 spline ARB, change the half shafts to 24 spline ones, either standard ones or Ashcroft uprated ones. If you stick with standard 24 spline shafts you'll have the option of upgrading later. If you fit 10 spline ARBs you're pretty much stuck with standard shafts and no upgrade route.

I'm pretty sure that. although the mods and radius arm bracket failing were all contributory it seems to have been down to his driving at excessive speed for the conditions. The failure of the bracket, dodgy brakes, loose seat and so on wouldn't have helped. Channel 5 "journalists" showed a few years ago how you could flip a standard Range Rover by not driving with the handling characteristics of the vehicle in mind. A very sad case that probably resulted in a fair sentence although I was half expecting a suspended sentence.

It doesn't look like a crack from the pictures, it's just corroded through in a vertical line. The only thing that cross member supports is the fuel tank, it's not part of the structure of the chassis as such, unlike the cross member the A frame mounts to. That's why it's made of thinner steel than the other cross members.

If I remember correctly that cross member is really thin, much thinner than anywhere else on the chassis. Patch it up then fill it with waxoyl

You can patch over them (in this case maybe a piece of angle iron ?) and it will need to be welded all the way around. It's difficult to see from the picture, is the hole in the chassis leg or in the end of the cross member ? As with all these repairs the extent of the damage is likely to be much larger than the visible area. You'll want to take a screwdriver/hammer to the area around it and find out how far it extends before you find something solid enough to be worth welding to.

Megasquirt it, you KNOW you want to... go on, go on, go on....

That's a good price, I used to use parcel2go.com as they did a £60 pallet service but they've upped their price now to £95+VAT.

You can use coil axles with a leaf spring chassis, just a case of adding the leaf mounts to the axles. It gives much improved turning circle and disk brakes while retaining the same class (in ALRC at least).

Easiest way is to start with the full engine wiring loom, it usually only connects to the vehicle loom at a single connector.

If they are Britpart I can recommend them, been running the Britpart HD ones for a while now and not managed to bend one or had any issues with them. I got mine from D44 - http://www.devon4x4.com/products_b/c132/he...ring-parts.html

I suppose the way to tell is to see if the calipers have the same size/number of pistons, if they do then the T will work. If the tandem calipers have larger pistons then they will require more fluid movement for the same braking force which will move the brake balance to the rear unless the master cylinder matches them.

Normally that kind of problem is down to one of the pipes to the oil cooler or the oil cooler itself letting go. Are you sure it's coming from inside the bell housing ?

I'd agree with not using a T piece, I think the extra fluid needed for the front caliper will screw up the front/rear brake balance. I've converted a couple of defenders to tandem brakes, including my current comp motor. To use the tandem front calipers I took the complete RRC setup off a circa 1990 RRC. The RRC master cylinder matches up to the Defender servo from a similar era, you just need to use the Defender reservoir. The rear brakes use a reducer rather than a shuttle valve. I'm pretty sure the Defender front calipers will fit the Disco axles as long as they are metric.

I use a short piece of 1 inch angle, take the front cover off the bellhousing and wedge it into the flywheel teeth.

I've run a 3.9 auto in challenges for about 8 years before switching to my current setup. It's a very good all round package, nice and easy to drive and performs really well. Prior to that I was running a 3.5 auto for trialling and that was also a good setup but, being on carbs, was slower to respond and not as reliable on steep inclines. In 2004 I 'squirted the 3.9 and never had a problem with water since - just don't forget you now need a snorkel ! It's been a good reliable package other than requiring a recon gearbox in 2006. I've run both the viscous transfer box and the LT230 in various ratios. The 1.2 of the viscous is a bit high geared for the setup when you go up to larger wheel sizes and at 35" or above the 1.6 transfer box is preferable, especially if you're doing any motorway mileage. The LS1 package is much better but it's in a different league money wise too.

Just fit the Britpart one, chances are it's as good as any of the others and IF it does fail 100 miles later you can blame it all on Britpart whereas if you fit an OEM one and it fails then you'll have to take the full blame yourself The whole Britpart thing is taken way out of proportion IMV, Britpart don't manufacture anything themselves and most of the parts are made by the same companies that make the OEM stuff anyway.

They should think themselves lucky it wasn't one of the trucks ! Thanks for that Eduardo, love the pic of Robbie Gordon on the second link, it's now my desktop pic It's great to see so many spectators on the Dakar, must be a real lift for the competitors to see all those people cheering them on.

Yep, it looked to be a valiant effort, he kept his foot in and tried to drive it out... looked as if he was going to make it and then found a steeper bit ;( Good to see they were both OK though even if a "bit" shaken ! Later on they were showing them towing vehicles out of that valley, didn't see them pulling the Bowler out - they were a lot further down it than any of the others. Robbie Gordon is the star of the Dakar (in cars at least) this year for me. When he talks about the car and the design ideas behind it, you get the impression that he's very much hands on with the car setup and design. It'd be great to see how fast he'd be if they took the intake restriction off On Tuesday night they said Lopez had been taken to hospital with what sounded like concussion but no mention of him at all last night, anyone know if he's still in the rally ? Watching that truck crabbing across the dune last night had my buttocks clenching, bet the driver was sucking up seat cover !

Overheating can cause the oil light to come on with the relief valve sticking open and dropping oil pressure. Maybe the new head has a blocked or mismatched waterway ?