[63 amp cable - short to earth - Oops ! - AA recovery]

Thanks Nick, Will PM you.

Am going to make a custom loom with several deviations from the standard one (on board air from a/c compressor, oil pressure sender wiring, boost at the inlet manifold etc.), hence why I don't just put my hand in pocket and buy an Autosparks jobbie.

Might even take pictures/upload a schematic/BOM should anyone think it's of use?

Back O/T, Neil how's yours looking?

[63 amp cable - short to earth - Oops ! - AA recovery]

All wire lengths are approximate - best go and measure up if you have to pay for your wire!)

Apologies for the slight thread hijack but: Am about to attempt something similar, in that I'm going to redo the loom on my 200 TDi before it gets installed into my 110, as it's not looking too clever. Unfortunately I do have to pay for my wire, does anyone know of a good-value source of cable?

Polevault as mentioned above and Vehicle Wiring Products both seem quite spendy...I appreciate that copper ain't cheap these days but still.

[Seized water-pump stud on a 200 Tdi]

Ok thanks guys, will wait till this stud-extractor-wotsit turns up from Eblag and if that doesn't work, will break out the hacksaw...

[Seized water-pump stud on a 200 Tdi]

Hi All,

Currently trying to change the cambelt on my 200 Tdi. Have got as far as removing all the bolts holding the cover on, but can't seem to get the cover off! The culprit appears to be the stud fitted on the top of the water pump, it looks like it has seized itself solid to the cover. I can feel 'movement' all round the cover, so it would appear to free everywhere else. Am I correct in thinking that under normal circumstances, one should be able to leave the stud in place and just slide the cover off over it (and the orientation dowel)?

Unusually for me, I have resisted the temptation to clout seven bells of hell out of it using the LR Mark 1 adjusting thule - though I have gently tapped the remainder of the cover 'free' with a rubber mallet.

Any ideas on how to remove this, without snapping the thing? Have already tried generous quantities of penetrating lube (the good stuff, not WD-40), the usual two-nut method (that's just stripped threads), am going to beg/steal/borrow a 'proper' stud extractor (the type that looks like a socket)? Don't have access to a 'smoke spanner' and nor would I want to use one in this instance

All suggestions gratefully recieved!

Piccy

[Retro-fit side lockerson a 110 van?]

I made my own out of some left over treadplate, internal access so better security, I don't think they are quite as big as the military ones but I can still fit a load of valuable treasures junk in there!

I will put some pics up later if you like

Mike

That would be awesome Mike, as I still think BIY (Build/Bodge It Yourself) is the way forward, as this chap

This is the item number for the lockers on ebay, 320513284901

sells them for £150 a side, which I guess is reasonable given the amount of labour and small volumes involved, but it's still a bit too spendy for me!

That said, JBS option of getting lucky at a sort-out is also the way forward!

Thanks for all your responses guys...

[Retro-fit side lockerson a 110 van?]

All,

Thanks for the replies.

there is a guy on Ebay that sells them, they look good. Something to take into account when you make/buy them, some are to big to use with rocksliders

Couldn't find anything on fleabay, despite several differently worded searches, do you have a name/seller id?

so I made a few measurements with a friends ex mil 110 and went from there

Thanks JBS, sounds like I need to get friendly with a an ex-mil/ex-utility owner and put my measuring tape where my mouth is, so to speak! I'm guessing you no longer have any sketches, dimensions, etc? Did you use ally treadplate for the doors?

I got mine from Foley SV, their expedition lockers. Just be sitting down when you phone them up for a price for a pair.

Hmmm, sounds a bit too spendy for me - but will definitely have a perusal of their website...

Best get on with it I s'pose...

[Retro-fit side lockerson a 110 van?]

Hi all,

I was wondering the other day whilst in trap one at work, whether anyone has retro-fitted side lockers to a 110 van? A search has revealed nothing in this forum, but someone's done it, surely?

I've found references to the military 'jerry-can' lockers, and even the LR P/Ns, but has anyone done a DIY, perhaps slightly more secure, version? I'd love to be able to keep my towing gear, tools, etc out of sight...

Am a novice-cum-reasonably competent fabricator but cutting holes in the bodywork will obviously make the backside twitch...

[Setting up a mitre saw]

This is fine and I generally square the blade and fence prior to work by checking against a square and test cutting some scrap. The problem comes when I then need to swing round to, say, 45deg and it isn't.

That's exactly what I was thinking...thanks, will try to adjust the fence w.r.t the blade and live with (try to over-ride) the detents. There's a locking mechanism that uses a thumb wheel to lock the angle as well as the detents so I should be able to.

Other than the accuracy out of the box, its an excellent saw, far better than any I've used to date (disclaimer: have only used 'value' saws of the £35 variety)

[Setting up a mitre saw]

Hi All,

Am hoping one of you will be able to guide me with this!!

Have just purchased an Evolution Rage 3 255mm Sliding Mitre Saw. One of the ones that will also cut metal, with the aim being to use it for various fabrication projects, rather than relying on the 'by eye' grinder technique! I have to say it's pretty good, sawing cleanly through metal as though it was hardwood. You have to watch the feed and speed, and wear googles and long sleeves (hot, sharp swarf!!). The only trouble is, when set at the 'zero degrees' setting, the saw doesn't quite cut square. I can place a square over the cut end of the material and see daylight shining through the gap. Any tips on how to setup the saw?

Also the laser appears to bear no relation to what I'm sawing, but am less worried about that, as the adjustment for the laser is obvious.

[battery/alternator no charge light ALWAYS ON]

if you disconnect the wiring on the back of the alternator (insulate it when you do) then try the meter in line again to see if the current drain has stopped and the charge light has gone out, try starting the engine (with the battery charged)

IANAVS* but I was told in no uncertain terms by my old boss that running the engine with the alternator wiring not connected was a guaranteed way to cook the diode/regulator pack!

Doubtless someone more knowledgeable than me will correct my somewhat flimsy grasp of electrical fault diagnosis...

*I am not a vehicle sparkie

[Battery box access with Supra seats?]

Very easy to fit yeah.

You need some kind of support bracket under the seat box for the runners to bolt on to.

I've got some lengths of angle iron with some M8 bolts welded to it.

Sounds like my kind of fitment...off to Ebay it is then

[Donor Disco]

If putting on big tyres (Anything bigger than standard 205 tyres IMO), don't bother with the disco Transfer box, if not then yes put it on (will make it very good on long distances).

Actually am quite likely to stick with small tyres for on for road miles, and maybe stick a set of mud-plugging boots for the weekend on the defender steelies?

Certainly strip as many spares as you can accommodate. Diffs, shafts, PAS box, track rods. If you don't use the Disco t/box I'm sure someone will buy it from you. Don't bin any more than you absolutely have to

Rear axle swap wil depend on whether you currently have a Salisbury unit on your truck. If you have I'd stay with that, otherwise, yes the axle will swap.

Okie dokie, will pickup some racking and get stripping!

TBH I haven't checked what's currently fitted rear-axle-wise, all I know is that it's drums and I want to change them. I know, properly working drums at the back 'will' stop a 110 effectively, but nevertheless...

[Battery box access with Supra seats?]

Matey is now uhming and ahhhing about donating the Supra seats, so it looks like I'm off scouting for suitable donors. Thusfar the consensus seems to be that the seats of choice are either RRC or MX-5s (with built-in headreast speakers! ). But just try finding some for a sensible money...

The thrones in my Donor-Disco 200 TDi, are, to use unparliamentry language, completely shagged!

Rear bench seat any good?

[Donor Disco]

Having acquired a donor disco to convert my 110 to 200Tdi power I now need to strip all the bits I could possibly need out of it and get rid of the shell. The missus, patient as she is, will start to ask questions soon about the two rusting hulks on the drive!! :-) I have a fairly comprehensive shopping list of the bits I need from the 200 Tdi Conversion threads in the tech archive, but what of the other bits? My truck will mainly be used on-road as a daily driver and weekend plaything/camper - so is it worth slapping on the disco transfer box? The diffs?

Thusfar the list is:

Engine (obviously)

All hoses+plumbing+air filter box

Exhaust to donate pipe sections

PAS bits

Rad+intercooler+bits

Rear axle for disc conversion (or straight swap? Is this possible?)

Wheels

All suggestions/thoughts gratefully recieved....

[Battery box access with Supra seats?]

http://www.qtservice...lower-base.html

bit spendy and its not easy to see how it works from the pic but we use this on the challenge truck and it works OK. So should be possible to fab something up yourself.

Thanks Orgasmic Farmer, am sure I could bodge something similar together...preferably without setting the seats on fire whilst welding too close

That said, Retroanaconda has reassured me that 'tool-less' battery box access is a bit of a red kipper!

However I'm one of the few who find Defender seats comfortable. If the extra comfort you will gain from the Supra seats is in your opinion worth the slight inconvinience you will suffer in accessing the battery/batteries then I would say go for it

I don't find the defender seats that uncomfortable either, it's just they're a bit tired+past it. Which admittedly fits in with the rest of the truck at the moment...and yes I do realise if it's creature comforts I was after I should've bought a disco

Will post piccies soon as I have something to show...

Matt

[Battery box access with Supra seats?]

Thanks for your replies Dinkydave and Adam

Feeling anal here, so apologies. But it's the 'Numax' battery from Tayna (a distributer)

No need to apologise...quite right. Incidentally, am surprised 86 Ah is

considered enough for a 200 Tdi (what with all the ancillaries we like to

run, as opposed to standard spec), but I s'pose 1000 CCA is truly mahoosive

(Manufacturers' inflated figures nothwithstanding).

I'm going to fit a door in the front of the battery box, and have one

Anderson connector which can be pulled into the passenger footwell. Can't

think of a reason for needing any more myself (Obviously you may have other

needs)..

I've options 2 & 3 of your list on mine.

Both are bolted to the front of the seatbox so they sit behind the passengers feet.

Fairy'nuff. Actually, I want to power a removable winch which will attach

to the drop-plate at the back (whilst the trailer is still coupled too). It

won't be used for recovery work but rather dragging a heavy boat+launching

trolley (or other rolling loads) onto a flatbed trailer. Will post some

piccies when I've done this particular mod. Front connector I suppose is

not strictly necessary but then why not?

Securing the batteries can be done off the shelf by this product from D4x4 Or make something like it...?

Thanks, looks fairly straightforward. Call me an old tightwad, but 47 notes

for a bracket seems fairly steep - will probably fab something myself ;-)

Again will post some pics if anyone's interested.

Still not sure if people think restricting access to the bat-box (by requiring tools for removal) is a bad idea, but given the measures outlined above I can't see any other need to access it quickly?

[Battery box access with Supra seats?]

Bear with me whilst I ponder this out loud, and perhaps someone on here can tell me if I'm talking out of my exhaust, or whether there might be a smidgen of sense in this plan?

The front seats on my 110 are rather past it. My mate has offered me the seats from his scrapper Toyota Supra circa 1990. Super comfy, supportive at the sides, and most importantly of all, as they're from a low-slung sports car, the runners are supremely low. In other words, I reckon they'll fit. Of course, they don't have removable seat bases. The seats would still be removable, just not without the aid of thules, however I can't see this being too much of an issue. To minimise the need to pull the seats out, I propose the following:

1) Cut side 'door' into the battery box so that the battery can be accessed.

2) Fit battery isolator switch for safety

3) Fit Anderson/Durite 'Jump' connectors to the front and back of the truck (also for removable winch).

Therefore, my question is the following;

a) Has anyone done 1), is it feasible without causing structural weakness issues?

b) The battery is currently free to rattle about, best solution for securing it (them?)? The battery of choice is the Tayna, based on this thread: Linky

c) Best location for the jump connectors?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

[Stale Petrol]

Thanks for your reply Les - I did wonder what exactly makes petrol 'stale'!

Things have moved on apace now anyway, as I appear to have acquired a donor disco with a 200 TDi lump in it. So will be replacing the filter anyway. Also, the 110 runs out of MOT next week!

However, obviously leaky pick up pipes and other means of air entering the system will be even more of a problem with an oil-burner up front, so will check the entire fuel system. I'm guessing that other than making sure the petrol is thoroughly drained out of the tank there isn't much more to do for the conversion? What with petrol being a powerful solvent, there's no point 'cleaning' the tank?

[Stale Petrol]

Thanks - will give that a go. And get the locking petrol cap working again! :-)

[Stale Petrol]

Hi Chaps (and chapettes...)

Been lurking on here for a while, reading and learning, but this is my first post so be gentle on me ;-)

Basically, have acquired a 1989 110 N/A 2.5 petrol (fixed thrust, variable noise) hardtop. The plan, unsurprisingly, is to do the 200/300 TDI conversion. For which I have found loads of resources and articles on this site...

However, being the sensible, not taking on too many projects at once, sort of guy, I recently bought my first house (with a drive and garage, hurrah!!), and was using the truck to move my stuff. My not-so-bright mate found an old can of petrol in the shed of the old house, and promptly poured it into my tank, without my knowledge.

Result: Drove fine for about 10miles, then suddenly started losing power, backfiring, etc. The usual things you'd expect from past its sell by date go-juice! I pulled over to the side of the road, let the engine tick-over for five minutes, and promptly drove off again. I did attempt to dilute it with fresh petrol (£10 worth) It now drives fine, but will occasionally shudder, lose power and require a five minute rest before continuing. Interestingly, usually on an incline (going uphill).

What do you suggest as a possible remedy? I've heard talk of a small amount of paraffin in the tank? Or a belt'n'braces drain the tank? Probably won't bother with the latter, as I've moved now, and can start the conversion (assuming I can source a suitable donor disco)...but it would be useful to be able to use the truck should the need arise, without the five-minute rests.