heath robinson

You could do worse than asking a local welding-gubbins supplier. We just got a Hobart 350A/80% duty-cycle 3-phase mammoth with a reel of 1mm wire and a new lance for under £300. This is a guy we've known for a while, so there was a bit of mate's rates, but not enough to turn a bad deal into a good one. The thing even comes set up to do water-cooling if you have the appropriate torch. According to him, we might need it if we're doing more than 4 hours straight on rsj's or armour plating He did say that he finds it easier to sourch good 3-phase stuff than single phase though.

Am I missing something? This is just a new diff, not a locker, not radar-inert or gps-linked, or a stealth-diff... Is the sole reason for that price tag the fact that the cupboard said "NATO" on the front? I'm almost tempted to send him a message saying "Really? Reeeeeally?"

That's kind of the point, isn't it, that you won't go through them at the same rate?

Ahhh, relief. Ok, thanks mate, I'll paint it and stop worrying. Cheers, Jake

According to that thread, the t-wash should make it go black... It ain't doing that much to mine...

Here's the thing immediately after pressure-washing. It's gone white again in the sun, with salt-like deposits. And here's the bit that nearly went black. Heeeeeeeelp! Any thoughts?

Riiiiight then... Almost none of it's gone black, only the occasional patch. Most of it's just not shiny any more. Actually, I'll get the camera. What follows is after washing, degreasing, t-washing by brush, hosing off, sponging off, t-washing again, then sponging and powerhosing. Arrrrrggggh!

Back to the ECU individually then, ok. I was thinking of running one larger earth from the ECU up each side's harness, and then branching off from this to the sensors, I suppose that in the long run that's more complexity what with the extra joints etc.

Hi all. Quick grounding question. Is it better to route each sensor earth back to the ECU individually, or can they be combined in a sort of daisy-chain fashion where practical?

Goes so quick it tore the front of yer truck off...

Nice, thanks. It's a little worrying to think that it'll fall off again after all this trouble, but I guess that it 'll be fine after the second go. Cheers, Jake

The Vapourthread is helical, but whether it's left or right handed depends on which side you look at it from. It was Pioneered by Escher Engineering I believe, unique in being the only thread that gets looser, no matter which way you twist it... Unless you want to get it undone, in which case it gets tighter. Landrover were early adopters of the system, and have so-far been it's main supporter.

Mine came out well with a little persuasion from the oxy-propane

I've just done 6 out of 8 of mine on the afore-mentioned hydraulic press, and had to use the hacksaw method for the last 2, although rather than the burning bit, I just pushed the centre out then cut through the rubber and outer shell with the hacksaw. Mine were of an '84 vintage (A very good year, so I'm told) and the rust around the outside can cause problems if the thing you're using to push them through isn't exactly the right size. Give them a good scrubbing with a wire brush first. hth Jake

I've had BFG muds for years now, and they are great. 255/85s on 1-ton wheels look lovely, and are pretty much bomb-proof. I've been on muddy festival sites where the only things other than tractors moving was my 110, and a rangie with gurt 305s or something similar. Also, I've done a fair few miles of towing with them, and while they're definitely not as well mannered on tarmac as a road tyre, I can't fault them anywhere, and have found them better than the cheapo AT's I had before on the road. The only tyre's that I've considered repaling them with of late are the BFG MT KM2's or the Cooper STT's As has been said before, if you get too wide a tyre, and then go laning, you're outside the tracks of others, which can be a pain, and cause damage to the tracks.

I've not seen the mudstuff one, but a similar thing has trundled by the workshop, atop a new polo and something jap and very boy'd up. I don't know how they'd fare with mud and grit, but the guys who had them said that they were pretty revolutionary for road use. hth Jake

That's what I'm using it for, but it doesn't seem to even lightly darken some areas. I'll see how it looks in the daylight, but what do you reckon is acceptable for painting onto? The paint I'm covering it with is Intercure 200, so I don't want to get it wrong... Thanks, Jake.

The T-wash isn't darkening all of my chassis. I did it once, after removing any grease etc, and hosed off, then the whole thing went white... I washed it all down with a cloth and applied it again, giving it a good scrub as it went on, but there's still patches that look shiny... Any Ideas? Ta, Jake

Me neither, this one's the only one I've ever seen. Goes like the proverbial off a garden implement too... The guy wants £755 for it, and I must say that I was sorely tempted. It also has the coolest dash I've seen in a while - movable sides to the binnacle house all the switch gear, not a stalk in sight. It's a bit weird being in an auto with a turbo, but the torque converter lets the engine get into the boost, then you get a quite disconcerting linear acceleration, until everything becomes a blur...

Si, I'll have a chat with Mike. He's just started fitting self-levelling hydraulics to his truck, and the pump he bought was mains. We've been looking at using a transit tipper one instead, on a 24-12v stepdown, so he might be up for the swap. How does the auto-stop on the pump work?

Maybe take a mooch around a scrappy, armed with a tape-measure, and peer into the weirder cars to be found there. I recently drove an Izuzu Piazza (The 80's on wheels, but rwd, and a 2L turbo, and suspension by lotus ) and if they weren't brown veloo-err, the seats would have been pretty good in a landy.

The captive nuts have already parted company with the bulkhead I'll get a couple of good drillbits on monday, and hope that it all works ok...

I think he may have meant exeter 4x4 as opposed to BM...

Ah well, I'll try to find a sharp drill bit then Cheers, Jake

Hi. I've hit a snag while removing the doors... The 6 of the bolts of my doors came out fine, but the bolts of one bottom hinge were veeeeery stiff (Which isn't that surprising after 25 years of neglect), and due to a little "Persuasion" with an impact driver, the kept-nuts have failed to keep... Are there any options other than drilling the bar stewards out? Ta, Jake