Wave Mountain

Thanks Litch. I'll forward this info' to my friend.

Thank you 'small fry'. My 300Tdi is no nonsense and I have some knowledge and a great network here in Devon & Cornwall. My friend just needs a 'specialist' as you say, for diagnosis. Many thanks.

Thanks for the recommendation I'll check them out.

Thank you. Good advice.

I have a friend, who is a single mum & nurse and lives near Banbury, Oxfordshire. She needs her 106,000 mile Landy Puma for work but it seems to be smoking badly on initial acceleration. Her local garage seem to be taking advantage of her ( some big bills have been paid), so want to ask : Is there any way of finding a reliable & trustworthy Landrover mechanic/garage near Banbury or Stratford Upon Avon ? I am sure her vehicle is sound, but she has forked out a great deal of money and I think may be being ripped off ????!!!!!! I live in Cornwall (with my 300Tdi) so it is difficult to know how to find a solidly reliable mechanic/garage in her area. Can anyone help please ?

Thanks Western. As i thought. Just a choice of adapting to what is available. I'm not a fan of spacers either.

Se7enUp. Did you have to adjust the lock to lock end stops on the front axle to stop the tyres rubbing on the trailing arms, or did you put wheel spacers on. I have the same wheels as you and 255's and now have a very large radius turning circle/reduced lock because of them. I don't want to put spacers on as they knacker the wheel bearings. Any thoughts on this WESTERN ?

Well De Ranged, as they say 'If a job's worth doing, its worth doing well' !

Best of luck with the chassis, your method sounds very throrough.

Thanks.

This is a change of thread, but hopefully all of you in the thread will have an opinion : My build is a nut and bolt job on a 130 mile 1998 300tdi. QUESTION : Should i change the engine & gearbox mounts as a matter of course ?? I know they are not expensive, but i am trying to refurb as much as poss and not spend out on unnecessary items ???????????

Thank you De Ranged. I hope all is well with you after Quakes and Tsunamis !! I would recommend you clean out the inside of your chassis prior to any rust neutralising or POR 15 application. I used the Karcher drain cleaning hose ( see attached link) to get right inside my chassis. I had to make some pre existing holes slightly larger using a step cutter, so the hose could get in, but it cleaned all of the rubbish out fully. I left the chassis to dry for a week (in the summer) and blasted it with compressed air, then sprayed rust neutraliser internally. left that to dry for a couple of weeks, or more ? then waxoyled the chassis internally.

De Ranged, thank you for your post, which has arrived just in time. After much reading AND discussion with paint supplier in UK (Frosts) i came to the conclusion that if i had my chassis and all suspension parts sand blasted and made an effort to keep them rust free before i painted them, then this would be the best result. Frosts, who i do think know their stuff, said freshly sand blasted items would be ideal for painting with POR15 direct to metal so long as no post blasting primer or such like was applied. From your post i believe you are saying that even if it is freshly blasted, then it might be favourable to let it rust over slightly AND use the 'Metal Ready' prep coat ? (i don't think we have the Marine Clean here. I'll have to check). You also think this is essential, yes ? even with freshly blasted items ? Thanks again.

But won't the rust just bubble away underneath the POR 15 until it breaks through. Hammerite used to sell well because it was advertised to be painted straight over rust, we all bought it (in more ways than one !) and the rust bubbled up and through the paint. My chassis is off for blasting any day now and i am still not sure what to paint it with (Not galvanising - see my earlier post about NOT galvanising a chassis with internal waxoyl). QUESTION : Will POR15 stick to a bare metal, sandblasted surface (Frost video shows a prep-wash first) ? It seems nobody is keen on painting POR15 over any primer or base coat ? What about Rustbusters Epoxy-Mastic 121 ? Got a good vote from Classics Monthly Magazine ??????