nickwilliams

The problem with fusing cables carrying the kind of current required to crank a cold 2.5 litre diesel is that the total resistance of the fuse and the connectors used to terminate the wires connecting to it is greater than that of the cable itself, and since it's only operating at a nominal 12V that makes the voltage loss across the fuse significant. A better solution is to ensure the cables are mechanically protected, including using good quality rubberised cable (e.g. welding cable) with good quality crimps at each end, protected by self-adhesive heat shrink to support the cables in the crimps, and extra mechanical protection where the cable might rub. I use a short length of radiator hose split along its length and then cable tied back over the cable on any rub points.

I found the problem on mine was the entire door was bent. Jamming a broom handle in the hinge side and pushing it shut seemed to fix it.

In addition to the 19J era 90, the Lightweight and two Series II vehicles currently being re-built, the family fleet includes a 15 plate Fiat Panda 4x4, a 66 plate Peugeot 508 SW, two 52 plate MGTF's and (as of yesterday) a 03 plate Subaru Forester. Last time I changed the oil on the Panda I had to take it to a garage to get the oil warning re-set, and the Forester has a warning light which needs fixing before it goes for an MOT. It looks like it's time to buy an OBD reader, but it needs to be one which will work across a wide range of makes and will allow me to re-set fault codes. I'm not very keen on the bluetooth phone adaptery thingies - in my experience if you only use that kind of gismo fairly occasionally you have to spend ages getting them to work each time you need them. I'd rather have something which is completely self contained and works out of the box. Having said that, something which uses a serial connection to a laptop dedicated for the purpose should be OK. Budget is a few hundred quid. What makes and models are good? Anything to look out for?

It's fairly easy to find people selling weld-on replacement brackets for the springs, bump stops etc on coil spring LandRovers. Does anyone know of a source of the equivalent parts for leaf sprung vehicles?

Non contact DC current measurement is a particularly challenging parameter because the reading can easily be affected by the earth's magnetic field and the sensors used are very susceptible to temperature related drift. One trick which is worth knowing is that if you wind the wire through the current clamp multiple times then you increase the sensitivity of the measurement in direct proportion to the number of turns - say you have a meter which measures 50A with a single wire passing through it, that measurement will actually mean the wire is carrying 25A if there wire is passed through the clamp twice and 5A if the wire is passed through 10 times.

I'm after one for a Series II, but thanks for the offer.

Thank you to everyone who read this request, but it is no longer required (I was outbid!).

.... well pretty much anywhere north or west of London, actually. There's a gearbox on e-bay I'd be keen to bid on but I don't much fancy a 400 mile round trip (especially under lockdown) to go and get it. Is there anyone who could collect it and move it in a northerly direction? Eventually it needs to get to near Buxton, but there's no rush, and pretty much anywhere north or west of London would be better for me for collecting.

I have a Series II and a Series IIa to re-build (with help from my son) over the next few months. New galvanised chassis and bulkheads for both arrived from Shielder on Thursday last week - I'll report on quality when I have a chance to look at them properly in the next few days. First impression is that they are very shiny! I'm going to want to get a variety of bits and pieces galvanised so could do with recommendations for companies who are known to do a good job. I'm not far from Buxton so ideally places north of Birmingham and south of Hull would be useful. Thanks Nick.

If that is supposed to be for a LandRover then I'd say it's intended to go in the front of one of the rear wheel arches. If it doesn't fit there then I don't think it's intended for a LandRover.

Yes, you are correct in the sense that if you just isolate the battery (on either side) once the engine is running then the alternator will supply current to keep the engine running until it's shut off by some other means. The FIA switch works by having an auxiliary contact which can be used to shut off the engine so in theory at least you could wire the main contacts into the battery negative and still use the auxiliary contacts to shut off the engine. Whether that's allowed by FIA rules or not, I have no idea. The other point which is probably worth including here for the benefit of those for whom electrics are a bit of a mystery is that the battery has an important role in regulating the system voltage so if you do disconnect it without also stopping the engine, you run a fairly high risk of the voltage rising to a level which could cook any sensitive electronics in the vehicle.

I guess this follows the logic of undoing the negative side battery terminal first to eliminate the possibility of sparking if the spanner touches any bodywork while undoing the positive side. This isn't really necessary if isolation is achieved by a switch, but it can make the wiring simpler and reduce the chances of a high current short to ground in some circumstances.

If they look molten then I'd think they are more likely to be slag left over from a smelting process.

See if either of these helps: Carbide Insert Specs.pdf Carbide_insert_key.pdf

If you compare it with the asthmatic ex-disco 300 TDi I had in the vehicle as an interim then they are like night and day. More pertinently, the engine which I took out originally and re-built with the Turner head used to go pretty well but was quite smoky - I think someone had fiddled with the FIP. I put the same FIP back on the rebuilt engine without making any adjustments (other than ensuring the timing was dead on). The vehicle smokes a lot less than before, and it pulls like a train. Notwithstanding my annoyance with Turner's customer service, it would appear they know what they are doing with the engine parts even if they are incompetent at packaging them for shipping.

Just to follow up on this thread, I eventually fitted the head having carefully filed the raised dent back to as close as I could get it to the machined surface around it without causing any more damage. The engine went back in the vehicle at Christmas last year and, so far at least, seems to be working perfectly. It's done about 500 miles now.

I met my wife at Bullpot Farm. Small world!

Because Hazel is a caver (as am I, which is how I know her) and quite a bit of her research over the years has been in caves where microbes are often the only life present.

Anyone interested in the science behind the Coronavirus outbreak could do a lot worse that to watch this presentation by Professor Hazel Barton. Hazel (whom I know a little) is an expert in microbial life, particularly in low energy and primitive environments and her CV includes helping NASA to develop tests for microbial life on other planets. The presentation is billed as "A short introduction to viruses, virology, and what the coronavirus is, and a discussion about where we think the virus comes from, how it causes disease, and where we are in dealing with it. Think of this as a short virology course for someone with no background in biology.” The presentation was prepared and presented on line for the USA’s National Speleological Society and the production is a bit shaky in places, but the information is still good and useful. You can view the presentation here: https://youtu.be/tQZuCHIFZkQ

Answers: 1 - No, Tirfor cables are not ordinary wire rope. Ordinary wire rope is designed to be slightly flexible, a Tirfor cable has to be non compressible. 2 - Not if you want to pull at or near the rated load of the Tirfor, and definitely not if you are hoisting (as opposed to winching). 3 - I very much doubt it.

A friend has purchased an ex- electricity board 110. It's got BFG Mud Terrain 265/75R16 tyres in reasonable condition on three corners and a very old and worn Cooper Discoverer STT M/T 265/75R16 on the fourth. All the tyres on the vehicle are on matching heavy duty steel rims. He was given a Boost Alloy with a (badly perished) Michelin Latitude 205/80R16 tyre as a spare. (Yes, this was from a dealer, no it's not worth arguing with them since he's had the vehicle for more than.a year now.) My plan is to purchase two more BFG 265/75R16 MT/s and fit these to the rear axle and buy another suitable steel rim to put the worst of the three existing BFGs on as a spare. The Cooper tyre will be scrapped and the Boost Alloy will go on e-bay. Am I right in thinking 265 tyres need 9in wide rims, and if so does anyone know a good place to get one from? Any other comments?

Here it is fitted:

This is how I fitted the oil pressure sender the first time I did one but it looks very vulnerable to vibration or other damage so although I did not have any problems with it, when I changed the engine I drilled through into the gallery at the bottom of the arrowed port. I then tapped the port 3/8 BSP, and fitted a 3/8 BSPP(M) - 1/8NPT(F) adapter and mounted the oil pressure sender direct to the port. It's much more rigid and tucked away from damage here. Note also the addition of the oil temperature sender. This is threaded direct into the casting, which is fairly thin at this point so it requires careful threading, and I stuck the sender in with hydraulic seal so it did not need to be done up very tight to seal. @Peaklander, If you do go for a VDO gauge, I have some of the proper three terminal connectors for the back of the gauge.

^^^^^^^^ This.

This is a top tip. It's very difficult to get the pistons back into the block without the big end bolts hitting the crankshaft, and it takes very little to damage bearing surfaces.