Neil Marshall

The electronics worry me too, but I guess there'd be all those Ford, Peugeot, Jaguar and Citroen dealers who could try and fix a fault! Difficult to work out where the max torque occurs on the new engine, and that's at the heart of what you say about the Td4 - looking at the figures for the 128 bhp engine it could be anywhere from 1600 to 2500 revs....a bit of a wide range. What you need is low down grunt. Neil Neil

Siggy, a simple thermostat is just an inline bi-metalic strip switch, not a relay. I accept that, in principle, you could ditch the relay but in practice you would run the risk of burning out the bi-metalic strip as all the current to the fans would be running through it and it would pit thru arcing as it flipped constantly on and off. I like the diode idea, though. Elegant. I think James should consider it. Neil

No, the thermostat should act as a simple switch for the relay when in the 'B' position as per the original circuit diagram. The diode between the two fans would only be needed if you wished Fan 2 only to come on under control of the thermostat - thinking about it, that's quite an elegant option as you wouldn't need two fans on for normal on-road use.. Are you referring to a three wire controller? The third wire is to power the controller's internal circuitry, not the switched power. Neil

Jim, I'm with the circumference argument - deflating the tyre doesn't change the circumference, it just becomes less of a pure circle [ie it elongates/spreads at the bottom, not the top]. Neil

James A simple two wire thermostat should sit between the second relay and earth - ie it triggers the relay on the earth side - and the switched positive supply should be connected to fan 2; see amended diagram below. You've just got the thermostat on the wrong side of the relay, an easy mistake to make. If you're using a three wire electronic thermostat [eg a Revotec controller] then the third wire goes direct from the fuse to the controller. Hope this helps - tell us how you get on. Neil

Dave, This engine is strictly for Europe but the performance and fuel economy will surprise. The Ford/PSA LCV 2.2-liter diesel engine is 2,198cc in displacement, dual overhead camshaft (DOHC), four cylinders in-line with four valves per cylinder head (16 valves in total) and high grade aluminium alloy cylinder heads with an iron cylinder block. The engine will be offered in five configurations: 84 hp (63 kW) (torque: 250Nm); 99 hp (74 kW) (torque: 250Nm); 108 hp (81 kW) (torque: 285Nm); 118 hp (88 kW) (torque: 320Nm); and 128 hp (96 kW) (torque: 310Nm). The new engine employs the latest generation common-rail direct injection system, which has ensured the engine family meets Euro 4 compliance and further improves reliability. The fuel injection system has an innovative pilot learning process which guarantees that the small pilot injection quantity, so critical to low noise and emissions on modern high pressure common-rail engines, is delivered accurately across all cylinders for the life of the vehicle. This level of control is achieved by periodically injecting five discrete injection events per cycle instead of the normal pilot and main injections. The engine management system then compares the engine operation and will fractionally adjust the pilot quantity to minimise noise and emissions. The high pressure fuel injection system used ensures fuel is available at high pressure at each cylinder injection point. At critical points of the engine stroke, the electronic control of the injector valves allows very fine jets of fuel to be sprayed into the combustion chamber. This makes the combustion process clean and efficient, thus lowering emissions, improving fuel economy and increasing torque on each firing of the cylinder. Another feature which helps reduce NOx emissions is a high-flow, electronically controlled EGR system which reduces combustion temperatures, and is mapped to the operating conditions of the engine and cooled by a water-based heat exchanger. The electronic system allows better controllability, lower and more consistent emissions, and complete elimination of black smoke. The e-EGR incorporates an anti-contamination system, which uses smart electronics to monitor the engine’s efficiency and to correct itself when necessary. The e-EGR can carry out this process regardless of the driving cycle of the vehicle, and ensures robustness regardless of how the vehicle is used. For power improvement, the entry- and mid-level engines use a fixed geometry turbocharger, while the higher powered engines rely on a variable geometry turbo. The variable geometry system offers greater torque at lower speeds, while the turbo adapts to the needs and driving characteristics of the driver. This is achieved by the electronic control of the vane angles of the turbocharger, as it allows accurate control of boost pressure over a wider operating range. The electric control ensures greater responsiveness and improved and more accurate boost control than before. The medium- and high-power engines employ gallery-cooled pistons to cope with the higher power density. The new 2.2-liter LCV engine meets Euro 4 emissions requirements (mandatory for light trucks in 2006). It produces just half the amount of NOx emissions compared with the engine from which it was developed, reduces CO2 emissions by 20% and PM emissions by 40%. So, pretty clever then. Neil

I gather that in yesterday's Brazilain financial papers was a report that Land Rover will close its Brazil Defender production line this December and will import vehicles direct from the UK instead, as Land Rover considers that local production volumes are too low. About 800 Defenders a year are assembled by Karmann-Ghia Brazil. In the summer we heard that Defender production would be binned in South Africa for similar reasons. These numbers are very low indeed so the volume argument might make sense. You wonder though whether any cost savings would be wiped out by import duties....and whether the rumours of an all-new Defender are true. I note that no Defender will compete in the 2006 G4 Challenge. Neil

PSA and Ford have invested massively in a new 2.2 litre common rail diesel engine which comes on stream at Dagenham this month. Ford will produce the version optimised for durability and ruggedness for the Ford Transit and Peugeot Citroën's new light commercials; PSA will build from January the high output version for both companies' large and executive cars. This should be a strong and well developed unit and the better for being part of a hugely bigger production run - 200,000 a year by Ford alone. Expect loads more electronics - the engine will 'self adjust' for maximum efficiency over its working life. The previous phase of this joint co-operation, led by Ford, produced the high output V6 six-cylinder 24-valve unit used in the RR Sport, Disco 3, the Jaguar XJ and S-Type, the Peugeot 607 and 407 coupe, and the Citroen C6. TD5 production stopped in June and the engine line has, of course, been up for sale for months - bids had to be in by the end of September IIRC. Neil

Keith, will most of the convoy be Land Rovers? What tyres have you fitted? Any specific underbody protection? Neil

I'm the first to defend Les' stewardship of this site, based on his long experience elsewhere, but I'm afraid everyone's made far too much song & dance over Nick's advert and most of it is pure cant. If we have a classified section on this Forum it's there primarily for the benefit of us all as potential buyers - unfortunately, it appears, we can't accept that that means we need stuff to be offered to us by dreadful people trying to offload their own unwanted goods for money, so we really can't be having any of that. Come on guys, let's get real - having a Classifieds Section doesn't detract anything from the rest of the site. We rightly make judgements on advice from members as they make more and more posts and we get to know them over the months......a classified ad is completely different, as a second hand bonnet is just a second hand bonnet and I really don't need to know who his mother was and what vehicle he drives to make a decision on whether to buy it or not. The less rules stopping that supply chain of offers, the better IMHO - we need more offers, not less. So far as the above suggestion goes, while I remain a supporter of the green forum I have to agree with the sentiment - ignoring the current 'technical' probs on the green [say no more] the fact is that neither forum is as strong as the old one was, despite the excellent banter over here, and we would be stronger and wiser back together as one. Please work on it again, guys. Neil

Are you trying to force me to reveal something, Les?

Hey, where's the Moderators, we don't want no hairist tendencies around here! I've got a full head of hair and it's gonna stay that way..... Neil

Wise men should back the winners! I believe all of this stuff is Darwinian - you can postpone the inevitable, but not stop it occurring. Fact is that manufacturing migrates to the cheapest source of production. The Chinese have their own problems, with workers wanting more for their labours, but they will go on being the cheapest place for a long time yet - think of the number of poor rural peasants who would do anything in the short term to raise their standard of living. India will come next. The US has been protected historically because it has operated in a bubble - the chickens are now beginning to come home to roost. Neil

Dave, my wife and I spent some time with friends in Minnesota this February to enjoy driving in the snow and to shoot pistol again. We went out with one suitcase each and both came back with two, bursting at the seams with clothes, outdoor gear and stuff - better quality and a third of the UK price. When we got back and cut all the tags off we couldn't believe it....we couldn't find a single thing that had been made in the US. Stuff like Columbia and Ralph Lauren still use US cotton, but they're sewn in China. We used to have a car manufacturing industry in the UK - now we have screwdriver operations, with most of the parts sourced from Taiwan, China or Eastern Europe. Germany will have to go the same way. I've got loads of chums in the US who run stamping or precision metal manufacturing plants and they're only just waking up to their future - making the easy stuff has gone, so they're all scrambling for high added value manufacturing where, unfortunately, volumes are much lower and investment costs are frightening. Hate to say it, but the US will go the way of the British Empire and the world will be run by our friends in Beijing. Neil

GM's North American automotive operations lost $2.5 billion in the first half of the year. GM Europe made a tiny $37 million profit in the second quarter, its first quarterly profit for five years. Ford's precarious position can be seen by its sale of Hertz Car Rentals last month for $5.6 billion; its North American auto operations declared a pretax loss of $1.21 billion for the second quarter. Ford has lost US market share for 28 consecutive months - this was arrested in July and August only because it allowed consumers to buy Ford vehicles at employee prices - and third quarter losses are expected to be posted on Monday.

Les, you're right - nickel not only provides a very good corrosion resistance and surface but also high strength at high temperatures. Only drawback is poor ductility, so you don't want to use it where there's lots of flex. Zinc really works best with a further surface coating [eg clear chromate]. Cadnium plating [not as hard as zinc] is banned in Europe on environmental grounds and tin-zinc [70:30] plating with yellow chromate is a common alternative [superior anti-corrosion and ductility properties to cadnium]. Hexavalent chromium is an excellent corrosion inhibitor, but this will be outlawed in Europe by 2007 for the same reasons. Hardest [harder than carbide] and finest coating would be TIN [Titanium Nitrate] -strength and durability should be gauaged from its use a surface coating on tooling; maintains sharp edges; no build up on corners; decreases friction; excellent wear properties; highly inert to acids and solvents. Applied by vapour deposition [PVD] so coating requires a pristine surface with no oxidation [unlike zinc pass.] Zinc plate has a hardness but it is so low and the plate is so thin compared to the steel that it will barely be detected by the Rockwell C apparatus so is not on the scale below. Brass is harder than copper and zinc, although zinc oxide is hard enough to act as an abrasive on most steels. Zinc alloys tend to cold flow, even at room temperature, so fastener preload can be lowered. Zinc is an interesting coating - it protects by cathodic protection, since it is higher on the electrochemical scale than iron and will sacrifice itself to protect the iron, reducing it to the metal and eliminating rust. The life of galvanized steel sheet is proportional to the thickness of the coating - a coating of 1 ounce per square foot, giving a film 0.0018" thick, has a life of about 25 years in rural locations, 10-15 years in an urban environment. Back to Nige's question, depends on what you want to do, but you don't get much cheaper than zinc for surface treatment. Great primer on nickel plating here and nickel alloy plating here. Neil

Dave, I think you've hit it on the nose - it's the impact not the detail that counts. Given that Michele is probably tearing his hair out in frustration, can I suggest that we ask him to produce a couple of designs and then select one....otherwise we are trying to design by Committee, and we will end up with a compromise mess of a sticker. Neil

Then your partner can say......my other car's a porch...... I'll get my coat

Had you thought of a porch on the o/s to keep the winter logs dry?

There's a recent thread on the green forum which might interest you - email Binch for up to date photos....'Made from 6061 1x1" square tube (just shy of 1/8" wall) and built to take a load. The ladder at the back is completely detachable' Neil

Siggy, I'd be tempted to go for a long connecting piece and use two bolts, one horizontal and one vertical. Rigidity will come from closeness of fit of the male and female connections. Have you rejected welding up a Patriot type rack in aluminium? Big benefits in weight and, for the longer term, corrosion. For flexibility you could have bolt on tiers to raise wall height. Neil

Better than you eating his curly wirlly, I suppose. Apparently he still has the bag - there's a picture on his website Neil

Tony got it all right - he's just been sick over it....

Oh my God, even worse - I know the answer. It was Tony Hart....he designed the Blue Peter logo, hosted Morph; drew Les Henson [below] listening to Bucks Fizz singing their Eurovision Song Contest winner, the skirt-rippingly awful 'Making Your Mind Up'. Anyone want to buy a Blue Peter badge? Neil PS [Mandi far too young to know what I'm talking about].

Mom's typewriter font follows Neil