101nut

About 18 months ago I phoned, had stock and price confirmed and was supplied with one carb at the price shown on the web site by next day delivery. Unfortunately I'd actually ordered a pair or carbs and they said if I still wanted the other one it would be nearly double the marked price as they no longer carried stock and would have to be ordered specially!!!! I had no choice at the time but to stump up the extra. Haven't used them since though ... AndyG

If there's now't wrong with it just put the standard service items on your dizzy and save your money ... you'll need it to buy petrol! AndyG

1. Use wire brush vigourously on exposed thread (as much as can be reached) to remove rust and sh*t 2. Apply favourite dismantling lubricant (Plus Gas) from an aerosol to make sure it doesn't run down your arm 3. Remove relatively easily ... with aforementioned 3ft breaker bar ... usually It helps to fit aftermarket bushes as they are so carp the threads don't have time to corrode between changes AndyG

How much are they now (not that one is tempted or anything you understand )? On a more general note, what's the reliability of these units like since they're the hard parts to souce in the UK (that is, if one was to buy one, if one was hypothetically interested of course ...)? AndyG

I'll make one or two comments: 1) if you want to keep the screen the chicken way of doing it is to cut around the outside rubber seal with a stanley knife, the screen will drop out but you'll need a new £50 seal ... otherwise if you start pushing and you really want to keep the screen sod's law dictates it'll break! 2) if the top rail is rotten, why? I'd suspect that you have an early 90's motor and if so the A pillars may be in need of attention as well. If it was due to a failed seal then you may have rot elsewhere in the windscreen frame/bulkhead which will need doing so be prepared for it. AndyG

Ok, we've established you're a girlie so can't cope with a bit of grubbyness ... The manly way to deal with it is to rub in a good handful of EP90 and put up with the stink and complaints from the missus but that's not an option here Apparently you can paint them by cleaning up well and using epoxy paint. You could obviously shell out for a new wheel or do what I did and get a steering wheel glove - mine were about £6 each or something equally stupid off eBlag (yep both the RR and the 101 have got them!) Not the best but a damn sight better than a nasty, grubby, sticky, black mess that mucks up your nails and ... ehem AndyG

Power=Amps*Volts so 300=Amps*12 therefore Amps=300/12=25A Cable size in this case will be more to do with the voltage drop you get across it at this current since if the voltage drops the inverter performance will drop ... 50A cable should be ok as long as the run isn't too big and make sure you have a good negative feed as well. AndyG

Lead free solder is now mandatory for commercial use but is still ok for personal ... I use lead based all the time as lead free is generally utter c**p. If you must use lead free make sure it's got silver in it, don't use the cheapest you can find and for your application use 22swg and a 1-2mm tip (you may find a bigger tip a little easier to handle as it holds the heat better). Temperature should be set so that you touch the iron firmly on the joint, dab the end of the solder wire onto the joint and it should almost instantly melt and flow cleanly. You shouldn't have to hold the iron on the joint for more than a second perhaps (though you will until you get used to it). If the solder doesn't melt make sure the iron is hot enough, it's clean and tinned and if the solder doesn't flow well make sure the board and component legs are clean. Oh, and it you do support the components using foam make sure it's not a low melting point type stuff because that gets very sticky if you use a bit too much heat ... AndyG

It pees me off when they can't park or even drive a bleedin' Smart car without power steering, a brake servo and either parking sensors or a white stick ... mind you that goes for muppets of every age! I'm a pre-97 person but personally I think everyone should have a mandatory trailer test before towing, jacknifing (sp?) 3.5 tons is no fun ... or towing a trailer tied to the bumper with bailer twine ... yes you did read that correctly and it certainly wasn't me! AndyG

Nudging a very big tree very carefully may straighten it ... or bend it the other way! AndyG

Well personally I take offence at that because I think the complete opposite of whatever you just said, err Fozzie ... !! :D AndyG

I get a complimentary copy of LRM ... and my 101 was in it this month so that's two birds with one stone isn't it? I rarely look at the other mags now ... LRM sort of does what I want but even that is now getting to the 'we fixed it by taking to <our sponsors> XYZ 4x4 who fixed it ...' mentality so I end up swearing about it almost as much as reading it. I wouldn't be so unhappy if they actually showed how to do things - like pictures of shifting the impossible-to-remove gangle-pin from the oijaa-orifice using a size 3 fish-hook and a loop of baler-twine stapled to the end of the nearest 9" blunt instrument instead of displaying a nice but rather pointless picture of Knuckles McCloudski undoing another balljoint nut using a socket and a breaker bar ... I have to say that I glance at every page in the mag so the advertisers probably get what they pay for but I actually read very few. My 'selection' is probably different to others and that's fair enough but it does result in a feeling of a lot of wasted energy reading it ... In some ways I wonder if it's a better idea to buy a different mag each month ... it'd be fresh, you wouldn't notice the redoing of stories from year to year and you'd probably get all the information anyway ... AndyG

We used them for at least 20 years at the tech college and had no apparent problems. They do need changing routinely as bacterial buildup will cause problems ... and a nasty stink There are nice, expensive additives that help ... AndyG

... and you'll get £250 from Germy Beagle on the "It shouldn't Happen To A Welder Video Outakes Show" :-) AndyG

Welcome to the new group Les! Someone must know what it's really for ... perhaps it's a gangle-pin spacer or a globdule joint shim? AndyG

If the cam doesn't get lube in the first few seconds after startup it'll be knackered which is why the special moly lube is sold for initial startup. That doesn't explain the long period of high rpm though. It's nothing to do with splash lubrication as the oil drip feeds down the push rods from the rockers directly onto the followers and cam lobe. I think (and I'm happy to be corrected) that this high rpm is to make the bearing surfaces between follower and cam lobe work harden. At idle there is little stress on the parts, they rub together and wear. At higher rpm the stresses are much higher and change the surface structure of the metal surfaces causing them to work harden. Once hard (it only needs to be done once) they have a longer life ... This explains why if you get a reground cam they may wear badly due to break through of the hardened surface if not rehardened. AndyG

I got one or two of those about here somewhere as well ... AFAICS they can only sit over the pin and under the rubber boot ... I have no idea why, never used them and never had an obvious problem ... Oh and my mate had no idea either so that makes three of us thickies ... AndyG

Better than just venting it, get the tank steam cleaned - ten minutes of thorough 'internal inspections' with the lance on maximum and there'll be naff all left to even smell. If you want to fill it with water or argon fill it afterwards so much the better but it'll be worth the beer money just for the peace of mind of the rest of us! AndyG

Thinner oil will increase bleed down rates. V8 is specced for 20w50 mineral but if you have an oil problem it should be more noticeable when idling and hot, not when still cold (but run enough to pump the followers up). Could whip a rocker cover off and see what the rockers are doing ... would show up a weak lifter. AndyG

General order of things to look at is: 1) all the steering related ball joints 2) the swivel bearing preloads 3) the suspension bushes. My money would be on sloppy swivels when you hit undulations in the road ... really bad ones can induce serious bottom clenching moments!! AndyG

I've seen split bearings before ... no idea why unless it the way they are manufactured which introduces a stress plane across the middle ... If you try to split one it's impossible so it could just be magic ... AndyG

Don't know particularly about brake seals but I tend to stay clear of IMS ('meths') on rubber goods as it can degrade some and make others swell. (this is getting worse ... ) AndyG

Sounds like 'Dave's Insanity Sauce' which has created many a merry moment for me rather than the poor blighter who takes the challenge of trying it! AndyG

Early RR axles were taper roller as well. AndyG

Dear fonts of all knowledge, my driver's door hinges (2-door exposed type, 1975ish) are flapping around in the breeze a bit and need looking at. I have what were described as 'door hinge pins' (part 391439) which are short roll pins. I'm not quite sure whether they are actually hinge pins or the retaining strap roll pins ... I think (hope) the former ... Now the problem. I appear to have solid hinge pins - either I do have solid pins or they are roll pins with caps/seals in them which are not shown in the parts book. I assume to remove said pins I will have to beat them to within an inch of their lives however if they are solid and I have the wrong ones I will end up with a door and no replacement pin apart from a 4" nail ... Anyone been there and can say whether they are indeed hollow roll pins and whether they drive out easy enough? I assume if hollow they have to be driven 'through' the other pin with a narrow punch - ie one upwards the other down - or do they drive right the way through the hinge and fall with a satisfying clink onto the ground? On the other hand am I pi**ing into the wind and actually need to spend lots of time and mucho effort getting the entire hinges off and replacing them? AndyG