DaveSIIA

I was expecting digression to how the L322 with X5 engine would be an ideal candidate for MS Coat on, and leaving!

I've done a bit more digging and found a wiring diagram for 1986 on models. It shows the live feed on purple and the black returning from the the light to a connector. From the connector, the cable becomes purple/blue and goes to the door switches. This would explain why the black goes down behind the binnacle. You will be looking for the change of wiring either in the instrument pod or on the engine side of the bulkhead. Earthing the black would demonstrate that the light and switch setting have the potential to work with the door switches. If that works okay then there is continuity testing and possibly a bit of rummaging in the wiring to trace the fault. The wiring diagram doesn't show any other switches controlling the interior light. HTH

I would have to do some searching around for the 1990 wiring diagram, but things moved slowly at LR, so there is a good posibility the interior lighting will be configured the same on a 300Tdi. On my 1994 (95 MY) 110 CSW, the front and rear lights are independent. Open the front doors and only the front light comes on, likewise rear only. BTW: My 300Tdi CSW left the factory with light switches on the two front doors and the rear door only. The rear side doors are not wired. It might be that a previous owner has added the middle row doors in to the mix, so wiring could be somewhat non-standard. There should be three terminals on each interior light (colours may be different on yours depending if there have been some modifications) Purple - permanently live supply Black - earth Purple/blue - switched to ground by door opening Probing with a DMM should identify #1 & #2. The third wire could be identified through a continuity check with doors open/closed. This would help trace the problem to the light or the door switch wiring. (After writing this, I've had another thought - the interior light switch has three positions off/door/on. You know one position brings the light on and the other two leave it off. Have you checked both off positions when opening the doors? Simple, but sometime problems are.)

I have to hand only the wiring diagrams for the 97 model year 300Tdi. The 'basic' set up takes a Purple/Blue wire from the interior light to ground via the door switch. It should be straight forward to test the interior light by grounding this wire at the point where it leaves the light assembly. If that works, then it is a matter of tracing the wires through to the door switchess and testing. The 'immobiliser' set up is similar to the 'basic' except that there is an ECU-ALARM box in the path to earth. This is fed by a Purple/White wire from the interior lights. Purple/Blue wires run from the box to ground via the door switches (except for the drivers door which is Slate/White wire to the switch). The wiring configuration for a 1990 110 should be similar to the 'basic' version of the 300Tdi. The fact that the light can be switched on manually rules out a problem with power feed and earth to the unit and suggests a fault between the unit and the door switches. The interior light switch on the 300 Tdi has three positions - Off/Door/On. Does the 1990 unit have the same switch options, and is the door controlled position selecting correctly?

What year / spec is the vehicle? Does it have the factory fit immobiliser?

There should be a pin switch in each of the front door pillars. These often corrode to give poor contact and the interior light fails to come on. Remove one of the pin switches and the purple/black wire should be attached to a spade terminal on the back. Ground the wire and the interior light should come on. If so, clean/replace the pin switch.

100mm IIRC. Thin cutting disc on the grinder makes it easy to cut up either side of the trailing arm, inside the axle bracket.

Superwinch US & UK contact details. I have dealt with the UK outfit for capstan winch spares - no problem.

Yes, too much haste with 'must fire up engine and go for a drive'! I still don't wait for the glow plugs when starting (same as I've always done since buying the vehicle in 97), yet it fires up that bit easier than before. The very brief use of glow plugs probably contributes a bit to ease of starting.

The 110 proved somewhat reluctant to start on Saturday morning, having stood since Thursday lunch time in sub-zero temperatures. Cranking was a bit sluggish as the outside air temp was ~ -7C, and I had been squeezing the last bit of life out of an 8 year old battery A DMM on the glow plugs showed no voltage. 60A maxi fuze was okay and the glow plug warning light on the dash came on, hinting the timer relay was doing something? Time to check the wiring, to find no connection from #4 glow plug back to the vehicle loom. A casual glance around the bulkhead showed the offending cable tucked up neatly behind the air intake duct, out of harms way. It must have been like that since I installed the engine 18 months / 30K miles ago, and certainly wasn't missed last winter. Reconnected, the engine sprung into life on the first flick of the key. I'd always reckoned that Tdi's didn't need the glow plugs, but maybe the short burst while cranking makes all the difference. More importantly, this incident highlights that a career hands on engineer, of many years experience, is not infallible. One learns by one's mistakes

Yes, of course. That was a week ago (& quite a few posts back) so I have probably slept since then. SWMBO assures me that I frequently forget things if I've had a sleep Keep up the good work. It's getting interesting.

Clutch plate in back to front? Slave cylinder fitted right way up (bleed nipple at the top), so it bleeds correctly?

There might be some mileage in using a softer spring, with the linkage set so the vanes are closed at idle. Theory being that the pressure will build sooner with the vanes closed, but the vanes will open more readily and limit max boost sooner. I think you are on the right track though, with a (initial) limit of 1.0 - 1.5 bar boost while you explore spring/pre-load effects. At least you have an EGT gauge to help keep an eye on what's happening. Does the adjusting screw on the capsule move the diaphragm/actuator to set the static load (pre-load) on the spring? If so, you might have a bit of juggling to do when setting the boost limit and vane initial position. A bit of a random thought: Do you have any means of applying a repeatable, steady pressure to the capsule for calibration purposes? If so, could you set the spring rate and pre-load so that the actuator rod is just lifting off the end stop at say 1.0 bar and achieves full travel of the vanes by say 1.5 bar (these pressure values are guestimates)? You would then have to set the actuator length so the vanes were in the correct position. This would bring a degree of methodology to the selection of spring and it's initial setting.

Have you checked for the 'oil in the injector/ecu loom' problem?

Colway Macho's are probably hard to find these days. Why not have a chat with the tyre place and see if they have a part worn tyre in the same size as what's on? Should be cheap enough and do to get you the 100 or so miles from Fraserburgh to Inverness. Then you can sort the problem at your leisure.

What size are the three good tyres on the vehicle, and what size is the spare? Out of interest what is the vehicle?

Not disputing the wisdom of using two JATE rings and a bridle when doing any pulling - sound advice. Out of interest, I looked up the shear strengths of various grades of M10 bolts. The JATE ring, and bolt through the chassis, puts the bolt in double shear so gives the following approximate strengths per JATE ring (assuming worst case loading through a threaded section - a full diameter section could be 25-30% higher): Grade 8.8 7.5 tonnes Grade 10.9 10.5 tonnes Grade 12.9 12.5 tonnes Still a fair load to feed through a ~3mm thick chassis section!

Possibly a split hose on the pressure side of the air intake. The favourite on my 300Tdi Defender is the elbow on the outlet of the turbo. Look for the telltale sign of oil wetting on the outside of the hose. It's worth removing each hose to do a detailed inspection. Failing that, could there be a leak at the front end of the exhaust? While you are taking hoses off, check for play on the shaft through the turbo as I've known turbo's get noisy as they wear. Oops - beaten to it by Les

Pretty sure I have read somewhere that a pair are rated (yield strength) for 17 tonne, but I can't turn up that source at the moment. IIRC, it comes from the possibility that a laden LR could be lifted on just two of the four JATE rings, and then there is a load factor for lifting/underslung load. Would have to do more research to find the quotable source. However, the value will be somewhat more than 5-600kg unless they have been made from chocolate!

Three parts are listed for the Defender heater matrix Downward facing pipes up to VIN WA Downward facing pipes VIN XA on Horizontal pipes - same for all VIN You may have to modify the pop riveted plates that locate the top/bottom of the matrix to get it to sit right.

Worth checking all the pushrods while they are out. They are only a couple of quid a piece (p/n 546799), so it isn't the end of the world! Also, inspect the rockers and caps for the valves while you're at it.

At that price, I'd be looking round for new ones. Paddocks list them (ERR3339) as Bosch items for £37.50 + VAT each. I bought a set a few years back and they came in Bosch packaging, with correct Bosch markings, numbers, etc (checked against the original factory fit units they replaced). The improvement over the originals (258K miles!) was quite noticable - much better performance & economy. The injectors are two stage, so have two settings calibrate. Many diesel "specialists" can only set the first stage, so be aware of what you are buying.

Something else to consider with 24 spline shafts - P38 4 pin diff's. Don't know if the carrier would work with the 4.7 R&P, could be worth a look.

If it's arcing across the top of the coil, then start by looking there. Remove all connections (noting where each goes) and clean the top of the coil. Examine closely for tracks from the king lead socket to the outer case. The surface should be smooth and tracks will appear as faint rough pits etched into it. If you find tracks then replace the coil. Not sure why the plugs should cause the problem as the coils is still providing a high voltage (unless you should be using a resistor / non-resistor spark plug?).

I've a Sony CDX unit working fine in the standard housing in my 110. The instructions say the unit can operate at angles up to 45 degrees from horizontal.