DaveSIIA

Very good torque, relatively low revving but not that friendly towards LR transmissions (not that many higher torque engines are though!).

As I understand it, the core of the capstan winch is the same whether fitted to a Series, RRC or 90/110. The base plate is specific to the vehicle fit. Would it not be feasible to change the base plate (or make a new one) to suit your IIA? I have a Fairey (i.e. Superwinch) capstan winch fitted to my IIA and could measure/sketch the base plate over Christmas if that would help. You may need to customise the drive shaft set up to suit the IIA though.

300Tdi? Disco & Defender variants are identical, and plenty of Disco's becoming at one with nature so engine prices low enough.

My 300Tdi 110 is happy enough with a 1.2 transfer box. Much better on motorways and not noticed any problems towing heavy (2.5 ton +) trailers in the Peak District. Low box not needed, except for restarts on steep roads with maximum weight in tow. I'd fit the Disco transfer box to keep you mobile for now and see how you get on. The swap isn't a major job.

As soon as I saw the title and who the poster was, I knew this would be a good (but painful) read.

Thanks for the pointer to Alpine Quest. It works a treat, so will be upgrading to the full version.

"If we are freed from that, we would be able to place the steering wheel wherever we like," - presents an image of passing the steering wheel to a back seat driver! Maybe a car being similar to a video game console isn't that remote.

Yes, direct fit to the R380. Borg Warner mounts had to be changed because of installing to a 300Tdi chassis.

Borg Warner will survive 280Hp / 260 lbft without problem - I have one behind a small block Chevy running 330hp / 428 lbft and it's the beefed up ZF that is the weak link. Also have one fitted behind the R380 in my 300Tdi Defender (but nowhere near the power / torque). Why not use the front propshaft off the corresponding RR? Direct, bolt on part that made the conversion easy on the Defender.

You can remove the front half of the case and (with a bit of easing) lift the input shaft off the front of the mainshaft. Best stand the box nose up to do this. As others have noted though, if this bearing is shot, I'd be inspecting / replacing the rest or consider a full reconditioning of the box. The job isn't difficult if you follow the instructions in the mauals linked by Western.

There's a small latch above the rotating catch which clicks over the pin on the door frame. Lift the latch with a narrow (~1/8") flat blade screwdriver and the lock should release. I'll try to get some photos later.

That is a coil of aluminium thread which has pulled out. A helicoil is a wire insert which winds into a slightly oversize, tapped hole to form a very robust anchor in a soft parent material.

Could be worth a run out to Agar's up on the industrial estate in Harpur Hill. They do pub gas bottles for welding. IIRC ~£20 a time. You'll also need a CO2 regulator for ~£30. Overall cheaper than keep buying hobby bottles.

I would pick up complete secondhand engine as they are quite cheap (given the number of 300Tdi Disco's getting the axe). Disco unit will drop straight in to a Defender, and you should be able to find one you can run before it is pulled out. Replacement engine might means you have a spare head and turbo to sell off to recoup some of the outlay. The TDV6 route is interesting, but I suspect a bit of a non-starter on cost grounds: Engine - £1500-2500 ECU, loom and basic map - £3000 Engine to gearbox adapter - £250 Transmission (ZF 4HP24 based box) - £1000+ A heap of time (or money) to get it all working together Comes down to what you want out of the vehicle and how quickly you want it back on the road.

The output shaft appears specific to the BMW, and different to the one for a RR - see the JPAT 4HP22 page (item 165). I believe the gear ratios are common across the 4HP22 range. Bellhousing and torque converter will have to be changed to suit the engine. Govenor on the tail end of the box will have to change to suit the engine, as will the housing to mate to the transfer box. It would make a source of parts if you fancied rebuilding a ZF auto, but a fair bit of effort.

Sounds like the latch on the over-centre catch is sticking and not releasing the catch when you try to open the door. Have a look at the catch on the opposite door and find the latch above it (easier to see when the catch is in the closed position). Arm yourself with a narrow (~3mm) flat blade screwdriver and practice lifting the latch, so tha catch swings open. Once you have the hang of it, do the same to the closed door. Once open, liberally lubricate the latch and over-centre catch - run through the open/close cycle a few times before closing the door.

As a short term fix, you could mill out the webs between the branches of the manifold. It isn't too big a job as you can remove the manifold from the turbo and work on just the casting. Lay a straight edge along the faces that mount to the head and chack that it is within a couple fo thou of true. This should get you mobile while you sort a better option.

Why struggle to strip a failed box in situ when a working box can be fitted quite easily? If the VC has failed then the chances are that the chain and oil pump won't be far behind.

The handbrake, etc will carry over from the Borg Warner transfer box to the LT230. You may have to drill an additional hole in the handbrake backplate as one of the studs might be in the wrong place. The front propshaft is specific to the Borg Warner, so you will need one from a 300Tdi Defender (others may use the same part). The Hi/Lo & diff lock selector and linkage will have to come from a LT230 equipped RRC. It may be less hassle and a more pleasant drive to fix the viscous coupling. It is apparently possible to swap the VC in situ, but I have no direct hands on experience of doing so.

Yes, they do an interface box. IIRC, it requires a negative going pulse. Unfortunately I sold the vehicle some three years back, so no longer have access to the hardware. There used to be some good info on the SPAL USA web site, so that might be a good starting point. FYI, SPAL do/did an electric window kit that works on earlier Td5's, 300Tdi's, etc. This can also be interfaced to alarm system for automatic window closure.

Given the loads imposed by the jerry can & mount, would bolting through suitable spreaders not be a better alternative than relying on a relatively thin section of softish rivet?

The SPAL kit was fitted to my old 110, and I had cause to sort out the wiring. It's the same setup as the Maplin kit (wiring diagram attached) in that one of the switching wires is pulled to ground to action lock/unlock. In the Maplin circuit, these are white or brown to ground (black). Sorry, can't remember the wire colours for SPAL but a bit of poking the wiring will soon give results. Maplin Central Locking YD77.pdf

In the description from the original post, a siezed VC isn't going to affect the TC kicking in - the VC would lock by default under this type of loading. Either there is a fault in the TC system, or the tyres/suspension aren't able to transmit the power to ground. Comparison was made to 2 disco's with similar mod's. However, could they have been running softer & more compliant suspensions or lower tyre pressures? Were the Disco's manual, against an auto RRC that wanted to shift down to a lower gear? Perhaps the climb was marginal for the set up of the vehicle? Too stiff or under damped a suspension or too high a tyre pressure could lead to early loss of traction. It would be worth having someone observe these vehicles climb the same hill and watch for wheel/suspension motion, etc and identify where/why the RRC falls short. The TC seems to want to work as the light flashes on when traction is lost. I would be looking for the valves stuck in the ETC Power Block or solenoids not working properly. Sounds a bit Luddite, but have you tried tapping the metal case of the valve block to try to free the valves? BTW, a siezed VC could cause the traction control to kick in on the road as the front & rear wheels follow different arcs, so would cause tyre scrub/skip.

Could the cable to the trigger be damaged? Surely a bit of probing with a multimeter would be more cost effective than just thowing money at new parts in the hope of a fix.

An interesting read, but be warned there are 66 pages of it! Microsoft Translator did a passable job of translating the pages from Norwegian to English - although it auto detected Danish > English on the first pass!