ToyRoverlander

Spal has a whole range of 24V fans. Not cheap but very good quality! Here's my new setup in parts.. 24V dual 11" Spals. They suck a combined 2600cfm and are rated at 7A each while doing so. Should cool quite well I reckon. Oh, those 2 fans where 320euro together..... Like I said.... not cheap!

That explains it . Mine will be relocated (custom tank under the floor above and in front of rear axle), it's way too vulnerable back there. Anyway, back on topic... That's one cool looking cage! I'm looking forward what gets done with the rear crossmember.

Mine sits very high too due to being sprung over .. I don't believe I've ever seen a tankguard for a Series. And even if they do, my chassis is definatily not a standard chassis..

4.1, or in case of a manual 80Series 3.73

What I was wondering... I don't know what kind of offroading you do, but do you have any problems with the rear mounted fuel tank? I've already damaged one which started leaking quite badly. And I seem to hit the rear bracket of this new tank very quickly even though it sits really high. I already have to be super carefull with it. Do you have a tankguard or something fitted?

Anyone can call their stuff heavy duty.. you want to know the specs. Diameter and wall thickness. Larger diameter, with equal wall thickness will be better than same diameter but greater wall thickness. Even better is a larger diameter AND greater wall thickness. I've got some true heavy duty stuff now. Old rods are 25mm 5mm wall. New is 1.5" with 0.25" wall DOM tube with 3/4" Heims.

With a proper bender and dies that's not needed. Well, I've never had issues with that anyway.

I can't even edit my own post....... After looking at it some more.... I'm pretty sure they're 37's... right?

Cool cage ! Other question, what size are those Creepies? 35"?

All that matters in the end is that you have fun, and go in a reliable vehicle, so making sure the vehicle you go with is in good condition you're fine. I went with my 109 to the Alps, together with a mate who took his 109. His is a 4door SW, mine a softtop and I absolutely LOVED it! Sure it made more noise and all, and it was a bit of a faff on the way back when the rain was close and I had to spend half an hour realigning and rolling down the tilt and putting the doortops back in.. Driving like this just rocks! Only reason I didn't take the top off completely is that you get roasted in the sun...

Screw it.... I'm going to stir things up here. Sure it has a certain charm to travel as they did 50years ago, with no comfort whatsoever. If you're into that kinda stuff, knock yourself out. I do prefer just a bit of luxury. I mean, why make life harder for yourself for the sake of a bit nostalgia, especially when you're undertaking a LONG trip. I love my prepped (offroad, not expedition) 109 LR to death, I love taking the top off when travelling around and enjoying that whole feeling. It's reliable and reasonably comfy enough for any Europe trip and probably North Africa if I put some more effort in making the thing theftproof and more secure for my belongings. For anything else I would only consider one vehicle.... If you like reading trip reports, have a go at this one. Their trip through the Congo is just a fenominal read! Yes, even LandCruisers go wrong Yes, they snapped rear hub studs leaving them with front wheel drive Yes, they struggled in the jungle, at one point managing only half a mile in a day driving on just the front axle..... till the diff went bang Yes they were stranded in the jungle with no drive to the axles, no brakes and dead batteries... Yes, they made it out! Their story is amazing! Read all about it here: http://www.expeditio...shi-to-Kinshasa I still haven't finished reading.....

I got a reply back. Defender td5 steering column has 48spline count at the bottom.

No answer from both of them........

Done. I'll report back when I get an answer..

That's the one I was looking at. I guess I didn't look good enough or just plain didn't recognize the collapsible part. I saw now. Thanks Back to a steering column question. Would a TD5 steering column fit too or are you guys talking about Tdi columns? Not talking about steering wheel fitment, just the fitment of the actual column. I can't seem to find decent pictures whether they all use more or less the same mouning points. Reason is I saw 2 Td5 columns for sale on fleabay . I just want to make sure I can actually use them.

That's good to know, thanks heaps for that! Would this be a good idea though, seeing that that shaft is one-piece so can't collapse, in case of an accident.. Don't know how much that matters... in a frontal collision there's also a huge engine with all its bits that can be pushed inwards...

Good info in here! I'm collecting the parts needed to fit power steering on my 109 complete with a high-steer kit. I want to fit a P38 box and defender steering column, like more people have done by the looks of it. Let's discuss steering shafts and U-joints. What fits and what doesn't? Would you use a P38 steering shaft or the Defender one? I'm thinking about grabbing a Defender steering shaft and fit the P38 ujont at the steeringbox end, might needs to be welded though.... Thoughts?

28psi all round on my 109" on the road. 14psi offroad.

If it indeed is a non-series axle, have a look at what the castor is set at. If it is way too much (should be around 3degrees) it makes the steering really heavy. That would explain why it is so heavy. 2 solutions really, fix the castor angle or fit PAS. A longer pitman arm will make steering even heavier.

Funny. I've got custom hig-angle driveshafts and the rear one runs on a fairly steep angle due to my 109" being sprung over and the low pinion Toy axle. The front one leads an easier life as there's a high-pinion front diff. Rear shaft has done about 15,000km now and is still tight and smooth. Front one has done about 25,000km and is still perfect. I do grease the ujoints at least every 5,000km and before I go offroad every time.

I bought my 109 with the idea of doing overland trips with it. I believed it was best to keep it as standard as possible, you know, for spare parts and such.. and 'Land Rover designed it so it must be good' .....Luckily I woke up from that nostalgic romantic dream... I just did a great trip to the south of France, been through the Alps, up to 3000mtr high and I would absolutely HATE to have to do it in a standard 109" with NO power, NO brakes and horrible seating. I keep hearing people defending the drum brakes saying that they send you flying through the windscreen when properly serviced. Sure, that could be true but the amount of fiddling and maintenance they need is just ridiculous. I've got huge ventilated disc brakes front and rear (LandCruiser 80Series) and I'm very happy with them. I know they work, no matter what. I've been doing 3point turns on the edge of huge drops, a moment you really want good brakes you can trust I can tell you! My sprung over suspension is 3leaf rear parabolics, 2 (plus helper) rear springs up front with Bilstein 5125 shocks. It's a bit stiff but that's because the springs are nearly flat. A mate of mine joined me (his car has the same setup) and his 109 has 4leaf rears and 2 leaf rears up front. His care was like a boat. Very, very supple suspension.. way softer than a coiler. Made his girlfriend sick though on faster twisty roads.... His is very comfy, but there's a fair bit of bodyroll. Road holding on mine is great, not much bodyroll and still comfortable on rougher roads. Engine wise it's got a 92hp/216nm 3.4 diesel. Underpowered for in the mountains, OK on the flat. Time for a turbo, with +-140hp/370nm on tap it will be much more lively and capable on the steep long climbs. A standard Series engine would be hugely underpowered.... a TDI would be waaay better.. I did tons of work on this car and I like the way it is. Would I do it if I just wanted a 4wd to go touring in? No way. If I were you I would look for a 110 instead of spending lots of time and money on an old underpowered leafer with crappy brakes. Unlike that's what you like to do, like me..... Have fun!

Or what I fount out on a 300Tdi range rover when I was filling the cooling system. Manual stated to undo that plastic thing on top of the thermostat housing and fill it up, after that fill up the header tank. All good and well, just too bad the header tank was nearly overflowing before the thermostat housing was topped up . Header tanks sits lower than that housing..... weird stuff...

Interesting u-joint angle . Vibes? No sir must be your imagination... Can't remember what that silver thing is but it sure looks sexy

Window winders on Defenders... If you're tall you can't get to them without reaching underneath your knee and try to turn the damn thing while trying to keep your leg out of the way. Which isn't easy when it's jammed between the door and the steering wheel

Yeah well that's what I thought but it doesn't fit. And I'm sure my doors are already 'new' (ie not the original series IIa doors). The whole mechanism fits fine, it's just that the lock barrel ends up just behind the lip of the doorskin... The OP bought door bottoms (he wants to fit doortops after all) and as far as I know they don't come with the defender style interior handle. So no need for chains/levers/magic to open the door. There's a lift up handle on the inside..