Gareth Dickens

How would this affect handling and cornering?

I have noticed on a rhd South African Range Rover P38 that the front and rear panhard rods are fixed to opposite sides of the chassis. It makes complete sense that the front is fixed at the same side and angle as the power steering box and rod in order to prevent bump steer, but the rear has me baffled. It is fixed to the lhs of the chassis and rhs of the rear axle. Can anyone explain to me why this is the case? Would this not cause the vehicle to crab? To which side of the chassis is the rear panhard rod fixed on a lhd p38?

If you install any equipment to a vehicle that will change driving characteristics to a point where it becomes unpredictable or even slightly harder to control than it used to be, I do not like it. Selectable lockers ensure that the normal driving characteristics are unaltered. At least with a welded rear center you always know what to expect. I contemplated fitting Detroits to my vehicle and ended up fitting air lockers. I suppose its a case of each to their own. P.S. The sound of an older Detroit engaging and disengaging makes me cringe.

So you don't have a powerful enough engine then. That is very sad. You know that you can do something about that.

A Detroit drives both wheels when going straight. In a corner the outer wheel can overun, as you have said. That does cause the understeer that you are speaking of. The problem arises when you have a powerfull enough engine that can cause the inner wheel to break traction. The inner wheel then catches up to the outer wheel's speed causing drive to suddenly go to the outer wheel. If you were countering the understeer experienced before with a larger steering input and suddenly have drive on the outer wheel, you go from under to oversteer in an instant and could very possibly lose it. This is more pronounced on a SWB.

A friend of mine welded his rear center on his Classic Range Rover. He was running 31" X 10.5" BF muds and even on dry tar it wasn't too bad. Some tyre squeal through the corners, but a lot safer than running one wheel drive on the rear axle. If you are running 33's or 35's I would imagine it could be a lot worse and the load on the rear shafts could cause some damage. My concern would be the strength of the FWH's. I have seen them destroyed on the front, so don't know how long they will last on the rear. The comment on Detroit lockers being one wheel drive through a corner is absolutely true. That is why there are many who do not like their on-road manners and handling. The vehicle goes from having understeer to oversteer in an instant. My advice, for a toy, driven short distances to trails, in Britain (I assume), the wettest place on earth would be to weld the center and leave it as is.

If you buy 2 sets, you could mount a tow ball to one and the winchbox to the other and use them as required (front or back). Many people have a tow ball up front for boat launching. This would make it very versatile. I have a friend who says that every accessory fitted to a 4x4 should have 2 uses or it stays at home. A 40kg winch which can only pull you out forward is far less usefull than one that can pull you out in both directions.

I would go for the 2 pin type. They look fairly affordable.

That would be the ultimate sollution. Do you know how much they cost? I'll google.

Attaching to the tow ball though does not seem like a good idea to me. I've seen too many instances where the tow ball has become a deadly projectile.

What about a bracket using quick disconnect pins or even bolts which is attached to the winch and allows the winch to be quickly fit to the front or rear of the vehicle depending on whether you want to winch forward or back? The winch can be kept at home and will not be exposed to the elements when you don't need it. Less weight on the vehicle all the time. When you do plan to go play or go on a trip, you pack and strap the winch inside the vehicle, keeping it clean and in working order till needed. You would need power cables going to the front and back with an isolator at the battery. Many people permanently fit a winch to a vehicle and never use it. By the time it is needed, it is corroded and condensation has damaged the motor.

It will not do much to the value in SA. Series 2 and 3 pricing are much the same in SA, in fact Series 3 is a bit more expensive due to being "newer/ more modern". Here pricing is mostly affected by condition. There is no tax exemption for vehicles beyond a certain age and taxation is based on vehicle weight. I have not seen any different drawings for Series 2 vs. 3 chassis'.

So then, first the evaporator then the heater radiator. Heater radiaitor water supply controlled by a heater valve. Does anyone disagree with the above? Should the fans draw the air over the heater and evaporator (suck) and then distribute or should the air be blown over the heater and evaporator? Will the fans survive drawing warm heater air and cold (possibly damp) evaporator air over the motor core? The P38 fans do seem very powerfull.

Bad news. The RRC aircon compressor I got, runs on R12 gas, so no go on that. I took my Isuzu in for an aircon regas today (summer is here) and spoke to the technician. He told me that some guys run the R12 systems on refrigeration gas (R22) but that it destroys the seals after a few months of running. So I went back to my buddy and picked up a P38 compressor pump. I will have to make a v-belt pulley fit it. Then at least I will have a matched system. I would love heated windows, but they are just not available in South Africa. I managed to get 8 RRC Eyeballs (the round air outlets) and was thinking to use the lower series dash for the air distribution.

We do get summer rainstorms that fog the windows up badly. I will start a mockup soon to see what is possible and practical.