Ed Poore

I think there's crappy and then there's well... I mean who would have thought just tacking together bits of the slider would work. OK I guess for 90% of people the aesthetics would have been all that mattered but still. Having seen the manner in which it failed would make me nervous having on the vehicle in the first place going down the motorway.

Thanks Ross, nice to have some verification that at least we have the same gut feel. Time will tell whether it survives.

By horizontal diagonal bracing do you mean more than the triangular gussets that were already there? You can just about see them on the photo of the slider in the boot of his Land Cruiser. My gut feel (and it's purely based off gut at the moment since I've never felt the need for rock sliders on my 110 for what I do) is that once it's properly welded that should be strong enough. The plan is to reduce the horizontal outriggers as well by an inch or two so that the outer side of the slider is more inline with the tyre (currently it makes the vehicle about 4" wider in total and it's not a skinny beast to begin with). The plan is that would tuck them in behind the wheels so rather than hitting the rock straight on it would slide around it as the taper would tuck in behind the front wheels. The main concern / query was around whether there should be spreader plates on the sub-frame end. Initially I thought if the 'outer' welds held then it would induce a twisting motion on the chassis end and risk buckling the sub-frame. Thinking about it more the three legs should effectively act as their own spreader plate and therefore enlarging them shouldn't be required. Although I might make them a little wider to accommodate some gussets.

Are you hunting for the parts or do you already have them? I've removed the three (half height) backs from my 300Tdi with all associated bracketry (stuff that goes on wheel arches and through the floor), also got the three seats. Drop me a PM if you're interested - they're just taking up space so could do with clearing them out if you're interested.

So whilst out in Yorkshire and the Lakes a few weeks ago a friend in his Land Cruiser bumped into a 'small' boulder. Great way to test out his expensive custom made rock-sliders, or not... Suffice to say it simply fell off. Closer examination shows a distinct lack of penetration and more ridiculously stuff was pretty much just tacked on. Subsequent testing of the strength of the welding was rigorously tested by myself by clamping it in my vice and twisting the tube by hand. Either I'd eaten my Weetabix that morning (think I'd run out of milk so probably not) or it was carp welding . Entertainment over (and boy did we have some ) I've now got the task of making them at least a bit stronger. Now the Toyota has a sub-frame which the brackets were meant to bolt around to eliminate the need for drilling / welding to the sub-frame. It's a bit difficult to see from the left-over bits but after a bit of Googling I found the following photo which shows the kind of design. I've got a number of improvements to make - chief among which is to bend rather tack the U-brackets together so they don't snap as easily. Although actually welding them properly would probably be enough. My main question is what are people's thoughts on increasing the width of the U-brackets? My initial thought was to increase them to about 4-6" wide to spread the load and have less risk of bending the sub-frame. Although seeing some of the commercial designs makes me wonder if that's going down the route of Nige style over engineering. Mate ripped off the rock slider by hitting the front rather than landing on it which basically shunted it backwards and twisted the cross-member welds causing them to fail. I'm also planning on reducing the amount they stick out by an inch or two so that hopefully he doesn't catch the front and rather slide around the rock if met by the same situation. There is also consideration to putting some small vertical braces that bolt onto the holes originally used for side-steps to help spread the load should he land on one vertically. So given I've not designed rock-sliders before does anyone have any pointers, without starting from scratch? Note it's not serious off-roading he's into - mostly green lanes and the like. I suppose the main purpose of them is to protect the doors and sills as they're not as easy or cheap to replace as Defender ones. Current plan is to: - Reform the U brackets (possibly increasing their width for the above reasons) - Weld things properly - Reduce the sticky-out-ness factor by and inch or two to tuck the taper just behind the wheels Anyone see any problems - or sensible ideas given the use case. Oh and where possible all will be nicely (well probably improving as I go as still learning) TIGged together. So much nicer than MIG welding. Not as neat as some people's but considering I've had a grand total of about 1h30 on the new toy so far I'm reasonably chuffed. Have done some destructive testing on some test pieces and broke the plates and box before the weld so that'll do for me. Same thing happened with my first MIG project - the press, did eventually break a weld but also bent a 3/4" plate and the frame before the weld popped so might not have been pretty but did the job. BTW - the crappy weld bottom left was because I couldn't clean out the corner properly so had to revert back to the MIG.

Don't worry the planning / saving is starting for an LS

If it's anything like my trip to Yorkshire last weekend then lockers will only get you more stuck Mate was having trouble getting through some drifts on a lane so managed to swap places so I could go through with slightly taller tyres and rear locker. Ended up getting beached on the snow. All four wheels were actually off the ground and it was being supported by diff on the layer of ice on the snow. Ended up having to be pulled back a few times. After someone look a wander down the lane we decided to about turn since we were at the lower end of up to a 6ft drift...

Pushed 4 cars to turn them around on Thursday. Think they were surprised to see the occupant of a Defender with winch get out and push rather than tow. But from previous experience by the time they (if they) find the tow eye I'm better of having pushed them by hand. Conclusion of the morning, on average (in the SE) , the general public are ungrateful and haven't a clue how to drive. One chap couldn't even turn the steering wheel the right way when reversing. Spent last night and this morning ferrying mid wives to and from the hospital. Heated seats and the two dogs in the L322 went down a treat. They and I have just had a nice nap on the sofa to make up for it. No Land Rover pictures but do have this from this morning after dropping the last lass off at home. 10 point to anyone who recognises the area.

I've got a canoe and seriously considering this...

Is the Puma bonnet catch any different from the older vehicles? Surely you can simply stick your fingers / screw driver through the front grill and move the latch (obviously dependent on style of grill). I've had to do this a number of times due to the cable seizing. Much quicker and quieter than the method shown.

Posted before - not this batch of snow from the so called 'beast from the east' but from back in January in the Highlands.

Unless you get the antenna higher up you're going to be sacrificing performance by dropping it down the side of the vehicle like that.

I picked up a virtually new second hand Clarke 130EN for £100 including a load of consumables and safety gear (Parweld auto darkening helmet and gloves) and it's been absolutely find for everything I've thrown at it. Switched away from fluxed wire and moved to having gas and it makes a world of difference. Slightly random suggestion but have you considered TIG? If you're in the £1k ball-park then I just got myself an R-Tech AC/DC 210 (they do smaller / cheaper) and only had 30 minutes to play with it so far but it was beautiful to use and considering it's the first time I'd even touched a TIG let alone set it up and have a play with it I'm not displeased with the results. Would be more versatile long-term. Don't get me wrong though - I wouldn't be throwing away the MIG anytime soon, there's a lot to be said for point and shoot particularly in inaccessible places and upside down on your back. But depending on your budget you could possibly get a half decent MIG and TIG together.

Glad you weren't in -10 like it was when I was up in the Highlands last month. But I do the Highlands.

Suspect they were hosted on photobucket or whatever the site was that's now started charging for pictures.

Meh Manchester was pathetic when i drove through this morning I stayed up a bit longer in the Highlands to play... The Defender was clear of all snow at midnight and that was taken at 8am. Equally thr bottom photo should show a road, again overnight snowfall. Neighbour had cleared the road with his tractor mounted snow plough, then the council came around as well, that's the result of overnight. Just got back to Surrey and I would have said of all the places I saw Glenmorriston was the worst hit. Friends family further north towards Inverness said they didn't have as much. Glad I got my rear locker for going out after beasties with that amount of snow.

Not just that the 3.6 diesel V8 he mentions is the 3.6L TDV8 which was launched in 2007 and designed not long before so a 2000's baby. From a quick Google it looks like the 3.9 Rover V8 has been in production from the 60's so only about 40 years of engine development in between them then. Even if you consider the end of the production run (2006 according to Wikipedia) then it was being phased out as the TDV8 was being developed. On the subject of turbo charging the TDV8 doesn't make do with just one either... I think on the subject of a fairer comparison you would be better off doing a comparison between the 4.2 supercharged and 3.6TDV8 since they were introduced into the L322 at the same time. 3.6TDV8: 270hp, 470 lbft 4.2 supercharged: 385hp, 406 lbft Very little in it then. [edit]Putting some figures behind it - towing the 110 to Wales into a strong headwind (by far and away the scariest drive I've done) with the 3.6TDV8 I averaged 30mpg. Had no issues with power - just the trailer I had and 110 made it quite a tall combination (110's bonnet was level with the Range Rover's roof) - but boy was the wind fun! [/edit]

Was better than nothing as it was all I had in the back of the Land Rover in the middle of France...

Definitely... In all honesty it's (in my opinion anyway) the far superior vehicle. Unless you're doing tight twisty off road all the time I find the extra length makes it more capable off road. Equally it's much more planted on the road and you get a lot more space inside. You've got to remember it's not much different in girth and length to a typical saloon like a Mondeo which shows you how compact the 90 is. A work colleagues XKR is both longer and wider (ignoring the spare wheel on mine).

Regarding pipework - if you can do that then it's probably worthwhile - I didn't have anything as I only had the compressor. The main issue I've seen with our normal compressors with water is not actually water but humidity which a water trap doesn't really help with. Although I'd guess with a hot engine the humidity inside the engine bay (if you take the intake from there) should be relatively low. I think the issue with water in the tank will be more build up over time rather than anything else. Oiler - just a cheap inline tool oiler off eBay - oil I didn't have any, I was going to use the recommended oil for tools, but instead squirted loads of WD40 into the compressor befoer I closed it up and then I've been filling the oiler with WD40 instead... Pressure is limited by the compressor manifold switch - in excess of 100psi, I think about the 130ish mark is when the switch cuts out, cuts back in about 90 I think. Oiler: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-4-BSP-MINI-AIR-LINE-FILTER-WATER-MOISTURE-TRAP-IN-LINE-OILER-FOR-AIR-TOOLS-/272765855132?hash=item3f821ca59c Filter: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-AIR-BREATHER-FILTER-BLUE-12mm-Neck-Clamp-/170609451135?hash=item27b91da07f Pressure switch: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AIR-COMPRESSOR-PRESSURE-SWITCH-SINGLE-PHASE-PRESSURE-GAUGE-SAFETY-VALVE-/173040942701?hash=item284a0b3e6d

That's what I meant by compressor manifold, in hindsight not the right term. Regarding pipework off the back and at least with the 300Tdi pump I just sanded a big ol thick piece of flat bar flat, drilled and tapped the appropriate holes. Cut a piece of welly as a gasket and bolted it all up. The pump I got (a Denso one) had two threaded holes for holding the manifold on, two big holes for input and output and two locating pins. I can try and take some piccies if I remember in daylight. But from input to output I have: K&N filterr -> Oiler -> Compressor -> Basic filter / seperator -> manifold. Manifold has pressure release valve, pressure switch, unloader port. On the output of the manifold I have the tank and a separate regulator for the 65psi for the diff's. The tank had a T piece to split off for a PCL connection inside the back door. The switch inside sends power to the pressure switch which in turn fires the compressor (or fuel solenoid at the moment) as required. The bit I'm missing at the moment is the non return valve. One thing to consider is if you want to run the engine all the time. If not something like a suspension compressor off an L322 which is electric might be an alternative with a big enough tank. They're about £140 new I think from Steve at Advanced Factors. From memory the mine will do two complete raises of the suspension on the tank alone which is about 6" in diameter and 4 to 5ft long on that so a reasonable volume of air. With regards to water never seen any in the trap but chances are its evaporated there. Test will be to run the plasma off it which is very fnickerty, really didn't like Wales' humid climate over Christmas with Dads big V twin compressor. Think its because its a pilot arc version and it was shorting in the torch.

Sort of... It was but I wanted to take the 110 to my parents for Christmas rather than the L322 and it was being stubborn at starting. Found out for some reason I've lost the supply to the fuel shutoff solenoid. In despair because I really couldn't be bothered finding out where the cable was damaged I looked around the engine bay any my eyes lit up when I saw the compressor. So I've dutifully nicked the 12V feed to the compressor (luckily couldn't be arsed with wiring it from an switched feed) and I am still using that to switch the solenoid. Extra security feature... - have to switch this innocuous switch on the dash to start it, although I have jumped in in a rush recently and forgotten to switch it the 'compressor' on and wondered why the engine isn't starting. Equally when I remove the key why the engine is still running... Apart from fixing that one thing I need to install is a non-return valve after the compressor. I forgot to order one before heading off to France so the 110 sounded a bit like a steam train going up the tricky stuff when I activated the diff as the compressor would switch off when it reached pressure and then sufficient pressure would leak back through the pump that it would start up again so did a good impression of a steam train as it kept kicking in and out.

From my experience pretty much any tool can be run (only had the compressor fitted since September though). My tank ~15 seconds to fill from empty (9l according to online sources), I've made the intake side of things 10mm bore air line and the output stage (for simplicity) 6mm as the Ashlocker and the P38 tank had a 6mm bore fitting already. If you attach a blow gun and hold the trigger down venting at the maximum rate everything allows the compressor keeps cutting in and out as it's being limited by the 6mm bore pipework. When I was in France I managed to get some logs stuck between the rim and the tyre so let all the air out and with someone jumping up and down on the tyre managed to pull out most of it. Re-inflating the tyre from empty to 35psi took <1 minute. Again I suspect the 6mm bore limiting things here. So in summary I think it'll be more than enough for what you need - also probably a damn sight quieter, the only significant downside is you have to run the engine unless you have a suitably large tank. But all in I reckon I had a breakdown of the following costs: Compressor (eBay): ~£35 Genuine bracket to mount onto 300Tdi block (eBay): ~£30 Idler pulley & arm (Bearmach): ~£40 Belt (Bearmach): ~£10 Tank (friend): free Compressor manifold (eBay): ~£30 (typically knew I had one lying around but only found it after I'd ordered the new one) Pipework - 10m of 10mm, 10m of 6mm (eBay): ~£20 Various push-fit fittings & oil feeders, filters etc: ~£40 I was up against it on time to get the thing assembled before my trip to France so paid over the odds for some stuff to get it faster (e.g. I could have built a bracket for nothing to hold the compressor). So ~£200 all in plus I have probably about 18m of pipework left but I thought it'd come in useful elsewhere so ordered a decent length. I also had a slightly more complicated setup as I needed a regulated 65psi output for the locker but also thought I might as well fit an unregulated PCL output for running tools / filling up tyres. I don't think there's much to compare against an engine driven compressors and the benefit is that on most Land Rover engines they had the AC option so if you don't already have air-con then it's really simple to mount it. If you do then there are several threads on here showing various mounting solutions. I'd have said that it's probably better at driving tools than my 2.5hp 100l compressor in the shed. Again when I was in France most of the Frenchies had aired down their tyres and when we were packing up after the weekend my 110 reinflated 4 vehicles (16 tyres) before one of the others with a twin cylinder ARB style compressor had finished their vehicle. Also very useful for blowing dust out of the vehicles after high-speed runs across gravel tracks! Getting BBQs going is another good use :-) The downside is once people realise you have one they'll always be pestering you for the air supply rather than breaking out their own equipment.

What about an engine driven compressor? Recently installed an AC compressor onto my 300Tdi and the output is pretty impressive. Mounted a small tank (off a mates P38) behind the passenger rear wheel in my 110. If you happen to have a 200Tdi I've got on sat in the shed gathering dust...

I'd recommend Craig's Buzzweld stuff. Painted my new rear axle with Chassis In One and its holding up well so far. If you can I'd go for the thinner option and spray it on in lots of coats with a pause of maybe 30 minutes between coats. I tried some bits brush painted and some with an underbody "Shultz" gun and spray painting not only appears better but appears to be tougher too.