Ed Poore

I've got a rear section in the shed at home which I mistakingly bought - I think it might be either a 200Tdi or 2.5NA rear section for a 110 rather than the 300Tdi which I needed. It had the wrong mating flange for mine. Since I'm never going to use it then if you can put it to use then by all means have it. Perhaps a small donation to the forum?

After 27k the tyres are beginning to look a little worn out anyway, the 2.5k zooming up and down Gorge du Verdon (Top Gear episode where Clarkson raced (in an RS4), Leo Holding (climber) up a cliff-face in the south of France) probably didn't help. I think they'll be bigger issues than wing mirrors - once folded they're the same width as the car... If I can get someone to look after the dog that weekend then I'll probably come down. If the lane's too narrow can always leave the vehicle at one end and pick up later. Or perhaps borrow my old 110 back for the weekend - that has some proper tyres on it

In my case the head won out but I'm glad it did. Had it just under a year now and put 27k on it. Not found it lacking in power though. Haven't risked driving a super charged. Nothing quite like them is there?

Depending on if lambing has started I might be available. Can add another "luxury" vehicle in the form of a full fat. When do you need to know by?

Not according to the EU http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3715512.stm

Tempting, but will it cost me two tyres again?

Yeah it was a slightly expensive trip having to replace two brand spanking new tyres (other one had started to deform when I got back to Surrey)... That's my main criticism of the Range Rover - I wish you could put some sensible tyres on it! Having said that I doubt anyone else had TV coupled to a 720W sound system and four heated seats and steering wheel. I would like to recess the bolt heads, I'll have a chat with Chris about how we can do it - whether they can just "dimple" the plate or if it's better to cut a hole and then weld a bracket behind it. That's useful info thanks. Nice to have some experience of what the thinner stuff can survive, I anticipate it to be slid on rather than bashed but it's nice to know what they can handle. I think I'll need to put together some options and send them through as I suspect they'll need to order in the material.

Not completely my words - when I went up on the forum Lakes trip last year the others in my group were astonished at how capable it was. I'm not sure if the clearance is greater than say the middle of a 110 but it's certainly higher than the bottom of the diff on a Defender. If you have a look underneath it's also all nicely tucked out of the way, even the exhausts are (normally) routed so that they curl up and point down behind the rear bumper thereby increasing departure angle. Of course nothing can be said for those (typically supercharged owners) who stick wheel barrow handles out the back...

I think I'll reiterate this is not intended to be a indestructible, challenge-spec bash plate for bouncing off rocks. Having taken the L322 off-road it doesn't get hung up nearly as much as a rigid axled Defender or similar as there's far less hanging down in the way (e.g. diffs). The purpose of these plates would be the occasional unseen stump or rock under water or in vegetation for example at low speeds (I don't drive fast off-road, for one thing "low" profile (255/55R19) tyres tend to not have as much give as a typical Defender tyre (thinking 265/75R16). I'm leaning more towards John's idea of going up a grade or three and cutting back the thickness, it's going to be used far more on the road (covered 28k this year already) so would rather not lug around excessive weight even if I do lose some durability. John - with regards to your comments about the plastic bits. I'm pretty sure their main purpose is salt and rather than noise, there's many layers of acoustic stuff beyond the kevlar(?) pans from what I remember of my last visit underneath. Also I think Chris @ CLH will have little trouble bending the steel! To put thinks in Chris' perspective their "little" hand press is rated to 175 tonnes and their big one is the size of an artic.

As some of you may know I recently "upgraded" to a 3.6TDV8 L322. Recently I noticed I've damaged (OK ripped off) most of one of the skid trays under the engine. A chap on the fullfatrr.com forum convinced Mantec to do a run of the stuff they made for the G4. Those were 8mm alloy and let's say dear... Slightly north of £1k for the three plates (engine, gearbox and tank). So I've decided to experiment a bit with a trailer fabricator we know and build up some. The question is how thick and what kind of coating would people recommend? It's probably going to be steel so I was thinking about 4mm and they can galvanise cheaply based on weight. But powder coating (or simply painting) might he easier to touch up. Note this isn't meant to be the most indestructible set of bash plates but rather something a bit more substantial than the (previously) existing plates. Particularly as I'm contemplating Morocco in the not too distant future. Of course if this all goes ahead will post a thread. Maybe if Chris and I come to a deal we could produce some more...

Not the same symptoms but when they checked the high pressure pump did they check the low pressure one in the tank? Mine failed and everything cut out doing a dual carriage way. If it only happens when you boot it I wonder whether it's not enough fuel reaching the high pressure pump. Maybe a dirty filter or something along those lines. I did have an error code when mine cut out saying that there was low fuel pressure.

Before you consider replacements I'd use a bit of elbow grease - you may be surprised of the results. I've resurrected a few starter motors that looked in similar condition. What I've done in the past is a combination of first clearing off as much gunk as I could with a pressure washer or hose pipe. Then try it out a bit and whilst doing so try and rub off more gunk. Once that was done I donned a pair of thick rubber gloves (Marigolds are ok but may not survive afterwards) and dunk the entire thing in a container of petrol and use kitchen towel and brushes to clean everything up. For the electrical contacts etc then some fine emery paper works wonders at cleaning up the contact areas. Nothing from your photos looks like it's not recoverable without a little bit of work - electric winches are amazingly simple devices and if you're considering a replacement anyway then what do you have to lose apart from some time, a can of petrol (and perhaps some skin...) If you are after a "cheap" replacement I used and abused and left it out in the rain a Champion winch (the one I sold to Mo on the forum laning trip in the Lakes) that was a couple of hundred and it never let me down. It wasn't the quickest but always worked despite never being looked after properly. Regards Ed

Digging up an old thread but thought it's worth pointing out that the majority of newer Discos (3 and 4) and the L322 like mine have these fitted as the standard tow bar option. Have a look through PF Jones or Westfalia's website to see what I mean. I think they would still be around except that the L405 I think now has an electrically deployable one.

For some reason always preferred diesels to petrols but then not actually driven a big petrol V8. Currently got a 3.6TDV8 Range Rover and by god that's a good engine - the 4.4's supposed to be even better (although a large portion of that may be attributed to the gearbox). It does like to hold high gears in normal mode but flick it into Sport for a 2.7 tonne car it's surprisingly spritely. I think that engine coupled to a big alternator and electric drive to all four wheel in a Defender shell and the Range Rover's interior. Now that would be a vehicle - 110 obviously. 90's just too impractical. Maybe just bit a slightly bigger Defender shell onto an L322 as a start...

Neil - what sort of time / route were you thinking of heading back along? (Looks like it's in a place called Shepton Mallet which is ~20 miles off the M5 from Bridgwater). Just wondering if we could do a swap somewhere en-route as I'm not that far from Nige so can do that bit. If you're heading back up the M3 I'm only 10 minutes drive from the Camberley exit.

Maybe if you could spell so that I could understand you I might be able to help ... Not going to the show (well didn't know about it until I saw this post) but I am almost certainly going to a shoot in Monmouth on Sunday and could potentially do a slight detour to pick it up on the way there / back. Although if it can be moved closer to the M4 corridor it would save quite a bit of time (or a free entry is wrangled...). Seriously though willing to help but cutting down / making detours slightly more worthwhile would be grateful. If I remember correctly you're in Haslemere so not too far from me.

Will definitely recommend Jumbo - if you do ask him if he remembers someone turning up with a lab that figured out the best place for it was wedged between the seat and my mum :-) I remember his tuition started with a Lego model to demonstrate various axles, diffs etc.

WTW - Washers That Work

Speaking from experience of owning a 300Tdi (and actually selling it at the moment but might be a little bit beyond your budget - at least I'd hope so ) that's had no issues of over-heating apart from the time when I had a leak from the P-gasket surrounding the water pump. Aside from that it's always been rock-solid about 1/3 of the way up the temperature gauge. Not that I'd imagine it being much of a deciding factor but my parent's neighbour has a 200Tdi 90 and the engine sounds much louder and; not rougher but perhaps more agricultural than the 300Tdi in my Defender and the Disco we had. Having owned an 88, 90 and 110 I can resoundingly say that unless I could buy all three I would always go for the 110. The Series 3 is immense fun off-road bouncing absolutely everywhere and not really giving a **** about what was being driven into. The 90 was capable but always felt twitchy and bouncy on the road - particularly after buying the 110. The killer with both was the "lack" of space - yes they have a large boot but they're not really more than a 2 seater if you have luggage. Hence the reason for the 110 - that could at least transport 5 people and kit in relative comfort, I say relative because I've just bought a 3.6 TDV8 FFRR and it can't quite carry the same amount of stuff but the passengers are in far more comfort! I've taken all four of those Land Rovers off-road and have to say that aside from tyres the FFRR is probably the most capable (haven't really pushed it yet but have been seriously impressed with what I have done) and then I'd have to say the 110. I've rarely been in a situation that I needed / wanted a slightly shorter wheel-base, most of the time I find that it helped since the other end of the vehicle tended to be on a good surface. In terms of the remaining two the 90 was probably technically more capable but definitely had more fun in the Series - particularly given you can put it in 2WD and get the back out properly. In terms of tyres after experiences within the family the 90 and 110 ran BFG ATs and got at least 65k out of them when I swapped them. Still had masses of tread left but I think they were just getting tired and had to be running at quite a high pressure (about 40 psi if I remember correctly) to not look too flat. A set of BFG Muds came up on this forum cheap and I got them - the transformation off-road was astonishing and on-road (once the 1.2 transfer box was fitted) they were a little noisier than the ATs but not massively so. I've managed to go spend circa £1k on tyres for the RR this month after destroying two of them on the Lakes trip (one with a spectacular pop) and try as I might have not even put a scratch into the BFG tyres and I've not been gentle on them. Not driven on volcanic stuff with them but in my opinion are by a long way the best tyre you can fit to a Defender (these have been running 265/75R16s but I don't think the size is too much of an issue). Playing devils advocate slightly have you considered a Disco? They're a damn sight cheaper than the Defenders in general and if spending most of the time on-road would be more comfortable, you can get them with the same engines and (I might be wrong) but more likely to come with air-con which might be a consideration. The vehicle I'm sure will cope with the temperature but having experienced a Defender that's been in the sun for a long time air-con would be appreciated to cool it down!

A thoroughly enjoyable day out despite the mishap in the TDV8 cutting short the weekend a bit but at least I can get some jobs done today. Thoroughly pleasurable company and hope everyone enjoyed the entertainment that the Range Rover provided! Hopefully when everyone gets back they can upload some of the footage. Jamie got a good video of myself and James going up one of the lanes where Chris had rescued a beached Shogun. [edit] Just to add insult to wallet injury that tyre hadn't even covered 1000 miles yet... Suppose it's one benefit of having a newer Range Rover - more cameras to see where things are going, perhaps a slightly more advanced pet project for me in the works... [/edit]

Right I think I've decided - what the hell I'll come along. What sort of time were you thinking of starting on the Saturday? I don't particularly fancy battling the M25, M40 and M6 on a Friday night so I'll probably get up early on Saturday and head up then, that way at least I get a few hours sleep before hand. Jamie, if you want you're more than welcome to have a ride with me if you fancy getting out and about over the weekend? Will be just me and the pup so plenty of space. The natural route for me would be to come off the M6 at Penrith anyway. Mo - do you want me to bring the stuff up? Should be able to fit it in the boot of the Range Rover if I move the dog into the second row of seats, only thought is carrying it around all weekend - perhaps we could arrange to leave it at the pub? Saves you a trip down to me. Ed

I thought I'd better mention that I've been mulling this over for a while, still undecided at the moment but sorely tempted to just say hey ho lets go. Need to see what the new vehicle's capable of after all (3.6 TDV8 Range Rover). Will endeavor to make a decision as soon as possible anyway and let people know (I have been chatting with Mo in the background). Similarly if anyone from down south is interested in having a lift then I'm sure something could be arranged, it'll be slightly more luxurious travelling than the majority of vehicles I'm sure (only condition would be comfortable around a dog / puppy as she'll have to come with me). Ed

Just to warn you I have no idea of where we're going to be in Lancaster or what the plans etc are (I'm driving and shooting). One person has dropped out at the replacement may be driving himself up so may have a bit more space although I suspect given the other car is a Fiesta we'll be putting as much into the L322 as possible .

If it's just the glass I should be able to fit them in if someone can get them down to Lancaster for this weekend? I and some others are heading up there for a shoot (leaving London on Friday night) and returning sometime on Sunday. Shooting on the Saturday and dinner event in the evening. Think there's going to be 4 of us in the Range Rover with kit but would imagine they could fit onto the parcel shelf in the back.

It certainly has - so much so that I've changed the vehicle and would have to enter in a Full-Fat L322 now... Be quite entertaining though... (Albeit probably quite expensive, if nothing else the continual urge to boot the TDV8).