SeriesEwan

i find a g clamp without the wobble plate/pad on the end of the screw helpful for this, the head of the clamp neatly hooks on the back of the piston leaving the screw to go down the bore of it, regardless of shape you can get good purchase this way or using a small G clamp where the pad of the screw part will fit in the bore

got 2, a 25w antex which i have had for about 15 years & owes me nothing, still goign strong though. & a iroda solder pro had that about 4 years & its a little trooper, the only time it let me down was after it got dropped on its tip

word of warning, if it is your steering relay then it is strongly advised to replace just the shaft with a genuine part, I have seen several horror stories of ones form blue boxes shearing after very few miles

No that's definitely useless.... what i suggest you do is pop it in the post to me & i will dispose of it for you

You bought the wrong type it should have leaf springs

Would ^ leave me in hot water in the event of an accident investigation? ie not using equipment as intended / instructed?

thanks for the offer but I would sooner avoid going back to tubes

Yes it is ta

Thanks that is really useful information I currently have some tatty aftermarket wheels, which I am considering changing for wolf types, if i can find them. am i correct in thinking a wolf is 6.5j?

Not too keen on what you are insinuating there!

thats reasuring to hear, i am currently looking for new boots on the cheap & it seems that 2nd hand wheels complete with tyres are quite easy to come by,

Sealed bea bulbs are getting harder to find ( the french banned them or somat making the rest of the EU a sealed beam black hole ) A set of conversion bowls will cost you £25 & then you can pop normal bulbs in them

brilliant thanks

argh ok so i am guessing this will be getting into an offset game then.... truth be told its to fit to a series 3 my reason for asking here is it was a question about a defender part happy to hear that my tyres will fit defender rims though next question lol what is the offset of bog standard steel defender rims?

OK... i am searching ebay & getting frustrated what is the width of OEM original fitment defender wheels? i know they are 16 inches diameter but i need to know if they will take a 235/85 tyre ( or indeed a 7.50 /16 )

to check free wheel hubs get it on flat level ground in 2WD & then climb underneath & try to rotate the front prop... it should spin with the FWH unlocked & not spin with them locked to be brutally honest you are best taking the FWH off it & putting them in the bin.... savings are neglagable & i have found ( first hand ) that they have a nasty habbit of failing when you most need them

i got a set of stainless spire nuts off ebay , worked a treat

one day i will buy one http://www.johncraddock-trim.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=4151&category_id=79&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=3

you have set the points by gap only. I have found setting by gap puts you in the right postcode but very rarely gets you to the correct house, You can get an automotive multimeter that you can use as a dwell meter for less than £30 very useful tool asides but you can use it to check & set the dwell angle properly.

well thats how much I used anyway ( and bought way too much zinc 182 in the process of discovering this ) its quite gloopy stuff that I used & I only did one coat as I had it all waxed/sealed afterwards

underside, sides, outriggers & whatever i could get access to without totally dismantling the thing angle grinder with a wire brush attachment saves hours in the stripping back to metal , A flap wheel might be better but I didnt have one.

I would say corrosion, I actually did this job this weekend, the piston was indeed a snug fit, mine had some white crust around its base, easily removed once out. Sadly i cant see an easy solution to it being stuck as you cant really pull the plastic internals with any force, Lob the whole thing in a container of carb cleaner / paraffin / petrol overnight & see if that helps ( itll certainly help with al the scrubbing/cleaning you will need to do As with anything carb related follow the Victorian housewives mantra "cleanliness is next to godliness" & you cant got too far wrong

New springs will lift it up a bit, refurbing wont raise the hight at all but it will make your existing springs more flexible Longer Shackles might raise it a bit but that may well do evil things to your suspension geometry

mine used to squeak a lot too, problem was solved by sliding the seat base backwards which in turn shoves the seat back upwards into a firmer less wobbly position

turns out it takes about 2ltrs to coat the underside of a SWB chassis with one coat on bare metal if anyone is after this info.