Turbocharger

How do the radius arms affect bump-steer? Surely that's a geometry issue with the panhard rod and the drag link?

Since I'll be many miles north of Broxhead on 27th December, I'll be laning in the Dark Peak with a few friends - all are welcome, limited to 6 people unless we find someone who knows some lanes and can split into two groups. Probably kicking off near Hope in Derbyshire about 11am although I'll be travelling up from Ashbourne. Transmission ends, return to staring at tinsel in shops and being depressed by the friends who have already sent Christmas cards.

C'mon then Chris? Who won? We want big cash prizes, a lavish awards ceremony and a 12-page supplement in a major independent Sunday newspaper. Alternatively, a mention and an empty Twix wrapper to the winner would be fine.

Not to question the wisdom of the "highly educated and well informed people who write to the technical pages of LR mags in such a way as to direct the answer towards the tech expert's own business", but what are the dangers of threaded TREs?

... and I believe the oil pressure switches (for the oil light on the dash) operate around 4-8 psi - so if you see it, it's too late

My bus company use the Lucas main dealer in Lawrence Hill, Bristol - I can get a contact name there if you like?

As Tony said, get the cheapest you can from Ebay. Make sure it's USB and NMEA but don't be scared to buy from Hong Kong. The square black ones that I have can let water in, and have an internal battery that goes flat (so the LED goes dim) but it can be sorted easily. Performance wise, mine's not lacking and it's magnetic for cage-mounting.

A carefully built Tomcat should be carrying less weight than anything else LR-based - so you'll drive to many more places than everyone else, meaning your challenge assault will be more effective despite the two winches you'll fit, rather than "because of" them.

Oh no they aren't. (Sorry, not panto season yet) Slap my name down and tickle me senseless.

Pah, on a sharp bend on the road to work past Bristol Airport, there's two skidmarks, a dishevelled chevron, some missing hedge and a car parked in a field. Rather than repair the fence, a sign now proclaims "Airport parking, just drive in".

"Not content with air, Si's developmental water suspension system needed some finishing touches"

I hear what you're saying Chris, but this one is a genuine kit after exactly that train of thought Tapping the bar did appeal, but a call to QT confirms that their kit is £12+VAT and fits the Defender-type damper. I'll check on the design and report back... Now I just need a cheap (ie not £55) drop arm! JB

If you use WD40 you'll have a rubber tyre full of oil, and they perish. I'd pick something like carb cleaner or de-icer, with a high ether content that'll leach any remainder out of the tyre if it doesn't burn immediately anyway.

Yes, the axle-end TRE is screwed right in - it's bottomed out at the swan-neck and you can see there's still plenty of thread exposed - coincidentally enough to nearly meet the drop arm! Has anyone fitted a Disco drop arm to a Ninety? I want to use a normal TRE because they last much, much longer than the other type, with or without grease nipples. The rubber gaiter comes adrift very easily on mine and then it's 2 months to notchy steering... It would when you've only got a powerdrill and a space at the side of the road... Of course, if the "kit" comes in at £60+VAT then I'll charge the battery... Thanks for the leads though, I'll make a few phone calls tomorrow.

I'm sick and tired of doing the ball joint on the drop arm every six months. I did it again when I fitted the solid steering bars and the swan neck didn't screw in far enough to make the drop arm point straight when the wheels are straight ahead: Presumably if I go and buy a Disco drop arm, I can just screw a normal trackrod end into the steering bar? Any clue how much the drop arms are? Since this'll leave the damper hanging, does anyone do a clamp kit to keep it mounted at the front?

Err... yes. The legends are wrong. Blue is gas stream, yellow is (for example) the temperature of a tip of a turbine blade and purple is what the EGT meter shows. What I'm trying to show is that during transients parts of the turbo may be hotter than the gauge shows, and if you don't allow the system to reach steady state those readings may misrepresent what the exhaust system is seeing. I've guessed coefficients for the two components to illustrate what I was showing. I'm sorry if you found that confusing.

But Dad... I was led to believe by the magazines that orange springs are de rigueur for today's thinking armchair - surely the printed word wouldn't lie to me?

Ali - you're not right in the head.

A picture tells a thousand words; I think this is what we're all talking about: What worries me is that it's likely the figures we see occasionally (735°C in my case) are actually occurring all the time, but it's only when I allow the thermocouple to reach that temperature that they're evident. In the example above, the turbo is above the 'danger' line for 12 seconds. Ok, all the numbers are complete guesswork but the principle's sound. In my oh-so humble opinion, the t/c can't react too fast, even if the display's unreadable. If it starts with a 7, back off. If you can't read the 'hundreds' column, back off quick!. JB All graphs copyright TeamNutter. No diesel was burned in the production of this fiction.

From BBC News: For me, a massive tragedy. A talented and level-headed driver who really shone in his field, taken at such a young age. Not to bear comparison but this is a much greater loss than an older man who wasted an organ transplant. I think both should say to us all: one life - live it!

Dammit - got up at 5am, no snow, didn't even have to defrost the car. EGT gauge said 4°C. Drove to work, took the coach to Gatwick and only saw a flurry on the way (near a McDonalds, coincidentally). Got back to Bristol to hear reports of 3" in the depot "but it's all melted now". Still, sideways in 12 metres of coach wouldn't have been funny anyway.

Oh goody - snow forecast from 0100 hours. 0600 hours will see me out, for the first time, in £250,000 worth of Scania coach to Gatwick and back. Cosmic.

Who were you then? I hate all this anonymous abuse.

Well, someone had stolen 00O3 BOS and was driving around the A4174 near Filton/Emerson's Green on Tuesday around 7:30pm...

My 7S snaps: Keir got scared so I slung on a safety rope: I made a poor choice of winch-anchor tree: Keir finding the elusive (and occasionally VERY tricky) punch 25: Breaking the ice on the big pond: What TroddenMasses was doing at the side of the M4: (picture included for comedy value only)