Turbocharger

I'm not sure if this is off-topic, or even in the right place if it's allowed. I have a LR, it lives in the garage, I use a workbench to maintain bits of it. I needed a workbench for rebuilding an LT230, and £5 in B&Q and some scrap wood from Ikea yielded a reasonable solution: but I still hankered for something a little more sturdy. Trade-It gave me a solid steel bench this weekend (and TroddenMasses completed its journey to my garage. Now it needs a lick of paint - anything special recommended? (Mods, if there isn't enough LR content here then I'm not offended if the thread is locked or recycled)

Thanks Dave. I've had a look at one at work too and it looks like it should fit. Thread closed

Very quick question with little scope for straying off-topic: Does anyone know if a 300Tdi Defender and Disco radiator are interchangeable?

Al, Despite having an LT230 in the floor I know nearly nothing about their innards, so read on with this in mind. It strikes me that a 1:1.003 tbox driving a reversed 1:1.2 box would give very similar gearing to just the reversed 1.2 box, or even the 1.2 box with the guts upside down in the same case. I don't know if there's clearance inside the casing (ISTR it's a parallel box) or how you'd carry the bearings, but it seems that putting gears in a box is less work than turning and mounting the whole box, and more elegant than another one nailed on upside down. Food for thought?

Bish, you can borrow my compressor if you like, pick it up while you collect the needle scaler off Jase. It's an Aldi special but it should be up to the job. Give me a ring if you want it today.

You've actually got a wider choice, product and process. It seems to me that the equipment you've got is more than adequate for the job you're doing but your risk area is the condition of the cable. You could spool out and visually inspect the steel cable periodically (eg monthly) and demonstrate failure criteria to replace it, eg heavy kinking (specify how heavy), corrosion, fraying, bunches spreading etc. You're managing a risk, and too often people label it "Health and Safety", chuck a DoNotUse tag on it and walk away, or else spend huge quantities of money on an infallible solution. This is an example where you have the right equipment (durable steel cable) and insufficient process. Training to use the winch certainly wouldn't hurt, and you could replace it to be sure (eg if you think it might have internal corrosion). Without a regular check in place, I wouldn't go to plasma because it's not as durable. Steel wire in good condition, used sensibly, won't kill anyone.

I bought an MG TF - 40mpg and it's fun too The Ninety is off the road to get some of the bigger jobs done that I couldn't when it was the daily drive. Otherwise I'm using public transport (spit spit) where it makes sense, eg 1.5hrs to London on the train where I can sit and work instead of just steering to avoid the other motorway muppets. It's no use crying "something should be done" - there are more people wanting oil (China, India) and the market corrects this by selling it to the richest groups. We can't really deny them development after our 200 years of mechanisation.

Bish, Sounds like you're sorted with the above, but here's my stool sample and gusset: I didn't fab it myself but it looks like box section on a saddle, with a gusset down the side and one across the other side (not shown). Not as simple as Mark's one and still needs your silly angle cuts.

Will you be asking for a stool sample? I think mine (cage mounts, mind...) are made the same as Mark's - I can get some snaps for you tonight if it'll help?

S' a bit harsh Les - there's LR content in the background. How about: "The new KittyGripper finally proved strong enough to resist Nige's latest hydro-winch".

I "turbo'd" my old 135A Clarke welder after I found my welding getting bittier and bittier after 15mins, but it would miraculously improve after a cuppa. I tried different brands of teabag but the problem remained, although it'd improve more quickly with the side off the welder. I put a couple of 240v fans from a computer power supply into the cover, and now I only need to take teabreaks after an hour of heavy welding. If your problem is with heat build-up, try taking the side off the welder (or drinking more tea )

Funky light-up fuses sound like fun - do they directly replace the blades? Fridge - how would I do the same with and LED? In series it'd only light if the fuse was working, and in parallel it'd suddenly see the full (over)current and go pop. I did think about wiring an ignition feed and an LED to one of the spare slots to make a built-in fuse tester, but I didn't quite get round to it. One of those 'maybe next time' ideas.

If either of your GPS receivers can record your speed into a text file, I've put together a spreadsheet to work out power and torque from it. Since the US Mil turned off selective availability, the accuracy has been much better but there's still plenty of guesswork about aerodynamics, tyres, hills etc which means you have to do three runs or so and take an average. The units are a little suspect too, but it will show if your LR shows a little more acceleration at a certain engine speed which takes away the 'seat of the pants' guesswork - I was sure my LR was much quicker with the water spray, turned out to be mostly placebo.

Either Catflap's LHD or that hole's not on the nearside like wot you said you wanted earlier... Seriously tho, properly good bit of fab work, very impressed!

Jim - I've done some reading on this but never turned a spanner in anger on water injection - I believe you can use screenwash as some of it contains methanol? This might be internet hearsay though... You have my full praise for such a project though, please post up your install and results. If you have a GPS receiver I can help you produce some hard numbers to show any benefits or otherwise. I tried spraying water onto my intercooler some time ago to keep the temperatures low under prolonged use, when the intercooler tends to 'heatsoak' and lose effectiveness: [pics resized to sensible size!] The results were rather disappointing though, the measured torque benefit from the water up a long hill was within the error margin of the GPS kit, around 5% (even if that 5% is real, it probably just about makes up for the extra fuel to cart all that water around! )

I should be heading down there (SWMBO has been bribed with promises of cheeses and handmade cider...) - where will you be?

Also utterly OT, but did anyone notice...? In the DFS ad where they cut a sofa in half with a chainsaw, the chain is running backwards because it spits all the sawdust away from the operator.

I've endured random electrical faults from my fuse box for some time - it's a 1984 Ninety so uses round glass fuses in 'clip' holders, and they've gone rusty over the last twenty years. Quite often I have to wiggle a fuse to get a good contact and bring both headlights on - which is fine when starting off, but going from full beam to one dip headlight and it isn't attractive to dive into the footwell to resolve the problem when there's an oncoming car... I've also found problems buying the correct fuses, since everything Halfords etc sell seem to be slightly too long to fit. Following thoughts on here previously I bought some blade fuse holders from VWP, their FBB8U @ £3.95 ea, and here's my step by step guide on fitting them. The old wiring was a mess, with an assortment of fuses in the wrong ratings, some mains-plug fuses and a couple (ahem) of blown ones wrapped in tinfoil. I pulled the big bracket out and trimmed a little of the strengthening rib across the bottom to clear the new fuse boxes... Holes are added to take the mounting screws (although one was too close to the edge and became a slot - no matter), so next is the heart-stopping moment of snipping into the main loom. It's this stage that has put me off the whole process for two years or more. I transferred the wires across one by one to the new fuse boxes, methodically and slowly. I didn't label any of the wires, just kept them in order and moved them one at a time. And here's the installed creation. In Blue Peter style I'd labelled each slot while the backing plate was on the bench, and this method gives me space for a few spare fuses at the bottom. If I'd thought ahead I'd transfer the wires for the other four fuses onto the spaces at the bottom of the new board, but I've got no idea what they do (although evidently only the top two do anything noticeable because they're the ones that had fuses in them - any ideas?). It was also a good opportunity to tidy up the wiring for the stereo which has hung loose in the footwell for the last eight years

Does anyone know if this is also true for other common ECUs? Where might I look for the same trick on, say, a K-series 1.8 in an MGTF?

When I was in Uni we certainly didn't clingfilm a mate's Corsa and spray paint graffiti on it so it looked like his car had been horribly vandalised. I say "didn't" because I'd imagine it's quite hard to determine by streetlight if you've adequately covered the whole car with a transparent film, and that any bare areas would take the paint like sh*t to a blanket.

Well, you all failed to diagnose the problem - my natty cable system to operate the lock was stopping the button from reaching full travel. Of course, flushed with success I noticed that I have no brake lights and had a look at sorting that out. I nailed that down to a fuse that needs wiggling, as with LH dip beam, RH main beam, the heater blower etc etc. I decided it was finally time to get on with my blade-fuse box conversion, so I unscrewed the fuse box. As it became apparent that I wouldn't finish before work time (I'm on nights this week) I swapped my tools over to the hairdresser car which was in the garage behind. At this point I realised that the LR a) wouldn't start and B) was blocking the MG in. I rolled the LR downhill slightly (in front of next-door's house) and squeezed the MG out, so I could short the starter with a spanner and put it in the garage, although I have to let the tyres down first so it'll fit. Shorting with a spanner meant the starter spun but wouldn't engage, a further symptom of the slight delay sometimes before the solenoid would engage. Since I can't push a Ninety uphill with two flat tyres I pulled the battery lead off, removed the starter and greased the solenoid once it was on the bench. It started cleanly once the starter was refitted but still doesn't have any brake lights and the fuse box is hanging out, wires everywhere, so I put it in the garage and went to work. Ironically, now it's in the garage it doesn't need the back door to be locked Still, it's not cost anything to fix yet...

It's hard to say when my rear door lock started to stop working, I've only had the car 8 years. When I bought it, the key just went round and round. It would still lock and unlock from the inside though, so didn't warrant a new lock. This has caused much entertainment carrying big square furniture with the door locked though (think about it...). After getting fed up / stuck with reaching past the seats to unlock it I even rigged up an ingenious cable to lift up the button from the cab to save me twisting round. HOWEVER, this evening I noticed that the door opens whichever position the inside button is in, so I can't lock the car up now unless I reverse up to something. Is there a clever dodge to get another 24 years out of this catch assembly, or have I finally extracted all the value from this lock and it's time to buy a new one?

Cheers chaps. I'm hoping for someone local to Bristol who can make it to fit the car (although I expect I'll have to remake an exhaust for it too). I looked through the other thread but it prompted this one really; a manifold is a bit more specialist than a 2.5" pipe from the front to the back of the car.

Al, I think your options are, in ascending order of DIYness: 1) Buy an oil-free compressor system, as above 2) Buy the relevant industrial add-ons to make your existing setup dry and oilless 3) Use truck/bus bits with their cheap and cheerful driers and dessicant filters (this is what I'd do I think) 4) There's a "new" oil-free compressor in Professional Engineering this week, it's a high speed DC brushless motor with a turbocompressor nailed to one end - you could make something like this? It probably wouldn't be very efficient at the volumes you're asking for though. Do you want the air for spraying or breathing? It's all going very Moglite...

Question: who can make me an exhaust manifold to hold my new turbo onto my engine? I've read the Practical Performance Car guide to making your own and it looks a) difficult B) hard work and c) like a lot of welding. My welding is passable but rather pigeon-like and probably not suitable for a high-vibration application like this - I'll stick to welding spotlight mounts etc - and sorting the gas, oil and water in/out piping. I'm also conscious that there's a certain art to making exhausts, although less so for one that's subsequently blocked by a turbine, so ideally the recommended supplier would also have some experience in this, and some maths to satisfy the engineer in me. Any pointers, ideally in the SW? Cheers, John