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JimAttrill

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Everything posted by JimAttrill

  1. The genuine 300tdi manual says that the connecting rod nuts should be changed but there is no mention of the bolts. Should those also be changed? My engine has 330 000 kms on it and the nuts were changed at half that when I changed the rings. This time it will be a complete overhaul with new sleeved and pistons etc.
  2. I have a 27mm which is too small and a 32mm which is too big. Before I go to buy a spanner for this, can anyone tell me exactly what the spanner size is? As usual the LR manual is not helpful on spanner sizes.
  3. There is no decal, but the two yellow relays are identical - at least the numbers for the connections are the same. Tried swapping them around to no effect. No signs of burning. BTW when I switch on the headlamps the indicator green light comes on. When I flash the headlights or go onto main beam the blue light comes on and I can hear a relay clicking.
  4. Just in case I carry a much shorter fanbelt which can be used to bypass the alternator in case of bearing failure. This will keep the water pump and p/s pump turning.
  5. I know about the contacts melting as I changed many burnt-out switches on other people's Defenders. I have fitted relays to the dip beam to avoid this. It was done quite a few years ago. I think the answer is the ignition-switch controlled relay. Is it one of those yellow things in the fusebox? It could be the main/dip switch. The headlamp flashers do not work either - is this a good clue?
  6. I (and several friends) are using Redline MTL in the R380 (NOT THE TRANSFER BOX). It gives a wonderful gearchange caused by it's high coefficient of friction which helps the synchro cones to slow down. The other thing is that as it is a fully-synthetic it contains no additives to wear out so it never needs to be changed which offsets the high initial cost. I have used ATF (long time ago now) MTF (I got 20 litres at one time - all gone now) and now MTL. Gearchange still perfect at 200k miles. BTW I change gear in two movements - into neutral, pause and then into the next gear. No graunching. I sometimes double-declutch just to keep in practice :-)
  7. My headlights - dipped and main - occasionally would not switch on at all. I did the normal thing and changed the switch. All seemed fine for a couple of weeks (mainly driving during daylight) until last night when the lights would not come on again. I don't think it can be a fuse as the lights are separately fused (4 fuses). Any ideas where the fault lies? BTW the sidelights work with the switch ok.
  8. You have checked that you have the correct bulbs in the stop/tail light sockets? Forcing in a single-filament bulb can cause all sorts of lighting problems. The most amazing I have come across was a TD5 where the engine wouldn't stop with the brakes on
  9. Maybe X-eng could make some decent con-rod bolts? - I don't really trust LR parts much any more. Re the 5 times re-usable - maybe they asked the tea lady for a number between 1 and 10 She is the same one who 'designed' the TD5 chain-driven oil pump (unique?) Brian and I have a theory that the engineers designed a bit of the TD5 engine each. But the project leader forgot to get someone to design an oil pump. When they started it on the test bed it seized as there was no pump. So they got the tea-lady to design one as an add-on
  10. The camshaft/roller/slider arrangement in Rover engines is massively over-engineered but works very well. The camshafts don't wear and the whole assembly gives little trouble. BUT we did have a batch of 'genuine' rollers that would wear somewhat octagonal and eventually stop turning, which didn't do the camshaft any good. And as for the valve caps the less said the better as they seem to be made of dinky toy metal. Don't forget to change the oil pressure relief valve piston and spring as it is often forgotten. The oil pumps on the 300tdi don't seem to wear and I have never changed one. Best of luck with your rebuild
  11. Actually what happened was the R380 came in with the 300Tdi in 1994 in the UK. They had a few failures of the early boxes (I have a 1995 one) and when the Freelander came out it specified the same gearbox oil as a few Hondas, etc. This was MTF94. So LR sent a service bulletin to their dealers to use the Freelander oil in the R380 gearboxes. I have a copy on the bulletin somewhere, dated 1996. I had 20l of MTF94, but when it ran out I couldn't get any more from Caltex and then heard about the RedLine fully synthetic MTL. This is the greatest oil for the R380 and at 311k kms I have a wonderful gearchange with no crunching. As the oil never wears out I will never change it. I have also used Castrol VMX. Not as good as the synthetic but better than ATF! On the engine front I use a high-quality (CI) 15w40 diesel engine oil. A 5w/30 oil will be a synthetic and a waste of money in a Tdi as the oil gets very dirty and should be changed often. I change my oil at around 5k kms and the filter at 10k kms. Apparently the filters work better when they are a bit old.
  12. These aren't officially or technically 'stretch' bolts, rather like the 300tdi head bolts that the manual says can be used 5 times (including or excluding the first assembly?) TD5 head bolts are waisted stretch bolts and you can feel they have hit their 'elastic limit' at the last few degrees of turn. That is why you mustn't reuse TD5 head bolts, even though they cost a lot of money. Anyone who has done destructive testing of steel will know all about elastic limits. I did it in training (ahem) all of 46 years ago now! Stretch bolts or not, they will stretch slightly and I will replace them with OEM bolts when I 'do' my engine. I have had all the parts for about 4 years now - I used to take parts in lieu of wages to avoid the income tax etc I never bought con-rod bolts (or head bolts) at the time but will buy the con-rod bolts. The head bolts I will reuse as per the book. I still think a bolt broke rather than the rod itself. I have seen a few bent rods caused by hydraulicking (how do you spell that word ) but never a broken rod. I also agree that the tdi engines are very good motors so long as you don't rev them too much (as Disco drivers tend to do). I cruise my Defender at 60-65 mph (for you imperial types) and no faster. IIRC we used to measure the length of con-rod bolts for the venerable Gypsy Major engines - over a certain length and they were replaced.
  13. Well his engine had about 150k kms and mine has 311k kms and counting....
  14. Best oil for the R380 main gearbox is RedLine MTL. Expensive, but you can leave it in there for ever and it gives a wonderful gear change. The reason the gear change is good because this oil has a high coefficient of friction. Molyslip will give a low coefficient and a crunchy gear change. The reason is that synchromesh rings work better with more friction. Think about it.... For the transfer box cheepo GL5 80w/90 is best and change it every so often. (40k kms or the equivalent in Miles). I do use 85w140 as it is hot here...
  15. I am not keen to replace bolts nowadays, even with new OEM or LR parts. As an example, we found that the rear main oil seals (supposed to be Dowty) from Bearmach were faulty, the holes were not in the right places. So we bought (at great expense) a 'Genuine LR part'. It had exactly the same fault and had obviously been made in the same factory, most likely somwhere near Bangalore
  16. The early 300Tdi P gaskets were of paper and tended to blow out a section with disastrous results for the engine. There was a Doctor in Pretoria who took LR to court over this piece of bad design and won. Long time ago now. The metal/plastic P gaskets do tend to weep and leak a bit (I have changed mine twice now) but they do not blow out altogether. The problem, of course, is that cast iron and aluminium alloy expand at different rates.
  17. Hi all, my boss's 300Tdi broke a con rod the other day. On taking it apart it is hard to tell if the rod broke just above the bolts or whether a bolt broke. Another rod had a crack in the same place above the bolts but that could be caused by the stress of the engine stopping suddenly. His engine was overhauled by a decent workshop about 5 or 6 years ago. When I undid my big-ends on my engine I changed the con rod nuts (as per the manual) but the manual says nothing about the bolts. Should the nuts and the bolts be changed?
  18. I was going to check the actual compressions but was too scared! Well, I did try but the no 1 glow plug broke and is still broken. Tip: only use BERU glows as the one that seized was a cheap 'County' type. The engine started and ran well and that was good enough for me. That job was done at 166000 kms and the engine is still a good starter when cold at 310000. Engine overhaul next year though as the power is not too good. But it still starts and goes and doesn't use much oil. This is possibly because I change the oil every 5000kms and the filter every second oil change. I use the best mineral oil I can get, nowadays a CI grade. You are correct in that it is the difference in the readings that matter. I have my doubts about your 'calibration certificate' as the readings you get are impossible with a 300tdi. I quote from the manual "Expected readings of a crank test, with the vehicle's battery fully charged, compression ratio 19.5:1, should be 24 bar."
  19. And the 300Tdi bolts are not 'stretch' bolts. This is why you can use them 5 times. The TD5 bolts are 'stretch' bolts and you can feel them reaching their elastic limit at the end of the angle-tightening procedure. They must only be used once because of this. We used to drill holes in the workshop wall and bash the bolts in and then used them to hang stuff on
  20. It's not a good idea to run out of fuel with a TD5. Best thing is to carry a small can - 5 or 10l just to be on the safe side.
  21. Modern LC gears are made of chocolate and much more expensive to fix than a LR axle. The front axle seems to be the main culprit.
  22. The recommended torque for the std steel wheel is 110Nm. The torque for the Wolf rim is 170Nm. I can't see any air gun distorting the real ones. Just don't drop one on your foot!
  23. Interesting site. I have a cast extension to the Xfer box, quite a rarity as our local foundry put up their prices long ago which killed the demand. I sent one to Silvio in Italy for his TD5 and there were rumours they were going to make them there. An addition well worth having especially in a hot climate. Just a point of interest - the high-revving BMW 2.8 that was made here had the 1.67:1 box. This was long after they had stopped making them. I think it was last used in the 2.5 n/a diesel.
  24. What also works it to paint your springs and shocks yellow This will impress most people. I agree with what you say Simon - the problem is that the vehicles are mostly driven with no load so hard springs are not fun. But in this country, with the roads we have, even the so-called 'tar roads', the potholes will break your chassis if you have OME bushes.
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