sgnas

lofty? I was thinking llama but suspected it would use a "standard" box

Not quite as strange as a FWD 90 though.................

MORETHAN do the 6am to 11pm thing but it's not overtly advertised! I think you can drive outside these hours but then pay extra per journey

Well, it's still ongoing It went back for rectification, after being examined by and independent assesor who found more faults. With some bold lies they let me down on the return date and then it was still unfinished when they did return it. So it went back for a second time. This time to get new hinges as the old "worn" ones were supposedly causing the door to hang low. So after 2nd rectification the current faults stand at The door still hangs low A piece of trim is missing and they cannot get a replacement. A piece of trim is not refitted as it fouls the door closing. The bottom and middle hinge are fitted upside down (long half on panel not door) so the door will not latch open. And I do not know how the door is opeerating as it MUST now twist! So, more faults than it went in with. Absolute bunch of £$%^&*s. Hopefully I will be able to name and shame soon

The price has not come down as quick as you expect because the price is in dollars. 3 or 4 months ago, certainly the beginning of the year, there were 2 dollars to the pound. Now it is 1.7 dollars to the pound and may go to 1.6! So if the barrel price has gone down 25% the exchange has gone 15% the other way and the reduction in pump price is only 10%. How the dollar is increasing in value when the US government has had to shore up it't 2 biggest lenders and a HUGE investment bank has gone pop is a mystery. I had the big conversation at work today and basically the thought is " a dollar is always a dollar", "most commodities are priced in dollars". However carp the US economy is, the dollar is still seen as a safe haven. Basically people (or in this case big investors) would prefer to stuff dollars under the mattress than any other currency.

looking at the "recomended" list . For a commercial garage:- That's £200 quid of parts and a full days labour. Changing the discs and doing the radius arm bushes may not be difficult but it is time consuming and at a garage you pay per hour not how difficult it is (you will however get the lowest grade of monkey for this job). I know how long it takes as I had to do both (and weld a new crossmember on) for the ticket this year, and still got it back to the test centre in the 10 WORKING days (god bless bank hols). For the "parts" cost you'll probably need to add on a few new "tools" as well: Circlip pliers (for getting the circlip off the splines) 24mm (I think!) deep socket (for the radius arm bolts) matching ring spanner for above (size doesn't come with cheap sets) 30mm socket (for the radius arm nuts) 600mm breaker bar (for the above sockets!) Hub spanner (for the hubs, d'uh) etc Overall, time consuming but very satisfying for a diy mechanic.

I think the complaints/appeals procedure is written on the back of the MOT. Another MOT centre would probably be more than happy to advise you. If you got the car through a Trader then trading standards is also an option.

Good point For a DIYer the most worrying bit is resetting the bearings. Too tight/too loose. Time consuming with a full clean and regrease but satisfying. DaveS11A - My 90 is 19 years old. I would have had to refit the hubs/discs (minus the bolts) and gone for a drive and a brake in order to twist the pair apart. (oddly, that now sounds like a good idea for a really stubborn combo)

Did mine on the 90 for the MOT this year. Only difference was I released the torque from the drivemember bolts (same as the roadwheel) prior to raising the vehicle. Oh.. and one of the drivemember bolt heads sheared off The "obvious" use of the wheel as a holder for the Hub/brake assembly took me a few minutes to spot!

f%^& me! The time difference between North and South is getting worse. It's only Thursday here.

She's not going to be happy when it gets pulled for an SVA

In the UK, based on 10000miles per annum 1998 110CSW £0.20 per mile Fuel (at ~£1.34 per litre and 30mpg) £0.02 per mile VED (road tax) £0.03 per mile insurance £0.01 per mile tyres (£500 of BFG do 50000miles) £0.05 per mile maintenance (servicing, MOT, toys etc) £0.08 per mile depreciation of asset (£800 per year sound right for a 110?) £0.39 per mile total 2004 Focus TDCi £0.12 per mile Fuel (at ~£1.34 per litre and 50mpg) £0.01 per mile VED (road tax) £0.04 per mile insurance £0.02 per mile tyres £0.03 per mile maintenance (servicing, MOT, closer to £0.05 if I let Ford do it) £0.18 per mile depreciation of asset (£150 per month?) £0.40 per mile total I'll add the 90 just for fun 1989 90 (5000 miles per year) £0.28 per mile Fuel (at ~£1.34 per litre and 22mpg) £0.04 per mile VED (road tax) £0.04 per mile insurance £0.01 per mile tyres £0.09 per mile maintenance (servicing, MOT, a lot of work for the MOT this year!) £0.00 per mile depreciation of asset £0.42 per mile total Much, much, much closer than I expected. However, for the 80mile daily commute I much prefer to spend £9.60 in the Focus than £22.40 in the 90. I share the vehicles (bar the 90) with my wife and aim the per annum mileage at 12500 for the Focus (fits the service interval) 10000 for the 110 (family car, wife, 2 kids, dog, baby buggy etc) 5000 for the 90 (no real practical use anymore but I am fond of it!) Once you factor in depreciation I don't see that a large estate or MPV are cheaper in the long term than our 110. I replaced my V40 with the 110.

large flat sided trailers, caravans and horseboxes, get really pulled around by the wind and the displaced air from HGVs. I had a very large pikey Hobby caravan for a while. Towing it at 60mph required 110% attention. It was ok but you knew there would be no way to save it if something went wrong. Towing it at 50mph was a lot more relaxing, but you had to constantly look for HGVs overtaking and be as far left on the carriageway as you could when they did.

Or longer bumpstops

I've managed to do this accidentally. It only takes a small current and remakably low voltage to keep the stop solenoid open. I was charging a 7.2v nicad via a charger in the ciggy lighter. Turned the ignition off and the engine kept running! So, I guess, if you purposely backfeed 12v into the ciggy lighter on a lead you could keep the engine running untill you pull the connector out. Tie the lead to the doors so if you open them it pulls the plug and voila... security feature

Edf is concerned with legality rather than capability Over 7ft6in wide Over 7m long >3000kg No brakes esimated 350kg noseweight Could the Landrover tow it? Yes Legal on the public highway? No

Depends on how the trailer is balanced. When loaded the nosewight may be lower if the mass is behind the axles.

I could just edit my original and sound really clever..... This seems better thought out.... I dunno. Toyota's engineering excellence was slung from pylons on fine wires. Landrover welded some girders together, and then built a platform to display them on!

I dunno. Toyota's engineering excellence was slung from pylons on fine wires. Landrover welded some girders together!

Now with piccies. The vehicle isn't "substantially better" than it was prior to damage. The rear door was sturdy with very little corrosion of the frame. The tyre that needed replacing only had ~2000 miles use on it. Door rubbing, remember I only got this back last night. Missing rivets Dodgy eybrow connection and how it should be (on the dented from offroading side!)

After this the 110 has eventually gone in for repair. Now, I got a new back door, a bit of a bonus, the aluminium turned to dust as they tried to sand back and fill. However, there are a few faults! Before I left the showroom I could see the first. The new BFG was fitted white side out, the other 4 are black side out. 2nd, the plastic lock surround was hanging off, I handed it back to the guy presenting the vehicle. The back door is difficult to lock/unlock 4 press studs on the eyebrow are missing 1 fitting has been put in as a cable tie The bit where the eyebrow bolts to the sill has not been straightened, so the eyebrow does not fit properly. The bolt is only finger tight and will fall out betore the weekend is over. I took the car as I was desperate for it and agreed to take it back for further work. At home I found theses further faults. The bit of steel that closes the interior light switch is missing, hence the lights and alarm do not work. Do you think it is a coincidence that the lights were both switched to "off". Both the reinforcing strips in the door have been riveted on in only 2 of 9 positions, rendering them useless. Grommet not refitted where heated screen wire passes through frame. Grommet missing on high level brake light wire. Rear carpet not refitted properly. Door frame rubbing and already down to bare metal (I don't think you can adjust door up and down). Fittings missing from door card. Inner tube on tyre not fitted properly and missing valve cap. Wheel/tyre combo miraculously needed exaclty the same balance as previous tyre! Overlong bolts used to refit side facing seats. Rear wiper loose, nut only finger tight. "Pimple" on new door where a hole has been drilled in the frame and the person drilling "followed through". So depending on how you count each fault between 17 and 45 faults. Some of the were very visible and should have been spotted on a PDI. I know it is a 10 year old Landrover but it is worth over £9000. I doubt they would hand back a £9000 Audi like this. I have pictures of everything but there are so many it would take all night to upload! I forgot to look at the passenger door they repaired.

It is probably cheaper to buy the whole Defender kit like here I'm fairly certain that is the longest adjustable section they do anyway.

I don't know how Landrover get away with selling the standard towbar. It is far too high for any non-commercial application! Get the full Dixon-Bate kit, a bit of a plough if you offroad, worth it to get the hitch height right for all your trailers.

I thought the Disco' steels had the same backspacing as the alloys. You might want to put the spacers back on!

Mine is being fixed next week Current plan of action is to take detailed pics of the whole car this weekend. When I collect it I'll park the courteousy car in the supermarket car park and hand over the keys only once I have accepted the repairs.