greenmeanie

In theory there is no more torque applied to the steering components with the power steering mounted as shown. You are overcoming the same set of forces as you have with manual input. It is the input force required from the driver to turn the steering that is reduced. If you are rock crawling etc. you might be tempted to try and turn the wheels in a situation where the steering is more heavily loaded than normal but 101s and rock crawling don't mix for a multitude of other reasons.

I live in Switzerland and drive up into the Jura for work during the week and the Alps at the weekend. I run Nokian Hakkapalitta (sp?) on my 110. They see a combination of wet cold tarmac, dry tarmac, crappy wet snow, powder snow and lastly ice. Having them is a night and day difference over normal Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx (Itself a winter rated tyre with the little cavities for adding studs). They do really well in all conditions except the thin slush behind the plow and wet sheet ice. Nothing much short of studded tyres really works there though. For what its worth I usually swap rubber in December and run through to April each year and the snow tires are on their 4th season with every expectation of getting a 5th out of them too. I'll be keeping a close eye on tread depth to see if they make it to a 6th season. Oh, the general justification here is that when you have the snow tyres on the regular tyres are not wearing out so you get a longer lifetime out of them too. As stated earlier chains are great for deep snow (Think chassis deep) but for everyday driving on roads they are just a pain. I have not needed them here in 5 years of hauling up into the Alps for snow boarding. Other than for some very specific locations/purposes I'd call them a waste of time in the UK. Now in mud.......

For what its worth I'd be wary of the column mounted set up mainly because it puts hydraulic lines right next to your legs. When I used to design construction equipment hydraulics for a living that would have been a problem as if a line bursts you spray high pressure hot oil over the driver's legs. He will then no doubt be somewhat distracted from bringing the vehicle to a safe halt. You can get extra sleeves to put over the lines which help but they are really just a band aid.

While a legal requirement in some places to have them, snow chains are a pain in the posterior. A lot of countries require that you remove them when you get to any tarmac to save wear and tear on the roads. This is alright for a one off trip up the mountain but it gets old very quickly if you are switcing between tarmac and snow/ice regularly. I have not found any law for Norway but you will also find a lot of serious speed restrictions on vehicles with snow chains. While a big investment up front real snow tyres will improve your braking at any temp below 8°C, wet or dry. I will soon be into my 4th winter with the Nokians which get run for 5 months of the year. That's a lot of time I am not putting wear on my AT tyres which means they have lasted a lot longer as well. Overall the high initial investment is largely offset by the longer time span between buying new sets.

If you want snow tyres ten go with Nokkian Hakkapaleitas. Night and day difference compared to the AT and mud compromises. Its not just tread but compound that make the difference. You can also have them studded if you run on a lot of ice.

Sean, I had exactly the same experience with my 101. Fortunately I was just pulling into my driveway at the time. The old column had corrosion on the lower race and fatigue in the upper race. Its now been cut down to be the column for my 109 PAS but that is another story. Part of the problem with the 101 steering box is that there is no oil drain plug reaching all the way to the bottom of the box so moisture can gather. As oil floats on water it means the lower bearing sits in a water bath. My fix was to machine a drain plug hole trough the base of the steering box on the CL of the column so now draining periodically is easy. I also put one-shot grease in there which will stick to the bearing if if it gets wet. It has worked well for the last 10 years although the truck does not get driven in the cold winter here because of the salt they dump everywhere. Sorry Garry, not much to add to the PAS other than I don'yt think there is enough legroom under the dash on a 101 to install an electric assist.

I'm sure there is someone out there thinking that modifications ruin every old LR. Each to their own unless you have the money and time to save them all.

I'm in Switzerland and while it is not a federal law it is written in to your insurance policy that between November and the end of March your tyres must be suitable for the conditions or your policy is void. Its one of the first things they check for in the case of an accident. Note that this is not just a matter of grip for traction but also stopping distances which are affected by compound which is where they get you for thinking mud tyres are just fine. A lot of people just run all seasons with a snowflake in the lower elevations down by the lakes but as soon as you hit the mountains you want snows. I run 235/85/R16 Nokian Hakkapelitias (SP?) on wolf steelies on my 110 and they do very well indeed in everything from icy roads, dry powder and even the nasty slushy stuff left after the infernal plow with the salt has been through. They are not cheap but I'm on my third winter with them and I expect to get another two or three before changing so spread over the years the price doesn't hurt too badly.

If it helps I did this many years ago with a set of Securon seatbelts from one of the usual suppliers. The real came with a generic L-shaped bracket looking somewhat similar to MTC4090 above. It simply bolted in using the fore most roof side mounting screw on each side. Dead simple and neat. If you want a really OEM type mount in a hardtop then purchase the middle row seat belt mounts for a 110 LH/RH MWC5054/5055 or MXC 3282/3283. These provide both the shoulder mount and a reel mounting in one part and are designed to fit the Rover top in this location. If you are planning a soft top then it becomes a bit more interesting.

I note that the names you quote for your cousin's business are all very high end racing names with VERY deep pockets. This might be something to note. Once you factor in design (Note that design for quantity manufacture is very different from one off prototypes), programming time, tool set up, run time, first article inspection, scrap cost for the material you have removed you might find the CNC solution a lot more expensive than you would imagine. There are reasons that almost everyone that chooses to do this in commercial quantities ends up with a casting. I'm pretty sure that if Haystee are selling these kits into Europe they require TUV or equivalent certification for the various countries to accept the modification for registration. On what is essentially a niche market component it chews up a significant chunk of change to obtain so that will be built into the price. Others on this forum who are in the business will be better informed but if you plan to sell these kits commercially then you might have to look at liablility etc. Sad to say but as we all know these days lawyers are not cheap. Then there is marketing your product etc all of which eats up cash. Just pointing out that there is a lot more involved in cost of a kit than just CNC time.

I have a Thermotop C not the Z but I assume the operation is roughly the same. On the Webasto operation guide it says that it can get itself into a lock out condition for overheating or voltage being too high or too low. In the case of overheating it doesn't leave a code but you have to reset the system. Did you go trough the reset process? Dowload here

Oh I agree. I love that set up and in some form that was the plan...and then I moved to Switzerland. Here you can play the game with modifications but lets say the closer to stock, or at least the appearance to stock or having something off the shelf so you can give them a piece of paper, the better for my bureaucratic hosts. She started life as a 67 NADA spec 109 but now the rest of the truck has a Chevy 4.8L inline 6 mated to an NP435 gearbox mated to a series TC so while, yes, it is still has theoriginal configuration of an inline 6 and a 4 speed gearbox, its just a whole lot beefier. Then there's the Megasquirt fuel injection, the power steering, the aircon (I used to live in the desert), the rock sliders and a thousand other little tweaks. Some things they are pretty easy about and others they are anal. For the seats I just don't want to argue so I was hoping to just put in something off the shelf as there are much bigger fish to fry. Hence wanting something out of a late Series/Defender and bolt some Exmoor squabs onto the frames or the full Exmoor kit as I have seen both on vehicles here so want to follow the heard in that respect. I was just going to stump up the cash for the Exmoor stuff but I don't think they sell their version of the seat frame any more and I'm not sure their seat squabs bolt directly to the Defender individual middle row seat frames. As you say, I'd like to say sod 'em but then what other non-bespoke options are there?

Yes I tried and simply got a 'We don't sell to the public' canned answer. I went over to the Trakkers site and asked the same question and got zip for a response.

I need to add a better set of seats for the middle row of my SIIA 109 SW. Does anyone still sell the Exmoor frame EXT010-3 or for that matter the frames for the individual folding seats from a SIII/Defender? I suppose the next question is whether the Exmoor seats will work on the Defender middle row frames.

While you aer down the front of the engine searching for budgies check the harmonic balancer and crank pulley. They wear, the three cast lugs that hold the harmonic balancer to the pulley fatigue and in the wrost case it comes off taking the engine fan, radiator and vraious other expensive bits with it resulting in much bad language and weeping over an empty wallet. This WILL happen in the most inconvenient location of course. Its easy to check and other than the damn stupid stretch bolt holding on the pulley not too difficult to replace.

Sean, Thank you very much. This is exactly what I was looking for. If it helps, I used to be a club member but like a lot of the foreign owners I let it slip. Too much whining from certain quarters kind of ruined it which is a shame because I know most owners are good people. The secret info thing is a bit lame and projects a poor image to prospective members but that's just my opinion.

EJParrott is correct that I am looking for SKF/TIMKEN numbers or a set of dimensions to visit a bearing supplier with. They shouldn't be anything special and I doubt I'll be paying 60 odd quid for one either. I could strip the hub and measure but than I'll have a truck parked minus a wheel for a few days while I chase down the part and that doesn't go down well with the locals here.

Would anyone have some industry standard bearing cross ref numberssuch as Tinken or SKF for 101 wheel bearings 607351 & 606474? I'm in central Europe so it would be a lot easier to pick them up at a local bearing supplier.

Just find a copy of the circuit diagram that applies for your truck and you'll find a numbered list of components at the bottom and a convenient diagram of the connections too. But without having that to look at here I would add horn, heater blower motor, fuel level sender, reverse light switch, brake light switch, it might have a PDWA sensor and light, interior lights and switch and hazard warning switch to your list. If you are concerned about a wiring harness you won't care about the plugs as their only connection is the HT leads to the dizzy. While not part of the harness themselves you will also have the engine to chassis ground (Good practice to have two), battery ground and batt positive. Oh, and if you have invested a lot of time and money into your truck its a good idea to add an additoinal fuse panel to bump up the circuit protection over the rather miserly OEM fuse panel. The wiring diagram will be your friend.

Any dual circuit 109 mc will do. The stock 109 cylinder is a common with an adapter is a common replacement in 101s using the same 6 cyl big brakes.

Nothing sneaky about it. The MOD ones have the original plate from LR with the original weight specifications. There is an additional plate stating MVEE approval 33993 that alters that weight limit up to higher limit. Now the V5 should display the revenue weight but that is supposed to be the GLW as MANUFACTURED so there is some debate as to whether the MVEE revision is legal and valid in the civilian world but people have seemed to be getting away with it for years without much fuss. To have the higher limit the truck must display the plate. To derate it back to the original specifications simply drill the rivets and remove it and then have the V5 revised to show the new revenue weight but that is simply sending in a document. I suppose due diligence would have you inform your insurance to CYA if you have one of those modern licenses but thats about it. Oh, and just for giggles some countries will only recognize the original manufacturers specification plates and do not recognize the MVEE increased ratings. Lots of good info here

Find your nearest Parker Hannefin dealer. They will usually be under hydraulics in the yellow pages.They'll have all the fittings, o-rings, hose you need. take the old fittings in ands show them to the bloke behind the counter and he'll provide you with replacements plus some bulk hose. Go home, install the fittings and route the hose. A good rule is one straight fitting plus one angled if required. If you do two angled take a pen and draw a line along the fitting and onto the hose so they can clock them properly. Return to the place and they'll crimp them up. It's not difficult or expensive and you get the exact hose to fit your vehicle.

The vacuum actuator is the silver mushroom thing the tubes attach to on the side of the gearbox. Inside it has a diaphragm that is attached to a rod. This is the rod we're talking about. When you pull the knob in the cab up the vacuum sucks on the diaphragm and pulls on the rod to move it. The rod is inside the metal housing behind the actuator. It pushes or pulls on a selector fork that slides a lock up dog clutch to lock the shafts together in the center diff. If you unscrew the switch and look down the hole you should be looking at a rod with an anular groove cut in it. This is the rod. IIRC the pin in the switch normally rests in the groove when the diff in unlocked. When you pull the knob and the rod moves the pin in the reed switch is pushed upout of the groove which pushes it back into the switch which closes the contacts. Probably the easiest way to check the center diff is locked is to pull the knob up, roll forward 10 metres or so at low speed to give it a chance to line up and lock. Put the handbrake on and jack up a wheel on the front of the truck. Try spinning the front prop. If it won't spin your locked. If you've got the switch pulled out you can also just look down the hole in the actuator housing and see if the shaft has moved so you can't see the anular groove any more.

The light is run by the switch you will have seen on the back of the vacuum actuator housing. The rod in the actuator has a groove cut in it and the switch is simply a reed type. I can remember the specific way round but lets say when the rod moves the tip of the rod drops into the groove, contact is made and the light goes on. Quite often the switch can be set at the incorrect depth to the rod so it sends false signals. To set it up properly you need to: 1. Unscrew the switch from the housing collecting any shim washers that come off. I'd clean the switch and test it with a battery and multimeter to make sure it is working properly. 2. Start the engine and move the vaccuum control valve in the cab into the UP position. 3. Make sure the electric leads are connected to the switch (Dumb but its worth mentioning.) 4. Screw the electric switch back into the hole until contact is made and the light comes on then add another half turn. 5. Measure the gap between the switch body and the actuator housing and you have the shim pack your supposed to add. Ahem..you did buy more shims didn't you? Part #s 0.127mm is 273595 & 0.508mm is 3609. 6. Dismantle and reassemble with the shims in place. Of course if you don't have just the right shims you could try winging it by cleaning everything thoroughly and using thread lock. You'll also want to make sure the actuator is working properly by pulling up on the knob, rolling forward a bit and then the usual sheck to make sure that the diff has locked. A faulty actuator that is sticky or has a duff diaphragm means you may be stuck in diff lock regardless of what you do with your knob.