serendipity

P38 Range Rover, 4.6. A week ago for no apparent reason it lost oil pressure whilst cruising along the motorway. As it is no quick and simple job to get at the oil pump on the 4.6, it is inside the timing case unlike earlier v8s, I was wondering if this was a common faut with the 4.6, and if there are secondary, or completely different causes for these symptoms, in this particular engine. The engine oil was clean, head gaskets intact, no visible leaks, the onset of symptoms was a loss of power and top end rattle, presumably due to the lifters bleeding down and a dry cam hitting them several thousand times a minute. The engine was replaced by land rover 2+ years ago due to an earlier unrelated fault, so it is not an ancient high miler. Any ideas?

As a student project we are building a lathe from scrap parts, using an old 4 cylinder engine block and crankshaft. In the same spirit of "we did it just because it seemed like a good idea at the time" has anyone tried converting a trasformer-welder to work as a plasma cutter? One should imagine the principle is simple, but the fettling required considerable. I also have little wish to be informing parents their little darlings have gone up in a blue flash so any do's and don'ts would be well received....

You may have a point there.

Recipe for confusion Ingredients One 13 mm spanner 5 mins Take one automatic range rover or discovery. Crawl underneath with the 13 mm spanner, remove the ZF gear selector from it's shaft and replace upside down. ie; pointing upwards. Once complete, stand back and marvel at the total confusion of the driver when he discovers he appears to have many, many reverse gears and only one foward... Taste the difference.

Halfway along the length weld a +/-100mm piece of the steel you are using to face downwards, then triangulate with either one length bent centrally or two lengths to either end. When done it should look like a shallow upside down triangle. The bottom sections need not be massively thick, even 25mm box would do fine. Strength to weight it will win every time over a simple beam.

Yesterday I had the delightful experience of driving a friends lovely old series 2 SWB. 'Twas strangely nostalgic, and I was reunited with a favourite old sensual pleasure ( no not the rumbling of the gearbox through the seat) as speed increased the clattering of the old engine gave way to the doleful whine of the old firestone tyres, blissfully mournful in tone and surely the soundtrack to a bygone era. So what are your favourite sounds, and indeed smells, that emanate from your pride and joy, I love the smell of mud burning on the exhaust myself.

How about that for some green potential! Perhaps we could turn noisy school playgrounds and areas where women gather to gossip and chatter into"Sound farms"

From the look of the hubs the motors themselves would appear to be axial flux motors which have some interesting qualities, particularly their ability to accelerate or deccelerate very quickly. I dont know a whole lot about them as all that moving magnet trickery is a little modern for my tired old bonce. I do know however that they are easy to build, many people build them for fun projects or as wind generators. So a homebuilt motor would of course not be up to the task of running a land rover, but it might be a fun project for an R/C car for those of you with an electronic disposition. Just do a websearch on axialflux or axial airgap motors and you should find loads of plans and designs. for both motors and generators With our IC engines there are so many ways we waste energy,maybe another way foward would be to harness what we lose. How about these for some "pie in the sky" energy recovery systems. a high pressure, hi temp cooling system with a tiny steam turbine generator. -Of course you would have to top up with water every time you topped up with fuel and the extra weight would probably negate any benefit. Already it is possible to convert sound to electricity, indeed, that is exactly how a microphone works, the sound energy moves a magnet through a coil generating power. Perhaps one day intelligent underbonnet soundproofing will power our car stereo? Or perhaps an ultrasonic jetwash to shake off the mud. I for one, shall mourn the passing of internal combustion, and I still believe there is more to be gained in it's further development, most particularly in the removal of the camshaft, the biggest limiting factor for modern EFI. Much work has been done in this field also. Our beloved internal combustion engine itself seems to function almost as a living thing. Indeed they adhere to several of the principles for life, they respire, they convert matter to energy, and they respond to stimuli. It's quite a sobering thought that one could argue we may consider ourselves God's of a kind for bringing forth such "metallurgical life" but we mere mortals have some way to go before we consider creating in our own image... As to the ultimate off roader, well that would be a goat. Fuel efficient too, they eat anything.

Watching the local news this morning I came across a short report about a vehicle built by Portsmouth university. It is a new -stye mini with electric power, one motor per wheel built into the hubs, 900 mile range courtesy of an in car charging set (using a 20cc 2 stroke)and a top speed of 150 mph. So, one motor per wheel, maximum torque from rest, no gearbox, driveshafts or props to snag....The possibilities for off road use abound once the issue of dirt ingress and waterproofing is addressed. It may be all pie in the sky now but I wager it shall not be long before those clever orientals put something in this vein onto the concept stand at a motor show soon. British innovation usually ends up in th products of others before us.

This is useful - and free. The only problem is it's not a stand-alone program, so unless you are online in your garage you need to make a set up before you go. But it works for ANY size tube and any angle. Also, it is so simple children can master it so you dont even need to be a real grown up. We have several sets made up and laminated. 15 degree increments over a 90 degree spread seem to cover most applications. Once you have used these a couple of times it gives a really good "feel" for the notch, and cutting them with the grinder becomes almost second nature rather than the usual cut- grind- cut- grind bore. http://metalgeek.com/static/cope.pcgi

If there is only one piece of advice you heed from all the very good advice already offered, DO NOT go greenlaning alone. I am 100% positive that most of us have done so in the past and "got away with it" but it is a recipe for disaster. Always take a mobile phone at the very least and let a friend (with a 4x4 and the same map as you) know you are going. At least then you may be recovered. Take a decent safe jack and a spare tyre too, and a change of clothes and some drinks and blankets at the very least. I dare say there are people on this very forum who have had a bitter experience, I personally know of two lads who spent a very long cold night outdoors before a local 4x4 chap came out the next day to recover them. A simple breakdown on a greenlane can become a logistical nightmare, and most recovery companies simply refuse to help. But just dont do it alone, there are clubs all over the country and it seems many jolly decent chaps on this forum too. Find one near you and nag said victim into showing you the ropes as it were.

when you put it like that it seems odd that JCB have not until now added a utility truck to their range. One imagines the development and logistics of going to a "real" mass production run was prohibitive. So maybe there is hope now, sounds like a smart option and a good one for enthusiasts too

It puts me in mind of that fateful day on the road to Mandalay. The wheel fell off our steam powered rickshaw, the Raj was in turmoil and we were being pursued by hoardes of hostile natives. I heaved my trusty blunderbuss to my shoulder and loosed a mighty shot into the crowd. They hesitated for a moment then came foward once more, sabres glinting in the beating sun. We were out of ammo and prepared for a bitter end when I noticed the rickshaws wheel bearings rolling about in the dust of the track. As quick as a flash we had stripped the rickshaw of it's every last nut bolt and bearing , and so armed with it's mechanical guts we set about the rebel crowd, tearing them asunder with whitworth bolts and threads Imperial. It was a fine day, the rivers ran red with ATF and we returned victorious to Mandalay. To this day the skeletal remains of the rickshaw remain, enshrined as a memorial to those long past days of glory. As I sit here now, unable to stir from my wing backed chair, racked by the tyranny of age, stinking of absinth and cigars, I can only give thanks that nowadays our fine lads have more reliabe transport, Hussah for the Land Rover

My dream buyer would be that Bamford chap (or whatever his name might be) who owns JCB. I am getting a mental picture of what british roads would look like festoooned in bright yellow 90's and 110's sporting huge tractor tyres. Maybe they would have to offer a few colour options...