Tanuki

Electric fan switch should really go in either the radiator bottom-tank or the outlet-hose, not the top hose or thermostat-housing. Putting it in the top will probably result in the fan triggering about 10x more often than it needs to. --Tanuki

Mondeos, Transits, Defenders - it's the same engine; and I suspect the same basic ancillaries package (alternator/ECU) in all of 'em.

The "ground plane" is capacitive between the base of the magmount and the metal of the vehicle roof. It doesn't depend on magnetic coupling; the RF doesn't 'know' what holds the disc of the magmount to the roof.At 450MHz there's plenty of capacitance between a 6-inh-diameter metal disc and the roof, even if there was a mm or so air-gap!

I tried something similar to put a magmount 450MHz UHF antenna to the roof of a Defender: 6-inch-swuare piece of thin steel plate duct-taped to the inside of the roof and magmount on the outside. It seemed to hold - until we hit the first significant bump. There was a loud thud as the steel plate untaped itself and dropped off in the back; the magmount ended up dangling by its feeder. I ended up duct-taping the magmount to the roof on the outside, and forgetting about the steel plate. This them survived 1200 miles of motorway-travel without budging. --Tanuki.

You should be able to push moe than 8 amps into a battery if there's any significant "flatness" - the current generation of Ford engines use a 'smart charge' system which will tweak the alternator to about 18 volts output when faced with cold weather and a discharged battery. I've seen 80 amps going into the battery for half an hour with one of these after someone left the interior lights on at the airport.

Check that the turbo wastegate actuating-lever is free to move. On my Defender the wastegate stuck in the "wide open" position - leading to an engine of spectacular lethargy. Easily cured - give the actuating-lever a gentle-but-firm twatting with a light hammer, and apply some powdered graphite to the spindle where it goes into the turbo housing. [Don't use oil, WD40 or anything similar as this will carbonise from the heat and make the problem worse!] --Tanuki

Remember though that stronger springs will also need more-effective shock-absorbers to damp the rebound "boing" !!I'd try new shock-absorbers first. Hint #1: don't bother trying to undo the nuts that hold the shock-absorbers to the axles: just take an angle-grinder to them. Much faster than frobbing around with spanners and only getting 1/16 of a turn per time. Hint #2: Bilsteins come with yellow paint in the threads of the mountings, which makes screwing the nuts on extra-hard. Two minutes with a wire-brush to de-clag the threads will make assembly so much easier. Hint #3: To stop the shock-absorber turning as you tighten the nuts up, put on a rubber glove so you get better grip. Hint #4: Again, on front Bilsteins the top and bottom nuts are different threads. Not realising this can result in an afternoon of deep frustration! --Tanuki.

I had the "front end leaping about on potholes" issue on my TD5 90 a while back. At first I suspected swivel-pre-load so spent an afternoon frobbing-about with shim packs and spring-balances to no effect. The eventual solution: replace the OEM 90,000-mile-old shock-absorbers with gas-filled Bilsteins all round, and replace the front Panhard-rod nushes (again with original-style Metalastiks). The Bilsteins also did away with the nasty front/rear pitching sensation (which had always been there from new, but had worsened recently) when crossing ruts, and have made towing an altogether more-stable experience as well. --Tanuki.

I'm guessing it's because the stresses are greater on a Diesel engine (higher compression!) and that re-grinding the crank without subsequent re-case-hardening and fillet-rolling the journals (which aren't things usually done outside the factory) might make it more susceptible to failure. A petrol-engine crank has an easier time of it and so you'll [probably] get away with a regrind. Personally I think a 2.25-litre engine has rather too large a reciprocating mass to be running on a 3-bearing crank! --Tanuki

White smoke implies unburned fuel. Could there be something in the snorkel that is periodically blocking the air-flow ?? That would cause it to smoke. Does the problem happen with the snorkel disconnected? --Tanuki

Yesterday my 90TD5 died. All the symptoms were of fuel-starvation - the power faded away over a couple of hundred yards and it wouldn't restart. Engine cranks just fine. There were none of the usual pre-start whirry-fuel-pump-noises - so I checked the electricals out and found a blown 20Amp fuse in the big under-seat fusebox. Spare fuse blows after a couple of seconds. The markings on the inside of the fusebox lid identify this 20A fuse (and its 30A immediate-neighbour) as being part of the engine-management system. I'm thinking either the in-tank fuel-pump itself has seized and is drawing excess current, or the wiring to it has chafed against something and is shorting-out. Any other suggestions? --Tanuki "Gordon Brown had lots of experience of running an economy, but then Harold Shipman had lots of experience running a Doctor's surgery".

Do a compression test. Check that the catalysts have not collapsed internally: if the engine's been overfuelling at any time it's easy for the cats to get overheated and melt themselves into a useless mass. Check that you've not got a displaced baffle in one of the silencer-boxes that's restricting the flow of exhaust-gases. If the products-of-combustion can't get out easily, the engine's bound to be lethargic and inefficient. --Tanuki

I'd check that you haven't got a split in one of the turbo-hoses. These can squeal/hiss when the pressure builds up and the air starts escaping. If the hose has delaminated internally a 'flap' of rubber can also balloon up inside under pressure and inhibit the air-flow. --Tanuki

You did remember to reassemble everything 'loose' then tighten the nuts/bolts to the final required torque only when the vehicle has its weight fully on the wheels? If you tighten everything up with the vehicle jacked/wheels hanging/suspension at full deflection, you will have all sorts of odd and undesirable pre-loads in the suspension bushes. I'd suggest slackening the bolts where the hockey-sticks attach to the axle-bushes, do the same for the A-frame-to-chassis bushes and the panhard-rod at the front, then drive *slowly* forwards and backwards a few times (5-10MPH is all it takes) so everything can settle. Then park up on level ground, and torque all the nuts/bolts to the specified values. Pedants would add a 175-pound weight to the driver's seat before doing the final torquing. I've never bothered. --Tanuki

The one on my 2001 90TD5 lasted about 7 years (60,000 miles). It didn't leak fluid, it just didn't pump properly any more. I fitted a new [bearmach] cylinder. Looking at the old one it was the rubber seal on the piston that had failed - I've re-rubbered it and now have it vacuum-packed-and-rustproofed and stored awaiting the now-5-year-old replacement to fail.

At one of my sites we have really good CCTV coverage of all the places people might think it 'safe' to go for a leak. Some of the locations [like the porches around the doors] also have loudspeakers as part of the access-control system. The night-security there has on occasions waited until a nocturnal-pisser is in mid-flow before activating the speaker and saying "This is going straight on YouTube!". --Tanuki.

Before changing any parts, check that the intake-plenum thing on the passenger side wing isn't full of leaves/nutshells [yes, I've seen this in a Defender that had infrequent use: seems the local mice were holding nightly nut-parties in there !]. Also make sure the levers are actually operating the air-flaps: if they seize then the control-levers may still go up and down but the outers of the bowden-cables can be just sliding in their mountings and not doing anything helpful to allow the air through. --Tanuki. "These nipples fill me with dread and horror!"

Check that the breathers aren't blocked. If they are, as things warm up the air inside expands and causes pressure that will force oil out through all your orifices. Same applies to axles. --Tanuki

Make sure the LPG setup is a proper one - individual LPG-injectors, closed-loop control and separate ECU. Anything involving vapourisers-and-venturis is best avoided - they're the equivalent of a rather-poor 1960s-vintage carburettor, with all the starting/running/poor-efficiency problems that implies. I've seen a few exploded airboxes on such systems, and one case where the fuelling was so wrong it made the catalytic converter glow red. --Tanuki

The six is a lovely smooth engine indeed - and it sounds good under load too.I've seen a 109 fitted with the twin-carb "Weslake"-head 3-litre out of a Rover P5; you can't do this swap on a RHD car though as the rearmost carb wants to live in the same space as the pedal-box/steering-column.--Tanuki

They're called "Triple-swuare" or "XZN" heads. Often also found on things like big-end/main-bearing caps.See http://www.brimarc.com/products/Proxxon-12-Sockets-for-XZN-Screws-855568.htm

From the factory, the bolts are retained to the axle-flange using a blue "Loctite" type threadlocking compound. As you've discovered, it's rather effective. I'd recommend getting some heat into the heads of the bolts before trying further removal. A good blast from a normal blowlamp for a few minutes will help break the threadlock's seal. And in future, use a proper 12-point bit. That's *not* the same animal as a 12-point bit for a traditional hex-headed bolt. . . --Tanuki.

Another vote for NGK: I've never had one fail in any of my engines (which is more than can be said for Champion: I had a brand-new one shear-off the threaded part from the body as I was tightening it - the shattered ceramic bits and central electrode dropped into the cylinder meaning a head-off job). Make sure you get the right plugs - if yours is an injection engine they're usually specified to have plugs with a "R" in the part-number, indicating they have a built-in suppressor resistor. Fitting non-resistor plugs can cause all sorts of freaky electronics-issues. Trust me, I've been there... --Tanuki. "Vorsprung durch Technik" as they say in Germany just before sliding into the tyre wall and breaking both legs.

Agreed: I had this on my TD5 Defender last Christmas. Fuel-pump screaming like a guinea-pig in a blender, difficult engine-starting, really-lethargic/lumpy running once the engine did start.The injector-seals (both the copper washers and the associated rubber seals) are pennies. Much cheaper than a new fuel-pump (which I also had to replace).--Tanuki."It's no good having mad clothes, crazy hair and transsexual friends if you can't get to the Cult gig cos your Hearse broke down!"

Cheers! It's all back together now and running sweetly with 7.mumble litres of fully-synth Shell 5W40 coursing through its oilways !