TheBeastie

I am pondering ways of increasing seating and like idea of inward facing seats in rear of my 90 hardtop so I do keep some stowage space. Have looked at seats and also benches and come to conclusion that benches probably give better use of space even if not quite as comfortable as fold away seats - I don't see them being used as seats very often. The idea is to give me option to carry more than one passenger if ever needed (mostly I suspect with local 4x4 Response group) It struck me it would be worth asking if there are any safety/legal issues with installing bench seats in the back since I have no idea - presumably I would need to notify my insurers. So far as I can see one would also install lap belts. Any thoughts would be most appreciated Thanks Malc

Just went to check clutch master cylinder reservoir and found it needed a good top. Also the liquid in there was looking sort of black and murky. I seem to recall this implies seals going or gone somewhere. Am i best to replace both the cylinders at same time with new and will I need to replace any pipes or will they just flush through OK? Been meaning to do something for a wee while but had not realised how sludgy it was all getting.

Have done some searching but not found what I think I need - perhaps duff searching. The plan is to try and put two safe and legal seats into the back of The Beastie. I reckoned one each side on the rear half of the wheel boxes (currently lined with ply) so I can still keep the dog's bed across the front half. Folding seats would be excellent if available since they would not often be in use. I am not sure how I start going about sourcing the right parts. Also I can only envisage waist seat belts (where would you safely attach a shoulder point??) and not sure if they would be legal. The driver for this would be to allow me to carry three passengers when needed rather than just one. Anyone already done this?

Am starting to think snorkel now and looking at the main ones available (admittedly to an untutored eye) the Safari and Mantec ones appear to have quite a lot of gubbins outside the wing whereas the Southdown keeps things more inside. I have also seen a few which are less streamlined than the Safari or Mantec type but a good bit cheaper - which makes them attractive. To my mind this would tend to make the Southdown one less vulnerable as it is less likely to have the wing connection damaged. I have also seen DIY suggestions but have very little fabrication capability and it strikes me you want this particular bit watertight rather than almost so. Anyone got suggestions as best for a 200Tdi defender? I am not looking extreme stuff but given flooding is becoming increasingly prevalent it seems sensible and would allow a bit more leeway when out on a play. Thanks Malcy

Ha! I thought the same but was too polite to say anything LOL

Brilliant. Thanks guys Hope it will stay dry long enough to do my crawling underneath. Best wishes Malcy

Thanks - have got a new push fit manifold now in engine bay with intention of drawing all breathers into it and then, eventually, going up to top of snorkel. So need to get optimal route to the front avoiding multiple potential hazards.

Is there any best recommended route to take extended breather from rear axle to the engine bay - thus avoiding hazards such as exhaust, springs, bump pads etc etc. If it is just a case of making your own way along chassis (presumably using big cable ties) then OK but thought I would ask since it may save embarrassment later:-) Thanks Malcy

Am considering new project to put a mini ITX computer onto rear bulkhead and replace my existing MUD console with a Lilliput 7" touchscreen LCD monitor. I will have to relocate all the stuff from the console but that is perhaps (?) the easier part - thinking of a pod to go where the ash tray is. Will probably dispense with the current radio/CD player since should be able to access functions through the PC. The main idea will be to run mapping software and also hopefully satnav for on and off road, data modes for radio and also, assuming I get a 3G dongle, keeping up with everything going on. A bonus would even be to put a webcam at the back as a parking aid! Looking at a regulated DC supply direct (fused) from car battery using an M2-ATX board. I am hoping to be able to hard wire the screen into a suitably fused feed at the dash. It has been suggested this is a more robust route than using a netbook. Am interested to know if others have done this before and if so any gotchas to be aware of. I am slightly nervous that mounting on the bulkhead might give too much vibration but am hoping if I use silicone mountings for the hard drive then I should be OK. So any thoughts or pointers would be very much appreciated

Well have towed radio masts quite a bit so reasonably comfortable towing but never had to put much thought to things like weights/licence conditions in this fashion since the club has been towing the masts for a while, often with relatively small cars, well compared to The Beastie!

OK Thanks guys. It is getting clearer. Have checked licence and it has the B+E category. Will now see if I can make out what the VIN plate, line 2 says and hopefully then have the answer! ALl I then need to do is carry a large pair of scales with me :-)

Hope someone can help but more I |Google the more confused I become. I need to try and establish maximum weight of trailer I can tow. The Beastie is a 1991 Defender 90 with a 200Tdi engine. From what I can see the weight is 1750kg. The maximum trailer weight (braked) is 3500kg and unbraked is 750kg. However there seems to be issues with total weight where some sites suggest trailer should not exceed 85% of tractor weight - which sort of gets you to 3500kg combined weight. I need to know since now part of a 4x4 Response group so may need to take water bowsers etc and want to stay both safe and within terms of licence. As I say, hoping someone can give me a straight answer. In terms of licence mine dates from about 1967 or so and as a result covers most things unlike the newer licences. Thanks in anticipation. Malcy

If it is any help the spare wheel, although on the rear door, is on a Bearmach wheel carrier so weight (vertically at least) is on the chassis not the door. However the added weight does add to the horizontal pull on the door when it is opening. I wondered whether there was any possible adaptation to the wheel carrier to stop it but guess this might put a heck of a strain in wrong places.

Thanks guys. Sounds like putting a gas strut on is the way to go but wondered if anyone has any pictures to help give me an idea of how and where to connect the ends? Feel a trip to the scrappy coming up - any particular recommendations for gas strut donor?

Following a holiday incident letting back door get caught by wind resulting in burst LED stop/tail light I assumed I needed to add another rubber stopper into the channel at the bottom of the door that controls the opening. What I found instead when I looked closely was that the metal used to form the channel which the arm runs in was of such thin metal that when the weight of the door came onto the rubber stopper the side wall of the channel bulged out the way, letting the door swing those critical couple of cms to smash the lens. I have since knocked the channel back into shape but wonder if anyone has any ideas how I might strengthen it since if it has happened once it will happen again (we do get big winds up here!) and these Perei LED units are pretty costly so I want to avoid if possible.

Thanks for the comments guys. I guess I should stick with a new Lucas master and slave cylinder. Perhaps I was unlucky or perhaps I needed to be more careful - possibly some dirt got in and damaged the seals? They are both shown as TRW Lucas parts with the slave being given as 591231G and the master as 550732G. Hopefully this will sort things out. Best wishes Malcy

I have no idea how long you would expect a clutch master cylinder to last but mine has started weeping a bit (fluid under clutch pedal in the morning) just over two years after I replaced it last. Checking back my records I got a Lucas cylinder from Paddocks costing £19.40. The same is still available (same price!) but if I look on LR Series they have genuine at £74.54 or replacement at £14.99 so what is a poor boy to make of all that??? If two years is average then I think the Lucas would be a better option than the replacement one which is probably Britpart but wonder if anyone has recommendations. I do however, now know to replace the slave cylinder at the same time so must be making some progress :-) Thanks and best wishes Malcy

Hmm. I think it is pretty normal. Seen lots of others looking similar to an untutored eye. Exhaust bracket on LR rubber suspended off the original attachment to the bracket on the chassis as per it was before. Have attached an image just in case.

Have just tried out set of new wheels with 750x16 muds on. Looked a huge improvement till we realised the exhaust tail pipe was in contact with the rear near side tyre! Tried to see if any movement possible with the holding bracket but it only has one position. It is a standard 200Tdi exhaust tail piece that I fitted myself. These are hardly vast tyres so sure I am not the first person to have tried. Somehow the pipe needs to be moved back and perhaps up but suspect it needs some welding for a new bracket placement??? Any ideas how best to resolve this one so I can fit the new wheels?

One thing to take a care with if spare wheel on back door is that there is enough clearance between the tyre and the off side stop light when the door opens. Mine had been OK but on holiday I had inadvertently parked across a slope and when the dog tried to jump out of the back I diverted attention to him, so the door swung open with added momentum from the slope and smashed the stop light lens. Makes it expensive when you have to transfer all postage cost onto one lamp unit so very expensive mistake. Am now thinking of putting two of the buffer blocks into the door.

In trying to track down possible cause for windscreen washer pump failure the other day (it turned out to be just manky contacts at the pump) I realised for the first time that the values of the fuses in the fuse box by the gearbox bear very little relation to the values suggested on the chart inside the cover. I am guessing that the PO just stuck in whatever they had available, and to be fair I have had no problems in nearly 4 years. Would it be sensible to try and put them to the correct values and see what happens - trying to correct the issue if they blow - or am I better letting sleeping dogs lie?

Got tyre fixed - shredded inner tube. Tyre man seemed knowledgeable and helpful (local Invergordon man, not Quikfit!). He reckoned problem was my wheels need a tube since they lacked the retaining ridge for tubeless, but that can only get radial tyres these days which are not meant to have tubes. He reckoned ridges inside the tyre rubbed the inner tube since no sign of anything penetrating. His suggested solution was to replace my original wheels with new ones designed to take tubeless tyres, i.e. with the retaining ridge. I was thinking of new wheels anyway and wondered if this solution made sense to you guys. If so I will sort as soon as I can. Thanks for any comment Malcy

Thanks guys for such swift responses. Will fix ply to inside of battery box cover when home. Will also get another trolley jack - last one is "being fixed" by friend but he has had it over a year so think lost cause! Incidentally what do you do if you need to change a wheel on a hill?? I would be worried about stability.

Just arrived at destination following awkward wheel change on busy A9 and want to find out what I could have done better. Bombing down the A9 across Black Isle at 60mph (which is officially bombing it in The Beastie!) and bang, front o/s tyre went. Managed to slow down in straight line (even think I remembered to indicate!) and pulled off onto verge. Confirmed tyre pancaked. Put out red triangle about 50m back and put on hazards. Traffic is fast and the road narrow so decided to try and move so that vehicle slanted across the narrow verge to get the wheel I had to change away from the edge as far as possible. Now the fun starts. Both front wheels are on grass but the jacking point is on the stony gravel band down the middle of the verge. Put into low 1 with diff lock on and tried bottle jack but it was all over the place since no firm footing. Used the cover for the battery box to get it reasonably stable and then used a bit of plywood to take the axle stand. Jacked it up to full height of bottle jack but still nowhere near enough to get pumped up tyre on so managed to sort of rest on axle stand, depressed the jack and then screwed out the top bit to give a second lift. Managed to squeeze my old Haynes manual under the plywood to lift the axle stand up (was not room for the next hole) then got the wheel off and the spare on. Relatively little drama but it did make me wonder how to cope better with off road wheel changes - mud, rocks, stones etc! Was struck how I could not get the bottle jack under the front diff. Wondered what you guys did so I can try to be a bit more prepared if (when :-() it happens again. I even remembered to collect my red triangle before we left!! Thanks for any thoughts! Malcy

Ah well, that is good since I cleaned that all up not so very long ago! Will get poking about with a cocktail stick tomorrow morning before trip to Halfords to get brake fluid :-)