Pastycrimper

Love these forums....such a simple and obvious solution but I hadn't thought of it!!! Cheers

Having just read JeffR's "Why do I flaming bother" post I cant complain too much about anything but Jeff tackelled a lot of jobs whereas all I wanted to do was remove my old wiper ferrules with new ones and new arms - should be really simple I thought..... Firstly the little grub screw on each ferrule was rusted beyond removal, so I drilled them out in the hope the old ferrules would slide off.....of course not. Got the mini gas torch to try a little heat but alas no sign of them budging even with some gentle tapping with a flat headed punch. So Nut splitters it is then! Passenger side ferrule actually split off nicely and the oem replacement slipped on fine. However the drivers side needed multiple splitting and when I finally got it off I noticed that the arm the ferrule slides on was warped at the outer end so its no wonder it wasn't going to come off easily. My guess is that someone may have used a hammer to knock the ferrule on and in doing so bulged out the end. Anyway a bit of graft with a file and I got the new ferrule on - although I am very tempted to replace the small hex-headed grub screws with a flat headed screw. Replaced one wiper arm fine with a satisfying click as the splines seated fully. Tried the next arm and it just didn't slide over the splines well. Examined the arm to find that a large blob of the black paint was left in the hole thus covering the splines. Now I am unsure whether to gently force it on in the hope the splines will cut away the paint or to try and scrape the paint down using a screwdriver but scared that doing this will possibly damage the alluminium splines. So 4 hours work and I only have one windscreen wiper . On this logic, if I were to attempt Jeff's job list I'd need a few years! Why dont the wiper arms just attached with a nut and a locking washer type thing!!!!

On the subject - The LR workshope manual says to torque the bottom and top nuts to 27lbf/ft whereas the Haynes manual says 61lbf/ft!!!!! I stuck with the landrover value but figured this figure will vary for each different type of bush presumably. I used fresh A2 nyloc nuts and copper grease so hopefully good for removal when the shocks go.

Thanks all, Yeah I was a bit slow on the nut splitting vs nut sawing angle. Nonetheless both the top nuts came off OK via the normal method in the end. However the bottom ones I oculdn't get off so a nut splitter would be the sensible option here. However the lower rubber bushes seem absolutely fine. I bought the upper and lower polybush kit but I found it was very easy just to slide off the top mount and replace the top bushes without any trouble so I stuck with that as the MOT only required the top ones. When I get a splitter I'll do the bottom bushes although as said they're fine at the minute so I may hold off. It must be said that the polybishes seem a lot more considerable compared with the ones I removed even despite their wear.

Well I have new washers and nuts but the polybushes aren't supplied with a steel sleave so I'm guessing removing the sleeve from the old bush is something I need to add to the list.

Also regarding the top mount.....most pictures of new shocks look like they come comlete with bush and a central tube...whereas I thought the central tube was part of the land rover which slides over the bolt.....i.e I was assuming when I undo the top nut and remove the shock the shock with worn bush would come out leaving the tube on the vehicle for me to slide the two halves of my new bushes on?

Cheers Ralph I was kind of hoping it could be done like this. It appeared that it should be able to remove the shock without removing the wheel as the nuts are accessible. Is it easy to compress the shock by end?

Surely if I cut the top nut off I ownt have anything else to screw back onto when I refit!???

Hi all, Well I'm pleased to say that my MOT went much better than expected . The only failure was upper shock bushes on the rear (both sides). I've just purchased a set of red polybushes for these (both upper and lower bushes), so I thought I'd upper and lower at the same time. the shocks are still OK (well they didn't fail) so the question is, is this as easy as the workshop manual suggests? I'mm planning on starting this job tomorrow morning and ideally would like to get the vehicle retested for the MOT in the afternoon. What are the pitfalls? I was advised that I dont even have to take the wheel off. Do I just loosen the fitting bolts then jack up the vehicle taking weight off the shocks and remove? Also once I have removed the old bushes I notice that my new bushes are in two halves (for the uppers) so does this make things easier? I'm optimistically hoping the old bushes will easily be removed but is this just dam stupid optimism? All tips gratefully received as I'd love to be legal by end of working day tomorrow but fear I'll spend the weekend doping such as simple job!

Thanks. I've just got home and she's gotta go straight into an MOT so I'm sure I'll be dealing with this in the near future.

Thanks! That's a really informative and useful response. Quite honestly I haven't tackled this part of my defender. The last time I played with swivels was with my Dad on his SIII some years ago. What's baffling me is that I have a 1997 (VAxxxxxx) so surely both should be the newer type??!!! For the sake of continuity I'd like the same to be on both sides. I'm guessing other than the drive/hub/shafts differences you mention, the only other difference is the housing. Have the chrome ball and seal changed?

Hi, Will be tackling my MOT as soon as I get ashore. I've noted that my RH swivel is leaking. Receipts I have from the previous owner show that the LH swivel was replaced. I notice that the two sides are different, the RH having a drain plug and the LH not. A bit of research reveals that at some time the swivel kit was changed from a "fillable and drainable ep90" type to a "one-shot fillable only" type. I'm thinking I may just replace the RH older type with the newer type. Can anyone advise when this change occurred and what the correct part number is for the newer type? Also what are the general opinions between the two types? Cheers

I have an issue that when I'm driving long distances on motorways/dual carriageways (i.e. in 5th gear permanently) even the slightest uphill slope can cause my temp to rise to 3/4s so I'm interested in seeing if a new rad will improve things. I have a full-size allisport intercooler which I thought may reduce the ram effect of air intake, so maybe the extra core will help. My landy is quite heavy as I've done it as an expedition camper with lots of ancillaries .....that said a new rad my not change anything however the current one is the original and is beginning to look shoddy so I am going to go through with this.

Brilliant - you've done the research for me. I really like the idea of an extra core and at that price all in isn't much more than the bearmach one I was considering. When I get to the UK I'll check in and see where you've got with this. Thanks!

Wow...turned into a really interesting and handy thread this! Thanks everyone.....I hadn't even bothered to think of a solution for the side windows! Thanks for sharing this - cheap and relatively simple! Crazy price!!! I slightly wonder whether they may also reduce the demisting ability of the main windscreen having these installed!?

Thanks everybody! Think I'll go for a DeCarbon or Armstrong as they're cheap and have good comments here. I wont be going for the BP one but I TOTALLY agree with your BP "category philosophy". The BP alternator I had just didn't quite fit, needed too much elbow grease and probably left the pully slightly unaligned which had knock on effects with the whole belt system!!!!! I like this concept too! Simple and logical!

Mixed views then. It is the type of item that if it does the job then I'd go for the cheapest option. It re-opens the whole Britpart debate - I really wish there was a thread/list that people could add to, stating which Britpart parts are a definite no no and those which aren't and serve the purpose OK. For instance I (and many others) would warn away from any Britpart alternator - they are useless - the bodies/housings are clealry made from poor patterns and terrible metal compound that vary from box to box. I know because after one I bought failed after 400miles (and didn't even fit precisely) I looked at three brand new BP alternators (same part number) and each had visible differences. YET and in possible defence of BP there are clearly some items that do what they say on the cover and work/last perfectly fine. Personally there's nothing more annoying than fitting a part that fails well before its expected lifetime....but equally theres noting more annoying than paying over the odds for OEM parts that aren't mega-essential (e.g. wiper motor assembly). For me things like water pumps/timing belts/ etc are the type of items that I'd pay good money for an OEM part. But a steering damper???....the £12 Britpart option sounds like a deal. Perhaps I shoud ask the question " Has anyone bought a Britpart Steering Damper that has failed prematurely for no good reason (i.e you weren't hammering up a rocky mountain)"?

Cheers folks, I'm comfortable with installing suitable circuits/wiring/relays etc. What precisely is the connector for the three wires coming out of the screen - presumably they come have to come out of the glass before the seal? Are they just bare ends? At 15A per side they must be fairly considerable.

Epic photo!! Regarding the wiring going to a heated screen, not the actual elements in the screen, if I retro fit which I will have to (1997 MY) how do the wires connect to the screen and where? Regarding the Maplins heater - I hadn't considered taking them apart and modding the internals to fit in my ducts - couold be an idea there!

Thanks people. Out of interest I've searched the main sites and the only OME damper I can find is the HD variety on D4x4 at £100......I was assuming there would be non-HD emu dampers but still good quality however I cant find any....any ideas or am I just missing the correct retailer? I'm assuming you can get decent dampers for less than £100.

Aaah I guess that's a sensible option. How visible are the "wires" in the screen. I've heard that newer types in cars are barely visibly at all but if its anything like my heated rear screen in the citroen I'm not sure I'd like the distraction. Any ideas about the retrofittiing the connections at the windscreen end....i.e I am comfortable with installing new circuits/relays/fuses etc but how exactly do the wires connect to the screen? Can I just run the wires along the top of the dash and plug them in or are structural mods required? Thanks for the suggestion

Just been doing a quick browse on Paddocks and Devon4x4 and notice that there is quite a variety of type and price for steering dampers ranging from £11.70 (Britpart cheapest) to £100 (HD type Old man emu). Also noticed a "return to centre" Terrafirma option which I assume does what it says?? I'm not a serious offroader (pay and play style) but I do drive the vehicle a lot off road on our farm and others in Cornwall. Would love to understand what the different types actually mean regarding the feel of steering (e.g gas, cellular dynamic(!??)). All opinions welcomed...... Cheers

One of the American chaps on the vessel I am currently working on mentioned something that sounded interesting. Wondering if anyone here as done this? He purchased two ceramic strip heaters (not something I've heard of) and bolted them inside the ducts just below where they push air up the windscreen (i.e they were out of view but directly below the duct opening which he said demisted his windscreen very quickly. This seems like a different approach rather than those in car heater units that you stick on your dash or whatever. I've had a quick browse and the only things I can see that barely resemble what he describes are 120V/240V (http://www.omega.co.uk/ppt/pptsc.asp?ref=FSH_Heater&Nav=heac01). Any ideas?? I like the idea.....Note I am only interested in something that will rapidly demist my windscreen, NOT heat the whole cab.

Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to get one yet as I had to fly to work offshore. However I did ring Bearmach before I left and they make two types - one which is plastic/alloy and similarly priced to Britpart but as Litch mentioned they also do a brass copper one which I think is more similar to the Landrover original type and about £170 so that's my current plan. However in my OP I linked to an HD version that MD engineering make for their International HS2.8 engines which has an extra core and only £199 so when I return I will ring them and ask them personally about its build spec as MD have a good reputation (or so I am led to believe). It's certainly in their interests to produce something with extra cooling ability for their engine. The Allisport ones look great but at close to £400 I'm not sure I can justify for a radiator. The reason I started this thread is that for non-LR vehicles I have owned I have bought cheap plastic alloy and despite working they were very flimsy (especially the plugs) so I'd prefer to get something more solid for my Defender. I'll update when I get to shore with whether I go MD Engineering or Bearmach Cheers

Ouch, nasty.....