Pastycrimper

I quite like the idea of 245/85R16 BFGs Personally I am about to replace my 235/85/R16 T/A BFG All Terrain with exactly the same tyre and reckon they are easily worth paying the little bit extra for. I really like them. I just posted about this to see if anyone would argue for another cheaper brand but BFG gets the most votes it seems. I travel long distances on them and they get me round the farm in wet weather no probs which includes some steep hills and muddy tracks.

Thanks....defnitely the cheapest I've seen so far.

Indeed D4x4 and 4x4tyres seem to be the cheapest at £134....so times 4 = £536 so theortically I maybe able to get someone locally to fit/balance to make the final total less than £602

Interesting! I kind of wish I lived near a big supplier who had a range in stock just so I could compare myself. I "think" it is the hose connections that were plastic plugs???

I didn't think you could get 245/85R16 All Terrain BFGs???

Hmmm not sure anymore? I was originally planning on quickly searching for the cheapest deal on the online/mail-order sites and get them put on and balanced somewhere down here. Never bought landy tyres locally so dunno if there's anyone elsewhere in Cornwall that does BFGs as cheap. However at some point in the next 9 days I've got to drive to Suffolk so I have the option of finding a bigger 4x4 centre that may put em all on for a good price. Someone pointed out http://www.blackcircles.com/ where you can order online and get fitted a garages all over the country. One of their so called recomended "Premium" fitting centres happens to be 1 mile from where I'll be staying at some point for a few days.....£602 fully fitted and balanced. Can we beat that locally?

Litch - Indeed it was some of your other posts that had useful info....thanks. I just wish Bearmach had some decent online specs.......I cant find anything on their website. Same applies for other manufacturers. Anyway just found this which I missed before http://forums.lr4x4....showtopic=47694 which gets a good Bearmach vote Cheers - exactly why I asked the question. I accidently obtained what is actually a really good german 100A alternator for what was relatively cheap compared with unbranded OEM alternatives - I'd never heard of them and no search referenced it to a land rover except that the label on the box said it would (a long with many other vehicles). I was desperate however and needed one then. I examined it prior to purchase and was surprised to find it looked of really good quality and has proven to be excellent to date (I had a really annoying experience with a Britpart one!). I figure the same must be true for radiators.

I'm finding it really hard to actually get technical details for various brands of radiator, so I thought I'd post here to see what brands others have used for replacement. On a simple search the Britpart radiator will be almost always be the one offered, however when it comes to a rad I'd rather buy one that has better build and materials. Furthermore (as usual) I have read/heard tales of poor quality Britpart rads (e.g. here). So I have set myself the task of finding out what alternatives are available. Some of the more (or not) reputable mail-order suppliers offer Bearmach and AllMakes versions. I have even heard Bearmach make two - an HD brass/copper version as well as an alloy/plastic type. AllMakes have a PR2 version and I believe PR2 is Allmakes "premium" range. However (and please correct me if I'm wrong) I have searched Bearmach and Allmakes websites and I cant find any tech info or pictures explaining why these are: a) better than the Britpart one & b) how they're actually constructed. Personally I dont like the idea of just buying one of these because it is more expensive and not Britpart - I want to know why these are better alternatives and I would have thought Bearmach and Allmakes would make this clear for selling purposes. Additionally I know smaller companies make specialist uprated rads for a high price tag. Alisport made them out of alluminium (like their intercoolers) with a very high build quality but very costly as a consequence (link here). Oddly I have looked at Alisports website and they dont list any LR rads but they have them on ebay??? I also found MD Engineering make rads - a standard copper landrover one and also an uprated one. The uprated one would look to me to be a good purchase as I'd suspect M&D Engineering have it in their own interests to make good radiators but not much info is given other than the number of cores (one additonal compared with standard). Additionally I found Aaron Radiator Co who have this model which I am guessing is entirely Aluminium but at £360 I guess/hope it would compare to Alisport. Anyway why cant I found out things like materials/ number of cores easily? Also there seems to be a lot of radiators with different part numbers that all seem to be for a 300tdi defender and appear the same....yet they have different prices! (e.g.PCC500170, BTP2275, BTP2601s, ESR3684) I've also heard that Disco1 rads fit in a defender yet these all have different part numbers! It feels like half the time you could be paying more for exactly the same item but it just depends which vehicle section you were in...... It feels like a mine field and as I'm willing to pay more to get something I have confidence in, I'm really frustrated that none of the manufacturers or suppliers seem to give any detail. Final rant: a lot of the suppliers, failing to supply tech specs don't even tell you who made it....for example what is this? I'd suspect its Britpart but hey it maybe a much better one and at a good price.The trouble is its actually very time consuming ringing all these various sellers to try and get a handle on what it is they are actually selling. Please tell me I'm blind and show me a link with some useful data on how many different rads are made. So if anyone has purchased and used any of the above (or other alternatives) then I'd be grateful for reviews and opinions and maybe this thread could become a useful reference for others. Many thanks!

Not that this thread needs much more but I'd recommend the same too. I often live in my vehicle when working alongside vessels (where I can get a 240V quayside hook up). I have hard wired my CTEK MXS10 inside and when ever the hook up is connected the charger does the business excellently on my 130Ah US Monobloc leisure battery. Although perhaps not so applicable to you, it also functions as a 10A supply (fixed voltage) so when I am living in it and hooked up, with the battery fully charged and conditioned, it provides enough to power my lights, fridge and laptop (~8A) and if for whatever reason I need to remove my leisure battery I can still run my interior electronics from a clean regulated 10 A supply. Fairly small and light too the MXS10 compared with oldschool battery chargers.

I'm glad you all seem to agree. Gotta say when it comes to 4x4 tyres the budget end aren't that much cheaper so given the time the BFGs seem to last I think the premium here with Goodrich is well worth it. As I mentioned though I have seen General Grabbers AT2 and Coopers ST / STT and they look the buisiness so wanted to give them a fair chance too.......Gonna order the BFGs now mind and pray the rest of the MOT isn't too horrific!!!!

I've had a look but cant seem to find anything close. Even if I search for hydaforce I only get some coils and not valves. It seems odd seeing as cetainly every ford transit tipper will use them and I daresay many other tippers use the same pump and valve assembly.....

Getting to the time where I need to replace my tyres on the 110 300tdi. I've been using BF Goodrich T/A KO All-Terrain 235/85R16 and I must confess that I have been very very happy with these so I am planning on ordering a full set replacement. However I thought it may be worth asking if anyone else has used an alternative (e.g Generall Grabber AT2 or Kumho etc) all terrain tyre of the same size and if so whether people think the alternatives are better or worse.... Also does anyone know what the standard/stock tyre size is for a 110 defender. Someone pointed out a useful site that tells you what your speedo difference will be wrt differing trye sizes (http://www.miata.net...e/tirecalc.html). What is the size of trye that "should" relate to the correct speed on the speedo?

OK well after some more research I now know that the ram and pump unit came of a Transit tipper and having just looked at one there is lots lots more weight acting on the ram when lowering. We've used a much thinner oil (10 viscosity I think) which has improved things. Having studied the valve in more detail, the return hole is tiny - less than 0.5mm. New valves are £70 though. I'm considering drilling the exit hole wider but I'm thinking with this poppett type that the valve is needle operated so my concern is if I drill the hole wider I may end up ruining the valve all together.

Hi, Double sorry - I didn't mean to imply that I thought you were implying I was thick - the opposite in fact! Your original response actually made me smile lots but also struck me how for some unbeknowst reason I seem to write differently to how I normally would when writing a starter thread - weird! What you mention on spool valves now makes real sense. I've been on the Hydraforce website a lot now as there tech specs on different types of valve are interesting and indeed the next "level up" of valves from the poppet type seem to be doing exactly what you say....almost semi-intelligent valves that alter the flow as the pressure changes. Thanks again!

Steveb, I was playing around with weights just to get the damn thing down without releasing the valve manually and I guess that its at the very least about 50kg required to just get it to come down. Re Fluid....GOOD POINT!!!! Of course we just chucked in our standard tractor hydraulic fluid which is ISO-46. I'm assuming that 46 is the viscosity here and not just an arbitrary ISO code (am I right in thinking tractors must use biodegradable hence ISO status??). So indeed a thinner oil may well solve this. Essentially a new valve with a larger hole/flow rate is £60. We thought before buying one we may try two ramshackle experiments first. A little crazy but we have masses of brakefluid (30 Viscosity) which we will try instead - NOT permananetly but just to see if a thinner fluid will work The old man spoke with the valve manufacturer who said (unofficially of course) that we could just drill the holes out in the valve in 0.5mm steps and try that way Thanks again for your thoughts - cant believe I didn't question the viscosity issue!

Discomikey......my hydraulic knowledge disappears when I am asked whether it is a "spool-type" valve or a "poppet-type" valve. As mentioned from the part number I now know we've got a poppet-type but what does this mean? This is the valve we have http://www.hydraforce.com/Solenoid/Sol_html/1-010-1_SV08-20/1-010-1_SV08-20.htm . I'm working in getting the same type but with a larger flow rate. The trouble is without knowing the true pivotted weight of the tipper and perhaps more importantly what the wiight of the original tipper is I'm not quite sure what flow rate valve to get?

Thanks Steve and Discomikey, We're going to show it to the local tractor/digger man. We're hoping it is just the wrong return valve. Having re-read my post, I have underselled myself, although Dad is the farmer not me, but as I'm an offshore engineer then I've no excuses either. We do indeed have a basic knowledge of hydrauluic systems and more. I seem to have written like a child which is silly given my audience on these forums are generally very technically minded people. Dad and I are most used to double acting rams. This is definitely a single acting ram. It is definitely not the pump jamming on as we've eliminated that possibility. There are only two electrically trigerred "modes" if you like. 1) Pump on and ram extending. When the pump is off the return valve is naturally in the closed position. 2) To get the thing down the return valve opens via an electric solenoid. I've just cleaned the valve up and find it is manufactured by hydraforce in Birmingham so we are onto them. They make loads of valves and the pressure regulation is one of the main factors as they all define a flow rate when open. I am hoping that as Steve B mentioned we are using a system that came from a much heavier tipper and the chap who did the conversion jsut assumed ram and pump would swap out onto any system. Unfortunately the model number has alluded us so we aren't quite sure what flow rate valve we have. Hopefully a hydrualic chap will take one look and suggest the type we need. The problem is defintely associated with letting the pressure out and this valve is the only part we can see that has anyuthing to do with this. Thanks again

ps I can take more pics of any bits if that will help...

Hi Folks, OK firstly this is more of a hydraulics/tipper question however its on a series 3 so I thought I'd post here as I'm unsure where else best to ask.....please advise if a more suitable forum exists. We have on the farm a SIII 1982 90 which had a tipper conversion done on by a tree surgeon who used it for wood chippings. Its a good beast but the tipper wont go down and as we only know about the Landrover side of things I thought i'd check here to see if anyone can help. We *think* the tipper, hydraulic ram and electric pump assembly came from an LDV or DAF truck but aren't sure. A picture of the SIII below..... Apologies for my hydraulic terminology, I hope this will make sense. The hydraulic ram is powered one way - as in a 3 way switch is either up (and on) which activates the motor and extends the ram. In the middle position the motor is off and also a return valve is also off so the tipper stays where it is. Finally and probably obviously with the switch down a valve thing is electrically opened which should allow the fluid back into the tank under the weight of gravity ...ie a return valve. However when the tipper is fully up, if we push the switch down the tipper wont naturally lower so we have to use force after which it slowly returns down. When it is about 3/4s of the way down it will continue naturally back to its resting position without any assistance. I at first thought that the chap who did the conversion may have got the ram badly placed such that at full extension "the balance point" was incorrect such that there is not enough weight to take it down, but I now think it maybe the return valve. As a test, with the tipper fully up I unscrewed and removed the return valve and (while I got sprayed with hydraulic fluid ) the tipper came down without any assistance whatsoever suggesting the conversion is good but the fluid return system is faulty. Below is a picture of the hydraulic unit and the funny valve. I have labelled the valve which has a black elctromagnetic collar surrounding it. (I have also labelled what is a black easily removed plastic plug which I dont know what it is but wonder if it is a level plug - if so then the whole tank is way overfilled!!! - should the fluid level be at this height and if so, why the massive fluid tank???) When 12V is applied to the black electromagnet that actuates the valve something definitely clicks - it must work to some extent because the tipper does come down with our help wheras without the valve on it simply wont budge (as we would expect). The return valve is clearly a pressure regulating valve which makes sense else the tipper would drop rapidly if allowed to free flow unhindered back to the tank (as it did during my test ). Maybe then the unit came from originally a much much heavier tipper and this is a valve specific for lowering a certain weight (i.e the amount of pressure regulation) OR the valve is faulty and just not opening "enough". Does anyone recognise this system and valve. I cant help thinking this is a simple fix such as a replacement valve but at the minute we know nothing about this type of equipment or who makes it and we are learning just by taking things apart. Sorry for my longwinded explanation (again!!!).....anyone with any ideas welcomed...

Thanks for that.......on the grounds that a drop of water on the belt temporarily stops it I've been struggling to work out how it can be the pump. However I'm convinced the sound is coming from the water pump. If the new belt doesn't work, an oem pumpwill be my next route......

Thanks! Its amazing how many posts there are on all the forums all relating to the infamous 300tdi belt squeak!

I reckon your probably right.......I guess aside form EDC and EGR both of which are mainly external to the main engine are the only differnces........there all 300tdis I guess at the end of the day. Although this is probably where one of the firum legends jumps in a points out that there were mods/improvements in the block or something or other. Did you have the 95 from new and are certain its the original engine????

Update.... The Penny trick has NOT worked unfortunately. I have noticed that the squeak goes away after about 15mins typically (sometimes longer though) and normally only happens on first start of the day so it makes me think damp as its been very dewy. I'm getting a genuine belt today. I figured I'd try and use maybe a small wire brush and try and clean the pulley wheels as well (thought perhaps with the engine running and by (safely) holding the brush on the pulleys may be effective. Hopefully this will work. However I still cant help feeling its coming from the water pump (that said I was originally certain it was the tensioner!!). It seems odd that the noise goes a few seconds if a drop of water is placed on the belt. My other theory that three very different alternators (original Lucas, the cra*part 100A - which blew and was horrificly made and now an ATX 100A which seems of good build) may have just over abused the water pump with slightly different alighnments and maybe that triggered something. Dantd5 - thanks for your input here. I'm too far from my workshop/tools to do that job where I am now but should I not solve this by other means I'll follow your route. When I take the belt off to replace I'll make sure to have a good feel of the TV damper.

Thanks. I am highly certain it's not the alternator bearing, as I just changed the alternator and it was squeaking before and after. I can't say I know much (in fact nothing) about the crankshaft damper, however when looking at the whole assembly while idling I dod seem to think there was a very slight wobble with the crankshaft pulley. What is the actual damper? And if my other options don't solve how easy is that job? I certainly don't have the special tool to hold it. I'll report back this eve to see if the "Penny Trick" makes any difference. I have noticed that after a few minutes of driving it tends to go so maybe its just the belt. Fingers crossed. Ziggy

I can certainly say (especially after much help from Ralph as usual) that on my 97 defender the headlight relay is literally just that. It has nothing to do with whether the engines cranking, it just uses an ignition feed to activate the relay...ie without the ignition on, you cant switch on the headlights, only sidelights. Seems a bit overkill perhaps to have a relay for this but I guess they see dipped and main beam as powerful enough to require relay switching rather than path the power through the main switch. Of course if you have a dimdip relay then that too is part of the circuit, but the headlamp relay doesn't do anything clever. Like I said, it jsut prevents the headlights from being switched on without unless the key is turned.