Escape

You need a Rovacom, Nanocom or similar to get into the BECM settings. Change immobiliser 'enabled' to 'disabled', and write the changed settings back to the BECM. But you do need diagnostic equipment...

Never heard of one leaking, but have been told to store upright to prevent the viscous fluid moving to one side.

10W40 will be quite thick, I'd go with hydraulic (26/32/36) or ATF if in urgent need.

I never saw the point in replacing master and slave at the same time. The Range Rover seems to be eating slaves (the exhaust leak probably isn't helping) without effecting the master, the Esprit recently needed a new master, slave is fine. If the slave fails, you will get a leak, and shoudl be easy to spot. A failed master can leak, but often harder to spot because it's well tucked away. A master can also fail without external leaks, if it allows pressure to flow back to the reservoir instead of into the pipe to the slave. Filip

It should be possible, but as said space will be limited with the fan in place. I've used an adjustable wrench to get the fan off when I didn't have the proper spanner. To loosen it, turn in the direction of the fan blades (i.e. make the fan suck in air). The bolts at the bottom are a pig, but if the rad has blown anyway, you can cut away the plastic around the nuts to get a spanner on them (they will probably spin if you losen the bolts). The engine oil cooler is separate, in front of the radiator, together with the intercooler. Those can just stay on the frame. Oil cooler for the manual is with 2 connections at the bottom of the radiator, not too hard to get off. Autobox cooler is in front of the left wheel, so not relevant. Good luck, Filip

I agree there isn't much point to FWH on the front. But on a 6x6, it could reduce tyre scrub on road while having both rear axles permanently coupled by a short propshaft. Filip

I'd also check the clutch fluid and look for any signs of leaks. Had the same happen to my Esprit a few weeks ago, before she left me stranded in downtown Brussels with no drive, because the master had failed and stuck in the depressed position. The Esprit uses the same Girling master as the Defender, but with a smaller bore. Filip

Kev, not exactly the right place for this question, maybe an admin can move it?; The 35mph message is because someone castrated the EAS and replaced it with coil springs (and didn't even do a proper job...). But nothing to worry about if on springs. No drive could be transfer box in neutral. Check fuse 11 under the seat, it should be empty and is only used to put the transfer box in neutral when being towed. If it's the transfer box, you should be able to push the car even with the transmission in P. Other possibility is the gearbox itself. Check fluid level (with engine running) and go through all the gears to see if any work. Often when 'D' fails, you can still drive off in '1' and shift up from there. Filip

@discomikey please elaborate what is so diabolic about the P38's air suspension? For the last 12 years I've always had one, and the ones I cared about where very reliable. Enough to take one to Ladoga Trophy and back. And I'm dying to do that again. If I didn't want EAS, I'd have a Classic, because to me that's better looking. Even spares cars that have been sitting for years very rarely have issues with the EAS. As for commercial users, if you take a look at any of the popular pickups, they're far from utilitarian, but loaded with all possible gadgets and fluffy car-based interiors, because apparently that's what sells! So a working variant of the people carrier Disco, with a legendary badge on it, should sell very well. Like the D5 and similar, it will easily match any of the competition off road. Filip

Did you try to relock and unlock it with the key? That should work. Usually the problem with rogue signals is increased battery drain due to the BECM waking up all the time. You can disconnect the arial receiver or install a later type receiver that's less affected by other signals. But if the battery didn't drain and it's just the immobiliser not disengaging, you could simply have that turned off in the BECM. Filip

Judging by the title and the description I'd say VAG marketing was definitely involved. Could still be a good book, the scenery is stunning! Filip

If you're not bothered by the looks, staples work great and are a very easy way of reattaching the lining to the polyester inner roof. You could set out a proper pattern to get a chesterfield look if you really want. Filip

A little info on my hydraulic setup. I started with a 30cc pump on my Defender, with a V-belt and an electromagnetic clutch. Not a success, the belt started slipping when wet or when full power was needed. Upgraded to a chain, inspired by the setup on Petal. That moved the weak point to the clutch. We designed a cable operated clutch, but unfortunately that broke on our first stage in a Russian swamp... On the P38 I had a smaller pump, 8.5cc. Speed was not an issue (although it could rev to 5000rpm to get a good output), reliability was. Drive was via the serpentine belt, with the pump installed where the aircon compressor normally sits, and an electromagnetic clutch matched to the pump and factory fitted with the correct pulley for the belt. That worked very well, never noticed any slip. I plan to install a similar setup to my 'new' Range Rover, possibly with a slightly bigger pump, but nothing to extreme. Good idea to mount the oil tank where the washer bottle sits. I'll have to relocate/change that anyway to clear the bigger tires. Best of luck! Filip

Vertical sliding channels with some sort of hold function would be the easiest solution. With mechanisms like for the table shown above you'll struggle to get the required opening height. Filip

I've since gone from a twin axle Ifor CT177 to a tri axle Ifor tiltbed (TB5021-353). I loved the CT177 and still miss it when I'm loading cars on my own. But I needed/wanted something more versatile, hence the choice for a tiltbed. Despite my earlier reservation (see also my earlier post) I went with a tri-axle. Main reason was the lower loading height because of the smaller tires (about 3" lower). Weight is only 50kg over the twin axle, and technical GVW is a bit higher. I don't notice much difference when towing, it's a very stable trailer, as was the CT177. When manoevering, it can be a bit unpredictable as the weight shifts from one axle to the other, especially on uneven ground. Just a minor detail, and I'm very happy with my choice. Filip

I spent last weekend getting the wireloom ready for the MegaSquirt (thanks again @FridgeFreezer). With a little help from my friends, including the resident electricat. Great for stripping wire ends! We put the MS on another P38 for a trial run, so as not to have an untested controller on a newly build engine. Good thing too, as we did need plenty of starting to get the VR parameters working. But in the end she did fire up! 😄 Some tuning needs to be done, but at least the concept of using all original sensors and wireloom is proven. Next step is to take the body off the car, remove engine + autobox and replace with the new engine and manual gearbox and install the lockers (with a bit of axle refurbishing on the side). Filip

MS1 only has 4 injector drivers if I'm not mistaken. Enough for a 4 pot or bank fire in a V8 petrol, but no good for a 5 or 6 pot diesel. I'm sure MS2 or MS3 can cope though. Filip

No, it's about smiles per gallon. 🙂

or http://new.lrcat.com/ Faster and easier to use than the old Russian site.

I have one for the 4.6 with GEMS and Bosch. Interesting to see the difference, the earlier torque of the Bosch:h is noticeable and very nice, especially with an autobox.

Not a bad article, as it gives pros and cons for each engine. And it does state they've included pre-defender types to make the list more comprehensive. I also agree with the end verdict in favor of the TD5. I loved mine, if I ever have another Defender it will be a TD5 (I'll reserve the V8 for a Range Rover). The tdci, while more modern, lacks character and the tdi always felt sluggish and unrefined in comparison. That special 5-pot sound just suits a special car like a Defender. Often driven by special people, with special needs. 🙂 Filip

It's not unusual for old batteries to maintain voltage, but fail when current needs to flow. The lead plates get damaged over time. You only need a little bit of material for no-load voltage, but a current draw will highlight the problem. The battery tester I use is basically a big resistor in parallel with a voltage gauge. You first measure no load voltage, if that's OK you flip a switch to add the resistor to the circuit and measure again while a large current is flowing. Often, especially if recently charged, the voltage will be OK until the load is added and then drop dramatically. Much like you are seeing. A lot of info on batteries on https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_restore_and_prolong_lead_acid_batteries Filip

Just Lotus (all RHD) and Range Rover (1 RHD, 2 LHD) at the moment. 😉 And I am planning to sell a couple...

Ross, that's actually one of only 2 of my cars that is LHD, all the others are RHD. 🙂

It's been a while, but a little progress has been made. I got some nice tires shipped from US (quite a nightmare to find a seller that would ship them and quite expensive to get through customs, as they don't seem to conform to some EU regulation). Next to a standard tire for comparison. Some trimming might be needed... Also got the new block on the engine stand, ready to start the build: And I've taken out most of the interior to swap the pedalbox for a manual one. Definitely not an easy conversion! As soon as my 2-post lift is available again, I'll take off the body and have a go at the driveline. Ashcroft has supplied a nice set of pegged lockers (forgot to take pictures) and I'll want to redo most of the suspension bushes and balljoints as well while they're easily accessible. I seems Lagoda 2019 is no longer a realistic goal... Filip