BogMonster

The other half's son is looking at buying a 300Tdi 90. Several careful owners and 66000 miles on it but one slight uncertainty with the R380 box. Third to fourth gear is fine, but from fifth changing down to fourth, it feels as if fourth is very slightly in the wrong place and it blocks going in, i.e. if you knock it out of fifth, let the lever return to centre and then try and pull it straight back into 4th, it won't go in. Once you learn where it is (slightly to the left of where you would expect i.e. needs a little left pressure on the lever), it is fine and engages smoothly (the gearbox is a good one generally, very smooth and still very tight). I'm thinking perhaps the bias springs are a little out of adjustment, anybody got any thoughts on this? I don't think it is serious and the rest of the vehicle is in excellent condition for its age but just a slight reservation about any other more serious possibilities which I would welcome any informed input on! Ta

It probably wouldn't be wise for high speed road work (speed limits here are low) but I run my 110's tyres at about 22 front 25 rear most of the time ... largely because of comfort! I think you could safely drop them a bit from what you are using though, and a few psi out of the tyres makes a huge difference (as does the type of tyres fitted - some are much harder ride than others - what have you got?)

Must be a bloody big oil leak from the back of the engine if it is getting on the handbrake I think they meant to say the back of the transfer box None of the jobs are particularly big or expensive (assuming it is the t/box seal and not the seal on the rear of the engine) so I suppose it depends what it is worth to you but I would have thought it was well worth getting those items fixed.

BFG ATs are very good tyres but also check out the General Grabber AT2 which is much the same thing but usefully cheaper I run them on my Ranger crewcab and have been very very impressed. I think they are better in mud than the BFG's I had on my Discovery as well, though that could be down to the Ranger's part time 4wd system against the useless "spray mud everywhere and not move anywhere" ETC system on the D2.

I thought you had to split the hub and disc when using the later type slightly longer studs, but I might be wrong

Yep bigger alternator - if it is only just (or not quite) keeping up with the demand then the battery size is irrelevant it will still go flat might just take a bit longer!

It sounds like you have either fouled or broken the rotary coupler that connects the airbag unit to the vehicle harness. Suggest you take it off again and have a look.

No. The 10AS is the main alarm ECU. The spider unit (see post in Tech Archive forum) is behind the radio in the dash, see the photos in the tech archive post. It does sound like it has been removed or bypassed though - if the hazards are going that would suggest the alarm is active in which case it shouldn't run! I am pretty sure the central locking is all through the 10AS ecu so you won't get it to work unless you can figure that out.

If it has a polyvee belt, I think the aircon equipped V8 Discoverys were either 100 or 120 amps which should be a straight swap. It is not that hard to change them around anyway, when the alternator on my old 3.9 went phut I had an a/c Discovery Tdi one fitted (also 100 amp) which only needed minor modifications to the mounting to make it fit and it was still working fine when I sold the vehicle.

<Cough> http://www.premierpowerwelder.com/specs/ppwspecs.html Hope you're feeling rich Paul

Just a cheap dig at somebody who was making unfounded allegations at this website, don't worry about it

Just checked our stock and Z1159 is the Cooper oil filter. It is the same physical size as the standard Genuine ERR3340 filter so either the photo you have seen is wrong, or the filter fitted to your vehicle is wrong (there is an older filter which I think used to fit 2.5 engines, which has a longer body, maybe one of those has been fitted, I forget the part number). Pics of both Genuine and Cooper below, from a quick Google search

I can get you Coopers numbers probably

Good man, another new Defender with a proper engine in it Oil filter ERR3340 Air filter ESR2623 Fuel filter AEU2147L Hope this helps

I still run my D2 and would not swap it under any circumstances I do wonder if a lot of the things that break on D3's are getting fixed under warranty without the customers ever finding out. I suppose now the early ones are coming out of warranty we are about to find out. Turbos, EGR valves, handbrakes, starter motors, wheels wearing out, fuel leaks on the engine, exhausts falling off, spare wheel winches. Time will tell

i.e. the microsecond between having a crash and not having a crash

What he said ^^^ I think a 110SW with a bulkhead in the back would be very practical as a mixed use vehicle, it would save the rear seats a bit (check out the back of the rear seats on any working 110SW... usually shredded!), though you would be stuck with the crew cab "legroom" in the second row... What several people here have done is to build a separate rear cab from cut down sides and roof, and a standard station wagon rear door. It makes a very nice conversion that keeps all the rattly smelly stuff separate in the back, like a crewcab should, but gets rid of the flappy silly canvas that falls to bits in no time. I would think it would be great for carting dogs around as you could put air vents in to keep the stink down and everybody would be happy

The mudshield will be OK but the flange will be the problem, if any, check the seal track on the flange because if it is scored badly you are wasting your time putting just a seal in as it'll chew up the seal. A hammer and a flat bladed screwdriver will remove most oil seals

Either a bad connection or a fuel pump that is on the way out and drawing too much juice - though they usually just go pop...

Tyre pressures in the handbook are 28 front 38 rear for normal use, 28 front 46 rear for max GVW, and the same is given for all tyre sizes - 255/55R18 is a factory size though not in the AT2. Given that the AT2 is quite a stiff tyre compared to the cardboard Goodyears fitted by the factory, a little less than recommended might work well.

I have not used one but I have yet to see a bad word said about the TDS while I think Warn are often over-rated and I have seen quite a few second class XD9000i winches in particular - solenoids, brakes and motors suffering from water/corrosion/seizing when they probably shouldn't have, i.e. in relatively normal use (not submerged in mud or anything). If I wanted a new electric winch, I would get a TDS without a second thought based on what has been said about them, not least of which they seem to be strong, reliable and very good value compared to anything with a red W on it! David Bowyer will post anything overseas with no problems at all and is a very helpful bloke, I have dealt with him several times in the past for bits and pieces and Dyneema rope. I don't think the lack of a distributor should be a particular concern.

The main issue would be a likely increase in your laundry bill if you need to do an emergency stop (especially on a wet road) due to the different braking characteristics of different tyres. You would be quite likely to disappear off to the left or right depending on which one grips better!

That's exactly what I did when fitting mine - put those in, then checked the alignment of the protector against the seam between the wing top and side (because it looks awful if it isn't exactly right) then did one bolt at the front and one at the rear, tightened those up to locate it and then did all the rest.

Actually having seen the interior of several XD9000is looking a bit sad, I would probably use it as an excuse to flog it and get a TDS

[sit back and look smug mode] Not all of them B) [/sit back and look smug mode]