BogMonster

No it isn't, but I have seen them before - they were fitted on Argentine Army Mercs/Unimogs that were here during the war. Not sure of the exact dimensions i.e. whether it fits a 76mm NATO eye or not. The only ones I can think of that I know the location of are in a heap of bombed out scrap on the old military firing range up in the mountains on the far side of Dad's farm so I ain't going for a look at the moment There is another even-more-NATO-lookalike which somebody once told me was fitted to Champs etc - it looks like a slightly more lightweight and non-rotating version of the proper NATO pintle but the inner dimension of the jaw is a bit bigger and if you tow a NATO eye with it, it clonks like hell. Dad has one fitted on his old farm 90, but it is the only one I have seen that I can think of, and I have no idea where he got it from...

Doing 4 x series 3 hubs in 3/4 hour is not really possible and doing them every time or even every few times I use the trailer simply isn't something I am prepared to do - too much time and effort for what are relatively short runs in the boat, usually a couple of hours or so at most. I've got tonnes of Castrol SX2 available which is a grease designed for use on deck machinery both bearings and open gears, hence it has very good salt water resistance etc.

I'd dump the 18in rims and get a set of 16in rims there is a much better range of tyres available. If you just want an AT then there is a 255/55R18 General Grabber AT2 and it is also available in 255/60R18 which is a wee bit taller.

D2 diff lock linkages here: http://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/part_17.html

Welcome You can get the difflock lever etc from Ashcroft Transmissions in the UK who I am sure will post or air freight it to you. Dave posts on this website as user "ashtrans" so you could PM him on here or look on their website. I don't think you'll easily find a second hand one as they are not a common fitment on new vehicles - you might find something on Ebay but that is about the only hope. the brand new one is a couple of hundred quid IIRC so not bank breakingly expensive and you can be sure you will have all the bits! The Discovery 2 "Thor" type V8 is way different to the old V8 engine like Nigel's in terms of ignition system and ECU so the info is not really relevent to doing yours and I've not seen anything on doing it to a Thor engine. This is probably because even if you did waterproof the engine properly, there are so many other electrics in a D2 that it is not really feasible to deep wade them as you will never get the interior 100% waterproof and there are ECU's in the footwells, stuff under the seats (CD player, amps in the high spec models) and so on. All in all it is not a vehicle I would choose to park in a river... sorry but that is a sort of in built limitation with the vehicle and indeed with any other new model LR - a Discovery 3 is even worse in that respect! You will get away with water deeper than the hubs - with a snorkel you might ford to the top of the wheelarches as long as you didn't get stuck in the water long enough to let it get inside the vehicle (i.e. only in known good passes where you are in and out in a matter of seconds), but I wouldn't push it any further than that... too much to risk IMHO.

It has the old type S3 seals which are completely different to the later type seals, so probably not? To be honest the main issue with seals is going to be salt water and consequent corrosion on the seal track which is going to happen no matter what. The main thing is to keep grease in the hub to keep the water out

interesting ideas, ta didn't realise the seal track was separate or I would have changed it on the one I just did I have had 18 months out of the bearings that were on there and I wouldn't say they were new when I got it (had apparently been regreased recently but I reckon re-used too...) I might want to take it further afield in time so I don't think the idea of bushes would work because of that but it is a good one all the same ta

The other good thing is that the later Td5 age R380s have some beefier internal bits (bigger bearings and stuff I think, Dave may be able to confirm). We certainly don't get many gearbox failures on new ones these days, which wasn't the case in the early R380s. Mine is now coming up to 4000 miles and loosening up just nicely but you can't have it

not 100% sure on this but I think a new bellhousing and new input shaft will be required, you will probably find the bellhousing is only a genuine part but if you have an old box to cannibalise you might be able to get away with the cost of just a new input shaft. May also need changes to the selector position although it may be the same if both are Defender boxes - the box is in the same position in the vehicle as far as I know. I'm sure Dave Ashcroft would know Gearbox demise followed engine demise?

Advice needed.... I have a home-made trailer for my RIB, made by the first owner of the boat, and it has LR hubs and wheels on it (doubt there are many boat trailers around that are fitted with 4x 7.50R16 Firestone SAT's ) the old Series type with a bigger inner bearing and smaller outer bearing. Just had one of the hubs to bits due to terminal bearing failure, usual boat trailer disease of salt water ingress over 30 odd complete submersions launching the boat. Fitted new bearing kit with gallons of waterproof SX2 grease to try and keep the water at bay and I have to do the other rear one as well but it got me thinking... On a proper good quality boat trailer you get things called "bearing savers" which are designed to keep the hub under slight pressure of grease to prevent water ingress ... does anybody know of a similar thing for Rover hubs, perhaps something to replace the drive members? I suspect not, and I might come up with some sort of idea involving a modded drive member with a grease nipple in so I could give it a couple of pumps of grease every so often to force any water back out past the seal, but just thought I'd see if anybody has heard of a ready made solution? The seal tracks are not in great condition due to pitting and it isn't worth changing the stub axles as they will only rust again as soon as it hits the salt water so some amount of water intake is inevitable - but if by a regular injection of grease I can keep the water away from the bearings, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. The trailer only does about 2 miles to and from the house to the launching site so grease loss as the bearings/hub get hot on a long run won't be a problem.

The RR box is a Borg Warner but it must be possible to fit to a D2 as both the auto and the R380 are basically the same as a late soft dash RR I think... It might be easier to fit a "difflocked" LT230 though.

I just put Genuine ones on my new 110 on Monday, the LR instructions tell you to take the headlights out which is what I did on the LH side, on the RH side I just unbolted the fuel filter (300Tdi) and moved it to one side to allow access.

You can buy them from a dealer just look up the part number for an export spec non-cat ROW spec vehicle, should be readily available

An 8.5x15 rim will be fine for a 33x12.50R15 but I think that is about the max width. you might stretch to a 13.50 but it is not a common size basically if the tyre carcass is the wrong shape then it will wear oddly and might even damage the carcass, 265 section BFG MT's on narrow 5.5" rims are known to split around the middle of the tread after a year or two, to give one example Beadlocks might stop it coming off the rim but wouldn't help the tyre to be the right shape

85mph is probably sufficient on 35" Simex

Assuming your vehicle speedo is calibrated for 32" tyres (7.50R16 or 235/85R16) you should have: Under-read of 32/35 due to tyre size = 0.914 x true speed which will be cancelled out by the diff ratio which makes the prop spin faster: Over-read of 4.11/3.54 = 1.161 x true speed So the overall effect should be speedo reading of 1.06x true speed - +6% error which is probably acceptable isn't it? There are different gears available for the speedo drive so if your vehicle has a gear suited to 7.50R16 you could try the one for 205R16 tyres but I think you will find it will then under-read which is illegal in some countries. Depends on how accurate it was to start with, so check it with a GPS to see the actual error % before you change anything.

I guess if you have an old LR auto you will have the "Landrovery" bits needed to make it fit anyway as I seem to recall the differences are only in the rear end. Not sure how the ratios etc compare - might pay to talk to Ashcrofts as the other thing that might be a problem would be the torque converter - the Jag petrol engines probably develop their torque peak much higher than LR engines so the TC may be set up for that? just a guess mind you.

Propshaft bearings are a weakness on all Freelanders and while I have driven many with the fault (which usually shows itself as a loud "rubbing" noise from under the floor) I can't say I have noticed gear lever vibration in any of them. Not to say it isn't the prop but the symptoms aren't familiar - mind you the road speeds here are lower so I might not have noticed it as you'd get nicked for doing 60mph

...and presumably no longer available with the closing of Difflock?

I think there has always been a HD suspension option on 110s I guess it uses the 130 clutch centre which is not a lot "heavier" just a bit wider friction lining IIRC You shouldn't drive a vehicle on paved roads in difflock, not unless you like buying expensive oily bits for the transfer box! Technically if you have an axle difflock the ETC should be intelligent enough (or thick enough) to figure out the wheels are all going the same speed and so to keep quiet, but I don't know if it works in practice or not. Can't see why it would cause a problem though.

Not sure to be honest - I've never heard of a problem with the instrument pack before!

maybe it has just gone phut, not a problem I have heard of before the speed signal must be OK to the instrument pack if the speedo is working so most of the system is obviously OK (it reads from the ABS wheel speed sensors)

must be a 1995 model if it has a one button alarm - can you post or PM me the VIN number?

that would be my guess too, spiders can cause a voltage drop not just an open circuit so check the voltages in and out and you will probably find that is where the drop is

The book ain't always right and I am not 100% sure anyway without looking at RAVE. Bet it is still fun though