BogMonster

I like trotting out the Hitachi set when somebody says they have been "really really stuck"

I always search for "Hitachi" as it doesn't crop up much on a LR forum http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=3271&hl=

Humph. That is like saying Tonga Green is so close to Epsom as makes no difference. Epsom is much nicer Both the greys are nice, not sure which one I prefer. The Lara Croft influence probably wins the day

There is some good stuff in the tech archive from which you could probably put together a good course on recovery do's and dont's. One thing that is not really mentioned (as far as I remember anyway) is rolled over ones. I have recovered (at work) quite a few crashed Defenders usually from on their side or roof and by far the easiest way is to take a couple of turns of a winching chain around the chassis outrigger and use a winch. It is one of the times where Milemarker speed and control is exactly what is needed as you can ease it to the point of balance and then decide whether to let it drop onto its wheels or if it had a cage etc to winch on to, you could ease it down with another winch from the opposite side. Electric winches tend to speed up as the load comes off near the point of balance (I have also done the same job with an 8274) which is not ideal and you also need to rely on the brake holding!

White90 I expect

Thanks, if the one at this end doesn't come off I will get in touch with them, sounds like a good price better than the one I had been looking at anyway!

I used to like silver but there are two problems: firstly there are far too many silver cars around now and secondly it looks bloody awful on a Defender because it shows up every ripple in the panels and every little ding from stones or whatever becomes a yawning chasm which sucks in all the light from 100 miles around and even any small animals or children in the vicinity

Thanks Dave, got your email and I will be sending you an order in the next week or so once I have looked at a couple of different possibilities for shipping and decided which is the most cost effective. I guess the cumulative strength of all the fittings adds up to quite a lot. I would like (if possible) one slight change in the design but I will email that to you once I have sketched it - basically what I described above i.e. the rear crossmember end where it folds round the crossmember, extended up to cover all the crossmember bolt holes instead of just the bottom 2.

Not stupid if you have got a propshaft off - it will do no damage. All I would say is avoid wide throttle openings in low gears because all the torque is going through one axle.

Take the drain bung out and drive it till it stops I don't know, but I would be interested to find out too.

Why not? They would have stopped wearing out when they got down to the metal base

Yes I have but it only seems to bolt through the chassis with 2 wee bolts (M10s? if it is via the tiedown rings) and two M10s isn't going to help a lot... but if it also bolts to the anti roll bar mountings then that will certainly help - IF the Td5 one does of course. Thinking about it I'd actually also like it to extend across all the holes on the back crossmember so I can put a NATO on the crossmember in the position I have it fitted now, and then have the detachable one below it either with another NATO or a combi ball/jaw hitch at the right height for a trailer, but take it off when not in use. It would also strengthen it a bit more - for some reason the standard one only fits into the two lowest holes, and the three on the bottom of the cross-member, which seems like an odd idea for the sake of not using another small bit of steel.

Tonga Green, which is why I have just bought a 110SW in that colour Second choice very close behind would be Rimini Red and third would be Stornaway Grey

Thanks, not trying to be funny but as it's not my money I would rather not get a private sale or Ebay. Buying stuff off Ebay to come here is nigh on impossible anyway as they won't let you register an account if you live here.

Is this to replace THE seats? As starring on the Sliiiindon video a couple of years ago

Has anybody got one of the detachable towing pack/tank guard thingys from Southdown, fitted to a Td5 age Defender 110? In particular I am interested in how (or rather if) the thing bolts on at the front of the fuel tank and how far forward it goes (to protect the front of the tank) - according to the fitting instructions it appears that the front half of the guard is entirely unsupported which doesn't seem like a good idea and also if it is bolted on in lots of places it should make it stronger for towing - we all know how strong the Td5 crossmember isn't Some photos would be great if anybody has one fitted. I have seen the ones at http://www.southdown4x4.com/DetachableTowing.htm but am more interested in the front end and the other mounting points onto the chassis. I emailed Southdown for prices the other day (no reply as yet...) and to find out more about what attachments (or should that be "detachments") you can buy to bolt on to it as I would like to get one for a NATO (4 x M12) and one for a normal (2 x M16) ball/jaw hitch so I can swap them easily. Also it would be nice to get one that doesn't drop down quite so far but I suppose once the thing is on there it wouldn't be too hard to make up a "high level" attachment for a tow jaw. I could buy one and start "Bennifying" it to my specifications but it would bugger up the galvanising and I can't get it re-galved locally so I would rather not do that... but it looks like the best solution. Ta

It's not impossible but the chassis mounts are different, electrics would require some reworking but mainly the gearbox and bellhousing is different so would need changing. Also I don't have a 300Tdi lying round either as they tend to be snapped up by all the chaps with older vehicles who want to upgrade

Cheers - email sent to them. I might have found one locally but it is in "uncertain condition"! Not many Td5s around here but we have 3 exploded ones at the moment all looking for a new engine

Independent for me seems too fragile at least in "factory" spec... Baja racers are a bit different in engineering terms and £££ too! My thought is that if you biff a beam axle on a rock it doesn't bother it much, if you biff independent suspension on a rock (or have a heavy landing or hit a buffalo ditch or any number of other things) you are likely to twist the suspension mounts which means unless you have the kit to realign it all from scratch (not available in this part of the world) the vehicle is scrap. I know of a Freelander that had exactly this happen to it and wears out tyres in about 6000 miles. I also don't know how long suspension bushes will last on independent, I know some Mitsubishis round here that make some bluddy awful noises from their front suspension! LR beam axle bushes are dead easy to change and not that expensive, I doubt the same is true of independent. IMHO beam axles might be old tech but they are tough and that's probably most important. A bit like comparing a Tdi to a modern tech common rail diesel which sneezes and illuminates a forest of warning lights at the first sign of even slightly non EU spec diesel.

As the title says - we've got a Td5 Defender on the company fleet that has a comprehensively f%&$ed engine and need a complete replacement. Head was damaged by a heater plug that snapped and fell into the piston (I was standing next to it at the time and the noise was spectacular) and the block is split from top to bottom in one cylinder so I think it's time for a new one... A stripped engine from Turners etc is a possibility but quite expensive for a Td5 - I have found a "source" for a whole engine out of a conversion job, just wondered if anybody has suggestions for anywhere else to look for a take-out engine so I can compare prices. Needs to be out of an early (pre 2002) vehicle i.e. 1999-2001 model year. Ta Stephen

Published from Llandrovery

Hopefully while the forum is down the chaps in the LRO office will have more time to look at the email I sent them reminding them that I and a friend helpfully sent through a load of photos and information for their Falklands article (even if some of the article was completely made up) and that they were going to send me some free copies in return

Sounds more like a wheel bearing or rear diff pinion bearing to me - hard to say without listening to it first hand though. As long as they have oil in, transfer boxes usually don't go wrong unless abused and all they get is a bit (or a lot) of backlash with age/mileage. Out of interest how did they drive it with no propshafts on...?! If you meant they drove it on just the front then that is consistent with rear diff pinion bearing which will rumble but usually only under load which is obviously removed if there is no propshaft connected. It really needs to go up on a wheels free ramp and be driven against the brakes with somebody underneath it IMHO. Grabbing the propshaft near the diff and giving it a good shake in every direction may show up some play in which case it definitely needs investigating.

Nope I don't look at it, so no problem

Not in this part of the world. If you can find an ECU controlling this engine, you can have it Later (Td5 aged) 300Tdis were never sold in "emissions markets" so there is no extraneous garbage on the engine at all. This has no EGR, no alarm/immobiliser rubbish, and definitely no EDC silly nonsense on the injector pump. Give it diesel, air and 12 volts and it will go Fuel pump will get left alone till I am sure the engine is not going to go bang and anyway it only has 54 miles on it so it's a bit early but later in life it may get some nice aluminium-work from Mr Allisport. Lots of other plans too, in the short term it is getting the Milemarker fitted, and my VHF transceiver and diff guard, there is a Safari snorkel, steering guard and wing top protectors already on order, and there will shortly be a tank guard on order too when I find one I like (not really had time to look yet but I may fork out and get one of Southdown's detachable towing setups). ARB's are probably on the menu for later on too, and one of these years I might get around to buying or building a decent winch bumper - but there is nothing that will take a Milemarker that is the spec I want (high mount, tapered ends like the Southdown 8274 bumpers but with a feet-down fitting for the Milemarker and which doesn't need the front grille to be cut away for the winch).