paintman

www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk look in the FAQ section where they say ATF Dexron 2 or 3. In my RRC factory manual (MY1986 to 1989) it also states the LT77 box must use an ATF fluid. Don't use EP in a box that is supposed to use an ATF as it is too thick and you can/will trash the box as a result.

Tunnel on my 86 auto also gets hot on long journeys. Esp when towing. But it has done that since I bought it in 1994 so appears to be normal.

Biarritz Blue is coded as both 965 and JRJ. Either of those codes will be recognised by your supplier. Early RRC and other LR usually have the vin plate, but the code is not marked on it. Very annoying from my point of view as a professional SMART repairer. But Mazda currently take the prize. They have stopped putting paint codes on at all so whenever I do one of them I have to ring the franchised dealer's parts dept so they can look up the vehicle's build spec on their computer.

For a cold start (cold engine) on the flapper extra fuel is injected into the plenum chamber by the injector that sticks out of the side of the plenum (top centre on the drivers side. This is controlled by the thermotime sensor which is the front of the 2 sensors on the top of the inlet manifold. When the switch goes faulty the usual result is overfuelling which may cause starting/running problems. (The rearmost of the 2 sensors is the temp sensor & when that plays up it also usually causes overfuelling & is the cause of many mysterious running troubles for which the ECU is usually wrongly blamed) Generally the cold start injector serves little purpose in temperate climes & many just unplug the electrical leads from the injector. I did just that when I bought mine & it makes no apparent difference to the starting. The extra air valve opens to allow extra air to maintain satisfactory cold running until the engine reaches proper operating temp. The air is taken after passing through the air flow meter so it is registered by the ECU & returned to the plenum on the engine side of the throttle butterfly. The valve closes as the engine reaches normal operating temp. What exactly do you mean by 'a little irate'?

Had a look at www.carelect.demon.co.uk ? They have a few things to say about the RRC ECU....

Whilst this is not relevant to the year of your vehicle, the early EFi (petrol) vehicles do not have a 'road speed transducer' although they do have a two part speedo cable and the speedo is mechanical.

I trust the petrol is not what was in the tank when it was put away? If it is I'm slightly surprised it will even try to run as the petrol will have deteriorated - and will cause huge clouds of smoke. Drain and replace with new fuel. If the replacemant dizzy cap and rotor arm are not genuine parts then you are wasting your time doing anything else. The V8 does not like pattern parts & there is a poster on another forum who admits to spending around £600 replacing bits on a RRC when the problem was the pattern rotor arm.

I'll second that. I've just put a terraLUX Ministar5 led into my 3-cell maglite & its amazing!! If anything the beam is too focused.

Disconnected my cold start injector - take the electrical connector off - when I bought the car. Starts better without it. As for poor starting, the V8 is very fussy about genuine dizzy cap & rotor arms. What are the leads & plugs like? Is the inside of the dizzy cap clean & dry? is the timing OK? Any airleaks on the induction side between the air flow meter & the plenum chamber? Usually worth changing the temp sensor ( the one behind the easy one) on top of the inlet manifold that tells the ECU to alter fuelling according to engine temp.

Comes under the aforementioned heading of a chancer and you are under no obligation to tell him anything. When he rings again advise that you require all communications to be made in writing on his company letterhead addressed to your head office. Then follow the advice given by Jos.

I have a www.nationwidetrim.demon.co.uk head lining in my RRC & it is excellent. Unfortunately they don't list one for the disco.

Probably a bit late, but to help replace the gearbox and to minimise the risk of having a slip & the weight hanging on the input shaft, it is worth making a couple of long studs (remove the heads of a couple of long bolts or buy a length of the threaded rod from B&Q). Fit these into the back of the engine & when you jack the box up engage them with the holes in the bellhousing. Makes realignment of everything sooo much easier. Once fitted up & proper bolts in then remove the studs & put the bolts in.

Often simplest to set by road test. Accelerate hard in 4th from about 30. If the engine pinks (rattling sound) then retard slightly. If it doesn't advance instead. Keep doing this until it just pinks ever so slightly. Check the pointer position with a strobe at idle so you can reset when necessary.

www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk have a few comments in their FAQ section which are worth reading. When you drain, check the quantity of fluid that comes out as that is the amount you put back in.

Use either boiling water or a hot air gun. With the latter be very careful to avoid overheating & bubbling the paint. Use a suitable cleaner to remove sticky residue. There are proprietary cleaners for this but they tend to be trade only. Be careful if you use thinners, it is a paint solvent after all & if the vehicle has had a repair in the area using 1k materials you WILL remove the paint. I don't advise using sharp metal blades as a remover - unless used EXTREMELY carefully after the hot air/water treatment and with a proper blade holder as a slip will cause paint damage. I do a lot of paintwork for a used van dealer & this can be a nice little earner when previous owners have attempted to take the old logos off with a blade!

Some years ago the water pump on my RRC failed, so fitted a replacement. Which started to leak as soon as the engine warmed up. Took it back, got another one which did exactly the same! Took it back got refund got one elsewhere & that was fine. Possible faulty batch? It does happen.

Perhaps we ought to put Red Ken up for nomination as a saviour of the V8? After all, diesels will be hit with the new Transport for London measures, so dropping a V8 in instead will be so much better for London

www.motuk.co.uk/manual/contents.htm Can't see anything that says not having a cat fitted is a fail. The vehicle must however pass the emissions test as though it had cats fitted.

Lots of info including 'how to' and piccys on this in the 'Problems and Fixes' section of www.rangerovers.net

You might also have a look at the 'A' frame ball joint. Esp if it does it when you pull away from stationary.

And if you can get the paperwork an 'H' plater is going to be FREE TAX as it was registered between 1/8/69 and 31/7/70!

Frequent comments are, big, heavy, break gearboxes.

Or www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/products.php?cat=Removal%20Tools for the Irwin grip sets.

The rear fuel tank mounting strip on mine was completely shot, so I removed it altogether & welded a piece of angle iron across the chassis. Two holes drilled in that & the petrol tank is now secure! I did measure the correct height of the tank before removing it & cutting the rot out & fitted the angle iron to the tank (tack welded the iron onto the chassis & then dropped the tank again to seam weld) to ensure it went back into the same position. Above done whilst floor out to replace the offside floor which had got to a delicate lacy doily-like texture The crossmember was in good nick.

Can you plug weld a normal nut onto the remains? Or is access &/or lack of a mig going to defeat that one?