TSD

If @CwazyWabbit can't help, you can send it to me and I'll sort it, in return for a donation to one of the funds in Jez on the rescue to ukraine

I put it down to that bloody awful 4bbl thing that Holley claimed was a carburettor. Once the sump is completely full of petrol, the dizzy just became the overflow pipe

There are so many reasons why this is totally wrong and can't possibly be true - diaphragm, small orifice flame propagation, vacuum flow in the wrong direction etc., etc.. On the other hand, I remember watching your dizzy cap fly off with a bang when you were cranking it over, and that wasn't the first time you'd seen it either (Mannington? dunno, was a lot of years ago!)

As Peaklander suggests, the fridge doesn't represent a good load to gauge the condition of the battery. The energy consumed per hour will vary a lot (breeze, cloud cover, sun angle, number of beers replaced etc.). Your lights will draw fairly constant power, regardless of the ambient darkness level . Measure the current drawn once and you can use that figure for all future calculations. Of course, what you really need is a 'systems' performance measurement. The best way to do that would be to wait for some representative weather, then sit in the garden all day with a good workshop manual, drinking only beer from the fridge and cooking burgers taken from the icebox. The best bit is you get to call this activity 'Research' On day two, if the weather holds, you can repeat with the fridge relocated to under the van during daylight hours, instead of inside. With the lower ambient temperature and better cooling breeze, you should get a performance boost that offsets the negative effect of easier beer availability.

Your test method looks valid, and similar to what @FridgeFreezer and I have used previously. Measuring the rest voltage after 30 secs or so is good enough to show the trend, and the effective internal resistance of the battery at each test. I don't think there's much real benefit in waiting longer, other than to standardise the test method. The terminal voltage measured and the equivalent SoC depends on so many factors (battery chemistry and design, voltmeter accuracy, ambient temperature etc.) that there's little point in trying to get a better measurement, or to interpret it in any finer grain. So, yes, 32Ah delivered capacity. Does your small solar panel/charge controller just deliver a stabilised trickle charge, or does it do something smarter. Low capacity seems the sort of typical failure for standby batteries on permanent float charge. I'd hope that a few charge/discharge cycles with a high power, reasonably smart charger (ctek or similar) would get some delivered capacity back, maybe to 50Ah or so, which might be enough to get some more useful working life from it? (I got a 50Ah Optima back from 17Ah to ~34Ah with similar treatment). Think of it this way, a 50Ah battery that's free (because you already own it) and you aren't worried about abusing (because it's already bin-fodder), is pretty much as useful as a 75Ah battery that you have to disconnect before it's flat because you don't want to damage it.

I've seen more than one Optima fail like that. I used to work with some mobile equipment where the batteries were run to exhaustion almost daily, and batteries replaced whenever the 'off grid' life dropped too low. Optimas seemed a good compromise then as they were relatively cheap and easy to buy, compared to some of the more exotic options, and could be replaced with halfords finest as a 'field expedient' repair. I don't think Optima are as good as they once were, but I suspect this effect is more due to the high cranking current available from them and other 'similar' batteries (AGMs for Stop/Start use). It's not so much the failure thats the problem, it's that the cranking ability doesn't give any warning. If starts got slower/weaker over 6 months or more (as you might expect from older wet cell battery designs), most people just say 'well, the battery was getting weak anyway' and just replace it without question after a few no-starts. The Ah check was done with a testing rig and some software that has its beginnings back with that same equipment. It's not a clever 'answer in 10 seconds' device, instead it loads the battery in a similar way to the 'official' standard tests for measuring Ah capacity. For that reason it's also slightly destructive, in that it takes the battery to that 'end point' in order to measure it, something that shouldn't be done to any lead acid battery you care about, as it inevitably shortens the life slightly. Fridgefreezer posted a pic of the output from his version of the same rig in this thread Split charge setups generally like to have well matched pairs of batteries. How is your secondary battery holding up? Can you swap them over for a few days?

Before you condemn the alternator, don't ignore the wiring, earthing and possibly the split charge setup. If you don't get a decent charging voltage directly across the battery terminals, check at the alternator, measured alt terminal to alt body, and possibly at the split charge (depending on type). But that sounds a fairly typical failure for an Optima. Because of the high cranking current capability, it's easy to not notice the battery failing, especially if you have a fresh engine that starts easily. I've had the situation where it can easily crank and start my tdi daily, but one day it didn't catch for some reason, and there wasn't enough left to even crank the engine a second time. Before that I didn't have any inkling the battery was failing. The (normally 55Ah) Optima was only capable of something like 15Ah when I tested it.

TGV turbo is in the same place as the tdi version, but it is a fair bit bigger diameter, and the exhaust exits straight towards the back of the car, rather than the 90 degree bend downwards from the front of the turbo as on the tdi. ISTR the alternator also hangs a little further out horizontally than the tdi version, but not a huge amount, 25mm maybe, but that's probably not going to cause any issues. Lots of scope for minor differences between TGV engines when it comes to Land Rovers, it depends what version it started life as, and what got swapped or chopped in the conversion.

@miketomcat Warm(ish), dry(ish) workshop space is available if you need it. One of very few in the country that has a courtesy Ibex available for favoured customers

I wouldn't worry too much if the light only flickers at on hot idle. There aren't too many 200tdis that can be considered in the first flush of youth. With no gauge on hand, I'd do an oil and filter change to check for diesel, or unexpected bits of piston... Winch line jammed in the tube is normal for Ibex, it means you didn't spool it out and clean it after the last use. My neighbours used to think it a bit odd when I put a tree strop round a lamp post and then reversed away from it. If you've been playing in the chalk on the Plain, I wouldn't risk a lamp post, find a big tree

Be aware the D3 / RRS bottle is cheap because it's a common failure item (the float fails to float and permanently indicates low coolant level). As above, I suspect you still need the inverter circuitry, unless you want a 'coolant level normal' warning light

As far as I remember, boost spikes are all but inevitable using a simple mechanical control of a VNT. If the system is damped enough to prevent the spike, then boost rolls on so slowly that (in normal driving) the engine has run through the rev band where the VNT shows an advantage over conventional turbo, before boost can build. My 2.8TGV has shown spikes since day one, more than 250k ago. After 15 years of smacking the endstop at 25psi, the boost gauge no longer reads zero with the engine switched off. I can't understand why Maverick only sees the spike once, after a restart though.

I've owned my (2005) TDV6 D3 for almost exactly 9 years, was on 62k when I bought it, now somewhere near 210k. In that time it's needed a handful of new injectors, and new air intake pipes, and that's about it. Plenty of other issues, but those are the engine related ones. At the current mileage, I now view it as a disposable car - I keep up with the essential maintenance, (6k oil changes etc.), but the first 'big' problem will render it scrap. I'm not shy of doing any job on my cars, but the complexity of the engine, the amount of work involved in removing it, and questions over quality of new parts puts me off the idea of fixing it. I don't often watch tube videos, but this one was quite good at showing the size of the problem LINK I've read some stuff recently about using Ford bearing shells which sounded hopeful, but it would still be an expensive, time consuming job and at the end it would still be dragging around a rusty ageing Discovery. It seems a shame, the D3 is a great drive, the engine is smooth and torquey, and does a great job of hiding the immense weight of the disco (and the driver ) even when towing. When the time comes, I'd love to replace it with one of the last D4, but the number of snapped cranks / spun sheels reported really does put me off. The fact that D4 prices are insane at the moment (probably all s/hand cars I guess) doesn't help. I reckon the book price of the equivalent car now (7yo 60k) is double what it was when I bought the D3. The D3 was the most expensive car I've ever bought, and I only purchased because I could buy it outright, and if it blew up it would be painful, but wouldn't break me. Even allowing for inflation, I'm not sure I'd have the same attitude at todays prices - even if I had the cash.

The first time I saw one, many years ago, I overtook it in my Ibex on a country lane in the middle of the night. Following behind, it looked rather like a kitcar copy of a Series 1 Land Rover with a hardtop fitted, but I had no idea what it was, other than it was probably Mini based. By the time I drew level on the overtake, I was convinced it was Foers, something about the angles of the A pillar and the bonnet. Needed the internet to find out what it was though!

I've got several MoT certs where the mileage is entered as 'Unreadable' without comment. For a while the Ibex had a broken VDO speedo where the LCD mileage readout was blank (and the needle went straight to 180mph as soon as the car started moving).

If the part in your photo is the correct one, the only way to be more certain would be to march into REME stores and requisition one Not sure if TE now manufacturers the relays that were Siemens (most likely), or just distributes them, but either way, it's the same part. https://www.te.com/commerce/DocumentDelivery/DDEController?Action=showdoc&DocId=Data+SheetV23134-X0000-A0011217pdfEnglishENG_DS_V23134-X0000-A001_1217.pdf6-1393304-7

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/non-latching-relays/6900773/

There is a difference, but I don't know the details. The parts catalogue for the International 2.8 has a different part number for the the injector, but the 2.5 catalogue lists the LR part number.

Also, OEM means Gen Parts in a different box, and the dashboard of my D3 says I'm averaging 32mpg. (none of these things is true, by the way)

I can see two ways a spring could change with age, it could get 'softer' (compresses further for the same weight) or it could sag (so the free length gets shorter). Either way, the installed length must get shorter. Of course, it's a bit of both, but no way does the does the installed height stay the same. LR says the springs should be replaced if 20mm shorter than specified free length. The hardest part of getting the springs out to measure them is usually shifting the rusty front shocks without breaking them - and you've already sorted that problem

I just noticed the free lengths of the springs you quoted are exactly whats listed in the WSM. So I'm not clear - did you measure them, or quote the 'correct' numbers? If they have gone soft, I doubt they can do it and maintain the correct free length. Potentially daft idea - you might get some idea of current spring rate by measuring the change in bump stop clearance after adding one or two lardy mates (exact number depends on your definition of lardy), roughly in line with the axle (scaffold board across the front wings?). In the back, you could just keep loading scrap until you get to a convenient compression, but self loading cargo seems easier somehow It's much easier to weigh afterwards as well. 330lb/in springs means that even two average mates in the back should get you nearly 15mm compression, so if it's much more than that then the spring must be soft? Some confusion is added by progressive springs, but it would give an idea, I would think?

Coincidentally, this week I replaced a set of OME shocks with Monroe 4x4 adventure. The OME still work perfectly after 250k miles, but the bushes were 'a bit tired' to say the least, and stones have taken their toll on the rear shock bodies. The OME were way to stiff for a SWB Ibex, but I've never bothered enough to swap them out before. The Monroe are very soft, probably softer than the Boge one's I fitted to another vehicle at the same time. They do extend very slowly/lightly compared to the OMEs. Ride quality is very much improved, and I've not noticed it hitting the bump stops any more than usual. Of course, a SWB Ibex is a very different thing to a LWB Land Rover, as there's no overhangs, all the weight is between the wheels. I'd imagine they would seem very soft inded on a 110.

Just randomly found some more pics of the D4 6x6 that @Escape mentioned a while back... https://www.brightwellslive.com/lot/details/545007

You're not alone, I've spent the last 140k miles turning a mint D3 into scrap metal, but on the same basis - it was something I fancied driving, rather than some ghastly commuter box I rented.

There's many ways to slice it, but it was certainly no more spendy than many of the other options. But this reasoning is all after the fact, I drove the Ibex because I didn't see any point in spending 3 hours a day in something I hated, while the Ibex sat at home waiting for me to find a day off. I would have owned the Ibex anyway, so to commute in it I had effectively zero purchase price, zero tax and zero insurance. 30mpg and 6k servicing (done by me). I was driving ~35k year. So about £7000 in diesel, call it 7500/year to allow for the odd replacement gearbox . That fuell bill is scary, should I lease something that does 60mpg, and save 3500/year in diesel? I don't know what sort of wheeled horror I could lease for 300/month with that annual mileage, but I think I prefer my choice so far (Even adding in a brand new TGV engine, R380, LT230, diffs and shafts, over the 5 years I was doing that mileage, I reckon it still looks good.) @FridgeFreezer drove a 'scrap' Freelander for many years/miles - that was probably way cheaper than the Ibex even.