GW8IZR

There is no real pressure , if I didn't have copper I would be happy with fibre or aluminium

As above but I weld a bolt to it, its a bit easier for me to weld and as mentioned above the heat directly on the caliper bolt tends to shift it anyway.

I use an MXS 5 to charge some very big batteries, certainly bigger than a JCB battery. Its currently charging a pair of 6V 220AH hawker batteries that are recovering from a deep discharge in a faulty UPS.

No problem here with an (old) optimate and a new ctek - both recover when the power comes back on which is handy 'cos I was running them of a wind/solar generator for a while.

Thats a good point, a few people have fallen foul of their branding protection.. Call it a Legover?

I asked about this many years ago at SVO when I was doing a job there and whilst the 'coffee chat' consensus was that of course the RRC was strong enough to tow whatever you hung on it, initially a precautionary approach had been taken due to the comparatively shallow chassis rails compared to other LR product. Marketing being what it is and with the benefit of service experience I guess the figure was amended in the production and of course before the first Discovery production. I had a similar discussion with Toyota about our Hilux fleet asking them how they had significantly increased the towing capacity in (about) 2012 - of course they never actually wrote anything down but intimated that it was always about legislation and marketing and never about actual engineering limits. I can certainly believe that most of the vehicles we are talking about could safely tow far in excess of the plated weight.... but not legally in this country. Lets face it, they arent designed to work at 3500Kg and be dangerous at 3501Kg

Its all about how much chance there is of it all going badly wrong, mechanically legally and morally, I live in a rural area and its amazing to see what people get away with and tow with impunity .. but every so often they have a purge at the local market and lots of people have troubles. If your going to tow on busy main roads the risk of all the above things is far greater. If you have room for a trailer and its not likely to get nicked its a good thing to have. If you only need it every so often a hire is a good idea.. horses for courses.

I understand that some of the automatic grandfather rights that we (rightly) have due to when we passed our tests disappear as your licence renews at 70, this means there are some additional medical requirements imposed on us. Last time I looked I decided not to worry about it as the change is a good few years away for me and it can all have changed by then anyway. Its all on line and a google will find the answers ... today :-)

In that case the speed restrictions mentioned above dont apply other than treating it as a trailer. Its not too hard to make the brakes work using an overun device, I've seen them using a cable operating the service brake with a clevis pin and loop welded to the pedal. But that was many years ago. its much more complex today as you need to be able to do auto reverse and keep the servo working .. and there is the thorny issue of trailer approval. Its not impossible but for a LR I'd buy a trailer rather than risk bodging a system to use a frame today.

Bit of confusion here, an A - frame has no such restriction on speed although lots of other regulations apply. I think you may be confusing an A-frame with a dolly? in which case two limits apply, 20MPH on normal roads and 40MPH on the motorway But they are a b***** nightmare and your right.. the speed limits are worth observing :-)

Till you hit 70 when there are some additional hoops to jump to retain what you have had for years.

yeah, watch the ebay ones. I got caught out with some that had the wrong and in one case no voltage coding keyway, just a different colour :-(

my 85 90 was a 2286 .. it was listed on the V5 as a 4C

So long grass, dense vegitation and uncultivated areas.. exactly where you would find them in the UK, well sheep tics here of course can be in cultivated areas.. my field for one!. The thing is the mainland EU and Norwegian ones can carry Lyme borrieliosis, now thats an antibiotic job - so the advice is definitely do routine checks of each other to see the little sods where you cant see them on yourself. If you get one you can easily remove it yourself but make sure the head bit comes out as well as the body. We were advised to seek medical attention as soon as practical and the doc should most likely give you a course of antibiotics. They call them flått, It used to be that the tics were only in the south west and at low elevations, that is indeed where my two Italians were bitten... in their south westerlies at low elevation :-) it wasnt funny at the time of course. Research has shown that they are migrating possibly with wild birds providing transport. They have been found much further north and indeed in more mountainous regions at 500m asl! Last winter was much warmer and not the hard ice that I'd experienced before and my none expert opinion is that this year tics will be more prevalent. The Norwegians love the outdoor and hiking so if it was a significant issue half of them would be ill... but you need to take care. HTH

one other thing, get a Statoil coffee cup at your first fuel stop - every year mine paid for itself within a week or so .. Raisin Bolle, Cinnamon Bolle and skolebrod are the staple truckstop diet and very cheap.. although the locals thought it funny when I buttered mine.

I worked in Norway for three and a bit years, great place and fantastic people - they are very patriotic (and why not!) If you go there on their national day you will have a fantastic time but be prepared that not many shops or food places will be open. They seem to enjoy British company and our sense of humour but can appear a bit introverted to us.One thing, if you agree to meet someone and you are late they can be quite offended which caught me out at first. Yes its expensive for none healthy stuff but I thought fuel and normal food very comparable to the UK. Tics.. take precautions and make sure you keep an eye on bites, this is a serious warning. I had two engineers hospitalised as a result of bites. The national parks are beautiful and endless but be careful where you drive, I was working for their government but even so was only allowed to walk in some areas. Some national parks had restrictions on the number of helicopter trips we could use. They also are very keen hunters and some areas have access restrictions at times. Its worth avoiding those times unless you want to join in. There is a developing off road scene based round Polaris RZRs - the most fun you can have with your clothes on. The group that I was with were absolutely brilliant and a bit reminiscent of the UK off road fun back in the late 70's 80's. One of the guys has just this spring done a road trip from Kristiansand to the south of Italy in his 1000cc twin turbo RZR ,,,,, on knoblies! :-) In the towns I never met anyone who couldn't and wouldn't speak English but as with all cultures Its worth learning a few simple phrases and letting them pi$$ themselves at your attempts to use them.. a great ice breaker. The vowels are completely different to how we expect them to sound. As you move from the city to the more rural areas they are much less confident in English so you have to slow down and smile and nod a lot. Beer.. hmm I bought a few rounds of beer in Oslo in my time and had to work a lot of hours to pay for that. Street cafe prices were about 18 quid for 600mL but there are always alternate places that are cheaper. Eating out can be a bit of a mixed bag, had some really nice food and paid for some inedible stuff as well.. same as anywhere really. HTH

just back in and picked up your reply, no probs I thought it worth checking but events not connected :-)

Probabaly me getting confused, there is a thread about a snapped rocker bolt, I just cut and paste the thread title here. I've seen rocker bolts snap after the customer reports loud tapping, it sometimes means timing belt has jumped and a big failure is imminent, so if a few things have all happened at same time it might be something to consider. HTH snapped rocker shaft boltStarted by Yolandi, Yesterday, 08:42 PM

Hello, is this the same engine that you asked about earlier with the loud tapping noise?

Mine looked a lot worse than the one in the picture including mould and other nasties, but it looks a lot better now so I know what I'd try first. The products I've suggested are not polish. At the end of the day he wants to sell it not concourse it.. Anyway its an old steering wheel so not to worry whatever he does. :-)

I believe all the good stuff suggested above will only +really+ make you feel better rather than actually achieving much. ( Edit.. apart from making sure its got water and oil ) Definitely use clean fuel, have a look if there are any after market plastic fuel filters in line ( if so I'd swap them ) then run it for a bit to see if there is anything amiss and then do filters and oils when its warm. All IMHO of course :-)

Hi, Autosmart finish, tyre and trim or trim wizard works very well, I got 5L of it many years ago and I've still got loads left - I'm not into cleaning and polishing cars but this stuff tidies plastics and pretend leather up nicely (my steering wheel is an original leather trimmed one and I use it on that as well ) For the tiny amount you need for a steering wheel I might be tempted to just get a squirty pump thing from halfords

You might be surprised at how well that would restore with a trim treatment, Autosmart finish and a few hours effort.

agree, neoprene rubber strip is good stuff. You can get closed cell which doesn't retain / soak water

That is it.. I had been trying to work out in my mind what it was. I have watched many 'foreign' TG's sometimes without sub titles and sometimes with subtitles in different languages in a few different countries. The format is the same almost to the script and it doesn't really work. To be fair, I still sort of enjoyed the new top gear as long as you remember its only telly and doesn't really matter.