muzaz

I get most of my parts from Island 4x4 in the UK. Last order I spent £300 on an order, shipping was plus £35. UK VAT is not charged, when I receive the parcel I pay 18% local VAT plus €13 processing fee. No duty as parts were UK origin. I tried finding EU based shops, couldn't find lower prices than UK based shops.

Thanks Mike, will see what I can source locally. I like the SP downpipe but it's gonna cost a bit more than I like when I include shipping and taxes. On another note, in another post I mentioned I had an issue with the gearbox mainshaft. It was suggested I could get away with welding the splines and filing them, however I opted for a rebuild.

Took your advice and placed an order for a set of gearbox and engine mounts from Emberton Imperial. Will compare to the originals and report back. Td5 exhaust...interesting, what's the advantage? is it easier to fit? I'd still need the Parker down pipe?

Thanks for the heads up, really appreciated! Was going to keep the original rubber engine mounts as they looked like new and the 2.5na was really smooth running, no vibrations etc...but I'll take your recommendation and get a new set. The tdi must be a different beast! Thanks, yes I modified the bell housing already as I had read somewhere it needs work to it, went for counter bored holes. I agree, l hate oil leaks, the 2.5 leaks from every orifice it has! The tdi hopfully won't leak, I had it completely overhauled and all seals are new. The exhaust system will need replacing or I can keep the existing one ( apart from the down pipe) ?

Thank you. Just what I needed! The original mounts set up should be fine then. Will replace the gearbox rubber dampers as they look a bit deformed, the engine mounts look fine, still solid - will keep them.

Hi, I started the process of replacing the 2.5na out of my 1988 Nintey to replace it with a disco 200tdi. So far so good, engine is out and now I'm preparing for the installation. I have a question regarding the engine mounts. Is the 200tdi a straight fit or I need to do alterations to the brackets on the frame and the engine? Is it just a matter of taking the bracket and rubber damper off the 2.5na and fitting it to the tdi? Thanks Chris

Took the engine and gearbox out this week. On draining the gearbox oil found some metal particles on the magnetic plug. In the photo they look like a lot, however when I wiped it off, the particles were very fine more like sludge rather than grit. Is it normal?

That's a good idea! I might give that a try, nothing to loose. Got a mill I could mount the gearbox on to make life easier...

I bought a 1988 nintey earlier this year from a retired farmer who owned it for the previous 30 years. Knowing it has not been messed around with and still having all its original running gear I'm giving it a once over for any obvious damage or areas requiring attention. So this week it was inspection time for the transfer case input gear, fingers crossed! First thing I noticed was it looks like the cover plate had never been taken off. Plate off, things not looking good - brown looking cooked rusty grease coming out of the gear bore. Unfortunately, on closer inspection of the splines, it appears to be shot 😕. Same applies to the gearbox mainshaft...even worse as that's a gearbox overhaul! I'm tempted to buy a used LT77 but the condition will be unknown so I'm leaning towards the rebuild. I'v never opened one before, but following some good write ups over here and some videos on YouTube I'm seriously considering doing it myself 😮 What is the general consensus about this gearbox, is it something one should attempt? I'm not a professional mechanic, but I manage...😎 Mainshaft Input gear

Ye, quite nasty. I suspect it had been negected for a long time. I bought the landie last November from a retired farmer who's owned it for 30 years. He used it daily but for very short distances, it's only got 120k miles. My guess is it's never had its swivel housings serviced. I made the mistake of delaying a general service as I planned to swap the engine. Thinking about it I'll follow your advice and stick to it.

Spot on, Bowie. Took both swivel housings apart. Found both of them bone dry and if they were once serviced they had oil not grease. The driver side was good, no wear or play in the cv joint, took the cage and balls apart - no significant wear marks. Swivel ball is good with no pitting at all. The passenger side is another story! The cv joint disintegrated inside the hub. Pieces of the cage and balls got wedged between the swivel housing and swivel ball, scoring the ball and probably the reason why the steering got stuck. It also has some severe pitting on the chrome. The top railko bearing and pin is rusted and worn, the bottom bearing damaged. Half shafts are both good. At this point I'm not sure if I'd be better off finding a good used axle rather than repairing it as the parts cost is not going to be cheap!

That's my aim, I'm upgrading the axles for this reason, as you said it's 35 years old and the maintenance is schedule is dubious. I'm not after speed, I want to be able to cruise at a decent motorway speed without fear the drivetrain might blow up. Case in point what just happened, the diff or CV joint let go. Will be included in the list from Ashcroft.

Look like I will need to upgrade sooner than I thought. The other day while parking on reversing I felt a clonk and a judder, didn't think much of it at the time. Next morning it would not drive off! Slid underneath and noted the front propshaft spinning. Put it in difflock and I could drive it however although I could not hear any grinding noises the steering was locking up at certain angles. I suspect the front diff is gone.

Not sure I got you, why not? At the least I may save myself a couple of winching sessions.

Maybe I did not explain myself, 85-90mph was not meant as a cruising speed, only for overtaking "slower" traffic on a motorway. Anyway, its not really important, as long as I can drive at a sustained speed of around 70mph at a reasonable eng rpm I will be happy! As for offroad, it will hardly get any serious offroad use in Malta, it will mostly be in Sicily. Being out of the country where I'll be doing a lot of miles plus mud/rocks/snow I'd rather have something more reliable than standard. That is my reasoning. If I understood correctly if I take a metric 10 spline diff case (not the axle), remove the diff centre and install an ashcroft locker, I will automatically get 24 splines at the diff. I can then use the HD shafts and flanges.

Just got a reply from Ashcroft, I can use the 10 spline casing as long as it's metric casing. As for HD shafts they have for both drum braked rear axle and early front axle with AEU2522 CV joints.

Let's not go there 🫣 Forget the speed for now, it isn't really important. I'm more after the axle upgrade options. So the front axle I should keep, my intention is to put a locker and HD shafts, my question is this: can I install the locker (diff) instead of the 10 spline diff and keep the same diff housing?

Thanks! Yep, the finish came out pretty decent, it was the first head I ever done and the largest slab of metal to go on the mill. But it machined nicely... with a sharp carbide insert for alu and a beefy fly cutter and very shallow cuts as the mill is not renown for its rigidity. My guess is the v8 would be roughly the same size. The bore of a tdi is 90mm, the v8 88mm to 94mm according to wiki.

Ok maybe that's a bit ambitious on my part!😎 But I've been a passenger in a group in their vehicles : 90s 100s and 130, with 200tdi, 300tdi and 2.8tgv, all were doing 85mph overtaking on the plains. Granted all were on 35" and flat out. Anyway, my query is more related to what options I got with the standard 10 spline axles, suggestions are really appreciated.

Close!, It's a WM18, with some out of the box thinking, it was just the right size for the tdi head. The table traverse on your WM16 will be a bit short I'm afraid. Taking light cuts and with power feed it came out nice and flat.

Hi all, I have recently got myself a 1988 Nintey with it's original engine, gearbox and axles. My intention is to turn it into an off-road capable overland vehicle, it will not be my every day vehicle - more of a toy. The trips will be about 600miles on average with some motorway use, so I need to cruise at around 70-75mph but also be able to go to 85-90mph for overtaking. Off-road parts will include rocks, wading, mud pits and snow. Not in a competition environment so it will be nice and slow! To that effect the engine is going to be replaced by a rebuilt 200tdi and I want to upgrade the axles with HD internals and lockers to have strong and reliable driveline. I had a look to the Ashcrofts website to see what options I have but soon got confused! From what I gathered, the front axle I have would be fitted with the stronger 23 spline CVs. The rears is drum braked Rover axle. So my questions are: Can the front axle be upgraded with a Locker, HD shafts and flanges? Can the Ashcrofts locker be installed in the 10 spline diff casing? Can the same be done to the rear drum braked axle? Chris

It's a vapour build no more 🙃 15 years it waited collecting dust and rust....in the meantime I moved out of my parent's house, got married, had a kid, sold the series 3 and forgot all about the engine. Until the bug bit me again, got an old Nintey with a tired 12J this winter. Then I remembered! I had an engine - well a pile of parts actually- the vapour build! There she is, a vapour build no more!

Just read your reply, too late I'm afraid! I took them off and fitted the eye back then. I have not installed the engine yet, but have started it and run it for a couple of minutes on the floor, all looks good...I guess only time will tell if it was a good decision or not!

Aha, but I will need the lifting eye! This engine I'm rebuilding is currently out on an engine stand. The nintey has a 2.5na in it which needs to come out.

I'm hoping I won't have to take the head off anytime soon 🤭 My ocd makes me want to put the bracket in but I don't want to risk having a gasket leak! Not sure if the defender 200tdi share the same bracket, if not it could be a solution, the engine is going into a nintey anyway.