Spearos

Yes, very funny this is mentioned as I too have been tinkering with a temperature gauge too. I started with the Lidl one, but that died! The problem with that one though (and others) is they're difficult to see at night. So I got myself a funky little one off eBay with lights - you can even select orange or blue back light! It has three round displays (temp in, temp out and clock), fairly long probe lead and was about a tenner. It's designed to be plugged into the cigerette lighter when you want the back lights (the actual sensor runs off a battery), however I cut the cigerette lighter connector off and hardwired it to the back of my clock. So... when I turn my lights on at night, ta darrr I can see what the temperature is!

Excellent! Too late now, but for an actual product name 'Dirt Squirt' is catchy and is unique enough when googled...

I have another idea for a name.... 'The Big Discharge'.....

With this in mind would a small immersion tank type thingy wotsit work? The tank would hold the washer fluid and the pump, and would have a coil of pipe running through it (like an immersion tank). The coil of pipe is plumbed into your coolant , so once your coolant is hot, the coil heats up, and heats the washer fluid through conduction. Simple and reliable.... if it would work? However even if this was to work, it may be a problem on diesel engines in cold weather as I understand they can struggle to 'get warm'? But... on the plus side it wouldn't be exclusive to just Land Rovers....

I wasn't sure if I was making any sense, but yes that is exactly what my thoughts were!

For a 'brand' maybe you could use 'hybrid products'? The wiper product being 'hybrid wipers'? Trouble is that might conjure up all kinds of carp when googled. So... to go with your reputation of having a fondness of big pieces of metal and making things last/making things properly, how about 'overkill products' and 'overkill wipers'? Or 'overblown products'? Or even 'excess/ excessive products' being spelt as 'XS products'? Anyway enough from me....

Following on from mega squirt how about 'super squirt'?

s h i t off?

Brilliant! Thank you so much guys I can now order a new header tank being very confident that it will fix this problem, and not be a shot in the dark... and of course waste of money. Yet again this forum has 'done the business' - the depth and variety of knowledge on here is second to none IMO, that's why I have no hesitation being a supporting member.

With the level of coolant in tank being the first, and most obvious thing to check I have checked it several times over the last week. However I will give the level a thorough examination first thing tomorrow morning! Thank you for confirming that the sensor doesn't give a toss about the concentration Dan. That's one 'possibility' dismissed! And I have heard that these sensors fail quite regularly, so with the wisdom of your experience I think a new tank is probably the way to go... first!..

Hopefully someone can shed a little light on this little story... As well as my 90 I have limited access to SWMBO's 52 plate mk.4 Golf TDI 130, which we bought late summer 2013. On this the tandem pump was leaking, the leaked diesel finding its self onto a coolant hose. It was the pump cover that was leaking and stupidly you cannot get a gasket for the cover. So as the vehicle has done 130k I thought a new pump was the way to go... along with a new coolant hose as the diesel had deteriorated the old hose. Also, occasionally the temp gauge would 'act up' so for the sake of ~£20 I planned to replace the thermostat and temp sensor while I had the coolant drained - again the car had done 130k and there is no record of either being changed. So pump off, coolant drained, hose replaced, thermostat replaced, sensor replaced, new pump on. All going well. 2 litres of comma G30 poured in and topped up with the drained coolant after being passed through a piece of material to filter out any carp. Engine run up to temp with expansion cap off, no leaks, all once again looking good. Cap on, 3 mile test drive, check for leaks, level etc, all ok. Next morning I get into car, ignition on and I get 'STOP' 'LOW COOLANT' come up on the dash Check the coolant level... ok. hmmm.... Go for a little drive light stays on. I pull over, switch ignition off and check level... ok. Start engine and drive.... No light Since then the light has been on and off, the light mainly comes on when cold but not always. When it does come on if you switch ignition off and then back on the light doesn't come on :blink: I have done a 100+ mile trip to Milton Keynes plus numerous small trips in the 6 days since I carried out the work. So what the hell is going on??! Comma G30 meets the VW standard TL774 D/F for this car and therefore should mix with VW G12, which I presume is what the old coolant is. Ok, maybe I should have just premixed the new comma G30 50-50 with water and just used this but I didn't think it would matter? There is a sensor in the expansion tank which I guess is the trigger for the low coolant light. However this sensor was ok before so in my mind it seems a massive coincidence for it to fail whilst I carried out this work - besides, surely if it failed the light would be on constantly? So... Would the 2 litres of neat antifreeze added to the old coolant at say 50-50 (giving a high concentration overall) some how 'trick' the sensor resulting in the dash light? Or?... Please help! Edit: All parts used are genuine VW.

When I replaced the cappings on my 90 I encountered the same problem. I assume you're talking about the small metal plate/bracket that's riveted in the corner, which one of the side panel mounting bolts goes through? What I did was drill the rivets out, remove bracket and get creative with some metal plate, similar sized tube and my welder! What might be worth doing is putting a wanted post up on here for anyone who may have a trashed side panel they would be willing to take the plate off of for a few beer tokens? HTH

I did think about using series parts, but assumed they had 5mm glass because the early defenders were 5mm? Not sure what you mean by the rubber strips? However the compnay linked above do various 'trim items' so maybe worth a look? Also, google 'car builder solutions' - they have a good selection of strips, seals etc too.

For my door rebuild I need new window channels for 4mm glass and I'm surprised how expensive it is for 2 x complete 'sets' so after a little bit of a search I find this: http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/p-1023-window-channel.aspx At £4 a meter it should work out considerably cheaper! However the reason of this post is; To ask if any one else has used this? and/or is it suitable? Any perceived issues? I wanted to bring it to the attention of anyone else needing new channels

I've had this problem a few times, what I do is towel off as much water as I can and then drive with the V8 blasting (gently blowing) hot air in the vehicle! I also bought on of these : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wenko-77780100-Damp-Killer-Anthracite/dp/B0030GB32K/ref=sr_1_19?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1383336018&sr=1-19&keywords=dehumidifier+car Surprising how much water it absorbs, it almost doubles in weight! One day I'll get round to applying the camping mats I got from the pound shop....

How solid is solid?! Don't expect a correctly operating fan to have no resistance what-so-ever when cold. Personally I would say your cold temp gauge and bad poor fuel consumption is to do with something else... possibly...

Sorry to go off topic, but I would be interested in this "land rover refurb" company - any chance you could supply more details muddynuts? Pretty please?

I too would be interested in any replies - I have outgrown my garage and currently have some spares wrapped in stretch wrap in the garden! Not ideal! I did think about making some out of wood or buying one of the storage 'chests' on Ebay like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Garden-Storage-Box-Chest-Cushion-Box-Plastic-Wheels-/170618058669?pt=UK_Storage&hash=item27b9a0f7ad

Cured with a rebuild, new seals? Edit: Thinking about it, if the seal(s) is/are at fault surely it would leak along the whole length of the bore - assuming the bore size should be consistant? So the bore could be worn, in which case I guess a rebuild won't make a **** bit of difference! And the jack is pretty much scrap? Or I've got this totally wrong?

Worth checking - I'll have a gander tomorrow morning... Cheers

I've bled it several times, using the 20 pumps with the release valve open method and the jack it to the highest point and release all the way down, then open the filler to let air out method. Topped up oil too, makes no difference Ok so I tried this and had the same result as on the Golf, only the jack started doing it with the LR axle only raised only an inch or so. How is it that with the load 'on' lower down on the jack's stroke, the jack struggles? Hmmm, part of me just wants to go and buy a brand spanking new one but then I don't like to be beaten!

Definitely not! Tried several times on the Golf between bleeding/comparing/general faffing bout! Not quite sure what you mean, however the attempt on the Golf was on the front end of the 'chassis' rail, from the side and the Landie inserted from the rear ... If that would make a difference? However the jack is quite a beast at approx. 70cm x 35cm so is, as Sealey said probably a 3 tonner so I'd imagine it'd lift either from any 'approach' Good idea!!! Will have a go at that tomorrow!.. Now I've read you should never play with relief valves but curiousity got the better of me and I have removed the slotted screw in the photo and... there's another, slightly smaller slotted screw under it Perhaps turning this alters the pressure the valve operates at? Perhaps the previous owner had a tinker in there? Or, perhaps I shouldn't touch things I know nothing about!

I have an old looking trolley jack, which is almost certainly a Sealey item. I've spoken to them regarding Identifying it but all they could come up with is it is probably is a Sealey and a 3t version. Anyway recently I bought a mk.4 Golf TDI 130 for SWMBO and during the obligatory inspection/oil change/replacement of all filters I tried to lift the front of the car to get the damn undertray off. However just as the front wheel started to leave the ground the jack started making what I can only describe as a faint hissing sound with each pump but failed to lift any higher. I've since tried it on my 90 and it lifts fine, I've topped the jack up and bled it but it still wont lift the TDI! I know the mk.4 Golfs have a bit of a reputation for being lardy and diesel lumps are often heavy units but is a front corner of the Golf really heavier than a corner of my 90?! Besides, even if my jack is only rated at 2t, it should still lift the Golf right? The only difference is that on the Golf the jack is under load from about 5-6" whereas the 90 it is around 10-12" - would this make a difference? One thing I have noticed is that what I believe is the relief valve looks as though someone has been in there as the slot is damaged (see attached photo). Are the relief valve adjustable? I'm thinking someone has perhaps had a tinker with it, it would explain why I got it so cheap!

Thanks for the info. Ok moving onto camber... I assume the formula for working out degrees/minutes into mm will be the same for camber, as camber/toe is the 'angle' of the wheel vertically/horizontally respectively? i.e if 0.5 degrees is 3mm of toe on a 13" wheel then 3mm of camber would also equate to 0.5 degrees?

We all know about how easy it is to set your Defender/Disco/RRC/series tracking with a piece of string or the extending aerial type thingy method, however this is because it seems most poeple are happy with the tracking set 'straight ahead' i.e no toe in or toe out. My question is, how easy is it to do a car which requires toe in or toe out, using one of the methods above? I have found this : http://www.crypton.co.za/Tto%20know/Wheel%20Alignment/Wheel%20Alignment%20Simplified.pdf Now, am I correct in thinking that the table on the third page down has done all the hard work and tells me how many MMs off parallel I need to set the wheels in order to achieve the desired degrees/minutes of toe in toe out? For example if SWMBO's car has 13" wheels and needs 0.5 degrees (30 minutes) toe in, according to the table I need to set the wheels around 3mm 'in' (off parallel) at the front of the wheel? Would that be 3mm across the two sides (1.5mm each side) or 3mm either side? Any advice much appreciated, I have lost all faith in tyre centres etc