Snagger

That has come out very well. Well done!

Most vehicle manufacturers give a range of pressures for different loads. LR may have done so, but that may be missing from the Haynes manuals. It certainly still applies. Your pressures may need to be higher than standard because of the extra tyre width - standard pressures would probably allow the centre of the tread to deflect upwards, riding on the shoulders. Higher pressure combined with larger cross section is going to be more jarring a ride - you have both increased "p"si and increased "i", so the tyres can't respond as supply as normal size and pressure tyres.

You have probably lost the brake lights too - they all run off the same fuse, if I remember correctly, only two fuses being used on the SIII (you may have some inline original fuses for hazard lights and perhaps the heater fan). My guess would be that the seat collapse damaged the fuel tank sender wire, causing a fuel gauge short that blew the fuse.

RRC electric seats had a reputation for doing the same, which is a real risk if the driver's seat moves while the car is in motion. As I understand it, the automatic transmission RRCs only had driver's seat power with the transmission in P (and maybe N) for that very reason. My 95 RC has manual transmission and manual seats. I don't know if electric seats were available with the manual transmission; I suspect they'd be powered through the hand brake warning light switch if they were available. It's worth on retrofits having a push button isolation switch that only allows power to the driver's seat while the button is held down for that purpose.

Shocking isn't it! It's crazy enough hearing that advice in the UK, but down here? Then again, most of the garage staff are completely unskilled and untrained labourers under the direction of a single person who may or may not have any real technical ability.

I wonder what their quality is like. Hard to totally screw up such a simple part, I'd like to think. The Zeus pistons were polished so they looked chromed - the Zues guys said wit wasn't necessary, but just something they chose to do. I see that these Britpart pistons aren't similarly polished. I wonder if that has any effect at all on their longevity or that of the seals.

Standard LR cooling systems are invariably well up to the job if well maintained. A member of the local UAE group was asking about why his TDCI Defender aircon wasn't working brilliantly and the engine temperature running slightly warm this summer - it transpired a local garage had advised him to remove the main fan for performance and economy reasons. Amazing that the system coped at all in heavy traffic in 50oC with no main fan, just the aircon boosters. Arguably, had it been an old vehicle with scaled or sludged up rad with missing fins, it could have been a different story, but he had no damage.

No-one is making stainless pistons anymore? I'm surprised. The Zeus pistons I put in my 109 and RRC are brilliant. I never did understand why people would buy replacement calipers rather than rebuild the old ones with a stainless kit - the new calipers would only last a few years, but stainless pistons will last the life of the vehicle, and the caliper bores seldom pose a problem.

Like Mav said, this is a good principle but REALLY bad idea in the detail. Use rice or even desicated coconut,but don't put salt anywhere near it as you'll lose the foot wells, sills and door pillars.

It's a nice idea in theory to have an automatic off road levelling suspension that would enable the tackling of steeper side slopes, but imagine if it had a malfunction and reversed its levelling commands, or even just burst the extended downslope airbags - that could cause a far more violent roll over than would normally be the case with standard EAS. I suspect that's why it isn't already done.

I think one of the most underutilised voids in a 109 or 110's body is behind the rear right wheel. The opposite side sports a locker on 109s and some 110s, and fuel can lockers are a popular storage addition in front of the wheel arch, but the rear tank filler neck makes utilisation of that void difficult. This is the sort of item that could make very effective use of the space.

I doubt you'll be changing air pressure so frequently that the cost and effort would be justified. A good electric tyre pump would be quite sufficient and arguably more flexible and more useful amongst the group and at home.

I very much doubt you will have any problems from using the symmetrical springs. As long as they are for the correct end of the same wheelbase vehicle, I really don't think there will be much difference. I did this when replacing the rear springs on a Lightweight as genuine 7-leaf springs were rare and the supplier didn't have the springs for one side, so I used two left side springs with no ill effect. Parabolic springs for the Series vehicles aren't sided, either, and I have never seen that cause any problem in the 18 years they have been on my vehicle or heard of issues on others' cars. At worst, you might have a very small lean, but you'd get that with the vehicle having an odd number of occupants anyway.

I remember seeing the results of people doing this on another forum and it was both cheap and effective, apparently. I have acoustic matting throughout my tub and foot wells, but still hear the spray quite loudly, so it's something I may do too. It has the added benefit of reducing stone chip and road salt damage.

Given the state of the stuff on the parts stands at the shows, and their prices, I don't think it'd make the slightest difference. I wonder how much of that stock shows up markings under UV lights...

Heavy grease or copper grease would be perfect for the job. Make sure you fit a reinforced fork (plate welded over the back of the pivot).

I would use aluminium plate and angle. You can get 2mm thickness aluminium angle at Homebase amongst other places.

You don't need to make the swap - there is no significant loss of strength having a turn or two of thread not engaged, and this was left as is on the MoD 90 and 110 fleet refurbishments when fit with HD wheels. It also happens when people use after market 8-spoke or modular wheels.

It's a very commonly spread myth. The main shafts an gears are almost identical, and all the bearings and bushes are identical. The SIII lay shaft is a single piece with radiused section changes, while the II/IIA shaft is splined with added gear wheels and has sharp sectional changes that concentrate stresses. That is why that shaft is so much weaker than the SIII type. Some claim that early SIII boxes have weak 1st/2nd synchro units. That is possible, but I see little difference between them and the later versions so I suspect this to be another myth. Ultimately, a worn out box with infrequent servicing and aggressive driving is going to suffer, while a unit in good order, well maintained and sympathetically driven will cope with little trouble.

Only on the face of it, though. A couple of bits are a pain, like getting the clip off the main shaft third gear, but it's simpler than it looks. R380s look a little daunting to me, but I know it's fundamentally the same. A SIII gear box is stronger than the SII type, specifically the lay shaft. I broke two teeth off the third gear of my SIII box because of fitting 3.54 gears in addition to overdrive and Tdi, and then using 3td overdrive for 30mph zones where 4th was used with original diffs. That was my fault for using the box inappropriately. They can take a Tdi or V8 as long they're driven with respect.

I have Mintex on my 109 (Discovery brake system) and they're good, but the EBC green pads (and their grooved vented discs) transformed my RRC's braking. In fairness, rebuilding the calipers probably helped a lot, but the green stuff pads really work well. Bedding in wasn't much of an effort at all. It seems a minority perspective to like them, though - I can't remember whether it was on this forum or another that almost everyone complained about them crumbling. Mine are in still very good order after over 15k.

Gas dampers always extend by themselves - they're pressurised, which is the whole point of them; the higher pressure stops the oil boiling over. That is why they tend to be shipped with a strap running around the length of them. Standard dampers don't, as they are not pressurised. Never use gas dampers on steering, for this very reason - it's disgraceful how many aftermarket suppliers recommend them. The springs should all be slightly different. It was the same with leaf springs on Series vehicles. it allows for the slightly uneven weight distribution of the vehicle - the engine and gear box are to the left side.

The angle used to be 90 degrees, but LR changed it to 81. I don't know when that happened, but it suggests that 90 should work without too much of a difference in steering rate left and right. It certainly won't be the cause of your problems. With the wheels straight, where does the bottom relay arm point? Do you have a steering damper? If that has broken up inside or has been incorrectly fitted, then that can certainly cause such trouble.

Well done! Gear box rebuild next!

Great. Don't these idiots realise the cost tot he tax payer of their vandalism? They should have all their fingers broken. Ideally with a hammer.