Snagger

That is a good vintage for Defenders!

As above, most play in axles comes from the splines on the outboard ends of the half shafts and the corresponding drive flange splines wearing, the flanges' more than the shafts'. Pry the plastic centre cap off the hub and rotate the wheel if jacked up, or have someone rotate the prop shaft by hand back and forth to see the wear. It looks small, but across the two sides adds up to a lot of movement in the diff innards. However, if you have the diff cover removed, jack one wheel up and apply the hand brake hard (better still, the other way around!) and then rotate the diff centre by hand - there should be a small movement, but only around 1mm. The movement on the backlash when measured from the pinion instead is huge due to the hypoid gears, and that is alarming but actually normal. The whine is most likely a failing bearing, and these can be replaced without much hassle - you don't need to change the shims as the preloads will still be accurate as long as you use genuine Timken bearings (about £60 each for the big diff carrier, so not a particularly cheap job).

It'll be a 10-12% difference in final gearing with those tyres, so it's almost certainly the cause. All 90s will happily run 7.50s or 235/85s, you'll just need to change the speedo drive gear for correct calibration.

Why not replace the drivers' side wing top vent blank plastic with the proper grille from a LHD vehicle heater intake? No cutting, and as far as I know, it's in a low pressure zone, so should help evacuate the warm air with no damage to the vehicle. The grill will be cheap enough... If you need more ventilation still, then using a snorkel that goes through the wing top will help - the snorkel will suck in cleaner air away from the engine bay, and you can use the side grille with the interior duct removed as another vent and fit the alternative version on the other side (200 Tdi was on the left, all later vehicles on the right). The newly fitted side grille would sit proud of the surface, but you could bond a flange to the inside of the wing to mount it flush.

Quite the opposite - the flaps seal against the steel interior of the lower fascia, immediately above the vents. Any slight protrusion into the fascia duct would prevent the flaps from fully closing. What would be possible is to site a set of these new vents adjacent tot he existing lower vents (but not above their upper edge as the torque rod will be in the way) and use them independently of the demister/footwell flap control, separately closing the new vents when demist is required and opening them when demist is not needed, but it'd be a mild nuisance for little gain. Early SIIIs had a different lower vent nozzle, a simpler louvre, which may better suit what you want.

Some may tell you that you can use the coiler parts by using LHD and RHD nearside swivels (steering arm on the front of each swivel) or swapping the swivels from side to side so that you can relocate the track rod to the front, like on the Series axles. This is beset with further problems: a) the swivel arms have only one track rod hole, so you'd need to connect the drag link to the track rod, which would involve some cunning fabrication, and; b) the steering Ackerman angle would be reversed so that the wheel on the inside of the turn would pivot less than the outside wheel, causing scrub and skid. That could be potentially dangerous at medium speed on wet or loose surfaces.

I think you're more likely to have success with epoxy resin or PU adhesive than solder, but you'll have to keep the parts held together firmly and very still until the glue sets.

No, because of the track rod - it would want to pass through the Series' diff nose.

Les' guide shows very well how to alter a Rover rear axle (RRC, Disco, D90) to suit an 88. A Salisbury rear axle from a 110 is pretty easy too, as you leave the bumpstops on those too and again just fit saddles for the springs, but this time you can use symmetrical saddles or even saddles off a scrap 109 axle as they sit on the straight tubes, not the diff housing. The front is harder as the bump stops have to be rotated round and because both the stop and saddle on the right hand side sit over the inclined diff housing, making shaping of the parts tricky. You also need to play about with the saddle height, angle and spring mounting to get the track rod to pass cleanly over the back end of the leaf spring while minimising height loss. I added a third leaf to my parabolics to regain the flattened camber, already running on a Military/1-ton spec chassis (ie taller suspension mounts and shackles), but many use their standard chassis and 1-ton shackles and rotate the spring a little aft down; you would eed to measure the change in the spring axis and add this to the angle at which the saddle is welded to the axle in order to retain the steering castor angle, but not add this to the bump stop angle.

TDV8 out of an L322 would be wondrous until you engage the gears, at which point the banging and screeching from the exploding drive train would drown the engine out...

Not without significant modifications. Some modify the chassis to use coil sprung suspension (check the legality of this where you are; UK is legal but requires IVA check and likely a change of VIN and reg number, and a loss of historic status if you currently have that) or you can modify the axles to suit leaf springs (as I did), but the front needs some creativity with the steering and spring set up to avoid losing ride height. Not to bad for the experienced DIY mechanic and modifier, but not a good first project.

I have a 109 on a galvanised chassis that I'd prefer not to cut. Like you, I have a 200Tdi in it, but with standard transmission (+ overdrive). I fancy an LT77 or short R380, and have a Borg Warner RRC transfer box to go on it. Rather than cut the cross members about, I will move the engine a little forward on modified brackets to allow space for transmission brake servicing. It'd help keep the transmission tunnel closer to standard anyway, which would allow the continued use of the not inexpensive Wright Off Road matting. I prefer the handling of the BW unit to the LT230 in winter as the viscous unit keeps the 4wd from spinning up one wheel on ice but prevents wind up as you get off the icy patches without messing about with levers. It does mean slightly increased tyre wear. The biggest cost to me is that it is likely to require an IVA check and loss of the original VIN (I'm on historic status with no road tax). Still, it'll be years before I'm home to do it, and planning now is futile as the rules could change.

Viscous fans use very little energy when the vehicle is moving as the blades have an insignificant or even a negative angle of attack. They only work hard at low speed, which is exactly what you need. It sounds like everything is functioning perfectly. Your fuel consumption is from the aircon, not the fan.

Boot polish is best. WD40 and diesel work well. The car cosmetic products like "back to black" fade quickly and worsen the condition.

It could be friction in the mechanical drive, so that needs cleaning and lubricating (start with penetrating and then light oil on the spindles, behind the rubber grommets), or it could be low voltage to the motor caused by corroded terminals and wiring or a bad earth. You need to inspect for both conditions.

All the more reason to leave the plug out - it'll reduce the ability of the case to drain without helping it resist filling in the first place.

Good information. What was the Detroit with the castellated plates that are locked and pop out to allow slip on grippy surfaces? It doesn't seem to fit in the categories above. I quite fancied the idea of Ashcroft ATBs until you said the quality was lower than the Quaifes (albeit at a good standard and good value). If I had the cash, I'd consider them in my late RRC as part of its restoration - it only has ETC on the rear, so ATBs in both axles would be a nice mod, and I like the automatic application, simplicity of installation and the lack of need of cabin controls. I would like something similar in the 109 too, but the Salisbury rear is a sticking point. Still, I have more urgent needs, like sorting out the body shell and a respray on the RRC, its transmission and axles, and it'd be good to diagnose and cure the oil burning on the 109's Tdi...

The position for the fixing bolts is different - on the Series vehicles, the bumper bolts are behind the front edge of the wings, on the Defender they're further forwards. A Defender bar will fit the Series bumper, you'll just have to drill the holes for the top bolts as well as those for the front bolts.

Better still, that response is from Dave Ashcroft - he's willing to help someone for free rather than charge them for a replacement. It's always good to see an honest trader; Dave has been kind enough to give me advice in the past and his dad Ian insisted on giving me the old (albeit second hand but in mint condition) parts for the transfer box for me to remove an overdrive, and wouldn't even accept a tenner for a pint or two. Good guys.

There is no need. The grease will collect in the hollow end of the prop and be dispersed circumferentially. The sliding of the joint will transfer grease to the ends of the splines as long as the splines aren't clogged with debris or old, hardened grease.

Sorry to hear about a downturn in your state, but at least you know there are friends, family and medical staff who genuinely want to help you. That must be at least something that gives you something to hold on to.

Nothing fancy, Ed, just the boss of an MoT approved garage and his tester going over the mods with a fine tooth comb looking for weaknesses, geometry problems and the safe and secure routing of wiring, hoses and such, plus an emissions check (not legally required, but just to give an idea of the engine condition) on that installation and an extended brake efficiency test, with lots of repetition for confirmation and someone watching the brackets and suspension for the torque reaction effects (making sure the axle mounts and such were sound) before writing a report on company headed paper. It cost me about £50 a time, but apart from making sure I was legally covered and the insurers had less wriggle room for any claim, It more importantly verified the work was done to a decent, safe standard. I trust my ideas and my workmanship, but I'm still not going to jeopardise anyone's safety for the sake of £50, and anyone can have a bad day in their garage or driveway.

The point of VNT is not to increast maximum boost but to increase the engine rpm range across which it is attained, particularly the low rpm range. The 2.8 TGV engine achieves peak toque at 1400rpm as opposed to the Tdis' 1800rpm due to the VNT, if I remember correctly.

Hi, Pesto., and welcome. If you have a 200Tdi, you would be more likely to use an LT77. Short R380s are rare and expensive. There is a recent thread on retrofitting LT77/LT230 into a Series LR by two members which you'll find in the first few pages of the sub forum. Tdi conversion details are widespread and can be found easily with a quick search.

I'm not the only one who has taken their vehicle for independent professional inspection and certification after making an alteration (did it for the rebuild and then the subsequent engine swap, axles and brakes upgrade and finally the steering change). It cost a little, but is well worth while. Sadly, those who chose not to bother with such checks and the notification and documentation to insurers and authorities are also often the type who will ignore IVA regs and ring a botched hybrid, thinking they're clever for cheating the system and full of misplaced arrogance over the standard of their work. Sadly, IVAs generally only catch the minor errors of the conscientious and not the horrors of the unscrupulous.