Snagger

It looks pretty thick, so shouldn't be a problem other than the bump steer it'll have - the link needs to be as close to horizontal as possible, and kinking it like that doesn't cut it; the ends are still at different levels, so it'll behave like a diagonal link. Kinking it like that just makes sure it clears suspension and chassis parts.

It's a greenosh oil because it's a mixture of EP90 from the axle tube, 1-shot swivel grease and wheel bearing grease. The leak is either from the drive flange gasket, or even more likely from a loose plastic centre cap on the drive flange. Both are cheap fixes.

Fitting the longitudinal tie on a Series transmission does wonders for brake efficiency - mine has no trouble on steep hills, even with the 3.54s and all its extra weight. Whether it would cope with very steep off-road conditions I don't know, but I suspect the efficiency gain of the tie is comparable to or slightly greater than the loss of the diff change. Fitting the auto-box type locking brake would be a great second system in addition to the existing hand brake, made to work so that the locking arm only moved into position on the last couple of lever clicks.

Oh - I thought it was a flame emerging from the "gun". It wan't very large on my screen!

I understand about the slightly different movement of the Series axles. I was considering using a panhard rod with rose joints at each end to allow the axle movement without binding or imposing other forces, but coiler axles also move in an arc around the chassis-end of their radius arm and suffer axle wrap with soft bushes without any ill-effect on their standard rods. I am quite aware that drag links and panhard rods need to be as close to parallel as possible, and should ideally be horizontal. If this is achieved, then there is virtually no lateral movement induced by the panhard rod articulating by the amounts available by SII/SIII suspension. I'm using three-leaf TIC stage two front springs, so they're pretty stiff. I have Polybush polys, which are in mint condition. The axle is a Discovery axle with new swivel bearings and pins, all set up exactly to spec. The changes to the cambered road steering pull was coincident with the axle swap. The springs were uprated from 2 to 3 leafs at that point and I ditched the after-market 8-spokes and went to LR wheels, so their offset was returned to standard. So, it would appear to be either the wheel offset or the spring camber that's responsible.

Hi folks. I thought I had bad axle wrap issues when I did my axle swap, but it was really just a pitifully small clearance between the diff pinion and the engine mount. The third leaf on the parabolics seems to do a pretty good job of minimising the wrap, but seemingly at a small cost. I seem to have a bit more down-slope following on cambered roads than before, and given that I retained the same castor angle, I think it's likely due to the slightly more cambered springs swaying a little, allowing the chassis to swing down slope, applying a steering input as the steering relay moves closer to the down-slope swivel. It's easy enough to hold, but can need as much as 20 degrees of steering wheel input to drive in a straight line. I plan to fit PAS in the next couple of years, either the TIC kit or P38 bits with a Defender column, and think that this may also be an issue with that amount of force pushing and pulling the axle laterally. I kept the panhard brackets on the axle when I made up its leaf spring mounts, just in case, so am now considering adding the rod to beer stabilise the axle laterally. Has anyone ever tried it on a leaf sprung LR? What problems did you have and how much benefit was it? Slightly off topic, does anyone have any experience of the TIC steering kit? I have read one report of it reducing but not eliminating the steering wander, with the owner then fitting P38 steering to cure it. I don't find too much wander on my standard steering, just the camber-following and heaviness at low speed.

That's just stunning. Is that hot zinc spraying you're doing in the photo of the chassis outside? I've never seen it done before. And could you tell me where you got the foot well mats, please?

Lifting the vehicle that much will certainly cause problems for both prop shafts. I had a problem with the rear prop fouling during the build of my 109 - with the body still off (so little load on the springs) and the slightly taller combination of MoD/1-Ton spring mounts and shackles and parabolic springs, the rear prop fouled the bottom of the hole through the cross member just behind the transmission. Fitting the cross member from an 88" would cure this problem. You'll still have issues with the bell housing cross member, though, and even notching it like the MoD/1-Ton chassis won't be enough. Steering is another problem with SOA conversions. That much of a lift is asking for all sorts of problems, not just with the steering and prop shaft clearances and UJ angles, but with vehicle handling and stability. The 40mm rise from the MoD hangers and shackles and the roughly 50mm rise from heavy duty parabolics is about as high as is sensible to go, being very similar in ride height to a 110 on HD springs. Even then, you would be wise to fit wider spread rims or spacers to widen the track. The engine and transmission sit considerably lower in a 109 than a Defender, so even though the track with spacers or after-market 8-spokes/modular wheels will be less than a Defender, stability should be similar.

Makes you wonder if it's a non-specialist garage fishing for help when they get out of their depth when you get these one-post queries. If it is, it makes the basic understanding of mechanics even more worrisome. Anyway, it will be the springs at fault - they support all the weight so their failure to keep the axle separated suggests they are too weak for the load. Dampers only prevent oscillations and bushes are just for allowing a bit of flex and noise reduction in the various joints. Unless he meant that there are noises coming from the suspension, but not crashing of the axle against the stops, in which case the bushes are the problem.

That's very tidy, but for what you have fitted, why did you not stick with the gauges and clock in the lower dash with the stereo in the standard mount? I presume you plan to put a lot more in, given the size of the console, so what are you going to fit?

Blimey, that's colourful! Not building a replica of Noddy's car, are you?

That channel is indeed the transfer case breather, which vents through a plastic cap on the top of the square pedestal of the rear of the gear box top cover. If you block that off, you need to make a new breather for the transfer box, and I'd suggest a brake bleed nipple and length of silicone hose screwed into the upper inspection plate of the transfer box for that. However, any oil migration through there will be immeasurably small - my LR factory rebuilt transmission also suffered significant migration, as is the norm, and a later rebuild showed it was the factory's failure to use the seating compound between the gear box casing and the rear bearing carrier, as I mentioned earlier. I will stop just short of guaranteeing that is the cause of your migration problem, because there are exceptions to every rule, but will assure you that you are barking up the wrong tree worrying about the transfer box breather channel.

A definite "no" for me. Mods seldom suit another owner anyway, but I also have concerns over quality issues, and many mods have adverse effects, and multiple mods often interfere with each other, so knowing what had been done and how would be too much of an issue. But I think mods are also a kind of signature, so I'd rather do my own.

I spoke to the garage last Monday, and they were very keen to follow this up with the owner. I'm still waiting for him to call me directly, though. I'll call them again later in the coming week if I haven't heard anything. I'm still on the case to get this car saved.

Not to you, it doesn't - he didn't mention a trip to A&E anywhere!

Anyone interested in compiling a list of A-listers with basic Land Rovers? We have Portia and Bryan Adams (D90 and '68 SIIA) already mentioned. The 109SW at the beginning of "Cliff Hanger" was Stallone's. I think Sean Bean has a Lightweight. On the B-list, I think the blue 90 that DImbleby drove around the UK for his series was his own. And, of course, HRH is reputed to like the LR and Defender, as was Churchill. Who else?

Armstrong or Woodhead, both of which I understand to be OEM, are ideal. The expensive gas dampers are too stiff, but more crucially, pressurised gas dampers want to self-extend, and so have a continuous input on the steering towards the near side on a Series vehicle or Defender and to the right on a RRC or Discovery (due to the positioning of the damper).

I think I came across very badly - I wasn't having a go at anyone, and was suggesting that none of you need a timer and were quite capable of manual switching, especially as I was corrected in how pressing the button on the factory-fitted kit will shut the heater off, not restart the timer! A switch in an easily visible position or with a warning light (or fitting a warning LED in your field of view) is still simpler than wiring up a relay. But I did also say that a time was a nicety, not a waste... Sorry for coming over as saying quite the opposite to what I meant and causing offence!

Nice - fuse holder melting before the fuse they're holding... Even Lucas didn't manage that!

Frankly, I'm still wondering what either Ellen or Portia's sexuality has to do with the car, and I'm pretty disappointed that this thread's title was a; posted, and b; not altered, and that the thread has continued in that vein - it's homophobic and pretty insulting to those who live that life. I quite like their work - Ellen did a good job of Dory, and Portia was brilliant in "Better Off Ted". I find them pretty entertaining, and just judge them on that. Anyway, I'm curious about that farmer's 110. How did they get the rear floor so low for the seats and leg room? It suggests they straightened the chassis, and that would mean having very short-travel rear suspension, relegating it to smooth surface use.

Found that one out today in the XS - I had previously though it would just reset the timer to it's start point. Anyway, unless you are incapable of simply flicking the switch back to off when the screen has cleared, a timer relay will not affect the longevity of the screen - a timer relay is a nicety and only necessary for the most inattentive, inept driver.

In my case, that was the first item checked - it was tight and locked, and the oil was clean, there was no excess end float on the shafts and no abnormal noise from the transmission. So, if the nut is tight on yours, I'd recommend investigating the clutch.

Legality aside, non-levelling HID lights are still going to be blinding to others. It's unsafe and unreasonable on the road.

Our Lightweight did exactly the same thing - all fine when cold, but crunching going down into second once warmed up. It later started just being a bit rough changing down into third and first and crunching when selecting reverse, all only when warm. I tried slipping the clutch to clean the faces and replaced all the hydraulic components in the clutch system to no avail, but somehting was clearly causing the clutch to drag once the engine was warm. It could have been a spigot bush issue.

Using a timer relay will have no effect on the longevity of the elements at all - my RRC's screen had a few elements fail within months, and my wife's Defender had a few faulty lines when we bought it aged three, despite both cas having timers. The screens in my 109 have a few elements which are cooler than the others too, though they still work (they clear slower than the rest, but the fog still clears over every element before clearing from all the gaps). AT least with the simple switch I can turn the screen off as soon as it is clear - the timer will leave it on for longer than needed. It's just one of those annoying realities - heated front screens will have failed elements. Even so, they're still useful.