Snagger

The hissing could come from a number of sources. I would suggest the most likely are the brake servo vacuum system or, more worryingly, a fault in the engine that is resulting in pressurisation of the coolant (head gasket failure or a crack or erosion of the head or block). Run the engine up to temperature and then let it cool completely. If the header tank is still pressurised when cold (remove the cap), then it's cylinder gasses getting into the coolant system. The idle speed is set by adjusting a stop bolt on the front end of the injection pump against which the throttle arm rests - get someone to move the pedal while you watch the pump, and you will see the throttle arm moving and thus see the idle stop bolt.

I think most of us have the same view - unless you expect to blow the front diff or shafts and want to be able to drive home before fixing it, then they're useless. Even in that context, I think you'd get some residual rotation with the hubs disengaged and compound the damage. But you'd be introducing a weak link in the chain and would most likely blow the FWH, which would need replacing before going anywhere.

Wow! Not very useful service and a huge charge as well. They were great with the vehicle kit, and given how they bagged everything up for each job, not by fastener type, they must have lists of what is needed where. Maybe they lost their information, but that price doesn't seem a very good deal for the parts involved. In your position, I'd just take examples of the screws I needed to Screwfix (they have counters now) or my nearest fastenings specialist - none of them are LR specific and the only items on the bulkhead that might be hard to locate would be the cage nuts for the door pillars and red plastic inserts for the instrument binnacle and floor panel screws, but a LR dealer would stock them in bags of 5 or 10.

I'd be very interested to take a look, Pat. This is a potential future project for my 109, just to be even more difficult... I have a good, rebuilt 200Tdi, but the SIII transmission is under geared, noisy and a weak link. I could go with an LT77 or short R380 and associated transfer boxes (I prefer the BW to the LT230), or I could investigate going auto, since this will be a long-range trip orientated vehicle, and the extra leg room from losing the clutch pedal would be welcome.

That's bloody strange. My whole vehicle kit came in bags with just the right numbers of each fastener for each job, so they must have that information already.

The fact that it's a pattern part makes me suspicious, but there could well be dimensional differences between the early and late bushes. What sort of play is it suffering? Thrust movement, radial, movement of the bush in the chassis?

Could be the box, as per Mav's earlier steering thread. I think it's still worth having the steering geometry fully checked, as that can produce all sorts of handling problems, including the symptoms you have.

Series axles from 1980 onwards have 24 splines at their outer ends, though they still have 10 splines at their diff ends.

Hi folks. I'm looking for advice an information on something well outside of my experience. Does anyone know what's involved in mating a late petrol RRC's transmission to a manual transmission Discovery 200Tdi engine? Will the housings mate up? Obviously, the flywheel needs replacing with a flex plate and torque converter, but what else? How much longer is the combined ZF and BW assembly than a short housing LT77/R380 and LT230 ?

Station Wagons will hold their value better because they are more desireable and are regarded as being treated better (not necessarily true, of course). The higher the spec, the more this applies, so an XS will drop less (in % terms) than a County, which will drop less than a basic spec model. The big thing to factor in is the looming axing of the Defender, currently scheduled for 2015. Normally, this would cuase a big drop in residual values as the new model replaces the old, but as yet, most Defender owners are showing remarkable loyalty to the current model and incredible scepticism to whatever comes along to replace it - everything LR has put forward has been rejected by Defender users in blunt, even aggressive terms. If this persists, used Defender values might actually match or even exceed current new prices; look at prices for legal Defenders in the US for an example. However, we have been here before - this is not the first time that LR has announced a deadline for the Defender, only for it to slip by and nothing to change. It is interesting to note that LR are building a Defender assembly plant for CKD kit assembly in Sri Lanka. That doesn't sound like a viable business plan for a soon to be cancelled model.

Shouldn't be that, then, but it does sound like a symptom of too small a castor angle. Have you had a laser alignment done? They will be able to confirm the geometry is good, and the castor should be about 3 degrees (standard), maybe more for big tyres. It is just possible, however unlikely, that you have a mismatch between the castor correction on the arms and the lift height.

It's your suspension lift. Lifts are usually a bad idea for road going vehicles, and when done cheaply with the standard radius and trailing arms, are unstable. It's very much a case of do it properly or don't do it at all. Castor corrected front arms and cranked trailing arms will reduce the stresses in the bushes and restore the correct steering geometry.

Yes, you can do that, but it begs the question of why bother having FWH if you keep them engaged - they're a weak link that would best be removed if you don't use them.

Anyone remember the "Hyclone" vortex generators that clogged - ahem, improved - the air intake?

To bypass a faulty wiring harness? Just because the assembly was sold complete, it doesn't mean that it doesn't need adjustment. ABS sensors need to be very close to their exciter rings, though should not quite touch them as they are easily damaged.

Thanks. I'd just like the chance to start on the RR - it has a lot of work needing doing to the inner shell, the engine will be out for refurb, the transmission likewise, the body panels will all need doing again from scratch (found a local body shop that does great work, including mint restorations on E-Type bodies; the boss is a former Wood & Pickett man and loved this RR when he saw it), axle refurb and a few bits of interior trim. It's going to take time and money, and the 109 is getting in its way. That's what always seems to happen - work on one (or plan to), and the other gets jealous!

Yep, as long as your axle and prop are in good order, you will see no difference in vibration, and you will not notice any difference in steering feel on high speed roads either - those who report a difference say it's only at low speed that you notice it, manoeuvering in car parks and the like. Stick with the standard flanges - simple and reliable, and 4wd whenever you need it.

Probably the sensor gap. The sensors need pushing all the way into the swivel pins and the steering then turned from lock to lock before driving off.

Bearings are a very big job - the whole transmission has to be removed (a day's work in itself, if the bolts are all free, more if they're seized), and the units have to be stripped down. The transfer box needs partial stripping just to separate the gear box form it, and that has to be done for access to the lay shaft's outer race. The ticking is typical of a prop shaft UJ, though could also be a bad bearing. I would first try a run with the rear prop removed and 4wd high selected. Be gentle with the clutch to protect the swivel UJs, but once in gear, accelerate as before to try to replicate the judder and ticking. If the issues go, you know it was the prop shaft or possibly the rear diff.

I think you're wasting your time. I had FWH on my 109 with a 12J engine, which gives meagre performance that would show any benefits from something like the FWH claims, and I saw nothing. No increase in speed or fuel economy, and I think that any increase in acceleration was placebo rather than actual; if it did accelerate better, it was so marginal as to be worthless. Some claim that FWH reduce steering loads, but I didn't notice that either. All I noticed was the inconvenience of having to lock the hubs each time I needed 4wd, typically with the hubs covered in muck and grime and quite slippery, and an increase in swivel pin and prop slip joint wear. When one of them split its O-ring, the decision to bin them made itself. My view is that they're ugly, a nuisance, they protrude too much (impact risk off road), they are failure prone, cause premature wear on other components and have just one tangible benefit - the ability to disengage the whole forward drive system in the event of a front diff or shaft failure, allowing you to get home before making repairs.

Well, the head passed it's pressure test, and they found the exhaust guides are worn, explaining the oil burning. They said the valves and seats are all good and will be re-cut rather than replaced, so it should be fairly straight forward. Rather than replacing the guides, they recommend reaming them out and putting in bronze phosphor inserts, just like Turner Engineering do. They'll be supplying the Elring gaskets and sealing kit. They reckon the head will be finished on Tuesday, at a cost of £210 plus the gasket kits. In the mean time, I have some Wynn's EGR cleaning spray, which is doing a good job of dissolving the coke on the edges of the piston crowns and top edges of the bores. It's going to be a relief to have an engine that doesn't consume oil and need regular topping up. It had always irritated me, even though it was only an amount so small as for these local engineers, Turner, Wards and ACR all to advise living with rather than getting sorted out. The RRC's 300Tdi on the other hand, with over 198k on the clock, doesn't lose a drop, despite the fact that it's going off to Turner as soon as I pull it out (it's getting a full rebuild and gas flowing for the head) , already paid for as a present from my wife. That sort of reliability is great. On the plus side, this 200Tdi has always started on the button, far quicker than the 2.4l Puma in our Defender (except when I had a leaky lift pump and feed pipe), even with this gasket failure, so I'll have plenty of confidence in the unit.

Have you checked the hand brake is disengaging fully? That causes horrible noises and can cause judder at low speed if partially engaged. The lever pulls up on a vertical rod, which has two nuts (one to lock the other) above the lever's rotating eye. The lever should have two clicks of free movement before taking up the slack on that rod, ensuring the brake is off when the lever is down. There is also an adjuster on the inboard side of the back of the drum plate which should be set so that the shoes are close to the drum but don't drag with the brake released.

With the vehicle having stood so long, the only likely issue inside the bell housing will be a rusty flywheel and pressure plate. They can usually be shocked free by chocking the wheels, engaging 4th low and the hand brake, and then starting the engine with the clutch pedal pressed down (4th is the strongest gear, and the least likely to result in internal damage while doing this). It's highly unlikely that you'll have a problem with the release bearing or fork; the problems are almost certainly hydraulic. Let us know how you get on, and try to get some photos of the old girl up on here!

I'd be surprised if someone of your experience made the mistake, but it's not a wobbly wheel, is it? Either loose wheel studs or sloppy bearings. I was going to suggest that the steering lock stops may be maladjusted, allowing the tread to foul the radius arm, but with full lock at 45mph I think you'd be running into bigger problems! It could be worn stub axles, which are hard to detect, unlike the wheel bearings themselves or worn swivel pins. It could be worth checking your suspension bushes and brackets, especially the Panhard rod.

The crystals are corrosion, so you are right to have replace the master cylinder. The problem is that you probably have the same contamination and damage throughout the hydraulic system, so need to strip it all out for inspection. If you find the slave cylinder to be clean and unscored or corroded, then you can re-use it after careful inspection of the seal. However, I'd be surprised if the flexible hose passes inspection, and the steel pipes may be partially blocked too (it may be possible to clean them out with a length of stiff wire as a ramming rod, flushing through with hot water and then hydraulic fluid (you don''t want to leave water in there of reassembly). I doubt it's a problem inside the bell housing, which is when it gets really awkward. When bleeding the clutch, I find i can only get proper function if I bleed it with the vehicle nose elevated (parked on an up slope or using jacks/stands/ramps) to get the air in the slave to the bleed nipple, rather than sitting static against the piston. That may be worth trying first! Welcome to the forum, by the way. Which Regiment or Corps were you in? Lots of ex-services on here!