Snagger

Helena has been using the 109 for the school runs while I wait for the RRC's injection pump to be returned after overhaul. Even I find that it's a pig to maneouver in tight spaces, but Helena is half my size. I really need to fit PAS to make it more useable in town for future occasions when the other car is unavailable. I'd prefer not to have to remove the front cross member in order to fit the standard Defender/Discovery/RRC PAS box, so was thinking of using a P38 box that sits outboard of the chassis rail. Has anyone seen this done, and if so, could you please post some details?

You can do it that way, but you'd be amazed at how much corrosion the body mounts have. This can only be tackled if you take the body off in sections, repairing areas like the tub's rear cross member and front mountings, floor supports, the sills, the bulkhead and the radiator panel as you go.

I'm not a fan of plastic wheel arches on Lightweights, but they are at least in keeping with their non-nonsense angular form. Anyway, you have little choice with the narrow body and wide RR axles. What I really dislike is floppy, untidy conveyor belt strips nailed to the wings, big wheel arches where not required (like most RRCs and Discoverys) or huge wheels and tyres (I dislike those anyway) left exposed by standard spats. It's simply a matter of choosing what is appropriate to the situation.

Regarding the front axle mods, you have two problems with the plan. Firstly, you'll need custom inner half shaft between the diffs and CV joints, but companies like KAM might be able to help with that. Secondly, the steering plan won't work - using the drag link arms on the front of the swivels will give a reversed Ackerman angle where the wheel on the inside of the turn will pivot far less than the one on the outside of the turn. Track rods in front of the axle need to be longer than the lateral spacing of the swivel puns, while track rods behind the axle have to be shorter than the pin-to-pin distance. Disc braked axles had to have rear mounted track rods because the disc brake system took up too much space and the swivel arms had to be canted inwards, making the rod shorter than the swivel pin distance. Have a close look at Meccano's Lightweight - he has got just about everything sorted except his castor angle (which increased when he fitted 1-ton shackles after the axle swap if I understood correctly).

The steering damper was factory fitted to some vehicles, like my SIII 109. It's a good idea off road as it would reduce the tendency of the steering to whip round when hitting ruts or stumps, etc, but I don't know how beneficial it is on road if the surface and vehicle are in good order. Fitting after market wheels of wider spec (typically 7") normally reduces offset because of the way the wheel is constructed, not increases it, and thus moves the tyre away from the chassis, increasing available steering lock. They do make the steering heavier and increase the tendency to follow motorway ruts and road camber. They also increase the steering wander when a pothole or kerb is hit, so a steering damper may be beneficial to a road-going LR fitted with such wheels. This would, however, further increase the heaviness of the steering. I find my 109 to have perfectly acceptable steering with its damper, 235/85 tyres on 7x16" (+2" track) and Metro steering wheel (much smaller diameter than standard), but it's truly awful trying to parallel park or manoeuvre in tight spaces. It's almost unmanageable on the school run (we normally use the RRC for that), and PAS may have to be fitted when I upgrade to Defender axles (the swivel steering arm is shorter, which will further increase the steering gearing).

Personally, I think the Series arches look horrible. They do have the advantage of being the easiest to fit, though, with no trimming of the panels, and should be removable with the screw holes being on the underside of the arches rather than in the flat panels. I think Defender arches look the best, but you would have to cut the panels to fit them. I have them on my 109, pictured below. The aftermarket arches can look cheap or amateur in some cases, while other look of higher quality, but they all seem to scream for attention, which makes them a bit "bling-like" to me. I can see the need for them is some cases, but I don't like them. If Defender arches are wide enough for your tyres and axles, Id recommend that route.

The Carling Switches won't fit the standard TD5 dash unless you enlarge the hole. I was just trying to point out that with some switches you don't need relays and can just wire the heater pads straight to the switch and earth. I don't know what the rating of the standard LR switches is, so I would use relays to be safe, but in your position I'd definitely be using their switches in the dash, not the Exmoor Trim kit switches.

I have a pair of corner protectors which are nearly identical to the BA290Gs. I had an accident last February and caught another car on the front edge of one of the protectors. It tore the wing off the other car (write off) and snapped the cross member of my new Marsland chassis - the top and bottom surfaces snappped cleanly where they were welded to the main rail, and the section folded through 90 degrees to point directly aft. It destroyed the body cross member (the aluminium one that forms the door sill and runs behine the quarter panels), the quarter panel and the wing below the fuel filler. Without it, the damage would have been a dented wing. That much said, I was quite unllucky in the way the accident occurred and think they would normally provide more protection than harm. If you thump something hard enough with these that they damage the cross member, the incident would damage the cross member if there was no corner protector. The military style bumperettes are probably the best as they will deform to reduce chassis loads.

200 Tdi is the engine. The transmission has a completely separate designation. I would assume you are talking about using an LT77 or LT77S, which is the five-speed manual box normally associated with the 200Tdi. You would need the short bell housing model with the long stick, so it would have to come from a 90, 110 or Defender. You would also need the mating kit to connect it to the Series transfer box, which costs about £500. The engine would have to be moved forwards about 4" to accomodate the longer transmission. Fitting the later gear box and its LT230 transfer box is a very big job involving a lot of chassis alterations, custom props, diff swaps, speedo recallibration and using CV joints in the front axle.

From what Ihave heard. soft tops are quieter and warmer as long as the top is in good condition. If the top is stretched and loose, it will flap about and make a hell of a racket.

I have fitted two of these kits. The first, older on/off kit to my RRC soft dash, using just the mats spliced to the vehicle's (then redundant) seat wiring loom, using original RRC soft dash/300Tdi Discovery switches. They're probably the same switches as used in the latest Defenders. The second kit has two elements per mat, with three wires (one common and two independent for the elements). As I recall, the white wire is the common one and is connected to the thermostatic cut-off switch in one mat per seat. You can connect the brown and blue wires together and run them to a relay controlled by the dash mounted Defender switch, so both elements come on or off together. The thermostat breaks the circuit if the pad exceeds 60oC, and reconnects automatically as the mat cools. If you want to have selectable temperature, you could use a three way switch similar to those provided, or just fit the kit as per its instructions. I used 20A three-way Carling Technologies switches that match the other accessory switches on my centre console, with the middle position activating just one element and the lower position activating both. I set the contacts up such that I don't need any relays in the circuits, just a fused supply, the switches and the mats.

The heavy steering at low speed is my own fault - as well as after market 7x16 wheels with 235 tyres )which combine to give not only a bigger foot print than 7.so but also a greater track than standard rims, so create much more resistance), I have retained the steering damper and also fitted a Metro steering wheel (which is more comfortable but has less leverage). On the flip side, I fitted a TD5 heater unit and seat heaters. Add the head lining, interior trim and Defender doors and seals (no draughts), and its reasonably warm in winter. I have four leaf TIC at the back (with a 109 ambulance anti-roll bar) and two leaf TICs (to become three leaf when I switch to Defender axles), so tramp is not a problem.

I have a Wright Off Road kit (and his matting in the rear) and fully lined engine bay/bonnet using Noise Killer matting. It's still noisier than a 110, but is not normally too bad - something has moved and is resonating, but I'll sort it out soon. I also have parabolics and 1-ton shackles and hangers. The 1-ton system gives a 40mm lift, while parabolics normally give another 50-80mm, depending on type and load. My front parabolics struggle under the weight, so will be getting a third leaf.

Me. It's the noise that's the problem - it has a resonating panel or assembly somewhere, which I need to identify and secure. I even prefer the character of the controls and handling to my RRC soft dash, though the steering is a bit heavy in car parks.

If you're going to use a rotary switch for this, why not keep it realy simple and effective by using a potentiometer so that you have completely variable speed, anywhere from nil to full rpm? The wiring would be simpler too, using only the full-speed wire to the original switch connected to the potentiometer and the original earth wire - no need for extra wires, terminals or resistors.

It doesn't sound likely given the costs of having Range Rover specific show rooms and dealers, and given the Sport and new LRX being Range Rover badged, not Land Rover. That much said, I suspect if they are planning such a move, then it'd only be a sales plan and the franchises would still use their existing workshops for servicing and repair. I just don't see the sense in it during a recession where costs are critical to business' survival.

That sounds very likely - a broken or jammed synchro hub leaf spring could freeze the hub in an engaged position.

Have a look at my website (nickslandrover.co.uk) to have a look at how I fitted a 200Tdi to a 109. It drives fantastically well. It also has a lot of sound proofing, improved interior, parabolics, Roverdrive and many other mods and accessories. I have already bought a Discovery front axle and will be buying a 110 Salisbury rear axle from another member on Friday (to be converted to discs). Others on here have already done the mod - Meccano's is one of the neatest I have seen on the net, and a Dutch chap called Koos has shown plenty of photos of his axle conversion here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26166&

There is no vibration through the steering wheel. The vibration is very small in amplitude, and is only minor through the seats and floor; it's more of an audible problem. Damper bushes have been suggested elswhere, as has the harmonic damper. They appear to be fine, though I'm not quite sure what to check on the harmonic damper - there doesn't seem much to check.

No, not by hand, but I had the coupling checked by Rogers of Bedford a while ago and they said it was fine - I watched them get some differential movement with pry bars through the prop yolks nearest the transfer box while it was on the ramp. It looked awfully stiff to me, having expected it to be relatively free until any slip occurred, but they said it was normal. The front tyres do occasionally squeal slightly on smooth concrete in multi-storey car parks or greasy tarmac when at full lock.

Guys, thank you very much. I'll have a look at the local auto electrical supplier (Bedford Battery) first, as I just need to replace one mat, but if they can't supply something suitable, I'll get one of yours, Errol - it's the same type of pad that I already have and they're very effective; I don't think those pads on ebay have enough element density to warm up sufficiently.

My late RRC has a thrumming vibration that appears at 58mph and continues all the way to 70. It's most evident when accelerating. The suspension bushes, prop UJs, CV joints, wheel bearings and brake discs (vented) have all been replaced with no effect, and the wheels have been re-shod and balanced. there doesn't appear to be any play in the transfer box or diff pinion bearings or the prop shaft's slip joint. Does anyone have any ideas on what could be causing it?

OK, once all the heckling has stopped, can anyone please tell me where you can buy these kits? One of the mats on the kit I bought from Scrapiron Racing tore a contact, and the repair was only successful on one of the two elements. Now that they have gone bust, I can't find anyone who sells heated mirror kits for Defenders.

I have a guide here: http://www.nickslandrover.co.uk/archives/619