Snagger

Thanks very much. It think that's much lower than the 110, but I have had to ask on the Defender forum to check. I think it may have a 3.5t GVW.

Just in case anyone wants any ideas on how to fit forard facing seats in a 109 hard top, or an 88, then here's what I did: http://www.nickslandrover.co.uk/archives/545

But don't be surprised if it doesn't fit. Neither of my SP exhausts fit correctly - the downpipes wre incorrect both times. The intermediate and rear sections were fine, though.

I fit Defender front seats as a second row (as well as the front) in my 109 hard top and used Exmoor Trim forward facing Trakkers for the third row. All six seats have three-point interia reel belts. It can all be done securely and neatly. Have alook on my blog: www.nickslandrover.co.uk/archives/545

Another way to think of the change in CoG and mass, given the quoted weight and the overall weight distribution, is that it is equivalent to having a small adult male passenger in the centre seat. Not very much interms of vehicle dynamics.

Hi folks. I'm planning to upgrade my 109 with coiler axles (for the better steering lock, to get rid of the steering kick-back in 4wd and to have disc brakes all round). I have sourced a good second hand Discovery I 200Tdi front axle, but have subsequently discovered that the brake pads (an thus callipers) are smaller than on a Tdi/TD5 110. I know that Discoverys are heavier vehicles than 110s, but obviously a commercial 110 has a big gross weight for cargo and heavy towing. On the other hand, Discoverys get used a lot as commercial vehicles and for towing big caravand and boat trailers, and generally travel faster than 110s too. So that I can try to gauge whether the braking capacity of the Discovery axle will be sufficient for my 109, could anyone please tell me the maximim gross weight for a 200Tdi deiscovery?

That could well be a problem, as could faulty shoes with incorrect camber - if the curvature is wrong, the pedal force gets lost in deforming the shoes insead of applying direct pressure. Some of the pattern shoes are well off the correct camber.

Sorry for the late reply. Initially I used double sided neoprene tape (the type for sticking number plates to vehicles), but this didn't work too well, so I ended up with a few small stainless steel self-tapping screws, similar to those that secure the main panels to the vehicle roof. It doesn't sound great, but actually looks fine.

Hopefully these will help. The surrounds are a real pain to fit - getting the hole in the roof lining right takes a lot of measuring and trial fitting.

I think option one is unlikely to happen, so you're looking at option two. Getting hold of the mechanical items shouldn't be too hard - you only need a LHD steering box, right side steering swivel arm and heater blower assembly, gear lever and hand brake lever assembly (lever, left side mounting and torque rod). I suspect the heater matrix could be modified without too much effort to have the pipes emanate from the other side, and you may even be able to modify the blower in a similar way. The steering rods and column can be swapped side-to-side, as can the pedals. The clutch and brake pedal boxes will just need a bit of new piping. The accelerator pedal and linkages should be easily adapted. The wiring harness may need a little extending, but that's just fiddly, not difficult. The bigger problem will be the fascia, instrument panel and heater controls, which need to be LHD spec. The upper fascia is no different, but the lower fascia needs to be swapped to have the steering column notch and foot well/demist flap control cable on the left side (you could try modifying yours, again), and the existing instrument panel would have the switches on the wrongs side, which could cause problems for the speedo cable. That said, if you keep the speedo on the right side of the panel, it might be OK - the cable needs to be in line as much as possible with the aperture in the bulkhead.

To put peoples' minds at rest, my 109 has a 200Tdi with a SIII box, and completed a 2,500 mile Alpine expedition, climbing 1:3 inclines, driving Hannibal's Trail, and managing a 10,500 climb to the Sommelier glacier, fully laden with camping gear, spares and tools and weighing about 3.5 tons. It coped fine with the fast autoroutes too. All that was required was to keep topping up the gearbox oil, which did decrease a little every few days, despite only having the usual evidence of minor weeping.

I fit a 14" electric fan to my 109 because the fan mounting on a Discovery 200tdi engine is too low to use the viscous unit. The fan was used a fair bit climbing the mountains on my Alpine trip, but other than that (and sitting in traffic) it stayed off. However, I'd strongly recommend keeping the standard fan - nothing can go wrong with them, but electric fans can suffer circuit faults, failed bearings, shorting out, they drain the battery when running with the engine off and are simply less powerful and less reliable. The figures that Kenlowe publish about the fan's fuel and power consumption are utter lies - most of the time that the vehicle is moving, the fan will not have a significant angle of attack on the airflow, and so will have no significant turning resistance. When it is working hard, at high rpm and low vehicle speed, it has more effect than an electric fan but little more resistance. The energy for either fan wwill come from the engine, but the fixed fan is more efficient because you don't lose energy through transfers of state from kinetic to EM to electrical, back to Em and then back to kinetic, with losses in the wiring, alternator and electric motor from resistance and heat. The fixed fan is far superior to the electric alternatives. If you look at moder cars, only vehicles with transverse engines get electric fans. All others with in-line engines get engine-driven fans (usually viscous) because of their greater effectiveness, reliability and efficiency. However, if you are set on an electric fan, or compelled to use one like me, a puller fan on the rear of the rad is more effective than a pusher fan on the front.

The normal screens are available as duplex laminate or as a toughened single pane. The heated screens would be at least duplex, possible triplex. With luck, the elements will be in a reasonably thick vinyl laminate, with glass oneither side, which would be a strong composite. As FF has found, wiring them in series will vastly reduce the current draw, but will also make them very slow to clear the screen, somewhat defeating the purpose. I'd fit them in parallel with a 5min timer relay to prevent excess drain on the electrical system.

They should be wired in parallel, as wiring in series will give a big voltage drop on the second screen and the combined resistance will be too high anyway. The thick end of 50A sounds about right until they warm up and the resistance increases, like FF said. The relay and fuse on my RRC's front screen are prety hefty (60A, I think). If your alternator and other loads on it permit, having the screen heated all the time makes it more resistant to stones - the increased ductility of the warm glass will make it less likely to chip or crack.

The dovetail doesn't take any strain off the hinges, just the lock. It's adjustable, so can be set to take the all the weight on that edge without interfering with the lock's operation. They were fitted in the factory to many vehicles, but not all. My SIII had it, but the Defender County rear door I fit to it (complete with factory spare carrier) does not have the mopunting bracket, and the replacement door trim card lacks the spaces for the bracket. I think it was deleted from one model of the Defender (I suspect the 300Tdi) as a Solihull cost saving measure, but was then re-introduced.

The bonnet hook idea is good because the weight of the spare can prevent the bonnet popping up when you pull the release handle, making opening the bonnet a two-person job. This was the case for me until recently, but my release cable has become stiffer and doesn't spring back all the way, so I can now pull it to release the catch and then go out and lift the bonnet (perhaps the weight of the wheel has damaged the locking mechanism). Using the two hooks (not just used on SII, but on the SI, including the centre steer prototype and all MoD LRs from Si to Wolfs and on also the Camel Trophy 110s) would allow you to remove the standard bonnet catch so that you can open the bonnet single handedly more easily (or you can make a holdin-open device to keep the hanle pulled inside while you go out to lift the bonnet).I found the standard Defender rubbers too tall for use in conjunction with a 7" rim with 235s - it cut too much of my forward vision, and I'm 6'. helena may struggle more than me being 5'4". However, by cutting them down in length and reattaching the "nipples" with black PU adhesive (extremely strong glue), I have lowered the spare to sit justa few mm clear of the bonnet and reclaim about 3/4" of the view. It's still in the way a bit, but doesn't cause any trouble. Mike, I'd be interested to see your modified mounting and strap system - the problem I now have with the standard Defender kit is that having stuck neoprene sheeting to the underside of the retaining ring to prevent damage to the wheel centre's paint, the neopren has compresed and stuck with time and will probably rip the paint away from the wheel. A clampless solution would prevent a reoccurence...

You put 1-shot in because the swivels were leaking. DOn't you rather suspect that the damage was caused by running the swivels dry before using the 1-shot, rather than the grease itself? If LM grease is designated for the prop UJs, why do you think only oil is suitable for the swivel UJs? The centrifugal forces will make sure plenty of 1-shot gets into the bearing cups, and the 1-shot tends to liquify with the thrashing arouind of the mechanical parts anyway - it's only the staic grease arouns the edges (ie. near the seals) that stays viscous. I used 1-shot in my 109 swivels for nearly 100,000 miles, and one side was perfect. the other had a worn UJ, but I'm pretty sure the bulk of the damage was done from running dry with the leaks and oil before I bought it - the swivel pins were in terrible shape when I got the vehicle, and I should probably have changed the Uj back then with the pins. I also had Selctro hubs for about a year, but I never noticed any change to speed, economy or steering loads. There may have been a small increase in acceleration, but it may have been wishful thinking. I binned them because they leaked too, and because I believe them to have absolutely no benefits and to be mechanically damaging (swivel pins and prop shaft slip joint) and a nuisance to engage when 4wd is needed in unanticipated circumstances. I also think they're vulnerable to damage if used with standard wheels and look too ugly.

They fit 109s, with a little trimming of the upper flange of the upright posts behind the B pillar - I fit one to my 109 a few years ago - but they won't fit an 88.

Hi folks. I have bought a 200Tdi front axle and brake master cylinder for retro fit on another vehicle (Series 109). The front callipers have two hoses each. The rear axle (once sourced) will have the standard single pot callipers. Could anyone please tell me how the brake lines are connected up to the callipers and master cylinder (the early RRC used one MC output to each calliper with the other output connected to the upper piston in each front unit, while the Defender uses one port for the front brakes and the other for the rear), and whether there are any pressure regulating valves or failure warning valves in the system? If anyone has any photos of the master cylinder and other engine bay components (if fitted) until the pipework routes away to the chassis, then I'd really love to see them. Thanks.

You can remove the boost line to the pump. You can't plug the end connected to the turbo because a bung would be forced out, but plugging the port on the pump will prevent dirt ingress. fuel doesn't go near the diaphragm, so don't worry about fuel leaks.

Remember to get the speedo recallibrated if you change the diffs or tyre diameter, or you'll be going much faster than you think. The HRTC and overdrive don't affect speedo callibration.

I'm still using mine - it gets used all year round for my commute and for other tasks too.

OK, thanks for letting me know, anyway.

By the way, Rob, I'm still intending to buy thos ewheels from you, but you were going to get back to me with a close-up of the corroded bit first.

I can't see any issue with using the existing damper mountings and fitting a good brand like DeCarbon or OME. Just make sure you get the correct type when you order them, ie. EAS type. The EAS spec dampers will cope fine with the coils - the range of movement on coil and EAS vehicles is about the same, but coi spec dampers may not fit the mountings or may be of a different length.