Eightpot

yeah, worth a look at a Freelander 2 - I had one on test for a week a couple of years ago when I had to change company car and really liked it. They gave me the top of the range HSE thingy and it was totally nice - felt very Range Rover like inside. Would have had it in a heartbeat if it weren't so expensive in my car scheme.

Take it you mean a tendency to wander slightly rather than a shimmy as you go over bumps? I think raising the suspension does make this a little more of a tendency, but you might want to check your steering box for play and panhard rod bushes and bolts aren't worn. Not enough steering preload can increase wander as well.

Trying to help a guy in Italy complete his FFR Defender, and he needs some bits for his radio table - amphenol connectors etc. The photo he's sent me of his radio table doesn't look like any of the ones I've seen though, and the connectors are different - anyone recognise this type, is it a new style battery box??

Looking at the mixed selection, probably quite a few in there you wouldn't get the use of if it's mainly for Land Rover tinkering - 70mm long m6 bolts, 30mm M12's for example. There was a chap at Sodbury selling tubs of fastners for an incredibly good price, but they were all funny lengths so not that much use. local supplier is best bet, or if you're feeling lazy Namrick seem to be decent enough

can't say I ever found copart cheap, especially once VAT and fees go on top. Lots of foreign bidders on there that bump the price past the worth while stage as our insurance category system doesn't apply to them. The last couple of cars I bought on there I pretty much lost money on, as by the time you've paid for all the parts/paint, you can get a straight one for less if you shop about. Plus you aren't stuck with a cat c/d notice which haunts you come resale time. Expensive cars aren't shifting that quickly at the moment so get in touch with people who have had an ebay classified ad on for a long time, tell them what you can go to and see if they'll do a deal. I just helped my old man get a car advertised at £13k for £9500, easier work than bashing panels out.

I used Garmin maps for mobile when I had a car-computer in my overland truck and was dead impressed with it, especially the touch screen functionality. I see they do an iphone version now - bit pricey at £50, but when I bought my pc package, Maplin were doing a special at £50 for full Europe software including a good GPS dongle, which was less than half the price of Garmin direct, so worth checking them out. not relevant to iphones, but I used Google earth on the car pc as well, it accepts input from a GPS dongle, and it tracks or guides you as you drive along. Then if you zoom down to road level, you can see into the back gardens of the houses you're driving past

I've been driving ex MOD 90's around for years and never had a problem with wind or rain coming through the sliding door tops?? (unless the window's open ) The glass seals well, and with a little time spent on adjustment, the doors seal just fine - they can gape a little at the top sometimes but the frame can be bent inwards with care. And in my own experience they don't rot anywhere near as fast or as chronicaly as wind up window doors, which are full of moisture traps and rot from the insides out. They do let more road noise through though, but the big plus is more leg and elbow room.

parts prices are ok actually. A mate of mine who had done two trans-Africa trips left his 110 with British 4x4 to completely refurbish. He showed me the invoice, and the charges for the parts were comparable with UK - not quite Paddocks prices but seemed perfectly reasonable and certainly well below UK dealer prices. The stuff I got from Landyparts 4 Africa - Terrafirma shocks, exhaust system, bushes, bearings, seals etc was around the same as Paddocks. I went with my mate to British 4x4 once when he was looking at getting a secondhand spare wheel - they have a bit of a breaking yard round back - they wanted a silly price, so we left it. Dont forget that if you buy stuff in SA, keep the receipts, and you can claim the VAT back when you leave. You may be able to do this with some of the stuff you fit to the car if you keep the packaging and put the old item in. Difficult call on the prop - I checked mine recently and thought there was loads of play on the slider, and also noticed the UJ was gone - was going to change the prop but, changed the UJ and the play in the slider seemed to disapear. Maybe go to British 4x4 and get the UJ popped on and get thier opinion on the splines.

The best thing I've found for cleaning chassis down are poly discs in an angle grinder - feeble looking things that look a bit like a dish scourer, but will take rust and paint back to bare shiny metal in one sweep. Two or three should do most of a chassis, try not to go over a sharp edge with them as it wears them down quick. I prepare two or three chassis a month and it used to take me half a day to clean them up with wire cup brush - poly discs do it in an hour. I always use 'hammerite underseal with waxoil' - about a tenner from Halfords and really good stuff. I paint it straight on bare metal and it leaves a nice smooth satin black finish that doesn't stay oily and doesn't chip or flake off like paint. Been using it for six or seven years and not had rust come through it yet.

A late 80's ex military 110 would be a good start point if you go down the 110 route and are going to chop the body about anyway. Can be got for a decent price, early chassis' tend to be much better than the ones from 1990 onwards, usually lower mileage and will have have been much better maintained than most civvy ones.

You can get bearmach stuff at Landyparts 4 africa, just outside of Durban - good prices and nice chaps. Also British 4x4 in pretoria if I remember correctly are very good, very large workshop and parts counter, bit more of a big commercial place but still good.

I've seen a few ads like that for things that I actually needed and would have bid on, but the thought of having to meet the zany 'you should see me at parties' funny guy author and be subject to their endless wit puts me right off. And rule number 1 - never buy a car off a clown honk honk.

I use haulage firms to bring my Defenders across the country, as it works out much cheaper than hiring a trailer and all the fuel and a days lost work. Shipleys and Uship can be ok, but you pay commision and can't speak with them directly and straight away. Go to YELL, search for car transport or haulage companies in the area where the 110 is located and ring round. I normally pay £80 cash in hand to get a Defender delivered on a low loader, or double deck transporter from 100 miles away, though I'm lucky as the firm I use has a depot near me.

You can get the NATO semi-gloss paint mixed up in synthetic from any paint factor, there's a standard paint code for it. If you ask them for 'Fast Flash' thinners helps it dry a little quicker, thin it 15-18% - about £4 a litre, or use white spirit. You might just get away with a litre, but its only about 30 quid for 2.5 litres .

I normally use Mr Muscle with a brush or sponge and wash the bits down in a sink, wipe them over with a cloth and then rub back to black in. brings them up a treat.

presuming you've got some ultra stiff aftermarket springs on, try Land Rover HD rear springs as fitted to military 90's etc. They won't take a ton of sand, but they're a bit stiffer than standard and give a nice ride with less body roll.

Check it isn't coming from the seat runners or seat box - does it still make the noise when someone is sitting in the passenger seat?

Tdci doors are fetching mega money - these are not far off par for the course - wonder what the dealer price would be for two new doors, painted?? A mate of mine works for a large bodyshop owned by one of the big insurance companies doing insurance crash repairs, and they commonly buy second hand doors and panels rather than new dealer parts to keep their overheads down, probably what helps keep some of the prices artificially high.

I'd have thought there would be too many variables to make such a test worth anything - temperature, vehicle weight, driving style - the results would still only mean anything within the test itself, not real world. It would be easier to come up with a list of truly rubbish tyres, such as Goodyear G90.

Morten - yes, that bracket is for holding the big 24v alternator. let me know if you need any more details. Darren

I find the easiest way for me to fill the main gearbox (as I don't have a proper oil squirty thing to do it from underneath) is to undo the four bolts that hold the gearstick in, remove the stick and pour in the oil.

I've just checked, and a standard military 24v alternator from a 2.5 n/a diesel will fit your TDi engine - if your engine already has bolt holes for an air conditioning compressor, the mounting cradle will bolt straight on. If you dont have the holes, you will should be able to drill and tap them easily enough but would probably need to remove the timing case cover first to clean out any bits of metal that will fall inside. Photo attached of me holding the mounting cradle in place on a TDi engine - alternator attaches to this. You would then need a suitable drive belt. If you already have a 24v alternator, it may be the same as the later 2.5 ones and fit in the cradle? I may be able to help with some or all of the parts if needed.

I let a mate of mine drive me to hospital in my 90 once after nearly pulling my finger off - jumped down from the roof after folding a rooftent away and my ring caught in the roof bars : X If I didn't need my good hand to hold my other hand together I'd have rabbit punched him for slapping the clutch out on every change and clonking us all the way there You say you have a clank rather than a clonk though - have you checked the exhaust isn't tapping against the chassis where it goes over the back axle? might just need a bit of adjustment.

I have taken a 24v alternator off a UK MOD 2.5 diesel engine recently, and the mounting bracket looks like it might bolt onto the mount for the aircon unit on a 200tdi engine. I've got a TDi and a 2.5 diesel in my workshop at the moment, so I'll try to remember to try the bracket on the TDI to see if it fits.

You'll probably find you can do the whole trip if you're careful as it is and it will be fine. If you've got a few niggles in the back of your mind though (clutch/gearbox ) you may as well sort them here as you won't find anywhere else in the world cheaper or easier. bearing in mind the overall cost of your trip, and it may be the only one you ever get to do, it's bad economy to spend half of it under a Land Rover, spending a lot of time worrying about that noise (which you will spend a lot of time doing ), trying to find spares or arranging for parts to be shipped out. From my own experience nursing elderly Land Rovers round Africa and Europe, the things tend to keep trundling on with clunky, noisy, banging gearboxes and engines for a considerable time - the only stuff that has ever ground me to a halt has been bust wheel bearings, bust UJ joints, failed brake caliper seals, damaged brake hose, idler bearing on power steering failing, failed alternators, having more punctures than tyres, overheating due to bust electric or viscous fans, exhaust pipe wrapping round back axle. Electrical problems like brake lamp switches failing, earth problems, small fires, big fires, nothing working or everything working all at once. Tyres can be real expensive overseas, so if yours aren't 100% tip top, with loads of tread, consider changing them here. Take a couple of tubes with you, some proper tyre repair patches and some emergency sticky plugs. I'd change your bushes for standard new rubber ones if there is any play in them especially the pressed in ones - only reason being that they do help with tightening up the handling, and it makes a difference to a loaded up car on rough roads where you tend to swerve about a lot, and again it's easier to do it at home. Take spare rear radius arm to axle bushes, panhard rod bushes and shock bushes and that should do you. I always pack a spare alternator, and it's paid of on most trips. heavy but it's always been worth it for the convenience. Great trip you've got planned there, sounds like you're going to have a blast !