Eightpot

I had a go at lashing up a power steering system between my Isuzu engine/pump and Range Rover steering box, using double jubilee clips on the high pressure hose. Whatamistakeatomakea!! Started engine with bonnet open, Turned steering wheel. bang, squirt, painted side of house and roof red extremely quickly. There's a lot of pressure in there.

I like the guy doing the very technical squiggle - managed to get all the way round that corner without stopping or going over the edge

I was watching a tv show on one of the cable channels a little while back that was showing how ambulances were made (american ones) To make the back body, they just made a big ally frame, then put Sika or similar on with mastic guns the length of the frame, then just pressed the aluminium sheet on to box it in. No rivets, screws nuts or bolts. Then they cabled it up inside, fitted the trim, stretchers and kit, lifted it onto the chassis with a fork lift and bolted it down. I was a bit surprised at the time, but after thinking about it, a pop riveted body does seem like a fairly poor engineering solution in comparison to a really good strong adhesive bond over the entire area of the joint.

And if you use miltary/S111 type split doors with sliding windows, you get even more elbow room and more leg room. The width issue really only started when they fitted wind up windows.

I have one fitted in front of a TDi radiator, and the outlets pass either side no problem - if the series rad is much wider you might struggle. Too dark for me to go out and check the dimensions at the mo sorry.

it doesn't have to be a big problem to drain the battery like that. I had the same problem recently and it was a very thin gauge wire that ironically connected my battery monitoring gauge - had just been rubbing a little on a bracket and was earthing out. Drained two big numax batteries in four hours. I normally use a digital multimeter switched to the continuity setting , and the earth probe grounded, touch the other probe onto the various circuits. If you get a positive reading on a circuit you can start narrowing it down fairly quickly. You'll need a circuit diagram and be able to read it to get very far though, the haynes diagrams are generally ok.

I think even darker forces than the factory have been at work on this car I just managed to find the info I need on this link from Rimmer Bros - http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/content--name-Land-Rover-Defender-Introduction from June '93, vented discs and rear discs were fitted as standard, so at least I know what to go shopping for now.

Quick brakes question - Just checked over a 110 I picked up the other day and noticed it has a solid brake disk on one side, and a vented disk on the other! (front brakes) It's a '93 CSW - I presume someone has had to replace a disk, and saved a couple of pounds by getting a solid one, which would still work in a vented caliper, though I would of thought an earylish defender would have had solid disks anyway? Trying to figure out which type in need to buy to replace them its been through at least one MOT test like this as well...

I had exactly the same problem on my rears, and funnily enough in the same place. The heat build up damaged the seals. I tried stripping/cleaning them but the same thing happened again, this time setting fire to my rear hub. I thought all the waving truck drivers and pedestrians were just really pleased to see me . As I neglected to take a spare set with me, and I couldn't get another set anywhere (early Range Rover) I just had to disconnect the rear brakes and stop with just the fronts for six months A bit of a bush fix might be to try some new brake pads - as they are thicker, they will push the pistons back further, possibly past the sticking point.

used tyres seem to be going for silly money at the moment as well. it's not a local thing either, I was trying to get some new tyres in Africa last year and prices were ridiculous - any brand name tyre was between $300-$500 dollars each, I ran mine down to the cord till I found somewhere that could get me some at £120 each. We don't do badly in the Uk though and are pretty well insulated from price increases due to the volumes of goods imported, our online marketplace mentality which continually drives prices down and reasonable import duties on goods. So yep, they are expensive at the mo, but still very cheap here compared to elsewhere.

You may (though not positive) also need to change the latch thingy on the B post as the door locks are different, unless you have the early wind up window doors with lift up door handles at the moment.

Sounds narsty - would surely drip off over the drive and get all over you when you do any work under the car at a later date? I'm a big fan of the tetrosyl underseal with waxoil. Only a fiver a tin from Halfords etc. Leaves a really nice smooth black finish, dry to the touch, and doesn't chip off. You can make the finish even better and help it get into little nooks by flashing it over quickly with a blowtorch. Always done my chassis' with this and not had to weld one yet., or not through rust anyway..

Order eventually arrived after another email which they responded to - couldn't reach them by 'phone. I'll put it down to a cock up which we've all made, but I must say I wouldn't want to do business with them again, which is a shame as I find their products very good. Its beyond me that in these times companies aren't chasing business and trying to impress customers - it's not hard.

Yeah, jettison all the tinned cheese and corned beef you've been carrying round for a couple of months What gets you on the roads round there isn't so much the outrageous pot holes, but the speed bumps. The people who make them have probably never driven a car, so they end up like a shrubbery wall across the road, and on a bright day you can't see them as they always seem to make them in the shadow of a tree across the road, presumably so the worker stays nice and cool while he builds the tarmac wall you're about to hit at 70kph. Tears the guts out of the bottom of the car. I made the population of a village flee once after letting out a louder than normal tirade after hitting one too many

Stop fiddling, put the scales away and get the Tuskers on Your problem might just be that those Terrafirma big bores are just not the right thing for overland - I looked at some when I had to get a new set in SA and they just looked like they were more for show than anything. Didn't like the look of that huge damper bore. If the shocks are too firm, all that impact gets transmitted straight towards the chassis, possibly why the eyes have got destroyed. I suffered a similarish problem with having the springs too stiff - I had inner helper springs on the rear as well as the heaviest duty OME springs I could get. End result was a great firm ride and little roll on bends but got a badly cracked chassis forward of the spring hangers by the time I got to Tanz. Softer dampers might be just the right thing. I fitted some standard dampers recently and checked damping under compression and extension - found the same thing, harder one way than the other - but once on the car it made sense as as one side goes up the other has to come down and damping was equal.

Sounds odd, I did the same route with HD OME springs and standard length Koni heavy trak shocks, and never had a problem, got through a few bushes , but the shocks lasted the whole 25,000 miles. Only just removed them in fact. Maybe those Terrafirmas just aint as firma as they could be... If you struggle with any bits, I mentioned a place called Top-range (I think thats what it was called, or maybe Hi Range..) it's in T4A from memory, and the address was on the notice board in JJ - it's in the main car accessory shop quarter of Nairobi, maybe on Dar Es Salaam Rd or certainly nearby - Indian guy runs it and stocks lots of Bearmach and genuine stuff. Prices were pretty reasonable as well. Wish I was there!

Where abouts are you? Has the ring actually been pulled into an oval shape, or has the inside worn oval? Presumably you've got taller springs fitted - obviously this will give you a bit less axle drop when you go into pot holes, maybe this is why it's maxing the shock out? if you can find some standard shocks, probably just as well fitting these, you might find that as they give way a little easier, there is less stress on the shock eyes. A lowered shock mount may help,Top Range in Nairobi may well stock them, or if you're in SA, British 4x4 in Pretoria or Landy parts 4 Africa in Durban are good.

maybe so, but I should still have either received my goods or a reply after 21 days don't you think? I'd be pretty miffed if an ebay buy took this long to come through.

Anyone aware of any problems with these guys at the moment? Been waiting over three weeks for an order to show and no response to emails and phone is constantly engaged tone or rings out - rapidly approaching the point where I have to place another order locally to get the bit I need for a car I'm selling, if anyone knows if the guy is on holiday,ill or having probs it would be useful. cheers

They have smaller diameter tyres, so lowering the gearing. My old ex MOD rag top 90 with a 200tdi had the disco gearing and 235/85 tyres - the gearing really suited it and it was great on the motorway, never struggled in fifth at all and would pull upto 90 odd mph (on a private motorway of course) On the couple of times I had to tow with it though it really struggled - had to tow my rangie back from the docks and all up trailer weight was over 3.5T , not something I want to do again in a 90 - had to start off in low box, and gearing was awful, struggled to keep it in fourth and nearly killed the clutch.

yep, they will fit. I'd be tempted to spend a bit more and get either a recon or known good box personally, unless you know it's a good un? (funny how all the engines and boxes for sale on ebay and photographed sitting forlornly in a puddle of oil and mud seem to have been pulled from 90,000 mile cars...)

You don't necessarily need to change your transfer box, you can just change some of the cogs inside to change the gearing, or get a gearbox specialist to do it for you. Saying that though, you can pick up disco transfer boxes for cheap, so either way won't break the bank. Any disco diesel box will do, some have a Q suffix, which had the teeth cut slightly different to make them a little Quieter. Changing the gearing works very nicely for long road trips, especially with tall tyres as well. Did it in my last 90 and it was much more civilised on the motorway - can't say it improved mpg much - it would take more than that to make a Defender fuel efficient at 70mph, but noise levels changed from washing machine full of nails and cats on full spin to darth vaders tie fighter in a tunnel. It does make it more difficult to tow a heavy trailer though, but if thats a rarity then go for it.

I had one of those cheap halogen electric heaters you can pick up from discount stores for a tenner in the back of the Rangie ambulance while we were travelling through Europe in early spring - felt a bit safer than using a fan heater, and the heat was very directional. Don't think I'd put anything electric in the Defender though, it's normally wetter inside than out...

Not sure what made me feel more nauseous - struggling through the massive multi-coloured unpunctauted and comically spelt advert or the garish hotwheels-a-tron.

It's possible to pick up an early 200TDi 90 for less than a grand and a half now - I'd consider buying one of these, swapping all the best bits of your current truck over, then flog your old 90. Might cost less overall and save on spanner time. If you bought and sold well it might even by a free upgrade?