lansalot

The best thing you can do is take someone along who knows their stuff - I see you've had offers above. Believe me, someone who's been there is far and away the most valuable thing you can have. You can read till you're blue in the face, but a stranger who knows the vehicles and is able to stop you getting all giddy and carried away will be worth their weight in gold. That was the mistake I made - went and looked myself and came away with problems. But, most of them are solved now thanks to them being nothing major and I'm up and running. That's saying nothing of the 8 months it practically sat there while I uhm'd and ah'd. Take someone with you - please !!

I know this isn't much consolation, but I got my kit from Gwyn Lewis which included the angled brackets for the front of the radius arm. The bolts needed persuading to come out, but as the weight of the vehicle was on axle stands on the chassis, we used the jack or a crowbar on the radius arms to assist in the lining up. Had to swap the bolts over as they were pointing out the way (they now point in the way instead). All went well in the end, but a top tip is to fit the track rod ends in first before bolting any of it up, it makes it a little easier.

Hmm. I was all set to fit the guard on mine tonight, so I'll leave until the weekend I think. Post back giving us the full SP on how difficult it was if you can. My bolts need to come all the way out as they are set from the inside looking out. Which means if a date with the hammer is called for, that I have less room to swing it. Thanks, previous owner !

Ah - I forgot the old V=IR bit from my school days. Could work out the R with a multimeter and take it from there. Sounds like the 5A wire I stuck in will do the trick. Now, if I could just fashion something that doesn't look like the dogs breakfast that it currently is.... Will wait and see if I can get the transfer box fixed first I think, and then start spending ! Thanks

Hi Am doing some major re-wiring, and moving some relays about etc. Anyone know what level of wiring (rated amperage etc) I'll need to apply to a typical relay to switch it ? Am going for some of these to power fans on the radiator, spot-lamps etc, but obviously I don't need anywhere as much power to engage the relay. Would 5A wiring be sufficient to engage the switch on a 30A-supplying relay without it burning out/being dangerous ? Also, as you can see, the above page doesn't list amperages that the device needs beyond that that the relay can switch through it, so I'm wondering how I'm supposed to actually calculate stuff like this in the proper manner? Trial-and-error with electrics isn't the best way to do things. Thanks for any advice. ps, and after owning this thing for months, I'm finally starting to enjoy it. Hurray ! (Thanks Tom)

I'll give you the advice I wish I had taken myself. Start reading NOW about what to look out for. Do a thorough test, checking everything you can - and best of all, if you know someone who is into Land Rovers, take them with you. It's worth trying to bribe a forum member in my opinion for a couple hours of their time. I tried it, and while no-one took me up on it, I don't doubt I wouldn't have got caught with the things I never spotted had I had someone handy around. No substitute for experience - so leech someone else's if at all possible!

Ooh. Me likey Let me know when please.

Thanks, would have thought the stuff I get in Kwik Fit etc would be a little on the restrictive side, not looking to strangle the poor thing ? Maybe that won't be an issue however and I'm being overly protective... If anyone has an online source for something hopefully a little more 'suitable', that would be great thanks

LR Defender 90 here with a Rover V8, that the previous owner thoughtfully fitted with a nice Cherry Bomb. Noisy as fook ! Or to put it another way - earplugs a must. Can anyone recommend a reasonably quiet, but hopefully not too restrictive (or expensive), silencer to use instead ? The system is pretty much bespoke, so it's just a box I need. Would like to keep a nice burble, but not this screamer. Anyone ? Thanks in advance

Just wondered if anyone knew of any PC/xbox etc off-road 4x4 type games ? While rummaging through the loft the other night, I found this little classic - and it's still surprisingly good fun. http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/driving/screamer...=summary;review Got me wondering if there are any more recent developments in that area, something a little smarter perhaps ? A friend pointed me towards this free one as well: http://rigsofrods.blogspot.com/ Anyone know of any others ?

Thanks for the advice, all. Got in contact with previous owner who still has the (recently serviced) SU carbs and stuff. Will see how much he wants for them (urk, he wanted to swap for holley, would rather flog them on to try and recoup some cash) I'll be right in contact with you Coastcard (PM sent)

Many thanks for that, I'll be calling him today. Light at the end of the tunnel (potentially ) ! Had the EFI idea last night as I lay in bed, unable to sleep. Lot of wiring involved for that, but I can maybe pick up an old RR/LR that's knackered and rotten and take it from that. Work for the future I think ! Cheers m8

Thanks, but I don't have the stock carbs/manifold. Previous owner flogged them off, thinking the holley would be the answer to all his prayers. If I could get hold of some from a reputable place that I knew to be OK, then I would (as long as they didn't cost me the earth..). Any suggestions where ?

Hi Bought a Defender 90 with V8 conversion in it (LT77 manual box). Not overly happy with it because the previous owner really wanted to get a holley 390 in there. So, off to ebay he went and came back with one along with an offenhauser manifold. Told me him and his brother had a hell of a job fitting the manifold and getting it to seal. Reason being (as I found out when I got it home) was that he didn't get the L-shaped brackets for front/rear galley to clamp the tin (why not composite?? grr.) gasket down. Consequently (and me being somewhat ignorant so as not to have spotted it before), the gasket sealant he used has blown and there's oil leaking out at both ends a bit. Engine is as expected running like a dog. Not happy to say the least - and the v8 expert I know says that SU or weber carb instead would be miles better. General wisdom is that a holley has the float chambers fore/aft, and so on inclines the LR is likely to suffer immensely as one chamber fills and the other starves. "Not good for off-road" is the mantra being chanted around. However, I'm really on a budget here (and in fact, I'm that pizzed off that I'm considering selling the bastid as-is..), so am asking the regulars here if they know of anywhere reputable I might find such kit that isn't going to bust the bank. Brand new weber 500 kit is in the region of 5-600 quid, and that ain't gonna happen with xmas coming up. Basically, I bought the thing, drove it home and haven't been out in it since. Not a happy bunny at all. Any advice folks (apart from "torch it - insurance job!")... ? FWIW, the rest of the vehicle is absolutely 100% rock solid (chassis/bulkhead perfect) - it just needs this engine sorting out.. And at the risk of inviting offers, K-reg, 2" lift, twin-shocks at the front, years MOT, 6 months tax, full 6-point external roll cage, bucket seats, truck cab, new grizzly claw tyres etc... Thanks A rant/whine over.

Thanks Gromit. Haynes manual already purchased and scanned over. The mechanic is a mate of mine who got me into this off-roading lark, so I'm not quite turning-it-over completely (yet). I intend to have a fiddle around myself, but just wanted an expert-eye to tell me what's what before I start breaking things...

Thanks Les, that's the one alright. I'll try the brake fluid trick and keep my fingers crossed. Like I say, there wasn't any sign of weeping before I drove off, but as I appear to have done half the amount of miles the previous owner did in just one entire trip, it's maybe that it's been sitting for ages and not doing much - and my sudden adventure perhaps pushed it over the edge. Unfortunately, this appears to be only one of a few places this new purchase has developed sudden leaks. I'll post back when I know more tomorrow, after a trip to a friendly mechanic. Nearside exhaust sizzling due to fluid leak as well, and there appear to be some pretty large drops around the gearbox/transfer box area. Engine lower seems a bit weepy, but I think that's just what blew off the steering box as I was driving (I hope). My other suspicion is that the offenhauser/holley isn't correctly mounted on the v8 block - previous owner said it was a pig of a job and there appears to be a fair bit of liquid gasket hovering about, perhaps that's leaking a bit. Oh, and the exhaust/manifold join appears ropey and it's blowing a bit there. Odd, given that it got an MOT just a few days before sale. Any idea of how long a seal-replacement might take? Kits seem to be available for around a tenner in the LR mags (if that is indeed what I need), but the garage hourly rate is likely to be the kicker of course. Oh, and I need a hub seal kit for front offside as well as there's grease all over the place. New-to-LR-satisfaction rating at the moment is a pretty lowly 2/10... Hopefully that'll pick up soon. Failing that, LR for sale, LR for sale...

Just got my first Land Rover yesterday (1993, 90, truck-cab, rover v8) and it was fine when I bought it. However, after a 200mile drive home, I awoke this morning to find fluid dripping of my PAS box as well. Thing is, the lock-washer is still folded over so it can't be that the nut has loosened. Will try to get a pic later, but would be grateful for any advice. Previous owner reckons he didn't have this problem, and I'm inclined to believe him as we were very scrupulous for leaks (and tell-tale marks on driveway) for same. If the nut hasn't loosened, would it be likely that the seal has gone in so short a time (200mile, it was a deafening 4-hour drive...). Thanks

That's a great help for starters, many thanks

Hi First time poster, but I've been around here for a while now. Now it's time to jump in - and as is the custom with forums, it's with a request. I've been carefully looking around for a while now, in an attempt to get into this off-road trials malarkey (been to a couple of events and enjoyed being thrown around in my mates discovery immensely) and think I've found the vehicle for me. The owner has done a lot of work to it, and it appears to be pretty well tricked out with all the right stuff. So, in theory, it could just be one of those pay-and-play deals. And, equally in theory, it could also be a dog that he's desperate to get rid of to some fool who doesn't know his arse from his elbow. I don't want to be that fool... and the down side for me is that it's a 3-hour drive/train away, and the only expert I know probably wouldn't feel like accompanying me that far. I don't really want to risk souring the whole experience by buying a dog straight out of the gate, so as it's such a friendly community round here I thought I'd chance my arm - namely, by asking if there might be any Glasgow-based (around 10 minutes from the airport, so I'm told) experts who might be willing to accompany me in a tyre-kicking, chassis-poking, bulkhead-tapping gander-fest ? Of course, there would be a "drink" in it for you If this comes off, I'd typically be looking towards this around the weekend of the 13th/14th. Anyone up for that? Cheeky I know, but hey, worth a try. I've been following some of the threads round here for a while picking up the terminology, and while I can generally feel my way around a dodgy motor, all talk of transfer boxes, centre-lock diffs and swivels leaves me wide-eyed. Which reminds me, if anyone knows of a "beginners guide to land rovers" on the web somewhere that explains all this to the new kid, then that would be pretty smart, thanks I hate being in this position, but I do learn fast - so that's something at least... A