ThreePointFive

Yeah, new filter is a must. When you say cheap, I assume you mean the less well known/own brand stuff? Anything that makes the engine last longer...

It does sound like it is around the manifold area, I think it's probably the gasket. The exhaust always seems to find a weak spot when under load, it's almost all been replaced in the last year and I don't consider myself to be thrashing it. Just topped it up with oil and going to give it a run, thanks for the replies so far.

Digging up this topic again as I'm getting the engine oil changed, I was recommended to use 5W30 by a bloke at Land Rover, knowing nothing about oil viscosity, will this be suitable?

There's a noise coming from the near side front of my 3.5L V8 on Carbs, it's hard to tell where the noise is coming from as it seems to sound worse at some times than others. It sounds like it's around the exhaust manifold/rocker cover edge, if not the part with the tube coming from the air filter with the hose clip around it in this pic: Picture (Ignore red outlined wire, the pic is an old one but saves me taking a new one as it shows the item I'm talking about, on the left hand side of the picture). The noise is a face paced ticking/clicking, a bit like a bearing or something breaking up. I don't know a lot about engines, but I know a ticking noise is not good. The noise first became apparent after it was revved very hard on Saturday. Oh well... if it's the engine about to die, in goes a 4.6L with an auto I think....

Do you think I'll get anything for them on the for sale section? Thanks for that award too, really unexpected. "Most stuck" was more likely, I thought! Out of interest, did anyone else have problems on that track to the rear of that field where we started, on the side Jame's truck was parked? We went down that through the wood, tried to get to the punch on the right, left the ruts and the back end tried to slip out every time I'd move forward, until it was on the edge of a huge hole side on in front of the punch, facing the wrong way.... we had to tow rope it to a tree to stop it going any further before we got some guys in a white disco (think they were marshalls) to winch us... I thought it was going to go over, not fun.

I only have two... I think we were too busy to take more. Us after being winched by HonnitonHobbit and the red Disco... Us getting winched by Matt Neale (to the right, out of shot) in that pit at the bottom of the site we sand tracked our way into, came within 4 feet of the punch, couldn't make it over a tree root and had to be winched after trying to dig/sand track our way out. Sand tracks are quite heavy. This is the first time I've ever come close to ground out the 90... Shame it's on youtube, probably someone will take it as an example of how LRs are inferior or something...

I had a great day today, cheers to everyone who organised/marshalled it, and to everyone that winched me out of the holes I managed to get into. I think that was pretty much everyone with a winch... It was well set out, I think the weather made it a bit challenging for "daily driver" vehicles, but that can't be helped. It was non-damaging and well run. I had some good advice on what to do/get too re winches, waffles, etc, it will be taken on board. Those side steps are coming off (as the driver's one was moved 3 inches from where it started the day). Got a new indicator lense ordered. I really should have seen that tree... or my co-driver should have shouted...haven't decided yet. Anyway, could go on but I think I'll leave it there. Got a few bits of video and pics, want them posted? Good to put a few faces to names, but I didn't get a lot of peoples' forum name of the ones we met.

Weather forecast looks interesting for the weekend!

I know you already know, but I'm not. I'm thinking of bringing my sand tracks so I don't have to rely on beng recovered, but never used them before and they weigh a ton.

Would a 265/75 be ok as a spare for 265/70s? Purely for a get-me-home tyre.

I fear I shall be in for a getting stuck session then. Went to a site today, everything on ATs were getting stuck, some people just gave up. I hope it won't be like that.

Would it not be possible to fabricate a sort of bracket that uses the bolts on spare wheel carriers to mount to, with a bolt/bar protruding out that waffles can be put onto and sequred with a wingnut so they are vertically stored against the spare wheel? It'd block the rear view but would be easily accessible, at a reasonable height and totally removable when the waffles aren't being used, so no one runs into the back of the spike. Probably a lot of reasons against it but just thought it up.

How do people secure the ammo boxes? I dug mine out and filled it with all the stuff I need and now I'm worried that instead of lots of small things flying around inside the car, there's one huge heavy thing. I'm all set for the 29th now, I think I've got just about everything and tried to go the extra mile where possibile, ie: jate rings on the rear not just a towball which is the minimum. Really looking forward to it now, maybe too much. I haven't been offroading properly in ages.

Hi all, my rear breather managed to get melted by the exhaust near the connection to the axle, I have enough breather left to connect the two up again but I need to know how they do it originally, if anyone has a picture that'd be a great help. Basically just need to see where it goes from where it's cabled tied to the A frame (X in photo)) and somehow runs down to the axle. Any help appreciated. Would cable tieing it along the axle be ok, leaving the breather fairly taught but away from the exhaust, or would the axle articulation be an issue?

I'm using 10W40, as recommended by Land Rover, but hadn't heard of the issue described above so I'll have to look into that for the next oil change.

Gutter Sealent is black gold. I used bathroom stuff on my sunroof and within a few days it was leaking. I got fed up with it so took the glass out, cleaned out the gutters, filled it with gutter sealant and put the glass back on then filled the second gutter running around the outside of the sunroof until it was level with the top of the glass. It hasn't leaked since. Although I can't open the sunroof any more, but a Defender has enough places for air to get in.

I settled on the bulkdead behind the seats as it was the easiest, most convenient way of fitting it and it's accessible from both sides rather than easy from one and hard to reach from another. I tried the footwell idea but I thought it would annoy the passenger. On the gearbox tunnel was a good place but I couldn't easily bolt it through the other side.

Thanks, I'll have a look at placing it in those places.

I am afraid I have yet another question. Where do you guys keep your fire extinguishers? Mine arrived yesturday and trying to find a place which is accessible and secure to fix the mount to is proving difficult. The rear of the centre bulkhead is the only place I could store it vertically, cutting into my passenger leg space, or between the front seats on the bulkhead, fixed horizontally. That is a neat way of doing it but the mount seems designed for it to be stored vertically. Other than those places, roof racking it or in the cubby box, I don't think that's accessible enough though.

I would like to get a dog guard as I can see the obvious advantages in being seperated from the load space and of being able to fix items to it, such as the fire ext., however the previous owners of my 90 modified (read: cut away) the driver's side of the bulkhead so fitting a dog guard will be difficult to say the least. Time to make friends with a welder I think!

The payment will hopefully be on its way tomorow morning. I do have one more question regarding the regs: Does this mean a standard land rover centre bulkhead or something the full height of the cabin such as a dog guard? I am pretty much up to spec or buying anything I'm not missing so should be able to comply on the day.

Thanks! Any idea how much they cost? I am hoping they'll be the best quality I can get within reason.

I went to Land Rover today and asked them about Jate rings, the parts bloke couldn't find anything. Is that number for LR genuine ones? Maybe with a part number we will have more luck.

I am looking for some rear recovery points, which jate rings are the one to go for? The paddocks ones are £17 but cheapest isn't usually best, so is the extra £15 for the first four offroad ones worth it? Also, if a rope has to bend around a steering guard to get to a jate ring on the front, that would be dangerous, wouldn't it? I assume the only safe thing is an uninterupted path from the recovery point to the other vehicle.

There is talk of the 110 V8s being rare, but is a 1988 V8 90 also worth keeping original? Not to stray (or hijack) the topic too much, but my own 90 is at the point where it could be tidied up nicely into an original spec vehicle, or made into a toy. I don't want to do anything too stupid with something potentially rare, and as anyone who has been on forums I post on may know, this issue has made me take a step back with the direction I want to take the vehicle on numerous occasions. I'm not worried about getting more money, but am worried about cutting up something of a rarity. and have never got a definitive answer on how much I should be worried. I would love to keep the engine, but with an auto box, respray charcoal grey and other mods, so you see why this is a dilema.