deep

The real problem, I believe, is that the handbrake just pulls the engine/gearbox against the ageing rubber mounts and takes most of the effectiveness out if everything isn't perfect. The brake itself is plenty strong enough. I'd imagine getting the Defender cable setup to fit would provide enough of a solution, though I've never tried it personally!

Disconnect a battery terminal and put an ammeter (normally just the amp setting on a multimeter) between the battery leads and the terminal, with everything turned off. Make sure the ammeter is up for at least 5-10 amps and don't turn anything on as it's very easy to fry a cheap ammeter. That will measure the drain you have when parked (alarm, receiver for central locking, a tiny bit for the radio, plus any leakage you're not aware of). You can quickly do the maths to see if the loss on your battery is very light, implying your battery is faulty, or more than you thought, which means the battery may be fine but it is time to look for a current leak. A drain of even half an amp will cause a problem over a few days. Something like a multi-power socket adaptor with an LED light could draw more than you think if it doesn't turn off with the key.

My 1987 110 has a 1.6x:1 transfer box. Can't remember what "x" is 'cos the sticker vanished when I water-blasted it! Now I think about it, I seem to remember the 90 having a different ratio to compensate for the bizarrely small tyre diameter.

I actually put 255/85s on my 2.5NA 110 and the gearing is much nicer (and the speedo more accurate!) than it was with 7.50s. I can't imagine how unpleasant a 90 would feel, with the same gearing, on 205s!

The screw on the side is the fuelling adjustor. I hope your remember what position it was in when before you removed it! Mine sits a lot further out than seems "right". Note that turning the screw in increases fuelling and turning it out reduces fuelling, the opposite of what seems intuitive. I've had to bleed my pump several times since getting my own 1987 2.5 going, chasing endless leaks around the injector pump. I'm sure the book said to have the key on when priming but I'm equally sure I've forgotten more than once and primed successfully anyway. In any case, fuel doesn't exactly spray out of the bleeder but it's an obvious flow. It does take a lot of hand pumping to get the fuel flowing so maybe you just need to pump for a bit longer? The other thing to consider is that your lift pump could be ageing. Mine was working, in that the engine ran, but got to the stage I absolutely couldn't bleed the injector pump with it. It's one thing pushing fuel through open pipes but the plumbing in the pump is more restrictive. You can easily tell by trying to stop the flow out of the lift pump with your finger while you operate the pump (but watch it doesn't spry diesel into your eyes!). If your finger can't feel much pressure, it might be time to replace the lift pump? If you do have fuel coming through your bleed screw, surely that means you have the air out of the pump? Next stage is to crack a line at an injector and turn the engine over with your foot down on the accelerator pedal. Fuel should appear pretty quickly if you do it like that. If all else fails, it's not too scary to lift the top of the pump to investigate further. Beware of the two springs under the throttle linkage. The tension spring can be released with an obvious nut on top of the linkage, very helpful when putting it back together. Take a photo of where everything is so you don't need to readjust things afterwards. It's very important to note that all the throttle linkage has to be removed, as you need to push the throttle spindle into the pump as you lift the top off. That way, you won't disturb the three very light springs inside.

Good to see that tow-hook on it. Keeps it relevantly Land Rover...

Another build worth following. I love your attitude to building stuff. The ramp-over angle looks adequate...

Interesting question and I couldn't answer it for sure but I would expect the seals to hold the fluid in unless you pushed the pedal.

Twice I've had clutches that did something similar and, in both cases, the friction plate fell to bits after a few months. Before pulling it all apart, check the flexi hose - my last clutch issue was caused by that breaking up inside. A much cheaper thing to fix than replacing a plate!

I can't help, sorry, but will watch for answers to your query. Work provides me with a Surface Pro and one of the downsides is that I can not get either of my bluetooth GPS units to work with it on Windows 8.1 (though it will recognise both, a GNS1000 and a BT 338). The BT unit worked fine with a previous Windows XP netbook and the GNS1000 works with my MacBook Pro and iPhone, plus an Android tablet, so it is disappointing. Google hasn't helped much - it just seems that bluetooth GPS support is poor in Windows 8. I wonder if Windows 10 will be better?

If a new servo is faulty and you kept the receipt, you should be able to get an exchange or refund, surely?

This thread had me scratching my head, so I did some maths. I worked out what it might cost, here in New Zealand, to run a TD5 or a V8 over 100,000 miles, just in terms of fuel and road tax costs (it's hard to keep track of what the tea leaf readers at motor reg are up to over any sort of time period). I assumed a lot of town running and maybe some off-road, rather than all being at optimal speed on a wide open road. Turns out you could save around $NZ24,000 (~12,000 pounds, give or take) by driving the TD5. That would allow a fair bit for extra servicing etc.! That saving translates to being able to buy two or three extra Discovery 2s over that period (around four or five years for me). A free car every two years?

Must have been late July. Pretty cold air temp but the spring was warm, off course. Months later, in northern WA, Darwin and into Kakadu it got into the mid 40s and muggy and I loved it! I never even used the shower at Dalhousie. People had defecated all over the floor and I wasn't going near the place. I moved on next day to Purnie Bore (I think that's the name). Stunning place. Not another soul there but I got seriously harassed by a grey ghost type of bat! I got used to drinking bore water. It rarely tasted good and I didn't have a purifier but I mostly just drank tea and I was fine. Actually, my first bought meal once I left the Great Central Road on the WA side made me crook and nothing in the bush did. Clearly born to be wild!

Great video, really captures the spirit of the journey. You could see that Cruiser was having it's problems... I loved the Simpson Desert, though I went in from the Dalhousie end and only went about half way in before turning back. I was expected in Perth and that was the wrong direction! The dunes are much easier at that end but it was still fun. There had been lots of rain earlier (Lake Eyre was still full) so the desert was covered in blooms. I'll try to find a photo. Dalhousie was an intense disappointment. After doing the Oodnadatta, to suddenly find a hundred or more people crammed into one spot, many of which were noisy and had bad toilet habits, was a shock, though the water sure is nice there! I remember someone asking if I was worried, travelling alone in a 22 year old Range Rover? It had never crossed my mind I should be!

"... to the nearest foot." So true!

I remember Top Gear's cleverly rigged test, in which they got a BMW M3 to chase a Prius around a racetrack and got better fuel economy out of the M3. I think the hybrid idea really only pays off in slow city traffic. Otherwise you are carrying a heavy car, with two motors and a pack of batteries, around the countryside with a too-small engine. If it's stop-start, then the efficiency of charging with a small engine probably come into play. Anyway, those batteries have heavy metals which bring their own problems.

I know we are waaaaaay off topic but I couldn't resist. I have good memories of courteous driver behaviour on English motorways - all things being relative. There aren't many motorways here in New Zealand but, where there are (or wherever there are two or more lanes really), there's an indecent proportion of drivers who consider multi lanes as an invitation to spread out and do their own thing. It's not uncommon for the middle lane to be the fastest because someone slow is hogging the fast lane. We have a general rule of keeping to the left but it's not taken seriously, wasting the potential for good traffic movement. The other common behaviour is people who drive just a bit under the speed limit but accelerate hard when they come to a passing lane. It can drive you mad! .....and back to the proper topic: we have a different system here, in which diesel fuel is much cheaper than petrol but petrol has road tax included. Diesel vehicles incur separate road tax according to a complex formula of gross weight, number of axles/wheels and wheel size. Despite that tax being quite high, it works out vastly cheaper for me to run my current diesel Land Rover than my former petrol one. LPG tends to be marginally cheaper than petrol but is a risky option as the relative prices vary a lot over time. There is a subtle gummint move against diesel. They somehow incur a higher registration fee for no apparent reason and that road tax has increased significantly over the last decade or so. Still, no paranoia here and most large four wheel drive vehicles are diesel powered (though petrol Range Rovers and older Discoveries are commonplace). Pure electric vehicles are near non-existent and hybrids are still scorned as a bit of a marketing gimmick, though you do see a few on the road.

Very tidy!

I know how much - I used to have one on my two previous Land Rovers (same bumper!). Still trivial next to the cost of a D3/4. The point I made stands...

When I went across Australia, I was very lucky because I based myself in Melbourne to prepare. The old family friend I stayed with used to be chief engineer for Australian Airlines and he wouldn't let me leave until we had been all over my 22 year old Range Rover. It took weeks. Talk about fussy! Even then, I had a bit of trouble with the odd bit - a clutch seal, carb diaphragms, that sort of thing. Overall all, though, the reliability was great and I was super-grateful for the preparation when I was on roads that hadn't been used for many months.

With a problem like this, you have to be very methodical to sort it and absolutely only change one thing at a time. So, for a start, disconnect the vacuum hose to the brake booster (and preferably plug it with a snug-fitting bolt if you plan on running your engine). While doing that, check the steering linkage isn't contacting the vacuum hose, as unlikely as that sounds! Now you are only looking at the issue you have with a soft pedal when you turn. How about this: Jack the front of the car off the road (enough for both wheels to lose contact) by jacking and using axle stands under the axle. You want the suspension to be as it would be on the road, so don't jack off the bumper. Leave the engine off, it will only distract you. Now, put your foot on the brake and turn the wheel left to right. Does the pedal pressure change? If so, you've tracked the problem to something that moves only with the steering, most likely a rubber hose but also potentially an improperly mounted calliper. The wheels aren't turning, so it won't be a wheel bearing issue in this case. If turning the steering doesn't provoke a change, you will need an assistant. The first test is to feel the brakes, release them, then get your assistant to rock and then spin a front wheel. Re-apply the brakes. Repeat for the other side. If one of these provokes a change in pedal feel the first time you apply the pedal, play in a wheel bearing or a warped disk is suspect. The warped disk shows up in the spin test, the wheel bearing in the rocking test. If nothing has provoked a change in pedal feel, get the front wheels back on the ground. Now get your assistant, preferably a strong, able-bodied type or get two assistants. The idea here is to place your foot on the brake, still with no engine running, and hold that pedal. Then get the assistant(s) to rock the vehicle side to side as vigorously as they can. If this causes a change in pedal feel, there is very likely to be an issue with the suspension and hoses not being in harmony. You can check which side by getting your assistant to jack under the axle near one wheel, one corner at a time, while you hold that all important pressure on the pedal. As one wheel goes up, the other goes down. Any change is more likely to be a hose stretching under lift than one catching under compression but check for both. Obviously some care is required as the car has to be jacked a fair way and they are heavy if they fall off the jack! I can't imagine these tests won't replicate the pedal problem. However, if they don't, you need to find a quiet bit of road, something like a carpark at night. With the vacuum hose disconnected, drive at a low speed and feel the brakes. Then, at the same speed, make a moderate turn in one direction and feel the brakes. Do the same in the other direction. If there is no effect, try going a little faster but remember that applying the brakes in a corner is a good way to roll your car so be very careful and feel your way through this with caution. If one or other turn is having an effect on pedal travel, it just means the weight of the car and duration of the turn is more effective than the feeble rocking your friends can provide! However, I feel jacking the axles a corner at a time should produce more twist on your axles. Still... Don't do any of the above tests with the vacuum hose connected as that has an immediate effect on pedal feel which you are trying to avoid. However, if none of the above has produced the problem, that will be your next port of call. The first thing is to remove the plug you put in your vacuum hose. Before attaching it to the booster, briefly start the engine then apply something like the convex part of a plastic spoon to the end of the hose to see how well it sucks. If you are a big, tough, New Zealander you will obviously just use your finger, knowing you won't get sucked into the engine. That will quickly tell you how much suck your pump produces. It should be quite a bit over a few seconds. If not, you have a dodgy vacuum supply - is there something causing the hose to swing on corners making this supply erratic? Long shot... Turn the engine off. If you have had the hose connected for any reason, pump the brakes a few times to release any stored vacuum in the booster. Now reconnect the hose but don't start the engine yet. Get in the car, hold your foot firmly on the brake pedal and now start the engine. Your foot should immediately go down something like an inch as the booster supplements your foot pressure. If this doesn't happen, there is a dodgy booster (which may have a loose internal which is interfering with the vacuum supply on bends). None of this is gospel - it's just a suggestion of how you could approach a frustrating issue. Others may be able to advise better tests. A few things are critical. If your pedal is not firm with the engine not going (pump the brakes to lose vacuum, wait a minute, then try the brakes) you have air in the system. Don't do your basic tests with any vacuum in the system or it will confuse the results. Don't test more than one thing at a time. Don't drive far or fast with the vacuum hose disconnected and certainly not in traffic! Etc etc...

I covered a lot of that country in a Range Rover in 2004 and am highly jealous! A friend and I are planning a return trip in about five years and I'm already excited. Fabulous bit of the country.

I've seen plenty of photos of Discovery 3/4s with aftermarket replacement steel parts to protect the expensive bodywork and that doesn't need to get replaced during the week. It's exactly what owners of most Jap stuff have to do to protect their vehicles and it has been happening for years. Image considerations aside (which are a trivial side-track for those who require ability over looks), such a vehicle will still make a very nice road car. I think, though, that this thread has highlighted the not-so obvious. There are vehicles deliberately targeted at a market which requires the vehicle to be used in physically tough conditions. These include Defenders and a range of military vehicles but precious few civilian vehicles (even the Suzuki Jimny has gone soft now, though you can still buy a fairly functional version of Toyota's Land Cruiser). Other four-wheel-drive vehicles have the potential to be as good or even much better than a standard Defender off-road. All of these need some bolt-on help to do that without problems but so what, even a Defender does a lot better with some sensible steelwork, slightly taller tyres and some sort of traction control.

New hose on today and wow! The clutch feels wonderful. Now I wish I'd got onto that when I first got it. The little thing feels like a hot rod and is so nice to drive.

I have a very vague memory of hearing about this once upon a time. Wish I'd remembered before I stripped everything else off! I took the hose off today. It feels VERY dodgy, so I think we've hit bingo.