mickeyw

Make a bender to suit, if you can. Maybe this will help, just rescale the design for 10mm pipe.

Had a mess about with the cheapo putty, stuck two bits of old vero board together, also just left a lump of it stuck to a piece of steel plate. I can see why it only cost a quid Took all day to go vaguely hard, but surface adhesion wasn't bad. When I broke the vero board apart the next day it was the putty itself that let go, leaving equal amounts on both test parts. Big crunch though, it isn't even remotely conductive Just waiting for my order from Overclockers to arrive.

I would have thought any decent impact adhesive, Evo-Stick for example, would work. Just follow the instructions. Make sure the surface you want to stick to is clean and degreased. Also, you will find the job a whole lot easier if you remove the truck cab, lay it on the floor, and do the job 'the right way up'

If you ever tow trailers out of muddy fields they stop the mud being thrown all over the trailer, and load (cars, hay, shiny horsebox etc). At the end of the day, like so many things, it boils down to what you use your Landrover for.

I made myself a puller especially for the job. It need to be quite hefty, mine is crude but effective. Pictures when I get home. I used a big cap head screw in the centre so I could wind it up nice'n'tight then give it a good wallop with a stout persuader. I find access below the steering box can be improved if you jack the chassis up just enough to drop the axle/panhard rod away from the steering box. It's worked every time for me

Top answer. That would be this stuff then? Not the first place I would have thought to look! Silver certainly should be a better conductor than aluminium. That said, I think I'll do a few experiments with my £1 putty before I spend £12 on this, just in case it works OK, you never know. Ever the optimist I am Isn't the stuff Fridge refers to just for repairing heater element tracks rather than use as an adhesive?

Thought I'd post here in International, as most of our trucks have a HRW (apart from T/cabs) Last year I replaced my RRC's top tailgate frame with one of the fancy ally ones. A lovely job it made too However, as I was fitting the whole thing to the car I managed to break one of the heater element tags off the window 'Oh bother' says I, 'how shall I repair that?' I tried soldering it back to the remaining element on the glass, not easy, as the glass dissipated the heat rather well. Also I was rather wary about the whole thing getting the hump with me for applying so much local heat, and cracking. Surprisingly it did stick, sort of, well not for very long in fact My thoughts have now turned to using some metal epoxy putty I found in the pound shop I imagine if it does actually contain any metal it must be conductive, not actually tried using it as a conductor yet, just in the vapour stages at the mo. So, has anyone tried repairing heated screen terminals like this before? The stuff I bought is an aluminium version, there was a copper based type as well. Would be great to have the HRW working again, especially as it also works as the radio aerial too.

I notice there's a good selection on LR tool No.1s hanging on the wall

A well written thread and some superb photos.

What with the holes in the tub, and the corrosion, I'd say that has had some kind of crop spraying equipment fitted.

The LR box I was adapting was a series 3 unit, not an LT77, so no. Also back in 1980 something SD1 parts were plentiful and cheap/free, Defender bits were not as much so.

Hi Andi I rebuilt mine many years ago, it's not hard but there are a number of special tools need, bearing pullers etc. Next to an LT77 the gubbins of the 85 are huge, and heavy. A gearbox overhaul cradle makes the job a whole lot easier as it holds it all still in a bench vice. Details are in the LR service manual, or RAVE manual. I can scan a few pages from the bible if you need. Referring to your comments on bearings, there are two big ball races that have a whopping great circlip in their outer diameter. I can't remember exactly where they go but that's not important. What is important is that they're not available through general bearing suppliers. If you give them the P/N they can find it on record, and will tell you it's a manufacturer exclusive spec that they cannot obtain. So that leaves you with going to Ashcrofts, or other reputable gearbox part supplier. Don't know whether LR would still stock something that old. I bought my rebuild kit from LEGS, but I'm pretty sure they're no longer trading. Either way, I think I'd go to Ashcrofts now. You know the bearings will be of a known good quality, as will the other parts. I wouldn't want to skimp on a rebuild, especially when you have such a grunty engine up front

I seem to recall that the 4x4 and the engineering sides parted company a few years back. I remember them as one company at Marsh Barton in Exeter. Not sure what happened after that. I shall make some enquiries with a mate who used to know them well.

I made mine the 'hard' way. I took a slice from the front of an SD1 V8 auto bellhousing (think they had a ZF box?) and tigged it to the series gearbox bellhousing. It is a remarkably good line up diameter-wise, but a couple of extra bits of ally were also tigged in to fill up any gaps that were left (starter motor hole etc). The thickness of the slice is pretty important to ensure correct clutch operation, as is getting it all stuck together concentric. I'm afraid I cannot remember the thickness required, nor do I have any photos. I did this a long time ago, when SD1 parts were plentiful It all worked a treat and cost just a few pence, and a shed load of friggin around. But that's all part of the fun

Are P38s really that unpopular for off road work that no-one makes a decent winch mount? It may be worth asking Devon 4x4if they have ever had plans to build such an item. They seem to have a solution for every model of Discovery, so how come no P38 stuff?

Well that's the first prop I've seen go like that! I think rebuilding will not ptovide a strong long term solution. How about contact Gwyn and see if he can provide a repair service, that's to say, weld a new end into the drive tube. From everything I have read about Gwyn I would think he would find a way to help you out. I'm sure I've seen an ad in our local papers for a propshaft clinic in the East Grinstead area. That could be an alternative.

James, if you're n the market for some welding kit, have a word with the chap at Valentine Welding in Crawley. He's very knowledgeable and sometimes will do cash deals. I have bought both my welders from there. They don't have a website but contact details are here. This is the ideal excuse to buy a welder and learn to use it. I know you're short of time but the money you save in not buying a galv bulkhead will get you a welder with plenty to spare

Pop in to your local Halfrauds and buy a can of their steel coloured wheel trim spray paint. Also available elsewhere as '5-wheels' branded product. I normally give my modulars a touch up once a year or so. This paint is pretty quick drying, sprays well and gives a nice finish.

Some pictures as promised. As can be seen, the main structure was 1mm steel panels welded together. Then 6mm MDF was stuck to the front faces and all the gaps smoothed with filler to provide the recessed look for the switches and dials. Trim material was stuck in place with everyday Evostick impact adhesive. Trim material I used was the standard texture from Woolies. My original purpose behind this build was to relocate the radio and provide space for a fold-away 7" screen for the car pc I had built. As with all things, the plan changed and I decided against the screen and pc. Despite that, this dash houses my electric window switches, the winch control and isolator, as well as the LPG switch/guage. There is still rooom left for another 52mm gauge and more switches when the need arises. The whole assembly fixes to the dash in a similar way to the MUD version. Hopefully this will provide a little imspiration for others.

That's a shame you can't do that kind of work. Door pillars, footwells and bulkhead top corners are all parts that I believe are available as repair sections.

A clutch as used on a RRC is a LOT bigger diameter than a series one. You will not get a 9.5" clutch anywhere near the standard RRC fixing holes. That said, I don't know what the SD1 flywheel geometry was like. I do know SD1 flywheels were much lighter (anumillimum maybe).

James, is your bulkhead really that shot? I've seen some pretty bad stuff brought back from the brink of going in the bin. Is it a lack of skills and facilities, or do you not fancy the job/not have the time? Agreed £1k is a lot to drop on a bulkhead when a chassis costs around the same. Happy hunting.

In my 2A 88" I had a 3.5 carb engine mated to a standard SIII box and transfer assembly via a home made adapter plate. I used the 9.5" standard clutch. You would need to re-drill the flywheel to suit the clutch, but it's not that hard to do. I ran 3.54 diffs and 265/75x16 tyres, and cannot say that I had any gearing issues to speak of, could have done with another gear I suppose. It could easily do speeds that were quite scary in a leafer. On the flat 2nd gear was fine to pull away from standstill. 9 years use had passed without breakage before I sold the truck on. It is entirely down to how you drive, not to say that I was that gentle with it, but repeated chav racing won't do it much good.

If no-one's done it yet, it's about time someone did, unless it just won't fit. I remember driving the Sprinter my old employers had when they were pretty new on the scene (mid 90's?). Ours had the 5 pot (2.3?) engine. It pulled like a train, right upto illegal speeds, no matter how loaded up it was and very pleasantly quiet too. I thought at the time what a great engine it would be in a LR. I've no idea about its shape and size, but did consider that its electronics and immobiliser systems could have been a stumbling point for me.

This is pretty much what I have done when I made my own console. I looked at the MUD version, and wasn't sure about its strength. My version looks very similar, being styled a la Td5, but is made from steel and mdf and is covered in black grained leatherette style vinyl from Woolies Trim. It is about as close a match to the LR dash as I would expect to get. Having since looked at the Raptor offering, I agree it looks very robust and provides flexible configuration, but it just doesn't appeal to my eye Will post a picture of mine tonight.