mickeyw

Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear you have had such bad service from Nene. It sounds like they still haven't changed their ways.

Will have to get the measuring tools out Barry, then we'll see. The book doesn't mention the original thickness, so until I know where I am starting from, I don't know how much I can remove.

I have bought Lemforder TREs from Paddocks. They have the look and feel of a quality part - I've had them fitted for years without concern. IMO there are not many brands (other than Lemforder and genuine) that have a decent quality gaiter fitted, and that has a lot to do with longevity.

Well it seems there is an official answer to my question.

Interesting. I have a box of thoriated electrodes from when I used to TIG at work, a long time ago. I find they make very good scribers these days

Oh bugger! One day.....

Ditto

I have a similar situation. I recently uprated my 110 V8's 65A alternator to a 100A unit. I had to fab brackets to bolt it on, and I am still using the single vee belt. I did however uprate the charge cable to 25mm2. When I was perusing the scrap yard I noticed big Volvo estates (740 etc) that had 100A alternators that ran on single vee belts. It could be that they were the wider type, but I didn't study that in detail. My reason for this upgrade was two-fold - I have a PTC heater that draw IRO 90A when on full power, but also the winch needs a better supply. Anyway, what I can say is that my belt squeals a bit when engine is on tickover and the alt is working hard. A little more revs and the squeal goes away. I am still running a standard single battery, and even with the bigger alt, it's nowhere near what the winch needs. I can flatten the battery just spooling 100ft of cable on. On my old V8 90 I had twin batteries, charged by a 140A alternator (on a serp V8) and that provided a good reserve for sustained winching. Future improvements for me include either twin batteries, or a single huge one, and adapting the pulleys to run a serpentine belt.

Last weekend I cleaned up a V8 flywheel I intend to use with an impending engine upgrade. Having gone over it with a wire cup wheel attached to the angle grinder I discovered the friction face is pretty corroded. I would hazard a guess that some of the pitting must be a good 0.5mm deep, maybe more. So this leads to my wanting to know how much I can skim off the face without causing a problem. I am not looking to lighten the flywheel, the engine is going in my 110 after all; but just to restore a decent surface. I feel sure it wouldn't be a problem to remove 1mm, but I'd be interested to hear a few other opinions. It seems that turning flywheels is not the preferred way of skimming, but to grind it to a smooth factory spec surface. Looking on t'internet I have seen this done a few different ways. Side grinding on a cylindrical grinder is one, surface grinding on a rotary table is another. I also saw a cup grinding wheel used in a turret, with the flywheel again on a rotary table. With my toolmaking past, I can't think of a reason why any of these grinding methods wouldn't be suitable. In fact I have used the second myself many years ago, but sadly I don't have access to such plant these days.

Right, tonight there was success out in the garage It took a couple of hours, but all bolts are now out, not without a fair bit of effort though. The method that worked was as follows: Drill off the remaining screw cap heads. Yes they may be 12.9 grade screws, but that does not mean they cannot be drilled. A decent quality, correctly sharpened bit, plenty of cutting compound, and gentle with the spindle speed is the way to go. Power was provided by my trusty 700W Bosch mains powered drill. This was done in stages, as it takes a Ø12mm drill to sever the heads. I started with a Ø8 drill, as this would centralise itself in the 8mm hex socket. Then a Ø9.5, and finishing with a Ø12. The screws are 7/16" UNF. So here is the remains of the head, and the short length of threaded section protruding. Alas not enough to get hold of with Stillsons, or Irwin nut removing tools. I have a decent SKF set of screw extractors. The success ratio of these tools IMO is pretty low, but as this screw is quite big I felt it was worth a go. I drilled down the centre of the screw, picking up on the existing drill point from the previous operation. Ø5.5 is the size for a #4 extractor. Again, a sharp bit, plenty of lube, and keep the revs down. Once I had a hole about 10mm deep I tried the extractor using a proper tap wrench (an adjustable spanner would fit, but greatly reduce the odds of the desired result), and to my relief the screw moved. I had to repeat this process for three more screws, but the job's a good'un now.

Good point, and an excellent comparison on the colour temps. My own recent experiences with courtesy light LEDs has arrived at the same conclusion. A warm white light makes everything much easier to see. The cool white interior LED lamp was near useless compared to a 21w incandescent. For reference, the courtesy light units I have are the earlier 90/110/series style with a diffused glass bowl.

Very tidy job you've achieved there. Do you have a link to the material you used on the floor?

It rather depends what engine you're dealing with. On a V8 the filter is easy to get two hands on. On the old turbo D 90 we had, it was a real pain to undo, being tucked high up between the side of the engine and chassis. I don't think I ever got that filter off without piercing it, until the arrival of the SP tool.

This is my favourite, Sykes Pickavant 3 leg jobby http://sykes-pickavant.com/images/product/104_117_x.jpg

Shame they're only replicas. The 1986 is at least about the right age. The other would be pre CT for Range Rovers. A more accurate replica would also have the traditional bull bar, bush wires, lights and winch.

5/16" UNF, assuming you mean the downpipes.

The big tw4tting hammer may be the next move. Last night - 2 ft breaker bar, and the 8mm key (from my old skool hit-it-with-a-hammer impact set) resulted in another chewed up screw head Another Unbrako key just rounded itself to death. (Incidentally I realised my original key that twisted and bent was a Teng item.) Measuring showed the Unbrako and Teng keys were bang on 8.00mm A/F, while the unknown but very tough item from the impact set was only 7.90, which I guess is why it chewed its way out of the screw head. Scores so far Unbrako -2 for it's cheese like strength Teng +1 for standing up very well considering the abuse it took Cheapo impact set - 0 points despite being tough, its accuracy was a total let down Engine is still laughing a these poor attempts to remove its component parts. Poor picture showing Unbrako (left) vs Teng (right) Cheapo impact socket

I am interested to know how ESR3685 compares to the Turbo D unit NTC6168. The only difference I can see is the direction of the hose unions, and that seems to vary depending on what site you look at. Both feature the oil cooler circuit, both fit 90/110/Defender and feature locating pegs top and bottom. Could the core be a different thickness? The X by Y size would have to be the same. I know the Turbo D needed a lot of cooling if worked hard.

This is exactly what I had on my Series 2 V8. I used the brass header tank that came from the donor Range Rover. Yes. I cut the top hose and fitted a home made tee adapter to connect the manifold hose. I found a piece of stainless pipe the correct diameter and TIG welded a smaller bore piece to the side. Worked perfectly. With a bog-standard S3 rad I never had any cooling issues when driving it hard, or off road. I was using a 16" single electric fan in front of the rad. It makes me wonder about all the overheating problems some folk have with pretty standard V8s.

OK, for those unfamiliar with the back of a V8, this is what I'm dealing with. And there are six of these little blighters holding it on. Casualty - one decent quality Unbrako Allen Key that has lasted sixteen years of toolmaking, has not withstood undoing these screws. OK I was using a 2 ft tube over it, but that was what was necessary to loosen 4 of these screws. 2 remain stuck fast.

Evening all. Over the weekend I thought I'd try removing the spacer from the rear of the crank, in prep for fitting of a flywheel and clutch. It's held on by 6 cap head screws that are secured with Loctite. Using two of the large bolts that secure the flex plate and starter ring etc, I positioned a long bar to hold the crank still. Then with a decent Unbrako Allen key, and length of tube I tried to undo the screws. I know from experience these can be FT, and they didn't disappoint. Four screws came loose with the characteristic crack that makes you wish you'd worn some decent gloves. One the key slipped out and trashed the hex socket. The last one refused to budge at all, and even with careful application of force has turned my best Allen key into spaghetti I tried shaking some sense into it with a v powerful rattle gun mit hex tool, but that made no difference. Any ideas what to try next? I don't really want to drill the heads off as I'll still need to beat the Loctite once the spacer is off. The only upside so far is all my knuckles are still intact.

I fitted my wheel carrier to get the spare OUT of the back!

As Mike said, can't you make 3 plastic or alloy bushes to overcome this? Or maybe a device that fits over the studs and locates the wheel through its centre.

I think I paid around £20 for mine, but that was a while ago. It works well with thicker gear oils, and has a nifty 90 degree elbow on the spout - ideal for side entry to a transfer or main gear box. It also has an open/shut valve.

Drive the front of the truck up on ramps, or place on axle stands. That should reduce/eliminate oil loss while you gain extra space for working. Obviously make sure you chock the wheels on the ground