simonr

AdWest - No question! I've had a number of 'reconditioned' boxes from a number of suppliers. In general the 'reconditioning' consists of steam cleaning and a coat of paint. Sometimes they replace the bottom seal - but never touch the shaft and it is the wear on the shaft which has caused the seal to go. AdWest are one of a very small number who actually re-build the units and replace worn or damaged parts. I seem to remember they replace the main shaft and the oil seals on all the boxes. Yes they are a little more expensive - but much cheaper than two or more 'recon' boxes! The other option is sodbury. If you want to buy one there, try turning the input shaft with your fingers. It should turn easily and smoothly (no 'cogging' or grinding feel). Generally best to go for a dirty one because if it's been leaking, you can see if the mud is oil soaked. The last one I bought was a Disco 4 bolt with the disco drop-arm to go on my 90. The drop arm has a tapered hole which accepts the same kind of ball-joint as is used on track rods and the other end of the steering rod. These are much easier to change than the 90/110 type which is pressed in to the drop arm. If it is to fit a 90, you have to replace the steering rod with a S3 or RR type and improvise a mounting for the damper. If you buy a QT Services rod, they do a clamp-on mounting for the damper (intended for RR's) which works very well. The Disco boxes are a good bet as most of them are a lot newer than RR or 90/110 types found at Sodbury. Hope that gives you some options. Si

The forecast has changed overnight! If we're real lucky, maybe the rain is migrating to earlier in the week and by tomorrow it will have happened yesterday Si

Good comments. In practice I did a couple of itterations, just because both had an effect on the CO2 reading. People have talked about there being a filter somewhere? Any ideas where? There's nothing obvious I can see. Si

I'll bring a tarp - if one of you has some bungee cord & spare tent pegs? Decided to Nik-Wax my tent tonight. It's never been the same after that hail-storm in France a few years ago! Si

MetCheck.Com 7 Day forcast for Belgium Si

Perhaps we should organise the first LR4x4 'Forum trip' to France? Si

I couldn't find anything on the web about how to set up your own LPG - most sites say 'take it to a grown up'. This is what I've found from the web and from trying it out for myself. This only applies to vehicles with carbs or with a venturi mixer on the inlet. I have one of the CO2 gas tester things from Gunson - but it works equally well with Colourtune. On my setup there are three controls. 1. The 'Power valve' which is a screw flow adjuster in the pipe from the vaporiser to the carbs. 2. The Diaphram Tension adjuster. This is a big plastic screw on the side of the vaporiser. 3. The Diaphram bypass (or idle) screw. This is a brass screw on top of the vapouriser next to the gas outlet. Your setup may be different, but it will still have the three adjustments. The power valve in part controls the mixture, but also the responsiveness of the throttle and the economy. I set the power valve first. Unscrew the valve completly (just before the screw drops out). Rev the engine to about 3000 rpm Screw in the power valve until the RPM drops a little Unscrew the valve until the revs pick up and then unscrew another 1.5 turns. Next the diaphram tension. You only need to do this if there is not enough adjustment in the brass screw to set a proper mixture. If it needs adjusting, with the brass screw all the way in, the mixture will be rich. Unscrew the plastic screw in increments of one turn If the revs start to die, screw in the brass screw on the top to keep the revs up. Unscrewing the plastic screw is richening the mixture while screwing in the brass screw is weakening it. Continue until the brass screw reaches it's end stop (fully screwed in). Now screw in the plastic screw until the engine just dies then unscrew it a turn or so. Now unscrew the brass screw 1.5 turns. This should allow the engine to re-start. If not, unscrew the plastic screw a bit and try again. Next set the emissions by screwing in (or out) the brass screw. On mine, it needed about a 1/4 turn clockwise to set the CO2 emissions to about 2%. The brass screw needs quite fine adjustment. As you screw it in, the mix gets weaker and the revs drop. It is a case of choosing an rpm high enough not to stall but with acceptable emissions. When the mixture is good, it is worth repeating the power valve adjustment. If the power valve is screwed in too far, when you press the accelerator, there will be a delay before it does anything and the revs will only pick up slowly. If it is too far out, you get lightning response - but it uses loads of fuel. The 3000 rpm guide seems a reasonable compromise, but you could adjust it a little either way for power or economy. My V8 has been a bit lack lustre on gas for a while. I tried it out on the A24 today and it went ....err...no more than 70mph (honest ) Although no doubt one of you grown-ups will rip this to shreds, I thought the thread could provide useful info for those not keen to shell out on getting a grown up to look at it. Si

I filled up with diesel this afternoon and later put LPG in the other LR. On both occasions had to queue for several seconds at least! No sign of panic buying - guess they all went to Sainsburys/Tescos. Hop Oast was like a ghost town. Si

I'm not convinced that the amount of energy needed to ferment and distil it would be viable - unless you built some kind of solar still I suppose? Si

I'd heard also that adding a bit of the diesel fuel additive (such as Millers) helps a lot on the pump lubrication front. This in itself may be enough to reduce the viscosity? Si

I'm pleased for you Les - as you said, about time.....! Si

They work fine, trickling or otherwise - until the viscose unit fails (as mine did). Then it becomes nasty to drive on the road and you have a good deal less steering if the ground is slippy. It does not have any cushoning effect - or at least nothing I could detect. Swap it for an LT230 is my advice! Ashcroft seemed happy to take mine as exchange for a 230, and I've never looked back (if I did, my rear tub might be more rear tub shaped! ;-) Si

Graham (and Mo) It's a plate bolted to the underside of your chassis which protects the sticky-outey bit that the rear radius arms attach to. It drops below the chassis and occasionally gets caught up on stuff. I think they are also designed to protect the chassis rails themselves. The chassis sometimes get a bit squashed & dented when you land on rocks - but this is far less of a problem on a 90. Si

Have TOR considered a show? Si

There was a thing in the press last year (and I think it was reported on LRE forum) about Slik50 being unable to uphold any of their claims about reduced friction, noise, fuel consumption etc. Although Molyslip is different, I would be inclined to think that they are all much of a muchness. If it was really that good - I imagine all the motor oil manufacturers would include it and the car manufacturers insist upon it! Personally, I'd turn up your radio a bit and save the money. Si

The Ox was more of a Bison - and a half dead one at that! Avoid if possible! Problem with mine was mostly the motor - and it was different from any of the current generation of winches. I did find a replacement from the states, but including shipping, it was lamost the same cost as a new 8274 - so that's what I bought instead! Si

What about winch blankets with a logo etc? Si

You know my Ball jointed rear radius arms? Or click here I wondered about extending the plate which bolts on to the chassis in such a way as to form a ramp and protect the hanger. Main trouble is the lack of anywhere nearby to bolt it on to. I guess that's why the ones above are so enormous! It might be possible to fold something such that it clamps round the chassis I suppose? I'll have a think! Si

I saw a Tirfor once that had been fitted with a self-reciprocating hydraulic ram - such that the ram cranked the bit the handle attaches too. Add a load of tubing, a mile-marker valve block and some quick release couplings and you have a fairly portable winch for the unfit! Si

What about: Bend a bit of coathanger wire into the shape you would have wanted your rubber bumper and arrange a switch such that it switches on when you press on the wire. Connect switch to your horn and you'll soon learn where the back of your Landy is! Actually, this sounds ideal for me! Si

I guess, a relay with a diode to preserve the primary battery would meet most of those requirements. The cheapest 100A diode from RS is over £30 - and needs a heatsink. A second relay to bypass the diode controlled by a switch (with a blue LED for bling) would meet the manual bypass and bling requirement. In this case it might be better to replace the diode with a bank of MOSFETS. (A MOSFET behaves like a switch with a diode across the terminals. It will conduct one way, but only in the other direction if the switch is closed) Then you might as well replace the other relay with a few more MOSFETS. Add High Side drivers to drive the MOSFETS and a current mirror to protect the MOSFETS against over-current. It would have to be well sealed and would need a good degree of decoupling to protect the MOSFETS from transient spikes. The bypass MOSFETS will have to handle say 200A for starting and the others say 100A so it's going to need about 15 MOSFETS and a fairly chunky heatsink. Suddenly you have something costing over £100 just to build. You might as well add in a managed charge profile chip - just to get the max out of the batteries. If you add voltage monitoring on both batteries, reverse polarity protection, short circuit protection and a thermal cut-out in order to make it bullet proof, I reckon you'd struggle to retail it for less than £200. It makes you realise why a simple relay, for all it's shortcomings, is not such a bad option! Si PS. In a past life, I had a little too much experience of designing & building 1000A DC Motor speed controllers. The requirements on the MOSFET switching are not all that different. I have thought about building a speed control for a winch - but controlling series wound motors is a complete sod!

I did wonder whether id would be viable to fit a small chain-saw engine or similar to a small winch for this kind of application. You can start a 2 stroke in either direction and so long as it has a centripetal clutch - should be fairly controlable. The big plus about something like this is it could be made quite light weight and doesn't need electric. I saw a couple of people at Slindon effect a very good recovery using a hand winch where their electric winch was pointing in the wrong direction and there was no way to get another vehicle into a good location without using 4 or 5 snatch blocks. It made me reconsider their usefulness. Just a thought! Si

Neil, Thanks for the lead. Although they look nice, they are a bit too expensive (even for me!). A LR VSS seems a lot better value - better still from a scrap yard! Si

It's funny - Nick & I were talking a couple of days ago about how I managed to almost tear off one of my rear arm chassis mounts - in a french supermarket (using the 'off-road' exit which involved a big concrete step) How about, as an alternative, just weld a bit of plate onto the underside of the chassis to act as a ramp? Si

Andy, Look for a yellow box a little bigger than a regular relay (about the same size as a flasher) with VSS written on it. In a defender, it lives inside the dash, not in the normal relay panel. May not be yellow in all cases. If it has rear de-mist, it probably has one! Si