popotla

The Michelin double-barrel footpump, sold by Amazon, amomg others, has received many poor reviews. If justified, this suggests to me that the item has been made with a view to (a) cutting costs and (B) not lasting long, perhaps in that huge East Asian country now responsible for turning out a vast proportion of the world’s manufactured goods and a vast proportion-in my experience-of the world’s shoddy ones. Michelin, in this case, then stick their naame on it and we’re supposed to think “Ah, Good Quality”. So, can anyone suggest the name and model of a double-barreled footpump which is strong and fit-for-purpose (for my Defender 110), and built to last, preferably in a country with a reputation for good engineering?

Here overseas where I live, I’ve been looking for a bottle jack suitable for my Defender 110 CSW, but cannot find anything suitable. Then I thought “Hey, do I actually really need a bottle jack?” I have the original item, supplied with the vehicle, a device with an extending bit that fits into the square “holes” fixed to the vehicle body and does provide adequate lift, albeit rather slowly. So I’m still asking that question: “Do I really need a bottle jack, too?” Any answers, please?

I posted a little while back about the matter of buying an A-bar for my Defender 110 CSW, and the issue of whether I do in fact need an A-bar that fits vehicles with airconditioning. Bishbosh sked if I could post a photo or two and I said I would, later. Here they are. Btw, between the flat metal headlight surround and the front of the grille, the horizontal distance is exactly 10cm. Does it look as though I need an A-bar for a/c models?

I was wondering about something. For valuation purposes, is it always the year of a vehicle’s manufacture that counts, or can it be the year of first registration? For example a “2006” model is sold new and first registered (and this can be proven) in December 2007. (Up to that time, it hasn’t been driven, except for perhaps a few miles connected with delivery.) When determining its resale value, is that vehicle taken to be now just over two years old, or just over one year old.?

I am in the Middle East and have a Landrover Defender, left-hand drive and with 2.5 litre diesel engine, registered here, which I'm considering taking to the U.K. I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who's taken a foreign-plated vehicle into the UK and "nationalised" it there. I want to know about the bureaucracy involved, the hassles and pitfalls, and, of course, the cost. Please be as specific as possible. In case it's relevant, it's a 2005 Landrover Defender Td5 110 County Station Wagon.

Sure, but not just now cos it's in being serviced.

I want to buy an A-bar for my left-hand drive Landrover Defender Td5 County Station Wagon 110 (year 2005) but first, am slightly confused about the “for vehicle without air-conditioning / with air-conditioning” distinction. My vehicle has air con, but there’s nothing protuding in the area of the grill, nothing to suggest –from the photos I’ve seen of various products- that the “without air con” version of an A-bar wouldn’t fit my vehicle. Thus I’m slightly puzzled. I want the bar for a practical reason: to protect the front of the vehicle, the radiator, in case of impact; I’m not looking for a bar for reasons to do with “style”, in other words. Could anyone recommend any specific model of A-bar? E.g. the one from Simmonites, or Rebel 4x4 etc? I don’t want to spend a lot. Would black nylon-coated probably be OK, rather than stainless steel? (Anyway, I want a black not metallic finish.)

Thanks, that's interesting. "Front to rear" would mean the nozzle facing the front of the vehicle? This new one, the one I'm about to fit, will be the second one in the vehicle. The first is mounted (essentially) vertically, sloping backwards at an angle of about 70 degrees to the horizontal. Could this be potentially problematic?

I have a dry powder fire extinguisher, “stored pressure type”, 2kg. Is there any preference as regards vertical or horizontal in-vehicle mounting, and if so, why, or doesn’t it matter?

I'm not sure.................. which way do you think it answers it? That the Nene thing is made by C&S Laser Cuttings, and as (at Nene) it's considerably more expensive than theirs (if you manage to get C&S to do you the favour of responding to your emails), they wish to keep quiet about it?

Nene Overland advertise a pedal protector security device, selling for 130 pounds. http://www.neneoverland.co.uk/4x4_storage_...ge_security.php Is this in fact the Full Metal Jacket, made by R & S Laser Cuttings, Birmingham, but sold under a different name? The two products look similar. ( I tried asking them but they don't reply.)

I recently ordered a Clutch Claw from Screwfix (good price, less than fifty devalued pounds) but they had sold out and are not getting more in stock. I’ve trawled the inet to see if anyone else is selling them cheaply, but have so far drawn a blank. Can anyone suggest another place to buy one cheaply? Btw, in case anyone’s interested, C & C Laser Cuttings, Birmingham, don’t make a Full Metal Jacket for left-hand drive Defenders.

I'm considering fitting these lock mountings to the five doors of my Defender 110 CSW Td5 (2005). What do you think of them? Any views? Please click on the link to view the photos. http://www.showroom.milweb.net/products.ph...&cat_id=139

I am looking at the possibility of taking my LR Defender County Station Wagon 110 Td5 (2005) to Mexico and using it there indefinitely. However, since the vehicle isn't sold there I'm concerned about getting spare parts as and when they might be needed, and repairs. I'd be really glad to hear thoughts and advice on this from any Defender owner in Mexico, or the owner there of any other Landrover.

Maybe this isn't the right place to be posting this copy of the email I've just sent to Footloose 4x4, trading (??) in Peterborough. Your comments are welcome. Good morning. A couple of years ago, when I was trying to buy something from a particular company, it transpired that there was a “rogue” in the sales department: he or she, was simply not answering customer enquiries because to do so, it turned out, was too time-consuming and wearisome. Emails were simply being deleted! Other than that, it’s hard for me to know why it is that a company which describes its goods on a website (thereby implicitly offering them for sale), and provides contact details, ignores an intending customer when that person makes contact. “Footloose 4x4” would –one assumes- welcome the receipt of a customer’s money, but my own experience is that my attempt to spend money with you is being blocked (for whatever reason). I sent to you twice the email I’ve attached below. Is it not a reasonable expectation on my part that –even if staff are “extremely busy” (and I do hope you are being bowled over by demand for your products) – someone might press the email “REPLY” icon, type a few words such as “Thanks for your enquiry; will respond in full shortly”? It doesn’t seem to me appropriate that I should plead or beg to be allowed to spend my money with you, so at this point I give up. Will this email be read by someone who has a stake and interest in “Footloose 4x4”, or will it simply be deleted as one more annoyingt piece of junk? I don’t expect I’ll ever know. Yours sincerely,

Yeah, my question really was about spanner sizes. I know it's wise "to buy larger sizes when you need them", but because we'll be on an overland journey in the Defender, that won't be easy or even possible. ("Here we are in the middle of the proverbial nowhere; need an X mm ring spanner but it's 300 km to the nearest village, etc.") Above 23 mm, say, what sizes might be needed?

What is the largest nut/bolt size on a 2005 Defender and where is it found?

The following information is taken from the Meck Lock fitting/instruction booklet: With the key removed, on earlier models the clutch pedal should remain locked in the fully depressed position, i.e. down to the floor. On later models, which have a different return spring, the clutch pedal will return to the top. Now, my vehicle is a Landrover Defender Td5 County Station Wagon 110 (year 2005). Thus I’m guessing that it’s a “later model” on which the clutch pedal will return to the top. I’m wondering though, and need to know, is it POSSIBLE that the fitting of a Meck Lock could mean that a Full Metal Jacket could not be used (because to use the FMJ, as far as I know, the clutch pedal needs to be in the normal position)?

Given that a lot of weight is going to be over the back axle, doesn't that make things somewhat worse? True, I wanted to put it at the front in order to still allow space to sleep up there. anyway, take your point.

I’ve just talked to a metalworker/fitter about having protective grilles fitted to the rear side windows (i.e. the ones behind the passenger doors) of my Landrover DefenderTd5 County Station Wagon 110 (year 2005). One of the ideas he mentioned is as follows: weld a number of bolts (specifically the bolt head), as appropriate (six or eight) to the grille itself; drill holes through the black frame surrounding the window (is this steel or aluminium???), and also through the plastic trim, if necessary/appropriate. The entire grille could then be placed and bolted into position. By undoing the bolts (which are of course on the inside of the vehicle) the grille can be removed for cleaning the windows or if not needed. Holes in the window frame would need to be drilled very accurately: towards the outer edge in order to avoid the glass, but not excessively near the edge. Also, very accurate alignment of each fixed bolt and its respective hole would be essential. I’m wondering how feasible this would be. Can’t afford to drill (or have the grilles made, assuming they’ll be fitted as I’ve tried to describe) and then find out it doesn’t work. The grilles themseves could be powder-coated stell, or could be aluminium (I’m not sure in that case how they’d be finished). I’m told that powder coating doesn’t last as long on aluminium as on steel, which would indeed coincide with my recent experience. Any comments, please, about what I’m thinking of having done? I’m looking for your ideas as to the feasibility of welding bolts to the grille, and drilling, in the way I’ve tried to describe.

One of you asked where I live. I am in southern Oman, where the choice of tyres isn't going to be that great. That said, I hope the new ones will last long enough to still be in use and the right choice when we leave here to travel with the vehicle in countries where road surfaces could be of all kinds, like here (except that in Oman, mud is rare). The "they're just average but expensive" comment about Michelin was really interesting.

In my op, I should probably have also mentioned that I have some window grilles already fitted and will have a complete set. Also I intend to fit better locks. In this regard i would be glad to hear any comments/advice about mortice locks on the five doors. i believe I've read somewhere that this has been successfully done and is pretty effective. I live in oman and have taken / am taking all these security precautions in view of the overland trip we are planning, originating here (where security is hardly an issue). Better safe than sorry, I guess, but nothing can be 100% secure. (I amagine, though, that in Tajikistan or Turkey, your average thief doesn't drive around in a low loader and with a crane. I could be wrong.)

On my Defender I at present have the following security measures installed: Meck Lock; electrical cut-out (in the form of a battery isolator switch); full metal jacket; heavy chain and padlock between floor and steering wheel. With the exception of the chain and possibly the FMJ (depending on lighting conditions), these are not visible deterrents. Thus I am thinking of adding something very visible, i.e. a steering wheel lock. I know that steering wheel locks are mostly (or perhaps entirely) no obstacle to the determined thief (for example, it has been said on this forum, I think, that the Disc Lock can be undone in 15 seconds). Nonetheless, I think a steering wheel lock would be worth having as a first line of defence (as far as protection inside the vehicle goes). Which is the strongest / best/ most secure sreering wheel lock? Please bear in mind that it has to be one that the chain and padlock won’t get in the way of.

Hi, thanks for replies and advice so far. I notice that so far there’s no mention of MICHELIN. Though money is not the key issue, the fact that I have one unused Michelin LTX A/T 23/85 (cost of app.USD 130 equiv) sitting on my spare wheel carrier means that if I used it I’d need to shell out for only three new tyres rather than four. Does nobody like Michelin?

From new, my Landrover Defender (2005) CSW 110 has had fitted General Grabber TR tyres, 235/85R 16C tubeless. I have run them on-road at 48 psi back and 28psi front, the pressures reccd in the LR handbook. For various off-road terrains I’ve run them at what I believed to be suitable pressures: maybe 10 lbs less at the back and 3 -4 lbs less at the front for dirt track, roughish track, for example, and sometimes less in other conditions. At the edges, particularly at the back, bits of tread are damaged and missing through rough usage, and the tread is at “replace point” (especially in the centre at the back, which suggests overinflation). This is at about 34,000 km, perhaps one-third of that on non-paved roads, some very or extremely rough and rocky. Some time ago I damaged a front tyre and was obliged to replace it. I bought a Michelin LTX A/T 235/85 R16 Tubeless, largely because I planned to use Michelin in future, but also that that was easiest to buy at the time. I am wondering what four tyres to buy as replacements. I’m assuming that if they’re not Michelin LTX A/T nothing is going to hurt for a short time by having that tyre on an axle with another radial specification/make. I expect to continue the same usage pattern as before, maybe one third on non-paved roads, or perhaps a bit more. Where I drive is almost always dry (no rain), though if my next set of tyres last substantially longer than the General Grabber have, “all-weather” usage could apply. Noise IS an issue. Hell this Defender is so noisy as it is. Which tyres would you recommend and why?