BradThunder

Hi guys, A while back whilst driving along, there was a short 2-3 second 'brrr' from down below and at the time, the car drove ok but I noticed the hi/lo lever was slack. It engaged, but whilst engaged, was free to move back and forth. The main gearbox selected ok. Then, a bit later, as I came out my drive, I noticed a 'tick-tick' sound and from this moment on, I could not engage or disengage the main gears when depressing the clutch. Oddly, if I disengaged the hi/lo lever, I could select a main gear and this was sufficient to get me back into my drive. When a gear is selected and the hi/lo lever engaged, I cannot come out of that gear. Any ideas as to what might be causing this and where should I look first? I'd like to eliminate all possibilities before any major component removal!!!

After a joyous day off-roading with the missus, I was removing the copious amounts of grass and weeds and mud from the various sticky-out parts underneath when I noticed that the innocent little hole in the front outrigger was not so innocent anymore, the hole having extended now as far as the bulkhead bolt, so it's now on the two 'planes' of the outrigger. I was going to self-teach myself welding in order to repair the original hole, but I'm not sure I have either the experience or the facilities to replace the outrigger entirely. Has anyone had this done professionally and if so, or if you happen to know, approximately how much would this dig into the bank balance?

Well guys, the Japanese won this round - we ended up going for a 07 Subaru Forester. Took it for a spin and that little 2L engine was sweet as a sweet thing in a sweet factory. Even like the two-tone colours - very earthy! Subaru Thanks for all the hints 'n' tips guys!

Thanks guys! Needless to say, I'm still stuck!!! Can't believe the wife's so adamant about getting the Disco - I have created a monster! - but we've decided to go and sit in them all and get a real feel for them. Before I was bitten by the green oval bug, I had always wanted an Audi Allroad and just know that if we sit in one, we and by we I mean I, will want one! I'd just written them off as being too expensive to run and repair, not realising the VW connection. Fortunately, there are good examples of everything within about 60 miles of us and all within our budget, but from all that you lot have told me, it seems whatever we go for, we'll be happy with. Thanks again guys!

So, am about to reap the rewards of a small-ish bereavement dividend and of course, the first thing on sensible persons list is another Land Rover! Now first up, I live in a rural-ish village and because of my shifts, I leave for or arrive home from work before any public transport starts, so I need something trustworthy - the 90 spends as much time out of action as she does otherwise - and herein lies the dilemma for a Land Rover enthusiast!!! Top of the list is a Series II Disco, but taking into account what I just said, I would like to at least give some consideration to a couple of others... I'm about to use the 'V' and 'S' words. Sharing that list is the Volvo XC70 and a Subaru Forester. So what do you think? Has anyone had any experience with the other two? The wife, who's now a green oval convert, wants the Disco, as do I, but I have to consider the reliability aspect, which is not to say that any car can give 100%, but reputation-wise, I've heard a lot of good things about the Jap and the Viking! Any thoughts one way or t'other?

My diff wasn't engaging at all and upon getting ready to go delving I happened to notice the difflock linkage - the little steel rod at the bottom of the arm - had lost its top split pin allowing it to drop down slightly, but enough to foul on a bolt thus preventing the difflock engaging. Worth checking the simple things before anything exploratory!

Driving merrily along in my '93 90 200TDi, there came a 1-2 second 'Brrrrrr' from somewhere in the general direction of the transmission. I then noticed that the hi/lo lever is now very slack and is able to waggle back and forth whilst remaining in the selected gear. It will engage either gears with the usual 'clunk', but it's then free the move all the way to the other gear, where again, with the usual 'clunk' it will engage that gear ie, there's no feeling of it disengaging. The car drives ok, diff engages fine and there are no strange (or rather stranger than usual!) noises coming from anywhere. Any suggestions as to what may have happened and why? New oil added just a few weeks ago and the car has covered less than 78K miles.

Still not getting the engine to fire and as my mechanical experience is still very limited, I bit the bullet and called in 'expert' help. His diagnosis was after stating he was getting a voltage at the plugs - and I had thought this myself - that the battery was well past its best. I replaced it with a new battery and although the engine turns over like never before, it still wont fire. I tried connecting a jumplead straight to the first plug, but still no luck. I cleaned the earth strap contacts between the starter and the chassis (although the cable is very manky) but was wondering if there was another from the engine block to the chassis as I cant locate this. Everything else has checked okay - I'm getting fuel at the injectors so I think that rules out the stop solenoid (?). I individually tested the plugs and they are okay. I'm sure it's something glaringly obvious, but if you've never done this sort of thing before, it's a minefield of possibles and maybes!

Needless to say I'm not going to be much help as I just posted the exact same thing! What are the chances...? Anyway, I'll keep an eye on this post too for any info!

Hi everyone! Newbie here! I have an '85 ex-MOD 2.5 n/a 110 h/t. I'm fairly (ie 'very') new to Land Rovering and car mechanics as a whole - so be gentle with me! But what better way to learn than on a Land Rover, right? Anyway, one morning after many months of faithful service, right up to the previous day, the ol' gal simply wouldn't start. The engine would turn over, but wouldn't fire. I've been told the stop solenoid is my first port of call. Is there any way to confirm if this is working without removing and in order to remove it, would I need to drain the fuel first? I cracked the injectors and appear to be getting fuel to them. The battery was kinda old and I could smell gas coming from it indicating it was done. I put a new Optima Red-Top in there this morning (ooh, hark at me!), but still no go. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!