GL88

With thanks to Western for the link to part numbers that I needed at this thread http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=86024 all is now back to normal. I replaced the belt at the same time. Having seen various posts before about removing the fan to do this thought I would say it isn't necessary to do this. The belt can be fed between crank pulley and rad (from above) making it a sub 20 minute job.

Thanks. Just what I need. Now I just need to find someone who will supply a Genuine Part rather than an unsatisfactory one.

Getting a bit of the wrong sort of noise from under the bonnet and there seems to be a small amount of ally dust on the exhaust side of the engine. On further investigation the likely culprit is the idler pulley for the serpentine belt - it wobbles and the yellow seal is floating around loose at the back! Non- air con engine so there are two idlers and it is the one on the left as you face the engine (nearer the engine of the two above the PAS pump). I think I've got as far as working out that each of the two idlers has a different part number (ERR6493 and ERR6658) but can't find which it is that I need. And while I'm asking, are the spring retainers available for the quick release screws that retain the fan shroud? One has disintegrated and the other three will soon follow it. Thanks in anticipation.

Mine does this too. It is only ever noticeable when twirling the wheel at parking speeds and 'moaning' or 'mooing' describes it well. I think it is probably a bush or bearing somewhere in the steering column but it has got neither worse nor better in 4 years of ownership (all belts and fluids are per spec). So, for as long as the steering remains as good as it continues to be I'm not planning on spending time to track down the cause. (And by way of reassurance I've had to replace a ball joint this year and started looking for the cause because the steering was starting to wander.)

The main problem I find with my TD5 is the unbearable drone it seems to provoke in owners of Land Rovers of some models with other engines!!!

I bought an S3 bulkhead with steering column, brake servo, dash, pedals and so on still attached and did not feel uncomfortable transporting it in the back of an S3 SWB. The door was partly open (about 18") and kept 'closed' against the bulkhead by the means of a couple of bungie cords but the bulkhead was firmly restrained by a couple of ratchet straps. I was comfortable lifting it myself (I'm no Hulk) but if your truck is pretty and vulnerable inside then you may worry about cosmetic damage - I wouldn't try it in my Defender which is a bit of a tart.

Not sure where you've looked for a new head but Turners are probably much cheaper than LR Gen TD5 heads and I'd trust their judgement in stating that the ones they sell are better than standard. But still £1095 plus VAT. And the £150 cost of their fitting kit might tell you somehting about why the allegedly sorted one that you bought failed so soon afterwards, even if it was OK to start with.

I had mine done 2 years ago at http://www.jeengineering.co.uk/old/ (same as yours - new chip rather than remap required). They are in Coventry which may be an issue for you. They datalogged mine on the nearby dual carriageway and reported it as having gone from 18s 0-60 to under 14s which isn't bad considering I also have Disco final drive ratio. I'd thoroughly recommend JE but you might want to ensure you have an insurance quote first.

Saw these on a silver D90 in Wells earlier this week. I think that they would be fine on a black one but look a bit odd on any other colour (and you'd need to tint the glass in the rear door).

When you say 'run normally' do you mean it will run but produces vast clouds of white smoke and has no power? If so then it probably has petrol in the tank instead of diesel. If you mean it has trouble starting on cold mornings then something may be amiss with the pre-heaters (glow plugs) - the TD5 has 4 despite having 5 cylinders and at most temperatures above zero they will normally start without pre-heat but may be a bit rough.

This is the bottom line - I think that the people selling LR specific upgraded intercoolers are taking us for a ride. £119 for the ebay one mentioned shows that over £400 for the similar LR offering is a lot. Bear in mind that the ebay one is not a basic box with pipes coming out like the cheapest ones (uprated offering for sierra cosworth). There must be some profit for someone in getting an upgrade TD5 (or whatever) pattern made in China - I'd buy one because I haven't the time for modifications and fabrication at the moment.

A friend had this problem some years ago with a very heavily breathed on V8 110 (basically raised to TVR spec). One of the things he did was have the bonnet louvred - this looked a much less bodged than the hole-saw approach.

Search on Google and you'll find the dimensions. Buy slightly wider from Woollies (2 rolls about £2.50 each) and cut it down with a scalpel/steel rule. I cut it a few mm wider than standard (to fully fill the channel - unlike the standard stuff) and sprayed mine with aerosol silicone water proofer for good measure.

If you are looking for something with good road manners and reasonable performance off road I'd recommend BFG AT which happen to also be available in 18". I recently replaced my fronts at 67,000 miles still well legal. I'll soon do the rears with over 7mm of tread left but sun crazed side walls. http://www.camskill.co.uk/m65b702s0p0/4x4_Tyres_-_SUV_Tyres_-_All_Terrain_Tyres_-_Off_Road_Tyres_-_18_inch_BF_GOODRICH_TYRES_4X4_BF_GOODRICH_ATKO_ALL_TERRAIN_BFG_AT_KO_-_ These seem a bit pricey so it will depend on how long you plan on keeping them/the vehicle whether the absurdly long life makes them worthwhile.

I'm glad this has come up to remind me. A while back I fitted a decent Kenwood head unit and small under dash speakers in my 90CSW. As Si says that was good but too tinny. Next stage was to fit a pair of 7" (I think) units into 'Defendoor' enclosures either side of the back door which was much better and I was happy for a year. But last week I hired a cheap Hundai i30 for work and drove a fair distance out on the motorway in the morning listening to Radio 4 concluding that the steering was much worse than the Defender, the fuel consumption very little better, the radio pretty poor and wishing the 90 was insured to drive for work. On the way back I decided to hook up my iPhone using the lead in the glove box and it was absolutel fantastic!!! Nothing like the kit in the house but it blew away the Kenwood gear I'd installed. Messing about led to the conclusion that the difference was purely down to the Hyundai having a sub so that will be the next step.

Update to my original post as I have now done this as per original plan with the following conclusions: - I found that Land Rover drill the panels with the frames in situ. This left plenty of swarf embedded in the sticky backed foam sealing strip which had in any event compressed over 10 years. To ensure no leaks and eliminate a potential source of rattling I used a sparse bead of black silicone mastic. So far so good. - I bought felt window channel sealing strip from Woollies that was both wider, thicker and cheaper than the original spec stuff. I used a scalpel and steel rule to cut it down to a few mm wider (test fit an off-cut to establish the best width) than the orignal spec felt because that doesn't fill the channell fully. I used a proprietary aerosol silicone waterproofing spray on the felt strip before sticking it in. - The windows are a much more snug fit now. Most rattles are eliminated but not all. - A black 90 CSW with dark tinted rear windows looks great as well as being harder for people to see what is in the back.

A few points: - Depending on how concerned you are with tyre life I'd stick with the BFG ATs. They perform well on road and aren't bad on non-extreme offroad conditions. And they have a very good reputation for longevity. I only replaced the fronts on mine last year after 67K miles and they were still perfectly legal. The original rears are still on at 72K with about 7mm of tread but will need to go because the side walls are crazing badly from the sun now. - Mine is on the original factory fitted 265/75 size which is obviously fine. - There are two reasons to look for a taller tyre (three if you include cosmetic appearance). Firstly it increases the axle clearance and the lowest point on the diffs is the limiting factor for offroad clearance in a lot of situations and no amount of suspension lifting changes this. Secondly a larger diameter tyre sinks less on soft terrain.

I drove 150 miles on Saturday morning with no problems and after a 90 minute break I drove another 10. Then after leaving the vehicle (TD5 90 CSW, 2000 with 72K miles) for a couple of hours we were treated to an irritating high pitched squeaky whirr which rose and fell with engine speed for the next 10 miles. Investigating with the bonnet up suggests it was coming from the water/PAS pump area and it was still there the next day for 10 miles out and 10 back with an hours rest in between. With the 150 mile return journey later that day I wasn't feeling very optimistic (last time we had something similar on that trip it needed a new gearbox/transfer box/flywheel). But after a few miles all was silent for the rest of the journey and it continues to be quiet on short local trips since then. I suspect that it is the bearings in either the PAS pump or maybe one of the two adjacent idler wheels. The steering fluid in the resevoir is clean and light coloured and the sound doesn't change when turning the steering from lock to lock. I'd rather not be stranded somewhere if this was an early warning so I'd like to see if I can pin the cause down and fix it first. My thinking is that it may be worth taking the serpentine belt off to check for play in those three potential culprits. Any other suggestions or thoughts anyone has would be most welcome.

YRM do various repair sections, including for doors: http://www.yrm-metal-solutions.co.uk/ But when I did mine I made a section out of box section steel with a bit of flat bar welded to it. And I didn't peel back the fold at the bottom of the door but cut through the frame at the sides and tapped the rusty bottom rail out before sliding the new one in and welding it to the sides. You may find that if you've got blistering on the outside then the ally has perforated through electrolytic corrosion. Depending on how bad that is you may be able to fill it or it may be scrap.

But they'd feel warmer still if it had sailed through!!!

Not clear if you want a net made of rope or bungee. If the latter then Screwfix - http://www.screwfix.com/p/draper-bungee-cargo-net-12-hook/71754 I'm on my second one of these - they go a bit crunchy after about 3 years in the outdoors.

On TD5 key hassle I'm not sure if you've all worked out that you stick the key in, turn it to unlock the cap then turn the key back, remove the key and then unscrew the cap. Then after filling up you replace the cap and screw it tight without further reference to the key. That is how it works on mine, anyway. Or maybe you find that a hassle!

When I had a Series III I fitted new leaf springs all round. These are held underneath the axles by U-bolts which are in constant tension. I noticed a similar on/off power drift at speed with the drift in one direction with the power on and the other on the overrun. Investigation showed that the nuts on the U-bolts on the rear axle were loose, a week after tightening them they were loose again, and so on for a few months ago until all the stretch had been dialled out. What was happening was that the rear axle was rocking - one direction under power and the other on engine braking. On my Defender 90 I have the same thing as you. Today it passed the MoT despite that (and it is so subtle that many drivers would not notice it). The tester said that the chassis end bushes on the locating arms for the rear axle are ever so slightly loose and issued an advisory (also for the axle locating bushes for the rear anti-roll bar but that is less likely to cause the rear wheel steering - I'd have thought). So I'll replace my various bits of 11 year-old floppy rubber in the next few weeks. Given that you've replaced all of your bushes I wonder if they need torquing up now that they've settled in and maybe compressed a bit. I'd be surprised if your dampers (shocks) would have any effect.

I had this and it was the contacts in the solenoid which had burned out. I got a kit off a well known auction site and posted somewhere (not sure it it was here) about changing the one contact which needed replacing with the motor still in the vehicle (the other contact was fine but if it hadn't been I'd have had to take out the motor).

Thanks for that. Touching that Land Rover specify closed rivets - presumably part of their well established approach to ensuring that there aren't any leaks!