GL88

Anyone using epoxy paint should note to follow the instructions. We employed a contractor who hadn't used it before. He just threw all the catalyst in with disastrous consequences. It overheated and started setting before it was fully mixed. Result was lumpy with unset patches!!!

Thanks for those posts. I did the job today. I found this link quite helpful http://www.discovery2.co.uk/Oil_pump_bolt.html though some of the Disco specific stuff wasn't relevant. Unfortunately I didn't read it closely enough so I've reused the crushable gasket for the rotary oil filter drain with a little sealant. For Defender readers - * my jack wouldn't go high enough to provide enough clearance over the diff to fully withdraw the sump); but * removing the anti roll bar might have enabled the sump to be dropped; I didn't have (much) difficulty keeping the sump gasket in place though it did take two attempts! On the second go I realised that putting the long bolts in first works best because that is the tricky (gearbox) end of the gasket. The crucial oil pump sprocket bolt wasn't loose and showed signs of thread lock. I replaced it with the Land Rover part which has locking compound pre-applied. It is a horrible messy job. With the sump off it drizzles oil until you get it back on again and even if I'd managed to fully remove the sump I suspect I'd not have been able to keep oil off the gasket. I used one of these http://www.wickes.co.uk/Tuffspot-Mixing-Tray/invt/543009 which kept the drive clean (or you can buy the same thing from Difflock for more money). It took me three hours. Now that I've done it it would be an easy two with a better jack, better weather and more space.

I'm shortly going to change the oil in my low (65K) mileage yr2000 TD5 Defender. While the sump is (mostly) empty it feels sensible to drop it and replace the oil pump sprocket bolt with a new properly Locktited one. If nothing else it will be one less source of paranoia when I'm on long journeys! Question one - I've not found a 'how to' in the archive - is there one anywhere else? I have the official manual on CD but nothing beats experience. Q2 - If all goes well, how much time should I allow? Q3 - parts I need are presumably a new bolt, a sump gasket- anything else? Q4 - anything important I should know? TIA

I want to put two extra speakers into the rear of my Y2K Defender. The standard loom has the same plugs to connect up the stereo as other Land Rovers of the era but because it only has speakers in the front the multi-plug for the speakers only has four pins in. If possible I'd like to retain the original multi-plug and just put four additional pins into it. I presume that these pins are available, can someone please confirm what they are and where I can get them from? As a side issue I'm planning to use the speaker panels from 'Defendoor'. Has anyone else got any experience of those?

Thanks Simon, I'm in Harpenden. If you drop me a PM with your general location I'll let you know if I'm going to be passing anytime soon. Main question (which you've answered) was if they were even available as I'm likely to be in WGC on Saturday morning and can drop into the dealer for one.

The plastic sound deadening cover on the TD5 engine (Defender MY 2000 if it makes any difference) is bolted on the inlet manifold side through a rubber grommet into a captive nut that seems to sit in a square hole in a pressed metal bracket (that also supports sundry other stuff). Not sure if said captive nut is available as a separate part but it it is can some helpful soul tell me the part number. You won't be surprised to hear that mine has escaped from captivity and just goes round and round now in that jolly way captive nuts tend to develop! TIA, Guy.

Echo what others have said about tyre pressures. Makes a big difference to mine.

Otterbox Defender is good protection for iPhone - Google will find you video of a real test of a first floor drop onto concrete. I've been using mine for a year and it has been effective against splashing and dust too. £26 on Amazon UK.

This still sounds consistent with a sensor being pushed out by a wobbly hub. So as per before check all wheel bearings/adjustment and CVs. Or build up of crud in the toothed ABS wheel.

How much smoke and is engine warm. I can only see mine smoke in following lights after dark or on heavy throttle after a slow spell.

Could be that your wheel bearing needs to be adjusted properly or perhaps a CV joint or another wheel bearing. There maybe someone near you with a Nanocom which will tell you more.

http://secure.silmid.com/varius.engine?w=2&ref=16&language=1&code=SURA03 I haven't used this yet but they have others on the site too

I've got one of those irritating sounds in the TD5 (60K miles). The sound is a fairly quiet whooshing a bit like the heating fan. It is the kind of sound that may always have been there but you can't quite pin down what it is or tell if it is new (I think it is probably new). I've concluded (not necessarily correctly) that it is gear related as it only happens under power or on foot off throttle with engine braking slowing down. And with care balancing the throttle it is possible to silence it in gear. No noise when coasting in neutral and it doesn't seem to happen below about 30mph. Any ideas, should I investigate further and if so then how?

I have used hot glue gun to hold nuts in a ring spanner in the past. Works well as glue is slightly rubbery. Good luck.

No, not an outrigger - it is the front of main chassis rail where the leaf spring and bumper attach. Another common place for rust.

Thanks all for your contributions. The plastic bushes are, indeed, asymmetric but mine are already in the 'high' position and not appreciably worn. But now that I've looked again there is quite a lot of clearance to the wing (nearly a centimeter) and I think that the contact between wing and bonnet might have been in in the past when the vehicle spent more time on rough roads.

What size tyres does it run on?

Thanks to everyone for the input. I don't really need any braking improvement - my Def has the ABS option and the standard brakes are beyond criticism and can have my eyeballs on the screen at any speed or the ABS pulsing (I don't tow anything and seldom use it off road). But it is a bit of a tart and I'm fed up with one cubic metre of brake dust for every metre that the brakes are applied. I picked on greenstuff because I'm familiar with EBC from motorbike days and reports seemed to be generally positive. I'll feed back in due course (both on performance and dust).

Ebay item 390097440396 - from Duckworth parts "non-genuine part. Brand new in box". I've emailed them to ask who makes it and why would I have any confidence that it was going to be a quality product.

Is there any way to adjust the height of the bonnet at the bulkhead end? Currently mine sits too close to the wings at the rear and tends to rub/rattle on them (with the inevitable destructive consequences). The only adjustment seems to be at the leading edge with the screw/locknut/rubberbuffer arrangement and the gap at that end is already too big which hasn't resolved the problem at the opposite end. I can't see any obvious adjustment other than with a hammer - do the hinges bolt through the bulkhead somehow?

While I'm changing the brake pads in my Defender TD5 I figured I might as well go for something that claims improvements over the standard pads. The only product I am aware of is the EBC 'GreenStuff' pads (DP61037 and DP61038). Has anyone any experience of these that they can share in terms of their braking performance, life and amount of dust compared with standard? http://www.ebcbrakes.com/automotive/greenstuff_brake_pads/index.shtml Does anyone else manufacture an alternative?

Aragorn, I own up to being wrong about fueling! There is some useful stuff here: www.thermoguard.com.au/FAQ.pdf which confirms what you say about diesels being the reverse being of petrol engines. But I didn't say EGT was nothing to do with the exhaust - see my second sentence in that paragraph. But what you say about boost pressure dropping is interesting given the connection between boost and fueling in the TDi engines. If the intercooler has cooled the air so far that the boost has dropped (ie below the level where the wastegate operates) that might have an effect. http://www.stonefisk.com/doc-arc/def_man/ThermoGuard_Tdi_Tuning_Rev.2.pdf

I agree with this. The reason for having an intercooler is because compressing a gas raises its temperature and a turbo is a blooming hot compressor. The intercooler cools the air back down to a degree which means more oxygen for any given volume. Your larger intercooler is the only change made and because it is more efficient it will result in cooler (denser) air entering the combustion chambers and a leaner burn as a result (more oxygen/same amount of fuel). Further raising the boost pressure with no other changes will result in an even leaner and hotter EGT. So you need to find a balance between your cooler air supply to the engine, increasing the fueling and (if you go that route) higher boost. I'd have thought that as you have an EGT gauge using that to settle the best balance coupled with the seat of your pants was a good place to start. Then maybe a run on a dyno (though before and after would be better for each change - one by one). I'd leave the exhaust out of the equation. They have far less effect on turbo engines - unless your exhaust is blocked (or for the wrong engine) its main impact will be on the speed the turbo spools up (ie lag). The other point about your intercooler is proximity to the rad. I'd ignore this too. The intercooler is largely irrelevant at low revs/speeds because you are running low boost then. Once you get a decent move on there is inevitably going to be plenty of air flow to render heat transfer from the radiator irrelevant.

You say that you drove two miles and it sounds like this was probably after a long-ish lay up. So you probably weren't pushing the engine and I don't suppose it was more than partially warmed up. So it sounds most likely to me that what you have observed is condensation mixed with soot and if so then nothing to worry about. Your subsequent observation that 'it has all dried up' rather confirms this and the statement that it is worse around the tail pipe is also consistent with a newly awakened motor with a newly assembled exhaust.

Any views on non- OE pads as I'm doing mine soon - are EBC Greenstuff, etc, available? As standard (ABS) mine are fine but no harm if better are available.