pat_pending

FRC7500

Why do people spend money with companies without taking time to check their reputation? There are two threads on here at the moment regarding non delivery of parts, in each case 5 minutes with Google would have told anyone to steer clear of the companies concerned. Is it a case of "bargain" and all sense goes out the window? If it is, then when second hand parts are concerned is it any wonder so many vehicles get stolen? Oh yes, Newbury, anyone going, count how many Police there are there actively checking parts for security marking, smart water, stolen vins etc.

It is and it should...if fitted. The low fluid level light is wired through a level sensor that goes to earth when activated (low fluid level) and as a bulb test, via a check relay. The check relay earths the circuit, and is powered via the starter relay, so when testing the bulb will only light up whilst the ignition is in the crank position. So the circuit would be ign' +, warning lamp, level sensor, two wires, one to earth to complete the circuit when the level sensor is at the bottom of travel the other is the test circuit and will go to the check relay, probably terminal 30, and earth via 87 when the relay gets a feed to 86 from the starter relay whilst cranking, 85 is the earth for the check relay. Simples!

That's been around for a while, it's still internal combustion. I'm afraid the future is electric.

I find the gauge in mine gives a "rough estimate" and the lower the tank level the more inaccurate it is. It's one of those endearing quirks that make ownership a joy. Besides, once it's dark you can barely see the gauge anyway.

IMO the most comfortable set up is what you have now. However the self leveller can fail, it has it's own ball joints that can knock as well as the A frame joint and it's a bit wallowy. If you change the rear springs for anything stiffer, dump the self leveller, it's only there because standard sw springs are quite soft and it will hinder rather than help if left on. The later dual or tri rate rear springs make an excellent choice and can be had in good used condition from ebay or any of the sortouts. I've said it before, but it's possible upgrade your suspension successfully for very little money.

Does anyone believe anything a Land Rover fuel gauge tells them?

Did you, by any chance, hear a bloke down the pub say having two registered keepers was a sure way to get off speeding tickets? Apologies if that's not what crossed your mind, but it is one of the tales that seem to do the rounds, along with having your dog as registered keeper. By the way, you can't and it isn't.

Vehicles can fail for a number of reasons that wouldn't render them "unroadworthy" or unsafe.

Regarding the Salisbury rear diff, they're strong reliable units and only really suffer if they've been starved of oil. IMO they need no "in service" adjustment, they work or they need complete overhaul. For the average diy'er they're not practical to rebuild at home, you need a number of special tools and a thorough understanding of how to set and check the mesh of the crownwheel & pinion. If you still want to expand your knowledge I suggest you get a copy of the workshop manual and read the section on diff overhaul and then balance that against your own skills/tools/confidence. I would add there's a bit of an art to building any diff, after setting up, the mesh needs checking with engineers blue. This allows you to see the actual contact point between the gears, it's rarely correct when using a used crownwheel & pinion set. Reading the pattern and doing any subsequent adjustment is where the skill comes in, IMO that skill only comes with experience. At best you may end up with a whining diff at worst you could wreck the whole thing. Hope that's useful. Edit, Land Rovers have a shocking amount of slop in the transmission as standard, don't get paranoid!

This. There's little pressure through the cooler on a ZF box.

Yes by all means change the prop, there should be little if any play in the sliding joint splines. Park the vehicle on the level, in gear with the hand brake off and look at the diff nose whilst someone rocks the vehicle back and forward against the engine. If the diff nose moves up and down by a noticeable amount the A frame joints gone. You could get under and feel for the clunk, just make sure there's some chocks or someone in the vehicle in case it comes out of gear. Being run over by your own Land Rover is no way to die!

The A frame ball joint is the biggest cause of clunks from the rear. As yours is a s/w it will have a load leveller, I think these tend to knock the joints out faster and make detecting play harder as they exert a constant load. Get a bar between the top of the axle and the edge of the joint and check for lift. Edit, Mo beat me to it.

Nope! You can't invalidate the old certificate, it runs until it's expiry date. If your vehicle fails and you decide to keep driving it, you could only be charged with whatever offence you committed regarding the failure item. For example you could fail on a defective registration plate with weeks left on your old MOT, drive off, get stopped. That's a non endorsable fixed penalty for a reg' offence. You couldn't be charged with not having a valid certificate because you still have one. It would be the same with say tyres, different specific offence, different penalty, but still have a valid MOT. As for insurance, unless you made a false declaration at inception, they can't void the policy. They are legally required to pay out on third party claims. What they normally do is insert clauses into the contract, such as if an accident occurs and the vehicle was being used in an unroadworthy condition they reserve the right to withhold payment to the policy holder, and/or to recover their third party losses from the policy holder. I think most policies have this clause for drivers that have accidents whilst unfit through drink/drugs. It's all down to the policy wording and their discretion.

You really need to unbolt the prop' to properly test them. if they're dry and semi seized you wont feel any play with the prop' on. Turn the yokes through their full travel in both directions, they should feel smooth with no binding.

The back of the bearing is should be open to the T'box oil, so unless someone's fitted a sealed bearing it shouldn't squeak even if it's knackered. Are you sure it's not a uj ? They really do squeak when dry. I'd unbolt the prop' and check the uj's, you need to fully articulate them, check there's oil in the box and try it.

Britpart are wholesalers, some of the parts supplied in a Britpart box are just as likely to end up in other manufacturers branded packaging. I've had some utter s***t from all of them.

There's probably a Facebook group for it!

This pretty much sums it up. HD fronts, (which are actually 90 rears) and 110 td5 station wagon dual rate rears. This is what I ended up with on my 110 utility, finished off with a set of Britpart cellular dynamic dampers. The springs came from Newbury sort out, fronts brand new Allmakes, £15 and the rears nearly new take offs £10. The dampers came from paddocks at about £120 for all 4, they match the spring rates perfectly. They've been on three years and have been faultless, paint still looks like new (threw away the appalling polybushes they came with though). A complete suspension system that works really well for about the same price as some people pay for one damper!

There seems to be some misunderstanding and scepticism regarding the later type seals. I was workshop foreman in a L/R dealers when they first appeared so maybe the following may help. It's a Dowty seal and was introduced by Land Rover on the Turbo D engines because the earlier seal couldn't cope with the increased crankcase pressures. It's a very good seal and was subsequently retained on the Tdi engines. It does however need to be fitted correctly, the "paint" around the outside is in fact a sealant and if fitted to the correct depth (below flush) in the housing, should not come out. The seal must be fitted to a clean, dry crank, if you lubricate the crank, the seal will not bed in and work properly, the seal relies on a degree of friction to mould itself to the crankshaft, hence the no lubricant. The seal guide should not be removed except when it's pushed out during fitting. If the guide is accidentally displaced you must not touch the sealing surface and carefully refit the guide. After reassembling the engine you must not run it above 1000rpm for at least five minutes to allow the seal to work. I've no idea if the "aftermarket" seals are genuine Dowty or just copies. It's a Dowty that comes out of a Land Rover box though.

Yes, the body on the puma is vast improvement, acceptable panel fit and doors that fit! That should see it going for at least another...oh hang on, they've stopped making it just as they were starting to get it right.

Not quite true "anyone" can service it. If a problem occurs within the warranty period and the servicing has been carried out by a non franchised garage, Land Rover would require the following as proof of service. An original invoice from a VAT registered garage. This must detail the specification of all fluids used. All parts used must be genuine and itemised. The manufactures service schedule must have been followed as evidenced by a signed copy of the service check sheet. A lot of places will be able to quote on servicing it cheaper than Land Rover, however that's usually because the don't use gen' parts and don't do everything on the manufactures schedule. While it's under warranty stay within the dealer network. What did you pay for it £25-30,000? and you don't want to pay £500 to service it. You can probably negotiate that down anyway.

About time too, there's plenty of evidence of it around Harling Drove. Morons!

Sikaflex was the stuff we used when I worked for a Land Rover dealer, can't remember the grade though. Nothing will work for long though if the gaps aren't clean and dry before sealing. With the amount of flex and expansion present in the body anything you do will only delay the inevitable return of the wet stuff. Frankly, trying to keep water out of a Land Rover is like painting the Forth bridge.

Steady on! We don't want that sort of thing on here.