ChrisB

On my 200tdi you can get between the skins by removing the rear light cluster. I'd be very weary of fixing it to there though, what happens if you clonk it on a tree - I think it would be ripped out of the very thin skin leaving an awful mess and no way of fixing it. I used aerial gutter mounts clamped to the very short section of gutter before it turns and goes up over the door.

Holiday is goooood! Loads of sun & snow, attempted snowboarding yesterday, got very bruised (again!). Decided to stick with my skis from now on. Hire car was a Chevy Captiva - 2.0l diesel with auto/manual box - amazing with TC and ABS to get up the mountain - last 45mins is usually really slow and slippery - but this thing just flew up in 2nd/3rd! Once I got the hang of driving it in manual (push lever, treacle runs to gearbox really slowly as it -4 outside, hits gearbox and it changes about half hour later). Got internet access, so plenty of time for new truck browsing! Chris

Thanks for all the good wishes chaps! The not in service sign just had to go there for the photo! I had an above windscreen light bar (that used to be on Mark's disco), i believe that it saved the driver's side from collapsing totally as it is still attached to both sides, and had deformed the passengers side a-post outwards significantly. Dog guard bolted in top and bottom, and everything bungeed in inside probably saved more injuries and a much bigger mess. As it is, we're collecting a hire car this afternoon, and going to France 2 days late!

Not the best start to our holiday in the Alps!! Got cut up on the M20 in Fokestone by a Disco 3 towing a large white box trailer with roller shutter door. (There were actually two travelling in convoy). Corkscrewed down the road for about 150yds, then span and rolled, hitting central reservation twice. Offending vehicle stopped on hard shoulder until he saw someone get out, then drove off immediately - no details given. Occupants: My girlfriend (driving) has lots of bruises: legs, face/jaw, shoulder/chest and hands, as well as lots of glass in her hands. My brother (behind driver) who was asleep at the time - no injuries whatsoever. Me (passenger seat) no injuries until I went crawling around inside on the tarmac, then a few small cuts on my hands. I gained a lump on my head somewhere along the line too. Now i need another truck! Suggestions gratefully received! Thinking about another disco, or perhaps 110/130? Its my daily driver for a 40 mile round trip 3/4 times a week. I also tend to carry all my kit around with me - storage at home is limited. I'd just finished a storage shelf/box build in the disco with 4 extra AGM lifeline batteries and an inverter when this happened :-( Chris

Use some Blue/Purple Nitrile gloves to protect your hands, they will split (many times!) so have a box handy! Not sure where you work, but I find the sterile plastic brushes from the theatre scrub rooms are great with a generous helping of swarfega or similar! Chris (ICU Nurse)

Cheap and cheerful for me! - Screwfix Builders Gloves Wash in warm water when greasy, or with my overalls. Still very wearable when soaking wet, and keep your hands relatively warm like that too - bit of a wetsuit effect with the rubber coating. They're usually on special offer in the bins as you queue up to order at the trade counters.

Watch out for the NFU - different offices may give you a different answer as I found out a couple of months ago. Why is it taxed as a DPV? - This might cause you all sorts of problems - emergency exits, disabled access equipment, engine stop, no towing etc etc.

Having just swapped out my old drivers seat base foam for a new item from Exmoor Trim via Santa, the fabric seat covering seems to have disintegrated from the inside out, and is now pretty threadbare. I have searched without success for a supplier of a new fabric - does anyone have any ideas? Festive Greetings to all! Chris

Yet another 109 mug here! And a new drivers seat foam And a fan spanner And a nokia bluetooth car kit And some joker bought me a car cleaning brush!!

You should also check the voltage between alternator casing and battery negative post (the lead bit, not clamp) when engine running, and some load (eg headlights) and same for alternator positive to battery positive. Doesn't matter which way you connect the leads (ie red to batt etc). Meter should be set to measure volts, with leads plugged in correct holes - check them! - if you've just been measuring amps, your meter won't last long! Post up the readings on here. This will tell you if there are any poor connections along the way.

Careful! - not all NFU offices are the same as I recently found out! Price and Imber in Chippenham come highly recommended.

Quick update - Spoke to NFU Price & Imber today - much better experience! (not least because I did not require a working knowledge of Polish to converse with them!) They quoted me £480 for my Disco, compared to Fluxes £656! The NFU have started a different scheme for breakdown cover though, so need to find out a bit more about it before handing over the dosh.

Thanks for the advice. AP driveline from Dingocroft it is then! Chris

Great - thanks chaps. Sounds like the Marlow office is just a bad choice then! I'll try Price and Imber tomorrow and see if I get a better reception there! Cheers Chris

Has anyone else been asked by the NFU to get a garage to certify that all modifications to the vehicle "have been done properly"? I've just asked them for a quote, hoping they would be cheaper than Adrian Flux, but they won't quote without a garage to inspect and certify my truck. What worries me is I could get anyone to do that, but they probably won't have any idea what they're looking at. I wonder if it's just so that if I crash it, the NFU can blame the modifications, and then pass the liability to the certifying garage as they said it's ok! I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has been asked to do this... Chris

Hi folks, I'll soon be needing to replace the clutch in my 200tdi Disco. Any pointers on which clutch to buy, and probably more importantly which ones to avoid? It'll be the first one I've done, and will probably follow Les's method from the tech archive. Disco is on 235/85s with standard ratios, some propane, and tows a heavy trailer fairly often, so I wonder if there's a heavy duty option and if it would be worthwhile? Cheers Chris

When my alternator belt snapped on my 200tdi Disco I was on nights, so couldn't get a new one for a week or so. Just charged up the battery during the day so I could use the indicators etc. Make sure you don't use heater/blower, demister etc - these will drain lots of power quite quickly. Lights are obviously essential, but use sparingly! Chris

I have 235/85/16 KL71s on my 200Tdi Disco and love them. £106 each supplied and fitted next day by Protyre in Slough. Apparently they are imported into the UK by Mitcheldever group who own Protyre and www.4site4x4.co.uk. I believe they are currently available in: * 215/75 R15 106Q * 235/75 R15 104Q * 30X9.50 R15 104Q * 31X10.5 15 109Q * 32x11.50 R15 113Q * 33X12.5 15 108Q * 35x12.50 R15 113Q * 305/70 R16 124Q * 225/75 R16 110Q * 245/75 R16 120Q * 265/75 R16 119Q * 285/75 R16 126Q * 205 R16 104Q * 235/85 R16 120Q * 265/70 R17 112Q * 195R15 100Q When I got mine, they were unable to tell me when they would be available in the UK, I just had to ring every week until they appeared on their system. I find them great for my mix of mainly commuting to work (50 mile round trip) and occasional off roading and towing heavy trailers both on and off road.

I have 235/85 KL71s and love them. I previously had colway MTs and colway ATs - the MTs slid around quite a bit on the road in the wet, but I have absolutely no problem with the KL71s. I mainly drive on the road, but tow off road occasionally on muddy event sites and these have taken me everywhere the MTs did with no problems. Chris

Halfrauds sell spray cans of black plastic bumper paint, which I have used for spraying plastic boxes, not bumpers, but it worked ok and didn't fall off like another type i tried. Not much help i know, just sharing my experience! Chris

First thing I would do is check the axle breather pipe is not blocked, they often get gunged up inside the banjo on top of the axle casing. 14mm spanner will undo it, watch out for the two copper washers either side of the banjo that fall off easily. It's probably worth changing all gaskets and seals in the hub while you are doing the job, check bearings too. It is worth using a new washer between the hub nuts - they are very cheap to replace given the job they do. Remember to use brake cleaner or similar afterwards to get rid of all the EP90 on the disc and pads. HTH Chris

I'm still trying to get some KL71s for my Disco, but can't seem to find any of the right size! I currently run 235/85R16 Colway MTs, and don't really want to go back to standard ground clearance height, or fit a bigger lift and wheelarch flares. Currently thinking about 31x10.5s but would mean changing my 16" alloys for probably the cheapest 15" steel rims I can find - not really keen on that option. Chris 200tdi Disco

Not sure if I've got the right end of the stick, but Xport2 will split a GPS input on the pc and make it available for multiple programs to use. It's free and works really well once you've set it up (bit tricky at first, but not too bad!). Xport2 Updated: It seems xport2 has seen much further development since I downloaded it - time for an upgrade!

Many thanks for your advice BogMonster. I do have +2" lift on rear and HD/Std height springs on front (giving about +1"). My current 235/85 seem to be fine after camel cut and trim of plastic sill in back of the front wheelarch. I'm inclined to go for the 265/75 size - what do others think? Chris

Hi, I'm trying to get hold of some KL71s (after reading a couple of threads on the forum), but it seems that they are very hard to come by in the UK. I currently run 235/85 Colway MTs on 16" Alloys on my Disco, I'd like to have KL71s in a size as close to that as possible. Does anyone have any links to the trade who could shed a bit more light on the problem, or offer any advice on the closest size I could happily fit please? I don't really want to lose the alloys to go to a 15" rim size if I can help it. Many thanks Chris