Mark

Stick your location in your profile, and you may find someone close to you who has one spare...

Disco 200 TDI - Head Gasket failure at back of block, blowing to atmosphere on a 180k mile lump - put down to age. Still ran fine, just chuffed a bit... Disco 200 TDI - Head Gasket failure - consumed it's coolant, so presumed cylinder to coolant blow. Stil runs, just needs coolant topping up occasionally Disco 300 TDI - System pressurised, expelled coolant via the safety release valve on the header tank. Presumed Head Gasket Failure, but on replacement system was still gassing. New Head and New Gasket (obviously) saw it right again - presumed cracked head between exhaust and coolant. Other common issues on 200's are crank damper disintegrating, stops drive to water pump and aux belt, so can cause overheating, and utimately HGF. Caught mine just in time. The other common one is timing belt failure but I havn't had that happen yet... Mark

Sadly this one is closer to 200,000... Bring it over Adrian, I'm getting pretty good at head gaskets now... Would probably be a good idea to check the cam bearing as Dan suggests though before we rip the head off.

OME +2" springs and Shocks with 2" spacers and 2" drop shock mounts on the rear, along with Jez's cranked radius arms and some extended bump stops. Front Radius Arms a re std, and I put up with the slight lack of self centering. This is what it looked like just after I fitted the kit: It's not a kit, but it works well, and has developed over time. the OME is worth every penny imho... From you other thread though, your truck is a road going one, rather than a mudplugger, so why are you after lifting it out of curiosity? Mark

Could I rephrase that to 'should use a bridle'.... Mark

There is a chap who advertises on homeworkshop.org.uk: No connection, and he may well be at the wrong end of the country, but could well be worth a call... hth Mark

Dave, have a look here for more details... Essentially, I use my disco off road in muddy situations. The standard drum brake tends to fill up with mud and rubbish which not only wears the pads down, but also prevents the mechaism working properly. Rather than having to clean out the handbrake after every trip, I fitted the disc version as it dosn't collect the rubbish in the first place - one it is fitted and initial adjustment is done, you can pretty much forget about it. I believe it offers better braking than the standard unit too, but my main motivation was to get a handbrake that worked in muddy situations and stayed working, rather than not working and then needing constant attention... hth Mark

Reminds me, I must aquire one for the new disco...

I have one on my Disco, but it's a 200 TDI with an LT77/LT230 combination. I suspect though that it won't be too far different. Biggest Issue on the disco is space - the floor comes down about where you need to work. and may need a little adjustment. Also the heatshield may need a little clearencing. In use it is excellent, fitting is easy, and provided you have a cable with the forked end already, everything is included in the bits simon supplies. If not, then he can supply a new handbrake cable too. Fitting is easy - removing the old handbrake probably takes longer. Only thing to be careful of is to make sure you adjust it so the caliper pads cannot rub on the disc. It is quite a fine adjustment, as too far away and there isn't enough travel on the lever to pull it fully on, and too little and the pads rub. If the pads do rub, there is a tendancy for the pads to come loose from the caliper. This dosn't affect operation but it rattles, and wears the pads prematurely. They are pretty easy to stick back in with a bit of silicone though. This is what it looks like fitted... hth Mark

Bless you.

ever the practical girl

surely the 8x8 is more your style?

That looks very neat Bish! you going to turn it into a 200 auto? presumably it is a TD on a G-plate?

gas welding is fine too - no need to disconnect anything when using gas.... I am full of helpful comments tonight... Mark

Whilst I believe it is good practice to disconnect alternators, batteries and ECU's when welding - I always do - Dynamo's are fine I discovered this weekend.... hope that helps.. Mark

Ah, thought it was just me that hadn't got a key yet... will drop you a pm with the seed number si...

gav, post a picture of the winch up. as far as I know the 8074 had a power in and out type motor, and a ratchet and pawl brake. The belleview (which is what the 8074 was based on) as a sinfgle direction motor - in only - and a sprag clutch to stop the motor turning in the opposite direction. The brake is a band type afair, and the controls are operated using bowden cables... if you have an 8074, then the wiring is the same as an 8274. a belleview is even simpler. hth Mark

Yeah, I saw that a little while ago. Was called 'Custom My Ride' over here for some reason.. The end result was quite convincing, but they must have some confidence to rip apart a brand new one!

The Halfords ones are excellent, and often on special offer... alternately there is always eBlag...

Map and compass suits me fine, but I might try and sort out the PC anyway, just as an experiment! cheers

James, Would this be of use for the challenge on the 26th? If so, I'll pull my finger out and get it sorted for our truck... Cheers Mark

Pete, go to 'My Controls' at the top, then click 'Edit Personal Profile'... it's the first box on the right, you can't miss it... Mark

here's mine... along with a load of other stuff about making or buying... the search function is your friend...

Halfords Pro always used to be Sykes-Pickavent. The lines between the decent names are all fairly blurred these days anyway... I had a Clarke one until recently when I replaced it with a halfords pro one, and have been very pleased with it. Cheers Mark