[O/T Chainsaws]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Dolmar or Echo (both excellent professional saws)

My next saw will be a Dolmar, probably for much the same reason I drive a Defender.

[How does a Td5 work? Will it work on bio-diesel?]

the original talk of keeping away from sus fuel stemmed from the price of new injectors.

When the engine was first introduced here a number of injectors had to be replaced under warranty when less than clean outback fuel was used. The filter didn't pick it up (for whatever reason) and at the time the injectors were costing Land Rover Australia almost A$2000 each.

This was from a mate of mine who was a consulting engineer to LRA at the time. (was working on a noise reduction project on that engine for military use.)

[Water wetter]

also used to use it when racing.

Also used Neo Keep Cool, which uses a passivater (I'm guessing some sort of organic acid) and water pump lube. Seemed to work really well.

Most Glycol coolants retard heat transfer, glycol isn't as thermally efficient as water and the silicates coat the metal surfaces inhibiting heat transfer. This is where the OAT and HOAT coolants are better as their anti corrosives only come into play where corrosion starts so that the metal surface is kept silicate free. I once read where a chemist said that the heat transfer of OAT coolants was roughly half way between straight water and a conventional silicate/nitrate based glycol coolant.

[Aircon Leak Detection DIY?]

The aircon hasnt worked since I've owned the vehicle (which is only 4 months - I've no idea how long its not been working for).

I didnt chose a cheapskate service first time around, I just went to my local place that I trust. However they only have the kit to regas and not to leak detect.

Jon

surely that contravenes some sort of EPA thing over there ?

Here no one can touch any form of refrigeration/A/C system without being licensed and to have this they need all the kit for leak detection/recovery as well as charging.

Anyway, as was previously mentioned, 150psi of dry nitrogen and soapy water finds leaks that the black lights and electronic detectors don't (I have three electronic detectors )

Mostly they will be faulty O rings, although I've found a few cracked fittings from time to time, including mounting pads and the odd compressor casting.

[Low Coolant Alarm]

nice post Paul.

My intention was to adapt the RR cap, but this looks very good.

thanks.

[Heat wrap for exhaust manifolds]

thermo-tec is a brand name and is a woven silica.

It's my understanding that if you want to use a heat wrap on header pipes, Silica is the stuff to use. Other materials may not last, or ceramic based ones may retain too much heat, creating hotspots and killing your pipes, although this may just be marketing drivel.

[Tdi clutch fork. Case harden the pivot socket ?]

Rick I can't remember where I saw it first, maybe here, but removing the ball joint seat from an old tie rod end and welding that on the back of the lever works as an effective repair. If you can be bothered you can make the lever greasable by drilling the ball pivot and mount and making up a line out of brake line tubing to a''bulkhead'' fitting in an accesible location on the bellhousing. Many commercial vehicles have a similar arrangement to lube their clutch thrust bearings and /or carriers.

bill.

have an old ball joint seat saved up for it Bill. Think I first saw it suggested here by your very hand.

Thought of making it greaseable too (like my old Fiat tractor) but just can't be bothered. It lasted 220,000km, so I'm guessing it's time for a clutch and seals anyway.

I have 5 clutch forks waiting for me to get off my lazy backside and strengthen. One has already been bagged by Gromit, but the other 4 will be ready by Wed. They are £15 each delivered anywhere but the bluddy Falkland Islands All money goes to the forum gin fund.

Les.

umm, Les, I'm not quite as far south as Stephen, but probably two to three times as far away

thanks for the offer anyway.

[Tdi clutch fork. Case harden the pivot socket ?]

seeing as these things are a piece of pressed steel, and I'm guessing a very low carbon one at that, what does the brains trust reckon about case hardening the pivot socket, as well as reinforcing the back side of the socket ?

(yes, I've been driving without a clutch for a few days, now borrowed a friends old FJ45 while the things in bits waiting for the flywheel to come back)

[Confused - Which gearbox oil]

a proper manual trans fluid does protect bearings and gears better unless Arctic temps are to be experienced.

FWIW, here no gearbox reconditioner will provide warranty if ATF is used.

[Lovells Springs for 110 - any advices?]

unusual for a genuine HD Land Rover spring to sag. Are you sure it's a genuine Spring ?

FWIW, genuine HD linear rate springs for a 110 Defender, pre about '03/'04 are 330 lb/in. Defender 130's use these with a 140 lb/in inner spring, giving a combined rate of 470 lb/in, and those Lovells coils are a claimed 493 lb/in

Lovells are a decent spring, but if you can get Eibach in the right size/rate they will leave all other springs for dead.

[New Bling from ARB]

Well they say they are going to be A$180 each for the defender

Cheaper than a Rockcrusher one, if that price is correct, but I reckon the Rockcrusher one looks cooler, and being unpainted you can shave it without stuffing up the finish.

[Defender Propshaft Length]

sounds like a good price.

Have you had a vibration to necessitate the double cardan shaft ?

I seem to have been lucky with mine, and the LRA springs have sagged a bit over the years anyway, which helps.

I fitted a grease nipple to the slidy bit, bit not the double cardan. I figure once they chop out I'll replace them with greasables.

so the sliding spline isn't even greaseable on the buggers ?

[Defender Propshaft Length]

What's your VIN Paul ?

Can only surmise that the 200 sits the t/case further back than the 300. Stock shaft FRC8386 goes from MA939976 through to ZA612404.

You'll flog that thing out in no time, if you don't pull the splined section clean out of the shaft first.

BTW, did you fit greasable uni's to the double cardan ?

Best you send it over to NSW for proper care

[The Grave yard]

you could try this forum as well, http://www.ytmag.com/cgi-bin/boards.cgi

It has dedicated forum's for each make.

[Defender 2007]

Jeep = chrome = Gay

Now a new 4l+ derv Defender, I would find the money from somewhere!

Will

Will, they used to make that combination here in the mid eighties ! It's still the most sought after coiler engine here.

It used the Isuzu 4BD1 engine. It's what powers the Oz army 110's, with the turbo version powering the 6X6's.

[Defender 2007]

Interesting. I have just seen one of the "70 series utes" an Aussie bloke imported to here and while I haven't had a good look it seems a bit of a tank - massive leaf springs on the back that would shake out all your teeth on anything resembling a gravel road. Engine sounded nice - he said a 4.2L six - but that was about all that blew my skirt up.

The Patrol is available with either coil rear end (1 tonne) or leaf (1.3 tonne) and the leafer uses the biggest rear diff you've ever seen. It dwarfs a Sals. Standard LSD is the best clutch pack LSD I've ever used.

Both Cruiser and Patrol leaf rear ends ride surprisingly well and flex well, just look at the length of the leaves. Toyota had the option of using the 80-100 series coil rear end on the utes, but the market demanded the load carrying capacity/simplicity of leaves.

The Patrol front diff is equivalent in CWP size to a Sals and is reverse cut and uses better CV's than Rover (actually bigger inner axle size, the Rover's Achilles heel). The LC 79 Series isn't quite as beefy in the driveline but have more modern engines. They had problems in the early nineties with cranks, but the 6cyl is pretty much bullet proof now. It will be interesting to see if the new V8 will have any teething problems. The Nissan 6cyl engine is pretty old school, yet with regular servicing it's not uncommon to hear of them still running fine after 600,000km and never been touched. A lot of 300Tdi's appear to need new mains at the 270-300,000km mark.

Nissan respond really well to 'problems' such as when the rear of the chassis were cracking in extreme operations. When large corporate customers started cracking 130 Crew Cab chassis, Land Rover couldn't give a toss and refused to acknowledge there was a problem. All they did was remove the vehicle from the market, yet demand outstripped supply by 3-4 months! When the same thing happened to Nissan Patrols, they beefed them up and re-jigged their rear suspension very quickly. There were a few field reports of tie rods (track rods) bending, (which was bigger than a Rover one !) so a bigger diameter item was introduced, along with new female sleeve tie rod ends. All Land Rover ever did was instal that useless channel under the diff. Interestingly the ADF 110's all use oversize track rods/drag links. One of my mates was a Land Rover Oz engineer and he warned me about them when I bought the 130 and advised me to either make or buy larger ones. He wasn't overly complimentary of the UK's 'fix'.

Land Rover used to respond really well to problems from the field back in the eighties when they still had CKD assembly here. Their engineering staff were passionate about the product and tailored it/improved it for clients. When local assembly ceased after the BAe takeover things started going downhill and have gone totally backwards since Ford/PAG management. They just aren't interested in selling a real working 4WD.

There is a reason Nissan Patrols dominate winch challenge events out here. Most of the Rover based vehicles in these events use Nissan or Toyota running gear now.

[Defender 2007]

Agree 100%.There is so much more that I would like to add to your comments Rick, but I think I have already done that on previous threads on the subject.

Bill.

I had to restrain myself a bit, Bill. I almost started to wind up.

[Health & Safety]

Sadly, this is the way our world is moving.

They (as in city based wa...., oops, keep forgetting that's a naughty word in the UK, anyway, you get my drift) have been trying to get bullbars banned here for several years now, and it could still happen under the new pedestrian safety laws.

Absolutely bonkers in a country this size with wild and not so wild fauna running around all over the place. If I had a little Skippy silhouette on the mudguard for every one I've hit the 'fender would be black, not white, and the ferocity of the impact on several occasions would have left the vehicle totally undriveable without steel protection up front.

In the country here it becomes a safety issue. Unfortunately there is no way of proving how many injuries and lives a bullbar may have saved, although the animal impact statistics are incredibly high, and much, much higher than pedestrian impacts in the cities.

[Defender 2007]

At £25k+ the defender is too expensive, but they always have been.

The upside is the way the residual values hold up.

If you had bought a high spec jap pick up three years ago for 21k you would not expect to get more than 8k for it. A defender for a couple of grand more would have lost less than half that in depreciation.

different kettle of fish here.

Do you get the full size Jap utes over there ? Nissan Patrol and Seventy series Land Cruiser ? These hold their value very well here.

Toyota have just released a 4.5 litre V8 turbo diesel in the seventy series here. Nissans venerable 4.2l TD six is about to be replaced by a newer engine (mainly emission reasons) A 2.4 litre 4cyl is just laughed at around these parts. Even the mid size utes like the Hilux, Mazda Bravo and Nissan's Navarra all use 3 litre TD common rail engines now (or the choice of a 4 litre V6 in the case of the Hilux).

Land Rover have given up on all the parts of the world where full size 4WD's are used day to day as work vehicles. The 'upgrades' like the P38 style rear diff in 110/130's are a joke. The number of those rear ends failing here is staggering. A few are retro fitting Sals rear ends to fix the problem.

Ford obviously aren't interested in spending any money on development. The rear diff change in '02, the new Transit engine and gearbox merely allow economies of scale (ie, it saves the corporate dollar, err sorry, pound)

It saddens me to think what could have been.

Oh well. Maybe I should just be thankful it's still being made. Just a shame we won't really get to see any over here. (special order only. It doesn't suit PAG's corporate image in this part of the world.... )

[oil change]

And how does the info differ from what I said???

Not nitpicking, but if you go into individual oils and look

at the exact specs and get the datasheets Yes, then the other reply is more correct.

But as a general rule of thumb, I don't see how the more complex

answer would help someone choosing an oil in Halfords, without relevant

datasheets and a more indepth knowledge.

'cause you said the lower number referred to a viscosity at 40*C which couldn't be further from the truth. The lower number refers to an oils pumpability at sub zero temps, my little speil above was merely trying to show that at above zero there was no real difference between most 5w's and 15w's, the differences don't become apparent 'till you get below 0*.

And FWIW, if you were going to experience -20*C starts, I'd be using at least a 10w-40, (and take it very, very easy until warm) or better still a 5W-40 unless you used a block heater

[Australian Mot]

In NSW we obviously have a yearly RTA roadworthy check which includes a brake test. The print out has to be presented at the motor registry before registration, yet I've heard of a few that weren't from the vehicle being registered.....

And FWIW, I'm always stopping just around the corner beforehand to wipe down the oil leaks

[oil change]

The first number gives an indication of its viscosity at cold(40C) start.

The lower the number the runnier the oil.

The second number is an indication of the oils viscsity at approx 100C (I think).

The higher the number the thicker it is.

There is very little difference between 10W(inter) and 15W, infact according

to an oil specialist I have talked to there is very little difference between

5W and 15W in the Mobil1 fully synthetic oil, which is why 15W doesn't get sold

in Scandinavia. They only sell the 5W-50 fully synthetic here.

errr, not quite.

This is a reply on a similar topic from another forum.

5w-40 is NOT thinner than an equivalent 15W-40 at operating temp, in fact there may be f%ck all difference at 0*C, and some 5W-40's are thicker than some 15W-40's at 0*C.

An SAE viscosity # is a range, actual viscosity is measured in centistokes (cSt) eg an xW-40 must fall between 12.5 cSt and 16.3 cSt @ 100*C (most apear to fall @ 14-15cSt)

A 0W-xx or 5W-xx is able to pump/flow at much lower temps than a 15W-xx. Pumping viscosity at low temps is measured in centiPascals (cP) and a 0W-xx cannot exceed 3250 cP @ -30*C , a 5W-xx must not exceed 3500 cP at -25*C, and a 15W-xx cannot exceed 3500 cP @ -15*C.

Here's some specs for a few different oils at various temps

Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40. 14.8 cSt @ 100*C. pour point -45*C

Castrol RX Super 15W-40. 14.5 cSt @ 100*C pour point -27*C

Redline 15W-40. 15.1 cSt @ 100*C. pour point -45*C

Penrite HPR5 5W-40. 15.1 cSt @ 100*C. (no pour point given)

Shell Rimula Ultra 10W-40. 14.6 cSt @ 100*C. pour point -30*C

Castrol Magnatec 10W-40. 14.6 cSt @ 100*C. pour point <-35*C

yet at 0*C we get

D 1= 1066 cSt

RX = 1358 cSt

RL = 1122 cSt

HPR= 1350 cSt

RU = 0809 cSt

Mag = 1182 cSt

a 10W-40 (Shell Rimula Ultra) is actually thinner than both 5W's, and a 15W (Redline) is thinner than the 10W Magnatec and the Penrite HPRD5 at 0* !

It's only when you get down to North American type winter temps that the 5W-40's really show an advantage in pumpability.

HPR5 has a cranking pressure (cp) @ -30*C of 5719, yet

Magnetec has a cp of 7000 @ a warmer -25*C.

The only other directly comparable number was for the older CH-4 version of Delvac 1 which had a cp of 3250 @ -25*, and 20,000 @ -35*.

[6x6 Land Rovers]

because the Oz army ones use Sals diffs rather the the pi$$ weak Rover one.

The weight and carrying capacity of these vehicles I wouldn't want to use a Rover diff, even the 4 pin version that your army uses.

The Australian design uses the pto output on the LT95 and takes it up and over the intermediate axle into the rear diff. The suspension is a load sharing arrangement.

[new springs and shocks]

must jump on me and ask me about Scrapiron then because i am a pom

and mustn't notice your avatar/sig/whatever it is on AULRO

[Defender 2007 Cooling Problem?]

.... and he said the timing chains have been going after 20-25k......

and everyone used to whinge about the timing belts on the 300Tdi.

The more things change........................