Landies are ace!!!

Austin Shackles wrote:

> Mind, there's scope for fun in traffic with landies, drop it into low-1 and
> pootle at about 1 mph, thereby annoying all the cars behind
>
> and if you get really bored, you can do that and then get out and walk
> alongside steering it.

Oops, I'll try again...

I meant to say that I do that too! Great fun keeping a constant speed
in low range whilst others are burning clutches. I haven't got out and
walked yet - must give that a try.

> Austin Shackles wrote:
>
> > Mind, there's scope for fun in traffic with landies, drop it into low-1 and
> > pootle at about 1 mph, thereby annoying all the cars behind
> >
> > and if you get really bored, you can do that and then get out and walk
> > alongside steering it.

> Also I've not seen a map with postcode-lookup facilities ;-)

www.multimap.com / www.streetmap.co.uk! ;-)

Maybe it is just that I find it easy to memorise the route once
I've looked at the printed out map, so I don't find GPS to be
that useful.

> Bad routing decisions are relatively minor IME, and I don't follow
> what it says slavishly anyway, it's used as an aid to navigation, not
> a dictator.

I think one of my problems with GPS is most people (myself included
to start with!) rely on it entirely to plan their route and don't
actually bother to see if the route it has chosen is really any good or
not! When you look at a map if often becomes clear that taking a
different route is far more preferable, plus you get a good idea of
where you are in relation to other places so know what signs to look
out for yourself. I mean, anyone that drives down stupid winding lanes
instead of taking the huge wide road out of Bristol to the airport, or
drives half way up a mountain isn't using it as an aid are they?!
Once I started using maps I found that I rarely ever turned my GPS on
so I got rid of it.

Course this is all with a background of my GPSs crashing just at the
critical point and then me having to find somewhere to stop and spend 10
minutes re-starting and re-programming the bloody thing!! I guess the
new dedicated systems are more reliable??

Matt

Tom Woods came up with the following;:
> On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 10:02:04 +0200, Matthew Maddock
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> There is a tiny village around here where residents are getting really
>> ****ed off because GPS systems are routing loads of motorists through
>> their village, down narrow lanes to Bristol airport instead of taking
>> the main road route. There was another story on the local news about
>> how GPS systems were routing people along this 'green lane' up a
>> mountain - apparently the road started off ok, but then turned into a
>> rocky pass and lots of motorists were getting stuck LOL.
>
> i came back from wales using the gps the other week after coming up
> against an unsigned diversion round a closed road.
> It took us down some right dodgy single track lanes, some of which had
> gates across that you had to stop and open! (it was like the laning
> Lee_d took us on back in the spring!).
> I was ready to stop and turn round at any time but they all remained
> surfaced roads and eventually we got back to civilisation.

.... which is, to me, the obvious boon and benefit that a sat nav can brng.
We use ours as an aid, not as a commander. We tell it where we want to go
and we let it persuade us along routes that look interesting, 'specially
when we have to use a diversion.

--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules ..... Doh !!!

On 2006-07-18, Matthew Maddock <[email protected]> wrote:

> www.multimap.com / www.streetmap.co.uk! ;-)

Ah yes, that handy pocket guide ;-)

> Maybe it is just that I find it easy to memorise the route once
> I've looked at the printed out map, so I don't find GPS to be
> that useful.

Memorise? Wassat? What day is this? Who's house is this?

> I think one of my problems with GPS is most people (myself included
> to start with!) rely on it entirely to plan their route and don't
> actually bother to see if the route it has chosen is really any good or
> not!

I have a good look before setting out, just to make sure it's not
going to take me through city centres, it tries to take me through
either Bath or Bristol city centre when I want to get to the M5 but
there's an easy turn I can make on the journey that then re-routes me
over a small toll bridge in Bathampton that skips most of Bath.

> When you look at a map if often becomes clear that taking a
> different route is far more preferable, plus you get a good idea of
> where you are in relation to other places so know what signs to look
> out for yourself.

Yeah, but the satnav has a map on it too you know, so you can do that
too. Also you can just use it as a moving map display, I've done that
a few times. Needless to say I also have a road atlas in paper form!

> I mean, anyone that drives down stupid winding lanes instead of
> taking the huge wide road out of Bristol to the airport, or drives
> half way up a mountain isn't using it as an aid are they?!

Heh, when driving my mum to the airport from somewhere in Bristol
centre I went the "wrong" way according to the locals and arrived 10
mins quicker than they did! In a diesel automatic.

> Course this is all with a background of my GPSs crashing just at the
> critical point and then me having to find somewhere to stop and spend 10
> minutes re-starting and re-programming the bloody thing!! I guess the
> new dedicated systems are more reliable??

I don't know about the dedicated systems but my palm-based one is OK,
the only problems I really have are that I have to remember to start
the app before putting it into the cradle, for some reason it won't
spot the serial connection to the wired-in GPS if it's already there
when it starts!

It's very useful indeed to have a road map of Britain in my pocket at
all times, I use my PDA extensively as I have no memory, so a detailed
map that takes up no extra space is great. I can estimate journey
times quickly and pretty accurately with it.

--
Blast off and strike the evil Bydo empire!

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 09:32:46 +0100, Austin Shackles
<[email protected]> wrote:

>>
>>I wonder if there's a "route via petrol stations" option...
>
>hehe. someone was doing an overlay for LPG stations.

ive got a lpg overlay in my tomtom, though i havent spent enough time
playing with tomtom (im usually just driving and listening to it!) to
work out how to make it easily detour me via a garage when the tank
gets low.

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 12:14:14 +0100, "Paul - xxx"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>... which is, to me, the obvious boon and benefit that a sat nav can brng.
>We use ours as an aid, not as a commander. We tell it where we want to go
>and we let it persuade us along routes that look interesting, 'specially
>when we have to use a diversion.

indeed, as long as you prepared to listen to what it says and then
make a decision for yourself if you want to go that way (mine commonly
tries to send me the wrong way down one-ways in the town!) it is geat.

if you dont like the look of the road it tries to take you down you
can just ignore it and let it pick the next one anyhow

On 2006-07-18, Tom Woods <[email protected]> wrote:

> ive got a lpg overlay in my tomtom, though i havent spent enough time
> playing with tomtom (im usually just driving and listening to it!) to
> work out how to make it easily detour me via a garage when the tank
> gets low.

Either hit "Navigate to" then POI, then your LPG category and it'll
list them in order of distance from you, then you select one and drive
there. Or if you already have a route, hit "Find alternative", then
"travel via", then POI, then LPG category and it'll direct you there,
then afterwards it'll direct you on to your original destination.

--
Blast off and strike the evil Bydo empire!

On 18 Jul 2006 03:05:46 -0700, "ChavScum"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Oops, I'll try again...
>
>I meant to say that I do that too! Great fun keeping a constant speed
>in low range whilst others are burning clutches. I haven't got out and
>walked yet - must give that a try.

try it when you have a passenger, makes a great impact! . say 'can
you just hold the wheel for me for a second', then climb out, jog
round the truck and get back in! (make sure its not going to jump out
of gear first too)

Always fun getting out and walking next to the vehicle.....especially in a
Discovery <giggle>

--
Neil

Austin Shackles wrote:
> On or around 17 Jul 2006 15:10:02 -0700, "ChavScum"
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
>> agree - put the running hot down to old cars and inadequate
>> maintenance. I've currently running a V8's auto Defender, with A/C
>> and it doesn't twitch off 90 degrees celcius. It's not tricky and
>> there's no need to sweat it out on a hot day.
>>
>
> it's nearly always down to old radiators IME. There's really no
> answer other than to replace 'em.
>
> I had this on the 110 V8 - tried various flushing stuff and
> flushing it from the tap and reverse flushing and so forth, and
> none of 'em had any effect, it'd still overheat when running slowly
> uphill and suchlike, even with a fixed fan. New rad on it and it
> never strayed above "normal" again.

I had a look under the bonnet today after a long wait. The fan could easily be rotated with the engine
off but still steaming hot. Shouldnt it be stiff or dopes that o0nly happen if engines running?

Nige

Trouble is mine would probably jump out of gear if I did that


--
Larry
Series 3 rust and holes


"ChavScum" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Oops, I'll try again...
>
> I meant to say that I do that too! Great fun keeping a constant speed
> in low range whilst others are burning clutches. I haven't got out and
> walked yet - must give that a try.
>

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 17:53:26 +0100, "Larry" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Trouble is mine would probably jump out of gear if I did that

notice that i mentioned that in my follow up!. i can get out of mine
and walk when it is in 1-low or 4-low but 2nd and 3rd are a tad risky!

Neil Brownlee wrote:
> Always fun getting out and walking next to the vehicle.....especially in a
> Discovery <giggle>
>

And another trick is to grab your camera, say to the passenger "grab the
wheel and <smile>" and then jump out run ahead of the vehicle, and take
a picture of them. All this on private land of course, I wouldn't
suggest getting out of the vehicle and walking alongside would get you
any points in a driving test

Dave

On or around Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:26:08 +0100, "Nige"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>Austin Shackles wrote:
>> On or around 17 Jul 2006 15:10:02 -0700, "ChavScum"
>> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>>
>>> agree - put the running hot down to old cars and inadequate
>>> maintenance. I've currently running a V8's auto Defender, with A/C
>>> and it doesn't twitch off 90 degrees celcius. It's not tricky and
>>> there's no need to sweat it out on a hot day.
>>>
>>
>> it's nearly always down to old radiators IME. There's really no
>> answer other than to replace 'em.
>>
>> I had this on the 110 V8 - tried various flushing stuff and
>> flushing it from the tap and reverse flushing and so forth, and
>> none of 'em had any effect, it'd still overheat when running slowly
>> uphill and suchlike, even with a fixed fan. New rad on it and it
>> never strayed above "normal" again.
>
>I had a look under the bonnet today after a long wait. The fan could easily be rotated with the engine
>off but still steaming hot. Shouldnt it be stiff or dopes that o0nly happen if engines running?

The viscous fan IME only starts turning for real when it's up near red on
the dial. It shoudl of course spin at startup for 20-30 seconds, easily
audile at road-going revs, and then spin down as the hub frees off. If
yours doesn't do that I'd suspect it. Worth noting that the bit of the dial
between the blue and the red (sometimes labelled "normal" is normal through
out the range - it only represents quite a narrow temperature range. ABOVE
normal is where "overheating" starts, i.e. into the red bit. Fitting
instructions for kenlowe suggest that you run it 'til the needle is pointing
about 3/4 of the way up normal (i.e. above common operating temperature),
then tweak the knob til the fan cuts in, then turn it back slowly til the
fan just cuts out.

so the cut-out temperature for the fan is slightly above normal, and the
cut-in is most of the way up to the red. The viscous fan should work much
the same - not doing much until it's needed.

diagnosis:

first, see that the fan pulls hard first thing in the morning, and that it
spins down after 20-30 seconds of say about 2000 rpm. You can check that
stationary with the bonnet open - if the fan's pulling hard, you'll be in no
doubt

If it doesn't do that, then I suggest replacing it anyway. If it spins but
doesn't spin down at all, then it's safe enough to use but reduces your
efficiency slightly.

next test: Try running the engine with the vehicle stationary (in D with
T-box in neutral for autos) at about 3000 rpm. Watch the gauge closely, and
listen for the fan spinning up - it makes a distinctive roar when pulling
hard, and more or less no noise when idling. If the temp pointer gets to
the bottom of the red without the fan spinning up, then I'd suspect it. If
it does that, don't just shut off - drive round gently to cool the motor
down a bit first... I reckon most of the damage due to overheating is down
to too-rapid cooling.

If you've got aircon, check the aircon fans if it has them, they too should
cut in (but possibly only with the aircon on). Not sure if P38s have 'em,
the classics definitely did - supposed to give extra airflow for when you're
idling with the aircon on.


Having said all that, BiL Tim had no end of bother with his 3.9 overheating
and in the end removed the aircon rad and decommissioned the aircon. Having
done this he fired up the engine and nearly got choked by the cloud of dust
and debris that got blown out of the engine bay. The aircon rad does
compromise airflow and thus cooling on the classic. again, don't know about
P38s.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
"For when the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name,
He marks - not that you won or lost - but how you played the game"
Grantland Rice (1880-1954). my opinions are just that

On or around 18 Jul 2006 03:05:46 -0700, "ChavScum"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>Oops, I'll try again...
>
>I meant to say that I do that too! Great fun keeping a constant speed
>in low range whilst others are burning clutches. I haven't got out and
>walked yet - must give that a try.

it's almost certainly illegal, mind. practice somewhere with plenty of
space first, too.

more fun if you have a soft-top series: having removed the canvas, sit up
on the top of the seta back and look out over the top of the screen. You do
this by bracing your left foot against the bulkhead.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
"For when the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name,
He marks - not that you won or lost - but how you played the game"
Grantland Rice (1880-1954). my opinions are just that

On 2006-07-19, Austin Shackles <[email protected]> wrote:

> The viscous fan IME only starts turning for real when it's up near
> red on the dial. It shoudl of course spin at startup for 20-30
> seconds, easily audile at road-going revs, and then spin down as the
> hub frees off.

IIRC the viscous fan also relies on centrifugal force and transmission
fluid, using bimetallic strips to open and close valves that allow a
transmission fluid into a pair of concentric spinning grooved discs,
one driven by the engine, the other on the fan hub. The fluid then
transfers torque from the engine to the fan hub, making it spin
faster. The centrifugal force is used to spin the liquid into the
grooves, so if the description is accurate (taken IIRC from the
workshop manual) then even if the fan was hot enough to trigger the
valves, you'd still be able to spin it with your hand.

--
Blast off and strike the evil Bydo empire!

On or around Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:22:24 +0100, Ian Rawlings
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>On 2006-07-19, Austin Shackles <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> The viscous fan IME only starts turning for real when it's up near
>> red on the dial. It shoudl of course spin at startup for 20-30
>> seconds, easily audile at road-going revs, and then spin down as the
>> hub frees off.
>
>IIRC the viscous fan also relies on centrifugal force and transmission
>fluid, using bimetallic strips to open and close valves that allow a
>transmission fluid into a pair of concentric spinning grooved discs,
>one driven by the engine, the other on the fan hub. The fluid then
>transfers torque from the engine to the fan hub, making it spin
>faster. The centrifugal force is used to spin the liquid into the
>grooves, so if the description is accurate (taken IIRC from the
>workshop manual) then even if the fan was hot enough to trigger the
>valves, you'd still be able to spin it with your hand.

Probably why they spin up initially when they've been standing and then wind
down again. I expect the fluid gradually gets all to the bottom.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
"Festina Lente" (Hasten slowly) Suetonius (c.70-c.140) Augustus, 25

Bin there done that, the heater is an excellent supplement to a failing
radiator. One day I really will get round to changing the fan for an
electric one.

--
Larry
Series 3 rust and holes


"Nige" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hottest day of the year (33 deg) & we are on the road to Derby (m1) & lo &
behold there's a massive crash
> involving 4 or 5 lorries, a van & a few cars. Roads closed north totally &
south only 1 lane open. I hope
> no-one was hurt, but the Police/Air ambulance presence looked grim.
Anyway, sat for 2 hours moving a bit
> at a time the temp gauge started to move up, not by much, but after having
my heads done I wasn't taking
> any risks. So off with the aircon, on with the heater on full tilt, this
did keep the engine well Ok, me
> & my mate however got a bit hot & bothered!
>
> Got through the mess in around 2.5 hours & I reckon we did about 2 miles.
On the way back from Derby we
> got on at the junction after/before the smash. The southbound tailback was
26 miles, I know as I did it
> on my odo. I bet there's still folk there now!
>
> Nige
>
>

Quite. I have not been in the red yet, but I get perilosly close, which is
when I resort to the heater being nervos after last year when my engine died
of a cracked block.

What is worrying me at the moment is driving to Bath, there are some nasty
stretches of the Fosse way that are bound to strain things.


--
Larry
Series 3 rust and holes

"Austin Shackles" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On or around Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:26:08 +0100, "Nige"
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
>
> The viscous fan IME only starts turning for real when it's up near red on
> the dial. It shoudl of course spin at startup for 20-30 seconds, easily
> audile at road-going revs, and then spin down as the hub frees off. If
> yours doesn't do that I'd suspect it. Worth noting that the bit of the
dial
> between the blue and the red (sometimes labelled "normal" is normal
through
> out the range - it only represents quite a narrow temperature range.
ABOVE
> normal is where "overheating" starts, i.e. into the red bit. Fitting
> instructions for kenlowe suggest that you run it 'til the needle is
pointing
> about 3/4 of the way up normal (i.e. above common operating temperature),
> then tweak the knob til the fan cuts in, then turn it back slowly til the
> fan just cuts out.
>
> so the cut-out temperature for the fan is slightly above normal, and the
> cut-in is most of the way up to the red. The viscous fan should work much
> the same - not doing much until it's needed.
>
> diagnosis:
>
> first, see that the fan pulls hard first thing in the morning, and that it
> spins down after 20-30 seconds of say about 2000 rpm. You can check that
> stationary with the bonnet open - if the fan's pulling hard, you'll be in
no
> doubt
>
> If it doesn't do that, then I suggest replacing it anyway. If it spins
but
> doesn't spin down at all, then it's safe enough to use but reduces your
> efficiency slightly.
>
> next test: Try running the engine with the vehicle stationary (in D with
> T-box in neutral for autos) at about 3000 rpm. Watch the gauge closely,
and
> listen for the fan spinning up - it makes a distinctive roar when pulling
> hard, and more or less no noise when idling. If the temp pointer gets to
> the bottom of the red without the fan spinning up, then I'd suspect it.
If
> it does that, don't just shut off - drive round gently to cool the motor
> down a bit first... I reckon most of the damage due to overheating is down
> to too-rapid cooling.
>
> If you've got aircon, check the aircon fans if it has them, they too
should
> cut in (but possibly only with the aircon on). Not sure if P38s have 'em,
> the classics definitely did - supposed to give extra airflow for when
you're
> idling with the aircon on.
>
>
> Having said all that, BiL Tim had no end of bother with his 3.9
overheating
> and in the end removed the aircon rad and decommissioned the aircon.
Having
> done this he fired up the engine and nearly got choked by the cloud of
dust
> and debris that got blown out of the engine bay. The aircon rad does
> compromise airflow and thus cooling on the classic. again, don't know
about
> P38s.
>
> --
> Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
> "For when the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name,
> He marks - not that you won or lost - but how you played the game"
> Grantland Rice (1880-1954). my opinions are just that