Ongoing work

Excellent!

nice one

Out with Vagrent over the weekend and we tackled a mean lane which had a good 18" step in it, after getting the front end up the step with the help of some wood, i engaged difflock to help pull the arse end up as there was another pot hole to navigate that the front wheel was now in.

Anyway the front wheel OS was spinning on it's own, difflock light was on the dash, lever over fully, but no difflock. H/L ratio works fine, i get a slight kick as i engage either, but difflock just seems to be non existent when pushing the lever over. I let the Landy drop back abit, wiggled the clutch and generally moved back n forth as much as i could given the situ, but she just didn't seem to want to engage.

Any tips for checking out the reason behind it not working?

Brilliant thread mate

when you fitting the cup holder?

right then, it's been a while, so time to dust off and let you know what's been happening.

The past few weeks/months have just generally been driving about after the MOT and doing some laning & P&P, however i had an idea for a step/rockslider on either side so i've made up my first prototype and fell at the first hurdle as i welded the front bracket too far forward.

I'll get some pics uploaded over the next few days to show you the idea.

urghh, just typed a huge reply to this and lost it...

Here goes again...

Here's a few pics of my first attempt at a step/slider that runs alongside my Landy, the idea was to offer some protection and serve as a step when getting in, i will be doing this on both sides btw, this is just the OS.

First off, materials, i got some 50mm tubing from work and a few large 40mm box section frames which usually hold aircon units on the wall. As i didn't have the tools to bend the 50mm i needed something to return the main tubing, so i chopped off the sides of the bull bars ( wasn't too keen on them anyway ).






Next up was measure up and get an idea where i wanted it to sit alongside, then i cut the box section and the bull bar bend and tacked them on. As the Bullbar was of a thinner tube to the main runner i sleeved it by using more bull bar tubing and sliding it over the existing, this allowed it to fit snug inside the main tube and the rear outrigger.














In this pic you can see the cock up, the bracket should be on the other side of the front outrigger, this will shorten the whole thing and will allow me to also put another return tube so i don't have it facing forward like that, if i was to hit anything, it would get messy.






So that's it for now, i have to readjust the front bracket backwards and put another return tube on the front and then make one for the other side.

Is it sturdy? Well surprisingly given the rear bracket is thinner than the main bar, yes. I can jack the rear of the vehicle up with the jack placed under the curve of the bar and i can life the whole side of the vehicle with it placed just off centre, which i was surprised about as i thought the bullbar tubing wouldn't be sufficient.

It obviously isn't as strong as a proper rockslider, but i knew that when i started, but it will give some protection. The whole thing protrudes about 35mm outside of the wheel archs.




Cost?

Nothing as all materials were surplus at work and i used the bullbars for other bits. Used a few rods with the welding and some time, but time spent on the landy never costs me as i love doing it

PaulWilde said:

The whole thing protrudes about 35mm outside of the wheel archs.

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int that gonna cost you an MOT fail ?

Sean said:

int that gonna cost you an MOT fail ?

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Not sure tbh, some people pass MOT's with wheels protruding outside of the arch's, some don't, but it's easily removed in case it's the later.

Was out and about yesterday laning with Vagrent and we ended up down a lane with a nice gate locked, so it was time to reverse back abit and turn around.

Did so and caught the rear on a rock, nothing of a major bump, but enough that i heard the thump.

Got home last night and realised me rear step bit was wonky, had a closer look:





I reackons the rear x-member was a tad more rotten that i thought at first!

PaulWilde said:

Was out and about yesterday laning with Vagrent and we ended up down a lane with a nice gate locked, so it was time to reverse back abit and turn around.

Did so and caught the rear on a rock, nothing of a major bump, but enough that i heard the thump.

Got home last night and realised me rear step bit was wonky, had a closer look:





I reackons the rear x-member was a tad more rotten that i thought at first!

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what ya should have done was hooked a chain on the end of the xmember and onto the padlock and straightoned it out (if it was a public byway of coarse )

buckshot said:

what ya should have done was hooked a chain on the end of the xmember and onto the padlock and straightoned it out (if it was a public byway of coarse )

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hehe yeah, now that woulda worked either way

We're still looking into it being a public byway, the other end was gated but not locked ( enter the track through a field and another gate, not locked either )

According to the legend on the map it's a ' Other road, drive or track, fenced or unfenced ' and ofc there is the usual ' Not necessarily rights of way ' on the legend.

Re did the first attempt, lots of welding, grinding down the welds and a coat of red oxide ( looks abit shiny in places! ) later and we have the first side done

Now i have my phone back i can get some pics up.

Lately i've had a few nights spent on her, firstly and most significant was a new battery.

the old one was fine on the voltage but the cranking power was fooked, even with a full charge she just refused to start 50% of the time.

Picking up a new 840CA /80Amp battery and using it in tandem with the previous one gives me plenty of omph in the mornings to start her but cold starting is still a little hesitant. I will get a split charger when i install the new fuse box and secondary fuse box in the future ( one as standard replacement and another behind passenger seat for auxiliaries )

Heater is working! How i do not know, as it never worked since owning it, but for some reason last night it just kicked in, the controls are a little ropey as it doesn't stay on, but i do have some wiring issues behind the dash anyway which i want to look into.

Full oil change and engine cleaner in before that, running plenty of redex to clean out the fuel pump etc, air filter ( fuel done a few weeks ago ) still to do.

i have noticed a slight leak in the oil fittings on the rad so as i have a 200Tdi rad set up, this will be another job for the next few weeks.

I top up with about 1lt of oil every 300-400 miles which isn't too bad when you consider it burns like a mofo, if you remove the rocker cap it blows smoke out like a steam train, i was even considering drilling a hole in the bonnet and installing a small stack sticking out for a giggle

The engine has lost a little top end, this i noticed yesterday on a usual stretch of road, i could top 85 on this part, but couldn't get her above 75 and that was barely there. Normal running she is fine, no issues with speed or running.

Off up to her tonight to have a mooch around inside the dash and possibly replace the heater control with a simple on/off switch, this seems a logical move for the winter as i either want it on or not at all.

Cheers

I replaced the heater control with a simple switch which was previously for a reading light, so no need for rewiring as such and i only used the max output cable, so the heater fan is full on or off. This is fine atm but in the warmer days i will look into getting the controls replaced ( tried cleaning them, didn't work ) as well as the dash surround as it has become brittle over the years as the screw holes have cracked.

Also removed the wiring plate that the relays and fuse holders attach to and have begun to redo wire these into a new fuse block, although i need to jiggle the mounting abit to get it all to sit correctly and get the original plastic cover back on, this will need some thought but as part of the rewiring process it'll be done.

I'm also fitting a new fuse box behind the passenger seat for auxiliaries, radio, cb, 12V sockets and separating these from the main battery via a 2nd battery which will deal with this, also fitting a relay to seperate the 2 batteries.

I did notice that the bottom of the battery tray is showing signs of rust, so will look into welding that up soon with a new base and strap for both batteries.


Steam cleaned the rear OS wheel, which you may remember i fitted new bearings and seals to not so long ago, it had begun to leak worse than before (!) and i'm suspecting it could be the ****part wheel hub cover not doing it's job, but we shall see.

Spent the weekend swapping the rad out for the 200TDi one ( and intercooler )

I took loads of pics but for some reason my camera is playing up and i can't get the piccies on to me netbook which is a tad ****e, but took some outside when the job was finished:





It was a disco set up which got me to start with, but after a few tips from here got me on my way, but it wasn't without problems. Firstly i had 3 sides to the frame, top and 2 sides so i was missing the bottom bit. After playing around, scratching me head i came up with a solution.

Grinding off the original lugs from the front x member i welded a piece of steel apprx 25mm by 35mm to the x member, then drilled 4 holes which the bottom lugs in the rad and intercooler sit into. Gluing a bit of rubber along the top allows any vibration to be soaked up from the chassis and it sits perfectly. This pic shows the back of the box section ( in red, painted ofc )




The intercooler isn't connected up just yet, i need to work on which pipe goes where and i need to blank the ends off before i go into any deep puddles

I also swapped the heater matrix as well as i had another, although lost the little green clamp that holds one of the cables, so i have hot air but no direction ( windscreen/footwell, stuck on footwell atm )

Also checked the window on the passenger side as i won't wind up or down correctly but after routing around i can only surmise the cogs are too worn ( they looked it ) so it looks like a replacement is needed.

I posted ages ago about the damage caused getting in and out of my garage, so here's some pics of the war zone damage getting in and out :lol:

Paul, how's the rear cross-member?

Fitted an intercooler to her tonight, i covered this in the other thread, but i like to keep this updated, so i'll copy/paste for those that follow this thread



I popped into a scrapyard after work and picked up some turbo hoses from various vehicles, paid a tenner and was off home.
I had some 54 OD heavy duty bar ( like scaffolding, but abit thicker wall ) which i used between the curves using the scrapyard hose.

here's a few pics, firstly the bits i picked up, the large piece was a bonus, 2 nice longish curves and plenty of hose on it, the 2 smaller bits were grabbed mainly to use to join the steel bar and the large bend is metal, but i never used it.




This is the pic before with standard set up




Removed the original hose that connects the turbo to the manifold




First pipe in situ:



both pipes in situ:



Cost:

£15 including some jubilee clips, although i will be fitting a gauge soon and sealing the joints with some fire proofing sealant.

Results:

it's hard to gauge at present as i only went for a quick run, but i did see improvment on climbing hills in 4th for sure, whereas before i'd have to drop to 3rd ( large gap between 3rd & 4th ) she pulled with no hint of having to drop. This is an improvement to start with! I will be monitoring her over the next week and i have a few places where i know she struggled in 4th and i'm looking forward to testing her.

After the run back, turbo outlet was hot, inlet to manifold was nice n cool so it's doing it's job but i will be looking at moving the turbo 90 degrees ( as suggested by CharlesY ) to remove the slight squashyness in the 2 pipes ( where they meet going in and out )

Would i recommend it in a 19J?

Hell yeah

bluehaze said:

Paul, how's the rear cross-member?

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Sorry mate, missed this comment

The xmember is still a tad out of shape at the NS.

From the previous pics you can see the damage although it isn't necessarily structural it will require fixing soon, how and when is to be decided, but i don't tow anything and everything is secured where it should be, so it's more a cosmetic damage than owt else atm.

No pics as this is being done live on the web, but here's an update.

Fitted the intercooler piping the other night ( after the rad n intercooler went in over the weekend ) and checked the injectors as well whilst i was there, at this point a few things started to go wrong.

Firstly i had noticed an increase in the heat when running, temps were hot so i checked the thermostat was working ( it was ) and discovered some tiny pieces of plastic had blocked the holes in the bypass pipe.

After some advice i checked the water pump and found nothing wrong there, it was the same set up as the 200Tdi so it's cast and not plastic. I can only assume the bits of plastic were foreign objects picked up in the rad when it was stored, i didn't flush it out ( my bad! ) so it's possible these were the culprit.

After checking the injectors i then tightenen up the bolts for 2 of them and they snapped off It recommends you replace these after every loosen and i'd had them tight n loose a few times so it was inevitable i guess.

At this point i'd been checking the differences between the 2 engines, the 19J and the 200Tdi and went ahead with the next phase, the part conversion.

Both engines share the exact same block, crank & cam ( everything in the block ) so why not swap pistons, head, ladder ( alu ), injection pump and a few other bits over to make a 200Tdi out of what i have here?

So the swap began last night, i got the rad, intercooler, head & infamous crank pulley nut & damper all off with some effort.

The crank nut is 43mm and i had no socket big enough, so i went along the homemade jobby front and made a section of 50mm bar with 6 grooves cut into it to grip the nut, locked the engine via the starter ring and gave it a good working over. It came loose and then spent a good hour on getting the damper off, by that time it was 1 am and i was fooked.

Not sure what is on the agenda for tonight, still abit to do, but i'm inclined to leave the pistons in till i get new rings, then it's a straight swap of pistons & rods, then timing belt renewal and crank & cam seals, injection pump swap, head and the rest.

Cheers