The journey begins.

I use black enamel on my rear cross member, its great paint with a good finish, I also like rust-olium metallic spray paint which is a primer and paint all in one, and very durable.

Cheers guys

This is my progress so far on the A bar. All paint etc has been ordered and a reckon another hour or so getting it back to metal before the red oxide goes on.



I also have an EGR blanking kit, but I am kinda confused as to if I just remove it and fit the kit, or if I have to do anything else? I’ve done a search but can’t seem to find a simple, easy to follow thread that points me in the right direction? Some threads mention pipes, or ecu’s?

I did read about the intercooler needing to be flushed out too, is this an easy job or again is there more to it? Is it needed to be done straight away, or can that be a job for another day?

Danny Fireblade said:

This is my progress so far on the A bar. All paint etc has been ordered and a reckon another hour or so getting it back to metal before the red oxide goes on.

View attachment 144979

I also have an EGR blanking kit, but I am kinda confused as to if I just remove it and fit the kit, or if I have to do anything else? I’ve done a search but can’t seem to find a simple, easy to follow thread that points me in the right direction? Some threads mention pipes, or ecu’s?

I did read about the intercooler needing to be flushed out too, is this an easy job or again is there more to it? Is it needed to be done straight away, or can that be a job for another day?

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The A bar is coming along nicely. It's a lot of work to paint stuff properly.
The EGR valve has an electrical connector and a vacuum tube that goes back to a control unit on the bulkhead. When you unclip the electrical connector tie it off in a decent plastic bag, to keep the wet out, and tuck it out of the way. Trace the tube back to the unit on the bulkhead and pull it of the init. I think your EGR Removal kit will have a cap to push over the end of the little pipe stub on the unit.
The EGR valve controls the release of exhaust gases from the manifold and dumps it in to the inlet pipe to the air manifold. The exhaust gases do not go through the intercooler, if that's why you think you should flush it. Having said that, they can get oil in from the turbo or through the engine cyclone breather. Take the top hose off and crane your neck over to have a look in to the top of the intercooler and up the hose. You'll be able to see how much oil and dirt is in there. There will be oil there, so expect some. It doesn't need doing straight away, unless you've mentioned specific issue I haven't read earlier in this thread.

EDIT
Forgot to mention the MOT regs are changing in relation to EGR valves and those of us who have already removed them are wondering if we are going to get noticed at MOT time.

I’ve been very busy with work so not really touched prudy much. I have ordered some bits though so will hopefully get them sorted tomorrow.

I’ve got a raptor dash and bracket coming as the old one is held on by about 2 screws, and some LED bulbs for the dash, so will see how that goes in.

I also removed the centre box to get at the top of the gearbox to look at the sensor for the reversing light to see if this was why my reversing light isn’t working.

I couldn’t see the sensor, however I did see this


To me that doesn’t look very factory? I wonder what those plugs are for? I also couldn’t pinpoint the switch I was looking for?

Does anyone have any pointers or ideas? I must admit electrics totally confuses me and I’m sure it’s voodoo.

A better pic for ya.

Danny Fireblade said:

A better pic for ya.

View attachment 145431

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Nice bodge

Marmaduke said:

Nice bodge

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My thoughts exactly

I have made some progress from my last update. I have sorted the reverse light, it was the reverse light that was corroded and I replaced it with a LED unit, which unfortunately seems to be made from brittle plastic, so it looks like I need to find a decent replacement unit.

I have also changed the dash for a raptor unit, added LED bulbs to the dash, and fitted a new DAB head unit. Nothing wrong with the pioneer i changed, but I like the DAB stations.

Ordered a new tyre to put the new spare and new on the same axle. Is it rear axle biased or front?

It is also in for a full service and cambelt change, should have it back Tuesday.

Hopefully the service doesn't highlight too many new issues.

Danny Fireblade said:

Is it rear axle biased or front?

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Are you talking about the drive/power balance between the axles? There is not any bias and as it is permement 4x4 both axles are driven equally through the centre diff.

Yeah, I was not sure if there was any bias for power distribution?

the connectors after the grommet should come through the cover plate and the larger connector fitted to an angle bracket that secures to the front screws for the cover ,its the diagnostic socket and other for egr ecu ,not that either are necessary on a 300 tdi

jamesmartin said:

the connectors after the grommet should come through the cover plate and the larger connector fitted to an angle bracket that secures to the front screws for the cover ,its the diagnostic socket and other for egr ecu ,not that either are necessary on a 300 tdi

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Do you mean from the pics showing the plugs on the gearbox? I wasn't sure if the previous owner had spliced something in there for the towing electrics? Should those plugs be present on a 300tdi?

no its standard just couldnt be bothered to refit them through the cover again i suspect ,ecu is secure to the underside of center seat

Ive removed the underside of the seat and there was nothing attached to it? The engine still has the EGR attached too so don't know where the ECU is for it?

I have been busy the last few weeks. I have finished the A bar and have some spot lights to fit to it, painted the steering guard, fitted new LED number plate, reverse and fog lamps, fitted some more security, tidied up some wiring and fitted a new O/S mud flap (the old one had been caught on the wheel and had ground away).

I think I had better start looking for a couple of front doors now as all the doors I have are pretty rotten. Any suggestions to as to which ones I should go for? 2nd hand puma ones, new OEM from Craddocks, galvanised, there are so many options it makes my head hurt. Will my door cards be a straight swop? How hard is it to swop all internals over? Will I need new seals, hinges etc?

Also got some new tyres on order and will be getting them fitted Thursday. As usual, any advice greatly appreciated.

Nice looking motor...

sometimes i wish mine was like that but then i would cry when i ended up rubbing trees and hedges when out in the dark with no lights on the field margins

It only looks nice from a distance. When you get close you can see the scars and bumps, which is how I like it to be honest. I wouldn't want it with unmarked paint or without the odd bump/rust bubbling/ding as I want to use it for what it is designed for. Also it may just make it undesirable enough for the thieving scrotes to ignore it and pick something else.