No its not broken its just an ongoing resoration project )

[Bo]

The easy way to remember the difference between 200 and 300TDi is the 200 has two core plugs in the injector side of the head whereas the 300 only has one.
There are about 300 other differences between the engines but that works for me.

[Zedman]

The story so far.

I took a ride over tonight, the seller had taken it round to a friends house for viewing, and to be honest it seemed a sensible precaution, had his girlfiend and a chum there, they were happy to let me plug in my 50' extension lead and inspection lamp and crawl underneath it and poke round the engine housing.

To my untrained eye it looked pretty sound, engine had a single belt and a black plastic top which was what I was what I was told a 300TDi looked like, couldnt find much rust anywhere.

I don't think the guy knew much more than about Landys than I did (which isnt a lot), said his freinds serviced it etc, but seemed genuine.
I asked for a test ride and he was happy to let me drive it but not being insured I just asked him to run me round the block, and all seemed okay but hard to tell when you don't know what you are looking for.

When I asked him why he was selling it he said he hardly got chance to use it and just wanted a normal car, further conversation revealed that he occasionaly does a bit of playing off road but the general impression was it just wasnt worth it for the limited fun was available.

Previously I didnt want to waste anyones time chasing a dog but having establish it was a possible buy I now rang Dave who kindly offered/accepted to come with me saturday morning and give an expert second opinion, very much appreciated Dave.

'The Green Oval bekons' )

Btw big thanks for the test drive in the defender at the last event, my first drive in a diesel and TBH someone elses vehicle, felt very strange, BUT at the suggestion of trying a few of the sections we had previously done earlier in the day I was amazed, ground clearance was unbelivable and it just crawled over every obstecle I had struggled with (although the owner did look a tad nervous) I was sold )

[bandiflip]

So far....So good !!

[Jabba]

Richard, I looked nervous because I hate side slopes when I'm driving - let alone when someone else is

Glad you found it useful. If you thought the ground clearance was good in mine, just remember its on standard suspension - no lift kit.

[nicks90]

just remember its on standard suspension - no lift kit.

quick thread hijack - are you planning on putting a lift on? If so, can i have your standard springs, as i'm going back to standard ride height.

cheers
Nick

[Jabba]

'Fraid not. I'm leaving it as standard.

[varleym]

Nick

I'm lifting mine. I've still got the old standard springs, all de-rusted and painted up, if you want them.

Cheers

Mark

[Zedman]

Since you hijacked my thread I will try to steer it back on track as I am very curious why some folks are reverting back to NO lift and some are wanting lift, please throw in your reasons and circumstances leading you to these actions, it could prove imormative / intersting to show what people want from there ride and how they go about it )

[olzook]

Wait for it.........wait for it.... Matthew will be here shortly to explain all.

The best way is to combine a little bit of both with revised shock mounts.

Mine and Matthews run similar -1" turrets on the front, -"2 mounts on the rear, +2" springs all round and standard length shocks.

Gives good articulation and droop.

Just to high jack the thread again i have a full set of +2" shocks for sale that have only done 400 miles, £100 for the 4.

Cheers

[Jabba]

For me personally, I've had lifted RRCs before (2" spring lift) and found that it made them handle worse with more body roll. As I use my 4x4 as a road vehicle most of the time with off-roading as an occasional thing, this is a reasonably major consideration. The main reason for the lift on the RRC was to fit bigger tyres.

With the 90, I feel that it has enough clearance to take the 235s I like to run and even though bigger tyres would be nice, again I use it mainly on hte road so the detrimental effect on the handling would bug me.

If you want to run bigger tyres to get the extra under axle clearance, then you need to start considering lifts.

Just my 2 pennies

[Matthews]

Litfing causes on road handling problems but enables bigger tyres to be fitted , you takes your choice dependent upon usage ( I use 255/85/16's or 35X10.5X16's ) which causes fouling issues with standard ride height and put up with not quite as good road manners, but with MT's or Simex's on it doesn't matter what your suspension set up the handling is lousy compared to road tyres.
Matthew.

[nicks90]

Nick

I'm lifting mine. I've still got the old standard springs, all de-rusted and painted up, if you want them.

Cheers

Mark

oh, that would be lovely - thank you very much.
are you going to briercliffe? If so could i pinch them off you then?


As for why i;m going back to standard height... i just dont see the benefits of an additional 2" to the chassis rails and rear crosmember on a 90. I have yet to get completely stuck on an obstacle by high centering it or wedging the back end on something. Or should i say, i HAVE been stuck like that, but being 2" higher would have made no difference in those situations.
I only run standard sized tyres and therefore have no body fouling issues and running 2" higher means you put more stress on the prop UJs, drop arm ball joint, panhard rod bushes (both running higher angles) which in turn gives you a bit of bump steer. Plus running a lift gives you more body roll. Castor angle is also affected, although on my 90 it has been minimal although some people report horrible steering after a lift.
Getting the spring rates right so you can still compress each corner to the original bumpstops whilst giving a 2" lift means you end up with soft and long springs. again compromising handling on the road.
Just aint worth the hassle i reckon.

Nick

[varleym]

Nick

Yup, I'll be at Briercliffe marshalling so I'll bring them along. I omitted to say that they're painted in a very fetching JCB Yellow so at least if you have trouble finding your motor in the dark, these should help !!

Tenner a pair OK for you?

Cheers

Mark

[Zedman]

Thanks for all who keep on posting, all the opinions make it a lot more easy to reach a balenced decision (albeit about landrovers)

Seems everyone points to the same thing, buy the vehicle that suits your needs and set your ride up for what you want it to do.

[Zedman]

Now the fun begins, bought a Defender 90 today, will going over it and sorting all the problem / features in the coming months, expect lots of posts asking for advice )