fishsponge's ongoing thread of problems!

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yeah i just posted it up as an idea, to show how possiblke it is to get a set of wheels and tyres that will be perfectly fine (although not perfect) for 50 quid a corner.

i agree that bfgoodrich are excellent, they are expensive but seem to last forever on the road. united utilities use them on their 4x4s cos theyre a benchmark tyre if you know what i mean.

yes, lower offset will move the wheels out. no you will not need arches, not with a 7 or 7.5 inch 8 spoke wheel or a 7 inch modular

an 8 or 10 inch modular does require arches

i ran 15x7 8 spokes and 31x10.5x15 on the disco with 40mm lift, camel cut and front bumper trim. superb all round, 5 wheels 50 quid, 5 tyres cost me 100 second hand, but spend however much you want...

anyway, my point is that the wheels do not have to be new, and your better off IMO with steel wheels because they are cheaper, look better and are less susceptible to damage if you do venture off road. they also leave your hubs open so you can change halfshafts and tighten wheels bearings without removing the roadwheel, and are available in low offsets, which improves your stance.
 
why not try insa turbos? I have a set of Dakars which are more mud orientated but I've done over 10k miles on them with minimal tread loss. If you want something less knobbly try these.

Set of 4 X 235 85 16 Insa Turbo Ranger | eBay

I know lots of people using Insa's and not heard a bad thing about them yet.

i agree

i drove 150 mile on the motorway on a set of insa special tracks and they were superb on the road, i expected them to be as noisy as simexes.

insa are making excellent tyres these days.
 
interesting to hear about Insa... i've not heard a bad word about them, but I have heard from many people that remoulds are, in the worst case, dangerous.

I've no evidence to prove this though, nor do i have any knowledge surrounding it - i just have a tendency to stay away from them because people say bad things about them, but you lot are saying good things about 'em!

So... if I can find a set of 5 steels on eBay for less than £100, I will almost certainly buy them.

Presumably, I want 16x7 or 16x7.5 inch 8 spoke wheels or 16x7 inch modular wheels, as per Mr Noisy's post. I will have another look on eBay soon... only saw one set on there earlier though. Just one!! You'd think there'd be more. Maybe i'm just not finding them.

If I move away from mud-terrain towards all-terrain, would you suggest replacing the Mud-Terrain spare as well? The spare is in perfectly good condition, but how happy would the car be driving down the road with 3 AT tyres and 1 MT tyre of the same size? Would it wreck the diff or anything weird? I can't see how it would, but as you know, i'm clueless at the moment.
 
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but I have heard from many people that remoulds are, in the worst case, dangerous.

the vast majority of haulage companies run their lorries on remoulds, so following what you've heard motorways must be one of the most dangerous places on earth:eek:
 
isnt the offset of rostyles a bit queer though?

fish: just keep browsing ebay mate, search for all different variations on the same theme and you will fine your ideal wheels eventually.

IMO the perfect buy is a set of 5 genuine weller 16x7.5 8spokes, just cos that extra 0.5 inch is a groovy thing to have. a set of basic 16x7s will be absolutely fine, and you wont need arches unless you stumble across a set of super low offset 8" modulars.

p.s. matt: i would LOVE to get the rostyles banded and chromed, and stick them on a slammed defender. LUSH!
 
i drive up the A14 every day and judging by the number of lorries I see changing a tyre, and the amount of shredded lorry tyre in the hard shoulder, remoulds don't fill me with confidence.

having said that, however, there are plenty of lorries that drive down that road and don't shred tyres!

I think what i'll do is pop into a local tyre place and see what they have for sale... i could be looking up different tyres online forever.

As for the rostyles, i just looked them up online... they seem to be more suited to old MGs, Ford Capris & Minis! Not sure how they'd look on a 1997 Disco! lol, thanks for the offer though! :D

And thanks Mr Noisy - i will keep searching eBay for the right set of steels. It'll be easier for the tyre place too if I just give them 4 or 5 steel rims and they don't have to jack up my car etc...
 
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ffs :doh: wash your mouth out with a wire brush and dettol.............a slammed defender:rolleyes:

oh mate i know its wrong, but a white soft top fender on 15x12 chrome rostyles and low pro tyres would be too porn!

yeah ok 3" lift and simex for the welsh forest, but for the beach its gotta be done :D
 
right... i'm going to move away from tyres for a bit, as a service is now due!

I did the last oil change myself, so I have plenty of engine oil left over and I know the procedure for engine oil, oil filter & fuel filter.

The question is... what else should I do?

Should I check the diff oil level and top-up or completely replace the oil?

Should I check the ATF fluid level and top-up or completely replace?

What about the transfer box?

What about the swivel balls (which are filled with grease)?

I asked Nene Overland to check all the fluid levels about 8,000 miles ago and they completely replaced one of the swivel balls, so I know one of them should be fine.

Basically, what I'm after is a bit of advice on whether simply checking the oil levels everywhere is completely fine or whether certain oils and fluids should ALWAYS be replaced (like engine oil)...

Advice gratefully received!
 
diffs ,transfer box,gear box i would you yearly better to drain clean used oil out than dirty as this is wearing unit, pas fluid when its colour starts changing from clean red,swivel balls if unsure i top up with oil with a dip stick to get oil level no more than half way steering arm level, from what ive seen alot of boxes diff etc are prematurely worn by poor servicing oil level check and changing
 
PM me if ya want them in PDF ;) :D

12000-service1copy.jpg


12000-service2copy.jpg


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24000-service2copy.jpg
 
right... i'm going to move away from tyres for a bit, as a service is now due!

I did the last oil change myself, so I have plenty of engine oil left over and I know the procedure for engine oil, oil filter & fuel filter.

The question is... what else should I do?

Should I check the diff oil level and top-up or completely replace the oil?

Should I check the ATF fluid level and top-up or completely replace?

What about the transfer box?

What about the swivel balls (which are filled with grease)?

I asked Nene Overland to check all the fluid levels about 8,000 miles ago and they completely replaced one of the swivel balls, so I know one of them should be fine.

Basically, what I'm after is a bit of advice on whether simply checking the oil levels everywhere is completely fine or whether certain oils and fluids should ALWAYS be replaced (like engine oil)...

Advice gratefully received!

Right Sponge bob, I'm surprised that you feel you need to ask the question "top up or replace" after 62 pages of this thread but here goes:

If you haven't replaced the oils yourself then my advice wouldbe to change all the oils everywhereirrespective of what any garage or previous owner has told you.

Put new fluids in and then you have established a baseline for the future servicing.

Also, with the cost of fresh oil being so low by comparison to replacement parts, I always change all the transmission fluids at least once a year and if I've been doing a lot of wading, then more often.
 
thanks for the advice, people... and the service schedules!! :D

As for the fluids, presumably I can find out what they should all be in the manual, so I won't ask here.

What I will ask, however, is what will I need other than a socket set, spanners, screwdrivers, bucket and a funnel?
 
thanks for the advice, people... and the service schedules!! :D

As for the fluids, presumably I can find out what they should all be in the manual, so I won't ask here.

What I will ask, however, is what will I need other than a socket set, spanners, screwdrivers, bucket and a funnel?

You need something to get the new oil in - I use a 500ml syringe others use pump bottles (like you use to spray garden weeds).

AK47 Oil Suction Syringe 500ml | eBay

oil pump | eBay
 
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