That's a really kind offer Nodge :)

I'll PM you.
It's a very kind offer GG but with a flaring tool you'll have them made yourself in a few minutes. I'd never done it before either but gave it a go and found it is really easy.
Nodge, you know what they say about teaching a man to fish. ;)


He falls in and drowns. :p
 
I concur regards everything said above.....albeit 4 days after the fact.

Nodge, thanks for the reply on my post. Funnily enough have been having internet issues both in Spain and now at my sisters in Scotland....I blame TFLS and his North Korean Cyber Army but lets not go down that road...only on my second glass of Crimbo Champers(Xmas Eve essentials) so in a couple if hours, when I have smashed all the booze for Christmas and eaten all the Stilton and crackers for no other reason than I CAN, then maybe I will blame 'He, who has the **** hairstyle' for a crappy internet 'signal'... So bad even, that PornHub lags way too much......so I have been told!!
 
MollyNomad, You will have to try Xhamster then! Not that I would know. :oops:
I have just completed the last Christmas shopping expedition f the year and plan to break out the Crimbo Margaritas myself.
Christmas wishes to all my imaginary Hippo friends!
 
Well, today I did soemthing I should have bpdine back in July i.e. Change the two interccoler hoses that I was too lazy to do when I did the rest back then. Why today? I hear you ask(although I know I'm probably t alking to myself) Well, the ex and my daughter had mentioned that there was a 'puff' of smoke under acceleration through the gears so I went for a quick test drive myself. A 'puff' would be the understatemnt of the century as 'Admiral Beattie' would have proud of my attempt at 'making smoke'. Fred Dibnah may have experienced that much smoke before his untimely death!! That bad that cars following slowed to avoid my WoMD and luckily no Traffic Cars were around to witness the issue. Anyway, new hoses fitted...no initial signs of improvement so maybe another vacuum hose elsewhere..they are all 13 years old. Tomorrow, more to be done including new handbrake cables.....
 
MollyNomad, You will have to try Xhamster then! Not that I would know. :oops:
I have just completed the last Christmas shopping expedition f the year and plan to break out the Crimbo Margaritas myself.
Christmas wishes to all my imaginary Hippo friends!

The last hamster I had got stuck...

Now it is an 'X Hamster'...is that what you mean...?

Concerned...

Marbella..
(but on holiday in Scotland...awaiting hospital appointment...or two... :-S)
 
Drove it! Went for a wee jaunt up into the hills around here with some friends and two of my sons. In the past coolant gets 'spilt' out the coolant capon the rough tracks and very steep climbs / descents - so I swapped it for another known good cap. All coolant stayed where it's supposed to :).
 
Oh! MollyNomad.....A hamster getting stuck in terms of XHamster means something totally different. As a matter of fact I think we can be reasonably sure that even XHamster doesn't allow that sort of activity! Lord, I certainly hope not. Forget I even mentioned it......Please! :eek:

And on a more decent note; I took advantage of some Christmas time off to replace the door speakers in my Hippo. The job was straightforward. The only changes required were swapping out the electrical connectors and drilling new holes for the mounting screws as Land Rover used speakers with assymetric mounting to prevent errors during assembly. This also gave me the chance to replace some missing fir tree socket fasteners that the last guy who had the doors apart hadn't bothered replacing. Of course I also followed rule #1 and checked to make sure the windows still went up and down after fitting the new speakers. They were about 12mm deeper than the originals but I mounted them on top of the foam insulation so that recovered a few mm. Now I don't have to cock my head to one side to hear the radio! :)
 
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I bought a pair of Planet Audio speakers off Amazon Very reasonable price and the quality seems good with a durable looking speaker cone (not paper).
They work well with my Kenwood head unit, a lot better than the dead and dying pair of original speakers they replaced!
 
On a completely different subject, I began the task if replacing the brake cables on the TD4... So far have only done some preliminary preparation as.....

1. The fastenings underneath the car needed going over with lubricant/freeing agent and a wire brush
2. I managed to 'break off' the underside 'captive' nut fixing in my enthusiasm to remove the cable fixing plate within the car(hence step one)
3. It was too 'Effing' cold if truth be known. So rather than start late(ish) in the afternoon I shall be starting early(ish) in the morning.(Had my daughter at hospital this morning)

Seems corrosion is becoming an issue beneath so in the spring it will get a blasting by myself and a good going over with regards brake lines etc. Once remedial action is complete I will paint those areas that need it, to help them last longer.

Depending on time, I intend to pull the injectors tomorrow so I can have them tested/refurbished...or whatever..

Car now smokes badly on acceleration so when I am there I will again check the PCV system that I can access. Had a new PCV oil separator fitted in October but will check it anyway...I am in that area. Might fit new vaccum lines too as I bought that a couple of months back.

Lets see...
 
My wife had a bit of a fall on the ice the other day. (Bruised tailbone and pride) so today we took the Hippo and dropped her off at the local pool for some physio and a hot tub, and
the dog and I went for a walk at a nearby park. The snow is mostly gone but the park access roads had a good cover of ice. I'm pleased to say the Hippo handled it all
without any issues. I don't want to jinx things but it looks like the Freelander will be staying with us and the Chevy Cruze will be sold off to thin the fleet.
Surprisingly even the wife commented how much nicer the Hippo is to ride in than the Cruze!
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My wife had a bit of a fall on the ice the other day. (Bruised tailbone and pride) so today we took the Hippo and dropped her off at the local pool for some physio and a hot tub, and
the dog and I went for a walk at a nearby park. The snow is mostly gone but the park access roads had a good cover of ice. I'm pleased to say the Hippo handled it all
without any issues. I don't want to jinx things but it looks like the Freelander will be staying with us and the Chevy Cruze will be sold off to thin the fleet.
Surprisingly even the wife commented how much nicer the Hippo is to ride in than the Cruze!
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Not surprised. The Cruze is just another GM 'world car' that's got to suit millions of people as cheaply as possible. Its sold as the Holden Cruze over here. The initial Freelanders were very much put together on a budget, but they had improved quite a bit by your facelift model.

Hope your Mrs's body and pride recover quickly!
 
The Hippo has had an annoying brake squeal lately so today it was time to do a service. Things went very well, the front pads were near new but the rotors had a bit of a rust lip so I chamfered the edges of the pads and reassembled using some copaslip on the metal to metal areas.. The sliding pins were free and well lubricated which was nice. As a bonus I found that the front struts had been replaced not so long ago. The rears also came apart without drama. The seals on the wheel cylinders are dry and the shoes have a good 50% life left so after a good dust clean out they went back together. I will rotate the tyres when they go back on.
Not being one to leave well enough alone I decided to change the oil in the rear diff. I've had it on the shelf for a year but had been waiting till I had the Hippo with all 4 wheels off the ground and level..
I'll tell you, I sure would like to meet the cheap SOB at Land Rover who decided to save 50p by not fitting a drain plug!:mad: Granted, removing the 8 bolts on the diff cover would be easier if I had a hoist-which I don't. It would also be easier if I removed the exhaust back box for access, which I am not about to do, having had some nasty/expensive experiences messing with old exhaust systems.
In the end, using a selection of ratchets, extension bars, ratcheting wrenches and motivating language I was able to get the cover off . I'm going to let it drain for a couple of hours then I'll go back into the garage and swear at it until it goes back together. Then I'll figure out how to get an oil bottle and hose in there to refill the rotten thing.o_O
 
The Hippo has had an annoying brake squeal lately so today it was time to do a service. Things went very well, the front pads were near new but the rotors had a bit of a rust lip so I chamfered the edges of the pads and reassembled using some copaslip on the metal to metal areas.. The sliding pins were free and well lubricated which was nice. As a bonus I found that the front struts had been replaced not so long ago. The rears also came apart without drama. The seals on the wheel cylinders are dry and the shoes have a good 50% life left so after a good dust clean out they went back together. I will rotate the tyres when they go back on.
Not being one to leave well enough alone I decided to change the oil in the rear diff. I've had it on the shelf for a year but had been waiting till I had the Hippo with all 4 wheels off the ground and level..
I'll tell you, I sure would like to meet the cheap SOB at Land Rover who decided to save 50p by not fitting a drain plug!:mad: Granted, removing the 8 bolts on the diff cover would be easier if I had a hoist-which I don't. It would also be easier if I removed the exhaust back box for access, which I am not about to do, having had some nasty/expensive experiences messing with old exhaust systems.
In the end, using a selection of ratchets, extension bars, ratcheting wrenches and motivating language I was able to get the cover off . I'm going to let it drain for a couple of hours then I'll go back into the garage and swear at it until it goes back together. Then I'll figure out how to get an oil bottle and hose in there to refill the rotten thing.o_O

Rich, I feel your pain but in LandRovers defence not putting in a drain plug on the rear diff is common practice these days...maybe the same penny pincher at accounts has had a few jobs in his time working at different manufacturers? :) They know that a 'real' LandRover owner would look at the problem as a challenge of his manly status and expect 'said' owner to take the opportunity to fit his own drain plug in his 'workshop'. I don't have a 'lift', work outside (on uneven ground sometimes/NOT ideal nor recommended) in all weathers, not that good a welding and still need to change my diff oil too.....It may be sometime before I 'weld in' a drain plug.

Now I might be opening a 'can of worms' here but I was under the impression that rotating your tyres on a Freelander is ill advised. From what I have read and been told on here if wear is even, best left alone and the more worn tyres should be on the front of the car and any new rubber put on the rear, unless doing 'all fours'. Something to do with IRD/VCU 'mechanicalitrickery' IIRC? No doubt the 'Sword of Damocles' to smash down on my head for suggesting this so if I am wrong I will pay the price...I have been wrong before you know :-S

One good thing about this forum is that any 'wrong' info is quickly corrected by several 'oracles'..................lets see how long this takes?
 
So far, I have been mainly looking through my window, at the Freelander whilst contemplating disassembling the rear LH brake to inspect the 'lower spring assembly' as there appears to be binding at the front end of it.

The weather, as most people in the UK will know is 'pants' ATM and I'm loathe to get my 'gear' on and 'get to it'. It must be 50 mph winds and driving rain...no shelter here in the 'Middle of Nowhere'....

I can think of better scenarios.....
 
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It's not a big deal to drill the bottom of the diff casing so a drain plug can be fitted. It's best to rebate the plug, which isn't a problem as the casing is about 25mm thick at the bottom. ;)
 
actually did a few minor jobs on my hippo today :)

fixed the interior light, the front diff mount, and the hardest job of all changing the bulbs in the dash
 
Well, the weather started to behave of sorts, moved the Freelander to a slightly more sheltered spot on the gable end of 'Big Sis' cottage...removed the wheel and drum, disassembled the lower brake assembly. The 'front' part was binding and this created a lip that the shoe was binding onto. Removed to my vice and using a warding file I dressed off the offending lip. This is no doubt why my cables were 'skewed' and I think I didn't really need to do them but 'done they are'. All reassembled and brakes adjusted up as per 'Haynes' manual....Done bit of running around after that so will pull the injectors tomorrow..it's dark here but I could continue working but there is no rush now as everything will be closed tomorrow...I will be sober tonight so may get an early (ish) start tomoz. Have great evening and Happy New year to you all when it gets to you...
 
Well, the weather started to behave of sorts, moved the Freelander to a slightly more sheltered spot on the gable end of 'Big Sis' cottage...removed the wheel and drum, disassembled the lower brake assembly. The 'front' part was binding and this created a lip that the shoe was binding onto. Removed to my vice and using a warding file I dressed off the offending lip. This is no doubt why my cables were 'skewed' and I think I didn't really need to do them but 'done they are'. All reassembled and brakes adjusted up as per 'Haynes' manual....Done bit of running around after that so will pull the injectors tomorrow..it's dark here but I could continue working but there is no rush now as everything will be closed tomorrow...I will be sober tonight so may get an early (ish) start tomoz. Have great evening and Happy New year to you all when it gets to you...
I've never read the correct (Haynes manual) method for adjusting the shoes. Last time I did them I took a grinder with a sanding disk to the lips on the drums, not that there was much of a lip anyway, then adjusted the shoes until I could just get the drums on without them binding and left well alone. It sailed through MOT with no issue. :)
 

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