It's totally usual - almost standard - for the heater matrix to get a bit clogged up over the years. Back flushing sometimes works, but often a replacement is needed. As well as this, an old heater box leaks the precious warm air like a sieve and lets cold air mix with it no matter what...

Classic day of highs and lows yesterday - took her out for a spin to the local dump and even managed to get a rear tyre squealing a bit on a fast corner :D This meant that the old engine oil and oil filter rattled about in the back. I moved the oil filter (in a cardboard box) into the cubby...

Pre 1990-ish it should be drums on the back, with a splitter in the engine bay. This just splits the front IIRC. There are separate lines from the master for the front and back. There is another splitter on the rear axle.

I'm so sad, I was thinking about this the other night: The cooling system was working OK before the engine rebuild. That suggests that something happened during the rebuild to make the engine run hot. Just an idea - it is possible to block the cooling flow to the head with a gasket that...

That's for engines only - although from the look of the pictures they come with oil cooler pipes. There is a complete discovery for £700. You do need to budget for a few pipes etc for any conversion - the likes of the power steering pipes and oil cooler pipes may need to be extended or need...

I ended up buying a die and making my own!

You are not alone - you should try finding the right one for an early disco 200TDi! (M16 x1 thread adapter - rocking horse poo)

You can buy a bolt on 300tdi engine mount conversion kit, it's just that the 200tdi conversion is so easy - it will bolt straight onto your gearbox with a couple of mods. In your place, I would be ringing around local scrapyards looking for early discoveries. There is a 200TDi on ebay for 450...

Another temporary bodge (and it is a bodge) for small holes is to put a self tapper into it - assuming the hole is the right shape to take one. You need to carry lots of coolant and watch the temp gauge like a hawk. Given the damage overheating will do, I'd just accept that the wing is coming...

Logically, that rad should be easily capable of cooling the engine. I can't see how it can be anything but a problem with the water flow, the only other thing I can think of is that the engine has started to generate a lot more heat since the rebuild. Did everything go OK with the engine...

Thanks Ivan, you really do seem to have covered all the obvious things. Not the rad, not the pump or thermostat. It's odd, I can't get mine near 88 degrees unless I thrash it. I don't understand how your engine is generating so much heat. Someone must have had the same symptoms.

If the air filter is being clogged by oil from the breather, then it can make the air/fuel mix too rich = unburnt fuel. If it's that bad, it suggests worn rings and I would definitely stop feeding the breather into the air box, and think about a TDi sooner. It could also be that a previous...

I feel your pain, this is one of those odd ones. You do seem to have considered everything. Just to confirm - have you tried running it without a thermostat? Is it actually running as hot as the gauge says? - over 90deg you will have trouble holding onto the hoses. Just one more thing - if...

A pass from the MoT man! makes all the hard work worthwhile.

This is an old engine - I think it will help to add a bit of 20/50 mineral oil - maybe 50/50 at the next oil change. It certainly made my NA run better. IIRC, white smoke is unburnt fuel..

Before you go replacing the alternator, remember the engine will not run without fuel. Check again what is happening with the fuel cut off solenoid. With the ignition off, there should not be any voltage on the wire leading to it - if there is (which it seems is happening) you have a wiring...

Check the state of your earths to the engine and bulkhead too.

Sounds like my own, I wouldn't say the bottom hose is cold, but it's only lukewarm after a good run - and I don't have a fan - haven't had one since installing the TDi years ago. I can only get the bottom hose to become warm after a long motorway run. The engine/cooling system is designed to...

+1 for the spare, along with a spare steering belt. they live in the battery box with tools/fluids and bulbs.

Have a look for my thread on the conversion, search for the phrase "fiddly bits"