Picked up another discovery 1 300tdi today BUT this one got sunroofs (no leaks)and bars & auto --- got it cheap due to London charge£18 per day FFS Comes with 2inch lift kit fitted & uprated gearbox(Alston's) This week I'll fit leather interior then put in autotrader ps vogue still being the shiny blue beauty --- left 2weeks still suspension stayed up and 1st start 👍

Hi fellas been away long got much work elsewhere and little time, but I have managed to get the dash in, console and switches/buttons, radio and hevac and lo and behold most of it works! Still got to take some photos but ... getting there.
Got a couple questions though:

• switches: most if the "green" small bulbs are gone, I was horrified to find out they cost over 8gbp apiece! My my ... any alternatives you have tried?
• instrument cluster. I've fitted the cluster to a new dash (mine was warped) and the cluster fits ... funny, like too far back which means too much "inside" its place. This leaves gaps especially on the sides, which once you fit the surround (the one with the fuel cap opener) it looks awful. Tried fitting another couple times just to make sure I did not bend anything out of place, but still ... all 4 screws tight without issues. What has gone wrong?

All going well, I am left with this "problem" above so I can fit the steering wheel and steering column covers, a few odds and ends and get it out of the garage, insurance, MOT and then to sort out the rest, but at least to become mobile...

Changed radiator (gravity) thermostat (gates) and alternator (denso) gets to temperature and maintains it. Runs much smoother very happy with her.

I have a hatch under the carpet in the rear to get at the intank fuel pump.
It is or was just a metal flap that you bend up to get at the pump and then taped down with duct tape the rest of the time.

Not very satisfactory really, so I have printed a cover in ABS.

It sits flush with the carpet.

I like that Dave. Any chance you could link to slightly bigger pictures?

I haven't sorted out the access flap I cut in my floor after doing my engine conversion - but this seems like a nice solution and I think I could just about squeeze it on one of our printers.

Hi Sloth, I have gone back and changed the pics as you asked.
The hatch fits the corrugations in the floor and the cover / lid finishes flush, so the carpet lays flat. It is 205mm x 220mm. I couldn't print it before but I have got a new slightly larger printer. The hatch must be up to version 8 or 9 now. I have lost count. Two 6mm bolts on each side and another four to bolt the lid on. I used screw inserts to hold the lid.
I was going to use sealant between the floor and bottom bit but haven't bothered yet. It might be needed if you go wading.
It might be just me but I think there might be transmission noise being transmitted through the plastic cover, so I may stick some soundproofing underneath.
I have not yet posted the design on Thingiverse, but if you want to have a go at printing it, pm me and I will send the .stl files.

You could probably 3D print some and sell them to a number of us here. The fact that it fits the corrugations is a big plus.

Hi Harv, the cover is in two pieces and they were long prints using ABS filament, like 12 hours+ each, so I don't fancy doing a run of them, even to sell. It is just an interest of mine.
3d printers have never been so cheap, if you fancy having a go. They are under $200 now for a decent one. Made in China of course.
I can let you have the files. An alternative is for you to get it printed commercially but just a one off for you yourself personnally.
I don't want my designs to get released out there for everyone. Anyone to could then start selling them. With Thingiverse you have to agree it is non commercial before you can sign up.

Thanks Dave. At this point I’m not planning on buying a printer, but that might happen one day. So far I haven’t needed access to my pump but it’s really nice to have an access panel when you do. On my D2 I needed to T/S a fuel quantity issue and the panel made that job a lot easier.

Great job Dave. Did you cut the original access with the tank still in place? I may have to access my sender unt and was a bit nervous of angle grinding above the tank!

Yes, the tank was still in place when I cut it.
I used a dremel and their speedclic metal cutting discs. They are 38mm diam so don't protrude down much.
Just take your time, Amazing what you can do with a dremel.
If you print the bottom bit first you can locate it in the right place in the floor corugations and use it as a template.
Then use a marker pen on the inside edge.

Perfect. Thanks Dave.

Hi Dave,
How did you finish the edges of the sheet metal to prevent rust?
I have a raised air intake that I'd like to get fitted this December, but I haven't decided how to deal with the cut edge of the sheet metal. It doesn't need to be pretty since the intake will cover it by quite a margin, but I don't want it to rust under there!

I've also just purchased a 3D printer, so at some stage I'll ask you to please send me your fuel pump cover files. Probably next year sometime.
Your cover looks good!

I have only just done the cover so the job is not 100% finished. So far I have just filed the edges to remove any roughness. It is still bright metal.
I was going to use Tiger Seal to bond the bottom frame bit to the metal. Maybe I should paint round with Hammerite or Rustoleum first.

Let me know when you want the files. You need a largish print bed of 230x230. My old one was only 200x200.
I printed it in ABS as I said, but ABS warps terribly. You may be better printing it in PETG or even PLA, it's easier.
I used 6mm nuts and bolts and 8mm screw inserts to screw the lid on.

Anybody who has other suggestions what to make, speak now. I was looking at fitting two air compressors, one outside the EAS box on a special bracket. I know Marty has fitted two compressors. Maybe a pressure gauge bracket for under the bonnet.
I am doing a windscreen ice scraper at the minute. Not needed in SA.

LHF hub and bearing. Finally got tired of the squeak I have been putting up with for two years.

dave3d wrote:

I have only just done the cover so the job is not 100% finished. So far I have just filed the edges to remove any roughness. It is still bright metal.
I was going to use Tiger Seal to bond the bottom frame bit to the metal. Maybe I should paint round with Hammerite or Rustoleum first.

Let me know when you want the files. You need a largish print bed of 230x230. My old one was only 200x200.
I printed it in ABS as I said, but ABS warps terribly. You may be better printing it in PETG or even PLA, it's easier.
I used 6mm nuts and bolts and 8mm screw inserts to screw the lid on.

Thanks!
I've bought an Ender 5 Pro that has a 220x220x300high print volume, so just too small. If you send me the CAD model I can just split it into two parts and glue them together after. Or maybe just shrink it down a bit to fit my bed. You've already done the hard part of fitting it to the contours of the bed correctly, in essence that is probably the most important part of the CAD model!

dave3d wrote:

Anybody who has other suggestions what to make, speak now. I was looking at fitting two air compressors, one outside the EAS box on a special bracket. I know Marty has fitted two compressors. Maybe a pressure gauge bracket for under the bonnet.
I am doing a windscreen ice scraper at the minute. Not needed in SA.

We did a snow trip to Lesotho this past winter, and the snow scraper would definitely have come in handy!

Ah Lesotho! Very fond memories there flying for the Lesotho Flying Doctor Sevice in 1987. A very beautiful country.

Ah Lesotho! Very fond memories there flying for the Lesotho Flying Doctor Sevice in 1987. A very beautiful country.

Filled up with a full tank of petrol & was very disappointed to discover that fuel consumption over the last 500+ miles had been barely over 12mpg. Surprised as I had even on impulse treated it to a bottle of STP snake oil during that time & it seemed to be running well & revving freely. Then I remembered that I had topped up with 2 x 30L since I last rest the trip odometer not the 2 x 60L that I had used in my calculations. Happily it's been doing a healthy 18.11mpg.😀

Yesterday afternoon in preparation for travelling back to the UK from our place in France I checked the oil level & tyre pressures then thought I would have a go at trying to sort out the airlock in the cooling system that I think is the cause of intermittent heater problems. It seems to start off OK but after 45-60 minutes of driving the air blowing into the cabin gets cooler & cooler till eventually it's just external air temperature. As per RAVE instructions on refilling I disconnected the radiator bleed hose at the radiator then lifted the host to my lips to blow & clear any residual coolant whereupon the hose snapped in two places. The 20 year old plastic tubing was presumably flexible when new but is now the consistency of dried pasta so easily shattered.

An initial attempt at repair served simply to prove that gaffer tape does not provide a water tight seal & would not take pressure in any case. There was some urgency to effecting a repair as we planned on leaving the cottage at about 07:30 the next morning to catch the ferry at Saint-Malo approx 120km & 1 hour 20 minutes drive away. Remembering also that it's a Sunday afternoon in France & no DIY or motoring spares place or indeed anywhere else is open.

My initial thought was just to clamp off the outlet from the radiator in some way but before deciding on that I decided to Phone a Friend & ask for advice. @Gilbertd who himself was driving through France but hundreds of kms away advised me that this was a bad idea. If I had thought it through better I would have realised that the whole point of the bleed hose is to vent air trapped at the top of the radiator. He called me back a little later to suggest that if I had some reinforced hosepipe & the necessary fixings that I might be able to secure the hosepipe over the short rubber hose connectors at the radiator end & expansion tank end. I improved on that suggestion by using a 1 inch stub of the pasta-like plastic tubing to stop the rubber hose collapsing. I had bough 50m of reinforced hosepipe during the summer which was about 30m more than is needed in our garden so I had plenty of spare to cut a length from. My neighbour had one jubilee clip of the correct size & I was able to repurpose a plastic fixing that had held a water bottle holder on a bicycle to fix the other end. I tightened up the fixings tight enough to make a seal but not too tight so as to shatter the inner tube & collapse the rubber hose.

I allowed the engine to idle with the cap of the expansion off while intermittently topping up with coolant. Once the engine got almost up to normal running temperature & there was no more space for adding coolant I screwed the cap on tight. The hose didn't bulge excessively nor did it leak. I drove off to our local garage to fill up with fuel (see my previous post) a round trip of about 15kms. On my return the heater was working well & the hosepipe while flexible was not too swollen & the system was up to pressure as evidenced by the almost incompressible top hose on the radiator & the hissing as I gently released the cap on the expansion cap a fraction.

This morning we drove off in the dark & while I anxiously kept an eye on the coolant temperature for overheating & the bonnet for any signs of steam we covered the 120kms in good time. The heater worked fine for the entire journey. I am now sat in our cabin on the ferry while we make the crossing to Portsmouth. I had a look under the bonnet prior to boarding & the hosepipe looked OK so fingers crossed it all holds together for the second half of our journey of 3 hours & 150 miles from Portsmouth to North Essex. I've got a few meters of spare hosepipe in the boot just in case & have a 5L container of water.

I will update this this post in the evening.