You can have an enormous amount of play and it won't be picked up on the MoT. A good example being the top and bottom balljoints on the front hubs. An MoT test won't pick up any play in them as they only test for side to side movement. The way to check them is to jack it up on the axle so the wheel is dangling, then put a crowbar under the wheel and see if you can lift it. If you can, they are shot and have a very marked affect on the handling and steering. Wear in the Panhard rod bushes will allow the axle to move from side to side but again won't be picked up on the MoT.

Sounds more like a steering problem than a suspension one. It could be down to radius arm bushes, anti-roll bar bushes, any number of the bits of soggy 20 year old rubber in there.

If you fit stiffer dampers then the ride suffers (in fact, a few months after production started the dampers were made softer as very early cars were felt to be too harsh) so softer the better. It may even be down to tyres. My car feels a lot tauter than both the Ascot and the 2001 Vogue I've been working on recently. I'm on 16" wheels with higher profile tyres than the others on 18" wheels and 55 profile tyres. Both feel a bit vague but both have the same Goodyear tyres on them.

davew wrote:

Maybe you will get a better chance to video it again at 500K....

If I carry on at the same rate as I have for the last 10 years, that should be in about 5 years time.

Although it's got over 6,000 miles to do in September alone. Trip to Latvia at the beginning of the month (1520 miles each way with a bit of running around while I'm there so that should be 4,000 or so) followed by a trip to France and back via Yorkshire so should be close on another 2,000 miles.

How much is original? Most of the engine even though it went to V8 Dev to be rebuilt at 287,000, but the block, crank, rods, pistons and most other internal bits, although it got top hat liners, rings (4.0 litre pistons are about 4 times the price of 4.6 litre ones so the top hats were bored to standard and the original pistons just fitted with new rings) big ends and mains (although the crank didn't need grinding even at that mileage) and cam and followers. Gearbox and transfer case is original, as are 3 of the wheel bearings, the rear propshaft (but with new UJs), the front axle and diff while the rear has had a new diff. Obviously, things like brake discs, track rods.etc have been replaced, although the original steering box and drag link were only replaced a couple of weeks ago. Alternator died at about 260,000 and the starter not much longer afterwards. Airsprings were replaced when I first got it so have now done almost 200,000 in 10 years, both rear height sensors have been changed (but the fronts are original), the compressor has been rebuilt as has the valve block. Heater core O rings and 1 blend motor (the other two have been pulled apart, cleaned and greased), underbonnet fusebox and drivers door latch, while the sole keyfob is original except it's gone through about 3 sets of batteries. The drivers window regulator has been replaced but the others are all original too.

Most importantly, everything works and I do mean everything.

Yes, the two thick ones. 12V one way round makes it go down, reversing the polarity makes it go back up.

It had to be done. I wanted to get a video of it changing over but as I was approaching a roundabout at the time, missed it.

He can't, he's got a Thor which doesn't have the inspection plate like on the GEMS, it's an integral part of the cast alloy sump.

Interesting that the main codes are for number 8 but changing plug leads and plugs hasn't cured it and if it was a coil it would affect 2 cylinders and not just the one. Is it a misfire like just one cylinder not firing (lumpy idle, but smoothing out once the revs increase) or general rough running?

When I first got my car you didn't need to cut them open to see how they were made, one was burst and the others weren't far behind so you could see what was inside. Rubber inner, three layers of cords much the same as in a tyre (not surprising considering they are make by Dunlop) arranged at right angles to each other and a top layer of thicker rubber.

I'm 65 so not far behind you. Spent all of yesterday working on my car and doing a headlining on another at the weekend. It's what keeps us young.....

Yes there is, with enough left over to do about half a roof again. A couple of people have used the excess to trim the pillar trims and still had bits left over.

How the hell did you find that??????

That is the original Rangerovers.net pages that the new owners removed and everyone has been banging on about it being re-instated for over a year with no result.

Missed that. If taking the lower inlet off then yes you can leave the metal pipes attached to the manifold bit if only taking the rocker cover off, then at least one of them needs to come off (the one from the inlet manifold) or you can't lift the cover clear of the rockers.

Total opposite when I was in Malaysia, 22 degrees so you'd expect it to be comfortably warm but the humidity was so high that the moment you emerged from somewhere with air conditioning, your lungs stopped working and you were covered in sweat. Drank water by the gallon but never needed to find a toilet.....

I much prefer the one sold as an accessory for those of us without the ones in the cubby. Gave me somewhere to prop my tablet to watch a Grand Prix while halfway through France too.

What year is it? On a GEMS the rocker cover gaskets are pretty straightforward (having done mine a few weeks ago) but did a Thor last week and the solid coolant pipes and alternator make getting the RH one off difficult and they both have to come off.

Rocker cover gaskets are a common leak source. Bolts are 8mm but 12 point not 6 point like you normally find so you need a 12 point socket. No need to replace the inlet manifold (aka Valley) gasket unless for some reason you decide to take the inlet manifold off, which you don't need to do to change rocker cover gaskets.

We gassed the 2001 Vogue that used to belong to OldShep yesterday while sorting out a few other bits and pieces on it. Having had the Nitrogen put in to pressure test it and vacuumed before the refrigerant went in, we got it down to 6.2 degrees from the vents.

Most generic readers will work for engine codes, particularly on the Thor, as it is fully OBD2 compliant so I doubt a Nanocom will give anything that the others won't..

The pop wasn't a spit back though the inlet by any chance? Have you got any air leaks between MAF and throttle body?

Continuing with my 400,000 mile service, a bit premature as it's only showing 399,776 at the moment, but I should hit the milestone later this week. I've had a tiny coolant leak for about a year, only needing a top up every 1,000 miles or so, but it still needed a top up which annoyed me. Drips could be seen off the RH engine mount so I figured it was probably coming from the corner of the head gasket as David, Rutland Rover, had a similar leak some time ago. Having just replaced the head gaskets to cure the oil leak on the same side, I expected it to stop. But it didn't....

So, today was earmarked for dealing with the coolant leak and a gearbox fluid and filter change. Cobbled together some bits of hose and a Schrader valve so I could get some pressure in the cooling system and wound it up to about 25 psi. Laying under it I could see a little drip appearing from the edge of the middle core plug, running down and dripping off the engine mount. The core plugs were changed 120,000 miles ago when V8 Developments rebuilt the engine and it's always had anti freeze in it so it wasn't rotten just leaking around the edge. I briefly considered K-Seal after Bolts success, then epoxy putty over the top of it but as I'd got a couple of new core plugs in the garage figured I'd do the job properly. Off with the front wheel, wheelarch liner and starter motor to give me a way in and a bit of room while the cooling system was draining into a bucket from the drain on the bottom of the rad. A tap with a punch ground down to a bevelled edge soon had the old core plug out (along with at least another 3 litres of coolant, the first half litre of which went down my arm). Went to put the new one in (with Loctite around the edge to make sure it sealed) only to find I couldn't get it to go in square as the engine mount was in the way. So the engine mount was going to have to come off but the top bolt was hidden behind the exhaust manifold. So that would have to come off too. As it has only been on for just over a week, and the wheelarch liner was out so I could easily get to the remaining heatshield bolts and all the manifold bolts (including the rear bottom one), that was pretty straightforward, surprisingly. Out with the engine crane and a strap around the alternator mount meant I could lift that side of the engine. Engine mount nuts off and unbolted the bracket from the block. Now I know that I put those brackets on but I must have been feeling stronger then than I was today, bugger they were tight! Second attempt with a new core plug and Loctite and it went in nice and straight. Before going any further, bunged two or three litres of antifreeze in it and connected my pressure tester. No more leaks, even when I cranked the pressure up to 40 psi. So put it all back together. As Mr Haynes says, reassembly is the reverse of the above. Refilled and bled the cooling system but decided against starting it yet as I'd still got the gearbox fluid and filter to change and ATF is pretty horrible on your hands and hot ATF is even worse.

Drained the gearbox fluid, which was clean and not burnt looking at all, just a bit dirty, into a washing up bowl so I would be able to check how much came out and put the same amount back in when the time came. Expected the dipstick tube to be a pita but with a big pair of Stilsons it came undone easily. Off with the sump, went to undo the Torx headed bolts that hold the filter and pickup tube in place only to find they are T27 and my set goes from T25 to T30 with nothing in between. Went hunting and found another set, which included a T27 (at least it meant I didn't have to send Dina down to Toolstation to buy one). Undo the bolts and another half litre or so of ATF dribbed out. Over the floor this time as I'd moved the bowl out of the way.......

Having seen the state of the filter that Strange Rover had taken out of his, pulled the old one apart only to find hardly anything in it at all. New filter fitted, sump back on (with a new gasket) and stole the Pyrex measuring jug out of the kitchen to measure how much had come out. 5.2 litres plus what came out of the filter, so the 6 litres I'd bought was about spot on. Fortunately, the GEMS has a dipstick tube that doubles as a filling tube but my funnel was too big to fit in it so more bodgery required to make a funnel. Filled the gearbox and finally thought about firing up the engine. Ran through the gears a few times and checked the fluid level, spot on. Made sure coolant was properly bled and took it out for a run.

Did about 10 miles or so, got back, suspension on high and get underneath. No oil leaks, no coolant leaks, no ATF leaks, bugger me, it'll start going rusty now!!

Wiring goes directly to the ECU, so you can't blame the multiway connector for that one. If you disconnect the arm and put an Ohm meter across one of the outer pins and the centre one and you'll find there's a dead spot in it, probably around the standard or motorway height position.