I suppose it depends on why they are there. If they are there to deal with thermal expansion then if they can't expand, something else is going to go (or they'll just crack again). But if that is the case, how did the cast iron manifolds fitted to the same engine in a Classic survive and not crack? Although the cast iron manifolds did have huge holes for the bolts that could, as long as it wasn't bolted up solid with firegum on the gaskets, would allow a bit of movement. If they are there to allow a bit of flex to allow for manufacturing tolerances, then as long as the are bolted up to a head when welded, they should be fine.

Not a bad idea as long as nobody starts deleting anything in the general sections as they should be in the classifieds like on the other forum. I'm sure Gordon can add another forum easily enough.

I know we shouldn't laugh, but I did, sorry. Seems odd that the belt went. I've known them to get thrown off if a pulley bearing goes but I've never known one break. Not even ones that are so perished the ribs are falling off......

Not quite the same as the Classic, I've tried to find a decent pic of one but can't. The P38 one isn't like that on the Classic where you have a huge plate on the back, they have a square section arm that comes out from under the bumper with a square plate on the end with two pairs of holes for the ball. While they may be more practical, they just don't look as tidy as the factory swan neck.

Probably a German spec thing then, TUV approval and all that although I would have expected the factory one to be TUV approved with the car by Land Rover. Most of the aftermarket ones you see over here are the Witter ones with the flat flange where the towball bolts to it. Uglier than the swan neck but they do allow the ball height to be altered or a NATO eye to be fitted instead of the ball if needed.

Morat wrote:

Sadly that sort of thing is frowned at on the canals...

Only frowned at? Not specifically banned? In that case it might be worth a try, although I suspect the locks might cause a problem to the skier.....

The one that hit it came off a lot worse though......

That's aftermarket not original. The factory towbar has a detachable swan neck but is held on by a hoofing great bolt and rests on another, similarly sized, bolt. Looks like this

I'd be very worried about using something like the one you've pictured to hang 3.5 tonnes on with it only being held in place by a bolt going through it. .

A 4.6 Thor uses the ZF 4HP24 gearbox while the 4.4 L322 uses the ZF 5HP24. I wonder how different the actual gearboxes are and if an L322 bellhousing would bolt up to a P38 gearbox? That would make it pretty simple if they did.

42hp diesel? What's the use in that, you'd never be able to ski behind it?

Huh? That's a new one. when you unlock the doors, does the drivers door unlock? The boot release button gets an earth from the lock/unlock microswitch in the RH front door, so if that is locked the boot will be too. However, the locking/unlocking of the doors suggest that as soon as you press the button, an earth rather than power is being sent to the door latch and that is triggering the central locking. If you can get to it, behind the RH side panel in the boot (you'll need to get in from the front) there's a multi way connector where all the wires on one side are white and the others are different colours. If you unplug that and apply an earth to the white wire that would have been connected to the Green/Red wire on pin 10, the the boot release should work to at least get it open. Then you are going to be looking for a short to ground somewhere. The boot release gets power from fuse 15 on the BeCM to the release solenoid, then to the button and then to this connector back to the switch in the door latch so the short is going to be somewhere along that line (although I would have expected the release solenoid to be permanently engaged or the fuse to have blown if that was the case).

Problem with mine is that it's GEMS and I suspect you'd need a Thor as a basis. Both the Thor and the earlier L322 use the Bosch Motronic engine management so it should, in theory, be easier to make the engine talk to the rest of the car.

That's the way to do it if the boat comes out of the water, in the case of this one it sat at a salt water mooring all the time and only came out once a year to be de-fouled. He bought it in that state and it hadn't been used in 2 years. Got it at a very good price because of the water leaks which he sorted with a pair of replacement heads and a rebuild kit.

Put it on full lock, jack up both front wheels and try spinning a wheel while looking at the CV joints. If they are OK, then start looking at the front propshaft UJs. Certainly doesn't sound like gearbox or torque converter.

Sounds more like a CV joint if it is more pronounced when turning a corner.

Ouch! There's not a lot you can do with that, I somehow suspect that Radweld wouldn't work and welding cast iron isn't really an option. The one in my mates boat was running but not that well and he found rusty holes in one of the heads where the coolant passages had rusted through to the surface.

That was a Ford Windsor 351cu based engine though (in a Cranchi Turchese 24), the Chevy was in his previous boat.

For me the ideal would be a P38 but with the 295 bhp from the 4.4 BMW lump fitted to the pre-2005 L322. I use my car predominately for long distance journeys around Europe (France 3 times and Holland once, clocking up 4,500 miles in the last 5 weeks). I want something that is going to get me there and the L322 has far too many seemingly insignificant things that can stop the car. At least with a P38, if the cooling system is kept in good order, any faults can be either ignored as they don't stop the car from being used or dealt with at the roadside.

Can't count mine then, I don't have any (other than ones I've put on)

Why, just out of interest? I always just leave mine on Auto, 20 degrees and AC on. Keeps me warm in the winter and cool in the summer no matter what temperature it is outside. I like the way that the fans speed up when the sun hits the solar sensor and slow down again when it is in the shade. Considering it's a system that dates back over 20 years, it works extremely well.

Orangebean wrote:

Darn things are getting far too common now- that's 3 of us on the forum :)

4 unless you are excluding Gordon (which, as he runs the forum is probably not a good idea......).