There is a process for reporting MOT stations for carrying out bad tests and giving inaccurate results but I'm not sure if this worth the effort lol.

Perhaps mention it to them at the next MOT so they're aware of it and don't pull the same thing again?

I do like that little sport button. It surprises a few people when they they're being overtaken up a hill by a P38 Range Rover.

GeorgeB wrote:

If you can find a cruise control system that will keep you rolling at 4kph, then that would be great for driving in this city. Me? I let the brake off.

Even on the highway it's difficult to maintain a constant speed due to big holes, stray buses and a myriad of other mobile/static (that should be mobile!) obstacles.

On top of that, I don't like it, never have done. Simple

Again, I'd say that's an issue of only using it in the correct conditions. City driving at slow speed with constant stopping and starting isn't cruising - why should cruise control work in this condition? To be pedantic, won't the autobox keep you rolling at very low speed on it's own, no cruise control needed?

Same with the road condition preventing its use. It's designed to be used in a certain set of circumstances. If you find yourself on a road to which it's not suited, it's not a fault of cruise control. Just because it doesn't work well for the conditions you're driving in (bad weather, poor road surfaces, city traffic etc) doesn't mean the system is "bad" or pointless.

My daily commute is 26 miles each way of smooth tarmac and light traffic. I set the cruise control once I reach the A47 and leave it to do it's thing - it's a godsend for me. I brake when I need to slow down for a change of speed limit or reach a roundabout etc. I don't leave the cruise control running and then blame it for being unsuitable when I crash in to the slower traffic.

Funnily enough, I had that exact conversation about auto gearboxes on Saturday. One of the people I mentioned is my girlfriend. She said she doesn't like driving the P38 as it's auto and she wants more control over the car. I pointed out that she had just as much control using the accelerator and brake pedals. If she wants to speed up, press the accelerator. If she wants to slow down, press the brake. If she wants to change down a gear and speed up more quickly, press the accelerator more.

She was having none of it and insists there's a lack of control driving an auto car.

Cruise control in any car isn't designed for use 100% of the time. It's not supposed to be used in adverse road conditions for just the reason you stated.

I don't use it in heavy rain due to the risk of aquaplaning etc.

Used in good conditions and it's perfectly fine.

Aragorn wrote:

I've never quite understood why people dont use cruise control. Its really quite annoying when your sat on the motorway, with the cruise on at 70, and end up playing yoyo with someone who cant maintain their speed properly. And fair enough if its an older or crappy car that might not have it, but when its something new and a bit flash and will almost certainly have it, why arent they using it? I use it every time i'm out in the other two cars, certainly improves fatigue and ankle ache on motorway jaunts. Also saves worrying about your speed creeping up and then getting stung by a scamera van.

I know a couple of people that won't use it because they "want to be in control of the car". One of these people won't even use auto climate control for the same reason. His car has auto climate control but he steadfastly refuses to hit the "AUTO" button and as a result is constantly adjusting the temperature and vent speed etc.

I assume they think that it means they're a better driver in some way as they are "in control".

I don't own any of the products mentioned but I'll throw in a vote for the Nanocom as well. I've had my Thor looked at by Gilbertd's Nanocom a few times and it's a very. very impressive bit of kit. It was very compact and looked a doddle to use.

I believe it's what Marty used to bring my BECM out of complete hibernation as well, albeit with an additional module. Without that, I was stuck with a 2 tonne paperweight. If I had the cash to buy a diagnostics machine of my own I'd try my hardest to stretch to a Nanocom.

My trip computer says 19.4mpg (long term average over at least 7 tanks) and when I've manually calculated it it has been accurate to about 0.5mpg.

That's on a daily 26 mile commute (mix of 60 and 70mph roads) each way with a couple of short distance local trips each day.

I think the range on mine is somewhere around 350 miles. Depends very much on if I'm wearing heavy shoes though.

When I fill it up the trip computer says closer to 420 but the bottom "half" of the tank seems to be of a lower capacity than the top "half".

I had trouble making my diesel increase revs at all. It felt like it never, ever wanted to kick down and insisted one remaining in the highest gear possible.

Then were the times when it didn't want to rev at all and would just completely cut out at 60+ leaving me to coast to a stop on the hard shoulder before starting it and continuing my journey...

As Gordon said, find your local ALRC Land Rover club.

I pay £20 per year to be a member of mine. They organise regular events including green laning. Membership of one ALRC club allows you to attend and participate in any event organised by any other ALRC club around the country just by showing your membership card. Each club is different in the events they organise - some are competitive and some aren't. Mine is competitive which means that the majority of the events are trials based on navigating round a course of numbered cane gates. TYRO and RTV trials are designed to be non-damaging and are for standard vehicles. CCTV trials are the proper hardcore ones that require roll cages etc. Others organise pay and play days.

The clubs will also have someone in the organisation that will mark local lanes on your OS map for a small fee - our guy charges £3.

Also, your local council will have information about what lanes you can and can't use but some make it harder than others to find. I think it's called the definitive map.

I've been greenlaning in my P38 and not suffered any scratches or damage but it will depend on the lane and weather etc.

DevonP38, could you PM the website you mentioned? I'd love to know more of the lanes around where I live.

Is tonight OK?

I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

I only have key 1 and I have my seat settings saved to memory 1.

If someone moves the seat it automatically moves back to my settings when I put the key back in.

Gilbertd wrote:

That's the one I've got going spare...... Simple enough to change just one of them too.

Mind if I make another evening visit for a parts collection?

Gilbertd wrote:

Which white bits? The small rack (think rack and pinion) that runs on the cog on the motor or the bit that it pivots on? I've got the rack that was on the original one but they are handed so that one is for the side to side movement (I found this out after getting one of them in place on the motor only to find the ball on the end was facing the wrong way). Not got the other bit that the thing pivots on as that was missing on the original mirror so I pinched the one off the spare.

Yeah, the little toothed rack bit. The one for side to side movement on mine has snapped right by the ball joint bit.

Gilbertd wrote:

Yes, I had a spare mirror anyway but it was a non-memory one so only had 6 wires and not 8 like the memory one has. Got the little plastic rack out of that one and a white plastic piece that the mirror carrier pivots on and it all works now. Fiddly to do and as the teeth on the motors were a bit chewed it doesn't move completely smoothly but it moves and now points in the right direction. Took almost as long to get the glue from the duct tape the previous owner had used to hold the glass somewhere close to where it needed to be as it did to fix the mechanism.

Do you still have the remains of that spare/old mirror? I need one of those white pieces as one of mine is snapped. I've been keeping an eye on eBay looking for a really cheap one to cannibalise but they keep going for more than I'd like to pay for such a tiny piece of plastic!

Was the fix for the mirror just a case of fitting the missing white toothed bit at the bottom or was there something else missing?

Glad our quick look at it the other night lead to it being fixed.

Great, I'll pop over tomorrow night and pick it up.

Thanks!

Is it OK to pop over tomorrow or Friday night and pick it up after work? I'm doing some more work on the car on Saturday and might as well add it to the job list.

Yeah, I could see the true shape of them in the later images. It was just weird how they looked completely different in each image.

I hadn't noticed the rear axle seal. Thanks for that. I'd seen that the drain and fill plugs on both diffs look like they're leaking but they felt dry to the touch.

How much for the seal? Is it a case of wheel off brakes off, hub off, new seal and reassemble?