Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2024 i Land Rover Monthly

I’VE said it once and I’ll say it again – never praise your Land Rover’s reliability out loud. It’s a mistake I’ve made before and clearly I don’t learn because soon after raving about how dependable my Freelander 2 has been on The LRM Podcast, it came back to bite me. A hefty parts bill and several hours of spannering in the rain later it appears to be fixed, but I’ll certainly think twice before I open my mouth next time. Flick to page 76 for the full story. It’s not all doom and gloom though, as our colourful cover star illustrates. We love a good transformation here at Land Rover Monthly; it’s so satisfying seeing something tired and downtrodden get a whole new lease on life, and RIG Automotive’s…

I’m alright, Jack I’m a long-time subscriber to LRM mag and love the new podcasts. When listening to the last couple of podcasts I thought I’d drop you an email. Firstly, I would love to hear more about Alastair’s set-up on his restored Series I if possible. Secondly, in relation to tools for working on your Land Rover, you had been talking about buying a good jack. I bought an adaptor from Sealey for my jack which lifts the whole axle at the same height. The ‘cup’ is positioned under the differential and the ‘v’ upright under the axle tube further along. It really helps with safety when jacking up. Attached are photos of the Sealey adapter and also our collection of Land Rovers. Best regards and keep up the…

ASTONISHINGLY, this issue of LRM is my century – the 100th time my column has filled this page. In 2016, when Patrick Cruywagen invited me to a Christmas pub lunch and suggested I should write a regular column, I thought he was either joking or desperate. He insisted that it was a great idea. Mind you, Patrick thought all of his ideas were great ideas… Sensing my reluctance, he proceeded to tell me how easy the job would be – only 900 words – and how I could write about anything as long as it had something to do with Land Rovers. His clincher was to buy me a few more beers and tell me that if I didn’t like it after giving it a try, then I could stop.…

THEY say idle hands are the devil’s plaything, and when the world was plunged into a government-enforced lockdown in 2020 because of a virus that shared its name with a popular Mexican cerveza, there were countless phalange-equipped appendages with very little to occupy them. One owner of said under-utilised limbs was Richard Gill. A self-confessed petrolhead with a truly eclectic back catalogue of vehicular ownership – with such exotics as an original Fiat Panda 4x4, a three-wheeled Carver One and a Spyker C8 to his name – he’s a sucker for a car with character. Of course, as you can imagine, that diverse list has included its fair share of Land Rovers too, but few as eye-poppingly radical as his current fleet of off-road motorhomes. “It all started in November…

THERE’S an old saying that the sea eventually gives up its secrets. I’m beginning to think this might also be true in terms of some of the enduring and unanswered questions in Land Rover history, including the still largely unknown story of the prototype Project Jay vehicles. I’m not talking here about the pioneering development programme that resulted in the launch of a world-beating new vehicle – the Discovery – in record time, because much has been written about that over the years. In summary, the creation of the Discovery was managed very differently to the company’s traditional approach, with six separate development workstreams being conducted in parallel that involved not only the in-house teams but also third-party suppliers and contractors, both in order to meet the aggressive development timescales…

PICTURE the scene. You’re working away at home on one of the hottest days of the year, and your lady wife has borrowed your car to go to town. She arrives back and greets you with a concerned look, and reports sheepishly, “your car smells funny and the fans are on really loud, can you have a look?” My heart dropped, and so – on inspection – had the Freelander 2’s coolant level. A lot. Now, I cannot place a shred of blame on my wife for potentially cooking the TD4, because a couple of years ago the coolant level sensor wiring chafed through, and instead of repairing it properly like a sensible human being, I simply crimped the two wires together to clear the dashboard message and then forgot…

MY wife, Melissa, and I have found ourselves in the UK, having moved from the US for a work contract. She likes the “old box trucks like what the Queen drove”, so when we realised a Defender over 25-years old could be exported home with us, it made an impractical short-term purchase become a very reasonable lifetime prospect. We started searching for a classic Defender, which proved challenging. I quickly realised that frames, bulkheads, and doors could be extremely rusty among other issues, and one we tried to test drive wouldn’t even start. After a year of patient hunting, we finally found a 1999 Td5 110 that appeared to be in great shape on the listing, so we travelled the five hours to see it in person. It was only…

IT didn’t take long for the Freelander 2 to garner an excellent reputation for reliability in the years following its launch back in 2007. But, as with all vehicles, they weren’t without their faults – and the rear differential becoming noisy was a big one. Manifesting as a whirring, rumbling sound that gets louder and changes pitch with speed, the problem was traced to the diff’s pinion support bearing, which is undersized for the job it’s required to do. As the bearing begins to break down, it no longer rotates smoothly, sending resonance through the casing and contaminating the oil with metal particles. Left long enough, the diffs are known to lock up when driving, which is both inconvenient and dangerous. Happily, Freelander driveline specialist Bell Engineering has developed an…

I have a 2019 Range Rover Evoque and, now that it is out of warranty, I have been doing my own maintenance and servicing. I want to flush the cooling system and replace the anti-freeze before this winter. I still have a large drum of blue anti-freeze which I use in my Series II and Td5 Defender. Is this okay to also use in the Evoque? I notice there are varying colours of anti-freeze available; can you explain if there are any differences that would matter, or is it just different makers? Tony Whittaker ED EVANS REPLIES: Blue and green anti-freezes were the early types based on ethylene glycol, and using silicate-based corrosion inhibitors. They last for two years, maybe three. They are known now as Inorganic Acid Technology (IAT) products.…

October 9 DERWENTSIDE LAND ROVER TOUR Tow Law, Sheffield, South Yorkshire uklandroverevents.com October 12-13 BXCC BRITISH CROSS COUNTRY COMP SAFARI CHAMPIONSHIP Walters Arena, Neath, South Wales crosscountryuk.org October 12-13 CCV & RTV TRIAL Deudneys Farm, Herstmonceux sroc.co.uk October 13 RTV AND CCV Yatton Keynell, Wiltshire somersetandwiltshirelrc.co.uk 4x4 LAND ROVER AND VINTAGE SPARES DAY Ripon Racecourse, Ripon, North Yorkshire landrovermonthly.co.uk/information/events ROUND OF NATIONAL & SOUTH WEST TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP Mannington, Dorset awdc.co.uk OPEN RTV/LADIES/NOVICE TRIAL Wickenby, Lincolnshire llrc.co.uk CLUB COMP SAFARI TBC saslrc.co.uk RTV/CCV TRIAL Brotherton, West Yorkshire penninelandrover.co.uk PAY & PLAY DAY Harbour Hill, Aldermaston, Berkshire 4x4-withoutaclub.co.uk October 18-20 TYRO & RTV TRIAL Stainby, Lincolnshire lrlrc.co.uk October 19 NORC, ROUND 6 Tong, Bradford norc.org.uk YORKSHIRE’S ROMAN ROAD AND BEYOND RELAXED & SCENIC TOUR Kirby Stephen, Cumbria trailsandtracks.co.uk October 20 CCV &…

NO IT’S not the follow-up to the film Robo-Dog, it’s JLR’s autonomous canine companion that apparently saves time and improves safety. The car manufacturer’s latest four-legged recruit, nicknamed ‘Rover’ patrols Coventry’s EV build and test facility – a complex and energy-dense environment – spotting potential operational issues and equipment wear and tear early. This ensures engineers spend valuable time on maintenance, and that test and development continues to run on schedule ahead of the launch of the Range Rover Electric. Just like a regular guard dog, Rover has its own kennel at the plant, where it charges its 50V battery between shifts, but unlike a normal canine this one requires no rest days or nature breaks. Developed by the US robotics specialist, Boston Dynamics, Rover uses AI to physically open…

SMALL bodywork parts on the Lightweight’s passenger side are falling apart. First was the dash vent’s little lever, which last week literally snapped off in my hand, leaving not even a stub of metal protruding. Then at the petrol station, leaning over the seats to open the passenger door to fill the main tank, I find the door’s little round lock knob has vanished, its inner spring left coiling out of the recently vacated hole. The lock hasn’t actually worked in a year and the door itself has somehow become slightly ill-fitting, with an alarming tendency to swing open of its own accord, especially in tight corners. My solution – rather clever, I thought – was to bungee it closed, looping the elasticated cord tightly from hard top components around…

HOW are your balls? Smooth and shiny, or pitted, crusty and leaking fluid everywhere you go? Chrome-plated (or PTFE-coated on later vehicles) swivel balls were a feature of Land Rover front axles from the first Series I in 1948 until the last of the old-school Defenders rolled out of the factory in 2016. The design was based on the wartime Willys Jeep and used an outer housing pivoting on a spherical inner housing attached to the axle end, with a large seal filling the gap between the two. The universal joint for the halfshaft lived inside the ball, which was filled with oil. It was a clever, simple and low-maintenance solution to the problem of transmitting drive to steerable wheels and could be found on a wide variety of beam-axled…

In 2023, eBay launched its inaugural Van Conversion of the Year Awards to celebrate the most beautifully executed, space-efficient and downright clever Light Commercial Vehicle conversions in the UK. The awards were devised to celebrate the UK’s very best commercial vehicle installs and uncover the vans that have been perfectly adapted to their intended purpose. Their expert judging panel identified individual category winners from hundreds of applicants and after facing some really tough competition, RIG 3 was chosen as the winner of the ‘Best Professional Conversion’, an award judged by none other than TV architecture expert George Clarke.…

WELL, that’s another one of my bucket list ambitions ticked off… coming across a genuine ‘barn find’ Land Rover: even if it was actually in a Nissen hut rather than a barn. And as if that wasn’t enough, it turned out to be a very late lights-behind-the-grille 80in dating from 1950, that was an unknown survivor as far as the Land Rover Register and Land Rover Series One Club records are concerned. It was also not many miles from my home in Hampshire and stored on a farm I’ve been visiting for over ten years. It has never been mentioned in all that time, even though Andrew Hazell, the owner of both the farm and the 80, has known for some time about my interest in old Land Rovers. What’s…

BACK when I used to take up every opportunity to go out with the Northern Ireland Land Rover Club (NILRC) on weekend off-road events, the Land Rover that I mainly used was known as the V8 Hybrid. It was a left-hand drive V8 ex-military One Ten that I had shortened to 88in to suit a Series III 88in rear body tub, roof panel and side panels. The Land Rover later became a full soft top, in which we (a selection of my children and I) had absolutely tremendous fun, with the NILRC. The Hybrid (as it was generally referred to by everyone who knew it) was eventually rebuilt back to the original One Ten configuration and I still own it to this day. So what is a hybrid? There are…

LAND Rovers Falmouth was formed in November 2018 with the view of being an all-inclusive Land Rover club local to Falmouth in Cornwall. The most effective way of creating this kind of club is to build a Land Rover community via Facebook; this enables members to be in contact whenever they choose and also makes it possible to organise and share events easily. We wanted to be the first club of its kind to be based primarily on social media. From the outset our aim was to connect Land Rover owners and fans easily – we wanted to make the group simple to keep up with, giving people the opportunity to join in whenever they wanted. This strategy has proven very effective and we now have over 1300 members. Land…

BEAM axle coil-sprung Land Rovers have replaceable bushes fitted to the front Panhard rod, all four radius/trailing arms and to the rear A-frame where appropriate. The front radius arms are the main attachment for the front axle to the chassis, with bushes at both the axle end and at the chassis end of the arms. The front axle also has a Panhard rod which prevents lateral (side-to-side) movement of the axle. The Panhard rod is attached to the axle at one end and runs across the front of the vehicle to a bracket on the chassis – with bushes on either end. Similarly, the rear trailing arms attach the rear axle to the chassis, with bushes at both ends. To prevent lateral movement of the rear axle, there are two…

I have just completed a full service on my Freelander 2 including the Haldex unit. My question is, how can I check if the Haldex is working properly without taking it off-road and getting it plastered in mud? Great magazine, keep up the good work. Richard Croasdale MARTIN DOMONEY REPLIES: Working properly, the Haldex should operate all the time both on and off-road, smoothly transferring drive to the rear wheels when the vehicle ‘thinks’ traction could be lost, such as pulling away from a standstill. To check its operation, find a loose surface (gravel car park) and when safe to do so, accelerate hard from a standing start. There should be minimal wheel scrabble from the front wheels, and the Freelander should take off cleanly. At the same time, drive in…

A PLUG-IN Defender has been kitted out with arte facts, photographs and audio guides that highlight the life-saving work the Red Cross has done over the decades, transforming itself into what is claimed to be the UK’s smallest museum. The humanitarian charity and Land Rover commissioned the project to celebrate a 70-year partnership enabling Red Cross access to the brand’s vehicles in more than 50 countries. Up to five visitors can fit inside the Defender, which was parked up for the week in late September at London’s South Bank Observation Point. The beauty of a mobile museum is that it has potential to become available in other locations, which is being discussed.…

THE workshop has been buzzing with activity as we work on client builds and my side project – the Rover V8 engine swap on my Series IIA trayback. Dad has been busy figuring out how to put the engine back together. Buying a dismantled motor can be a bit of a gamble and generally I would not recommend doing it. But at least in this case, I felt that I largely knew what parts were missing. In the lead-up to Dad arriving down under, I bought two other Rover V8s to be used for parts. It has worked out rather well although we did also have to delve under the bonnet of a classic Range Rover for additional bits such as the oil pump housing, water pump pulley and harmonic…

ONE of my regular customers rang me up in a bit of a panic. His wife had just rung him to say that their Defender had lost power on a gentle uphill section of road and left her stranded. His description did not provide too many clues as to what might have gone wrong: all he could tell me was that it would start and idle but did not have enough power to be driven. He arranged for the vehicle to be recovered to my workshop and I quickly set about diagnosing the fault. I found that although the engine started easily enough and would idle quite happily, on depressing the accelerator pedal the engine speed would briefly increase before dying back until the engine stalled. This felt like a…

UR journey to follow the course of the UK’s watershed divide (explained in the panel on the facing page) in Rabia, our trusty Discovery, had reached its turning point at Naseby. In the physical sense, the watershed divide’s dramatic sweep in a south-westerly direction, towards the Cotswolds, placed our track neatly between the River Avon’s watershed (flowing towards the Atlantic) and the River Thames’s catchment area (draining towards the North Sea). Our own journey too would change, to trace the ridgeline through some of the prettiest parts of the UK. From here to Cirencester, the divide’s 93 mile path passes through a landscape with many ancient tracks and rural trails as well as highways. With careful research on Google Earth, we formed a travel route which shadowed the divide for…

WE are spoilt. As Land Rover enthusiasts and owners, we are privileged to have a vast number of skilled companies across a whole range of aftermarket segments available to us – probably more than any other vehicle brand in the world. In this series, Greg King spends a day with specialists in different fields – from modifiers and independent specialists, to parts suppliers and restorers, to see what makes them tick. When you order a set of brake pads or maybe something more substantial like a steering box, have you ever wondered what goes on to get that part to your local specialist or your front door? This month, Greg finds out. AS I DRIVE through the modern business park in Abingdon, near Oxford, the companies on the estate couldn’t…

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A PART from unaffordable amounts of road tax, insurance and MoT tests, a main instigator of downsizing my fleet over recent years is the belief that vehicles that don’t get driven mysteriously develop faults. The last example of this was when I laid up my perfectly functioning Range Rover Sport for just two weeks, and the next time I drove it the turbocharger actuator had seized – cars were never designed to stand still. Because the turbo actuator is integral to the turbo, and because it was non-repairable, that cost me a tidy £1300 – the sole good news was that it would have cost £2600 had I gone to a Land Rover dealership. So, the Sport has barely been given a day off since, unlike Kermit our Freelander 1.…

I recently borrowed a 2024 model Discovery for a weekend away, but after 30 motorway miles I was totally stressed by the EU mandatory audible warning (‘bong bong’) that went off every time my indicated speed reached 71mph. I find it’s sometimes necessary to increase speed slightly for safe manoeuvring, such as passing the clots hogging lane two with their cruise control set to 69mph. The bongs can be switched off: select the appropriate screen using the steering wheel switch, reach over to the touchscreen to select ‘shut up’, then back to the steering wheel switch to return to the original screen display. But the system automatically resets, so this has to be repeated each time the engine is restarted. This annoyance applies to all new cars, it’s not just…

WE can all recall times when we could have done with extra lighting for our Land Rover, whatever the model. Whether a country road on a dark winter’s night, or deep in a dingy forest off-roading, sometimes extra light on the road ahead is very useful. That’s before we talk about the desire to fit add-on lights to make a Land Rover look good. In that respect, little wonder extra lights are a popular aftermarket add-on. Buying cool-looking bits is one thing, but fitting them is another. Bolting them on is easy, but wiring them up correctly can be a daunting task. For instance, if we don’t have electrical experience, what is correct? To help answer this, LRM watched IRB Developments fitting auxiliary lighting to two positions on a Defender.…