WHAT YOU DID TO YOUR TRUCK TODAY!

[pot bellied pixie]

Open head surgery again ..now to try and find 8 core plugs on a Sunday ....

[stretch]

[gregster]

Cool....

[Retro Pedro]

[yaki]

Gear lever gaiter mod underway

With an 80mm body lift the rubber gaiter doesn't seal properly and as I'm off to a P&P on the weekend I want to get it sorted.

Before getting rid of the LWB shell I cut out a piece of the transmission tunnel to use and have made a good start on the mod today. Been taking pics and will post them once finished

[yaki]

Plumbed in my boost and EGT gauges, think the pump needs tweaking as its only coming on boost above 2000rpm

No smoke, no poke

[bhcalcutta]

Not today, but yesterday, new rear springs and shocks to replace the slightly tired MGAutos +2s I put on near 4 years ago

[yaki]

Finished the transmission tunnel mod on Saturday and also fitted a new dash cam and swapped my Cooper STT's over for some Special Traks ready for a day out at Ty Rhiw farm

Returned yesterday with some unintended mods, cooling fan disintergrated so ran it with no fan, kept the heater on full and it didn't boil over but heater was very toastie warm

Steering wheel is at an odd angle again, really need to find a stronger steering idler cos I keep bending them

Took it to the local Turkish car wash, £10 for an all over jet wash, bargain

[snapper]

Talking of cooling fans... Replaced the old fan on Truck t'other day and then the water pump and radiator on Sunday. Today, I learned the 'clutch' on the fan is working okay. Also discovered I now need a new fan cowl after the fan managed to chew it up...

Still, it's sorted the temperature fluctuations.

[yaki]

[Fatbaz]

Yaki, why not bite then bullet and convert it to electric fans? Best thing I ever did to mine.

Regards

Stuart

[RatCav]

I wouldn't put any extra electrical load on the 2.8 alternator. They are the same one fitted to the 3.1 Trooper and fail for s$%ts and giggles. Current theory on ITOC is the oil gets past the vacuum pump seals into the main body itself. It then mixes with the dust and grime turning into a grinding paste. It then eats itself from the inside out. Even worse if you don't service them every 4-5000 miles and the soot in the oil eats the seal between the two. That and the regulator is less a regulator but an approximator (within about 3 volts). Its the main reason why I have never heard of this alternator being refurbished. They are always replaced. Horrible things.

[snapper]

Talking of 2.8's (or 3.1's) Leccy fans and Alternators...

In respect to the Fans. Fatbaz, could you please expand further on the conversion that you did, what fans did you use, temperature sensor location etc...

In respect to the Alternator, have been pondering on the plus/negatives for some time on the possibility of relocating the thing up to where the AC Compressor should sit, mainly to keep it a wee bit drier.

Due to the close proximity of the turbo thoughts at the moment are along the lines of fitting an alternator without a vac pump. The vac pump can stay where it is powered through an electrically disconnected dead alternator. Doing that also widens the choice of available alternators. just need to find one that fits in the gap, with a decent output and that will take a double pulley. Oh and knock up a heat shield as well. The bracket will be easy enough as will the wiring bit.

Has anyone seen the conversion and/or got any links please?

[yaki]

Stuart: I have toyed with the idea of an electric fan conversion and did try fitting one off a 2L Sport but it was too chunky and fouled the water pump. The other idea i had was to use the front mounted fans off a 2.2 but think the intercooler/winch will get in the way. Either way now it is fanless it might be time to take the plunge and look for a solution

Snapper: Have also given some thought to doing away with the std alternator and mounting a replacement where the AC pump is normally fitted and then using the vac pump off something like a transit mounted where the old alternator would have been located. I did hear a rumor many years ago over on ITOC that someone had done a twin alternator setup and mounted the 2nd alternator where the AC pump would go but have not managed to find any pictures or a how to but from memory I think it was off a petrol Omega, RatCav might be able to shed some light on this one?

Agree with RatCavs comments re the Alternator, have had to replace quite a few on my 2.8(s) over the years but then took the plunge and bought a new one and so far no issues. Have previously tried to repair one but gave up. What a stupid place to put an alternator on a 4x4

[gregster]

The 2.2 front fans are more to assist in applications where air con is fitted and in a valient attempt to keep the dreaded things from advancing global warming!...The 2.2i A still uses a larger electric fan between engine and rad, so I wonder how efficient the front ones would be, especially considering the placement of the intercooler...Kenlowe do some slimmer larger fans, have fitted these before to various things, or explore some scrappies as many cars use a slimmer fan unit which would work much better...

[Fatbaz]

The electric fan conversion I did was quite simple and all new parts, been on the truck a few years now and never been a problem, also the alternator copes OK. As for the alternator failing due to oil ingress from the vac pump, it'll do that with or without electric fans as it's spinning all the time the engine is running.

As for the fan conversion: I bought a pair of 10 inch fans off Ebay; an adaptor (alloy tube that takes a switch in the side) and switch from a kit car body builder supplier along with a couple of switches for the dash and a relay or 2.

Due to the rad having top and bottom hose connections at the top means the coolant flows down one half and back up the other half, this meant I could mount the fans side by side above the half way line. To mount them I used 5mm bolts and nylock nuts. First off I made up some alloy plates (about 30mm square) with felt stuck to one side to fit either side of the rad to spread the load when tightening the 5mm nuts and bolts which hold the fans to the rad.
The hose adaptor has a hose connection at each end and a boss in the middle to take the temp switch, this is mounted in the top hose. To do this cut out a section of the top hose in the long straight part the same length as the boss in the adaptor. Mount the adaptor so the switch position is to the side or bottom, NOT THE TOP. Otherwise you run the risk of it not getting wet to read the temp.

The wiring: I wired mine so both fan work together. The temp switch is used to drive a relay, this in turn controls the fans. I also wired in 2 switches in the dash so that I can switch the fans off (if they are running) for when I'm wading and the other is so I can switch them on even if the coolant temp switch hasn't closed (this is useful when you are working the engine hard when off road). The Fan off switch over-rides the Fan On switch, when it's in the OFF position I have a warming light to remind me.

Basically the Fan On switch is just paralleled to the coolant temp switch and the Fan Off switch opens the second relay that the first relay earths through....Simples!!

I got a wiring diagram and can take photos but I ain't got a photo bucket account so can't post them up but more than willing to email them to whoever wants them.

Kind regards

Stuart

[yaki]

Greg: OK, not really had much to do with the 2.2's (thankfully) and always assumed they were the cooling fans but yes, could be challenging with the Intercooler and winch in the way

Stuart: Sounds like its just the job, gonna have a look and see if my fan fits, if not will be shopping on eBay to pick up something suitable. Should be OK with the wiring though but thanks for the offer

[dave4x4]

[bhcalcutta]

[pot bellied pixie]

took advantage of the only dry day in ages to do a few of the more urgent jobs on the shed.

took out and resoldered the heater resistor pack, toasty warm again ..

then went to scrappies and bought a wiper control arm and perfect scuttle panel for a fiver .

so bring on the cold and the rain I can take it now ..