'SWAMPY' MY 02 LWB 3.0 D4D GX Colorado

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Best wheel/tyre combo, truck looks great I could be tempted to look at a Collie slightly mote practical than the bigger stuff. Still I'e never been in one baring holding the brake pedal on Chris's Dirty Gal at Lincomb.

Andy

 

[Doodle]

Given that the intake is up inside the wheelarch liner, I probably wouldn't go beyond the top of the bumper, leaves a little margin for safety.

Andy, I've got a nice green one for sale

 

[Trevor]

No chance of this one getting a snorkel fitted, but I do need to spend some time understanding where the air gets in and what my best safe wading depth will be allowing for the suspension lift and larger tyres. I may look into fitting a covert snorkel as Roger made for his with a change over valve of some kind. I think the best thing is just to keep away from any deep water. What say you Trev'

Water, devils liquid that stuff is Steve , no snorkel was going to save me that day. Echo what Andy says, those 80 rims and tyre choice look fantastic on the darker Collies, Swampy is really coming together now.

 

[chadr]

You've certainly made the right decision going with the 285s on the 80 alloys. Looks great!

But then again, I would say that, wouldn't I ?

 

[Ben]

So how was the trip Steven? Looks like a good fire.

Will we be getting a trip report?

 

[clivehorridge]

SWAMPY looks the danglies Steven, good choice!

Keep it simple and practical. Don't know what the desperate urge for a snorkel is all about. There's dozens of 4bies in Bucharest with them, never seen water over the bottom of their rims!

If I was to go in deep enough to need a snorkel, I'd have to invest in a drysuit at the same time

 

[Chris Green90]

Personal taste here but I'd have one even if I never plumbed it up. I really do think personally that they just finish a truck off.

 

[clivehorridge]

That's what customising is all about! Have what you want if it suits you. I (like many others) run big 305 tyres. Chris even has 315s.

Theres no no real evidence that they give advantage, many would say the opposite. I just can't go back to 235s or even 285s now.

Interesting though, the pics Gra posted of his 285 muds look massively wide! How's that then?

 

[sae70]

Best wheel/tyre combo, truck looks great

Thanks Andy I have dithered some what and still think that the 255's would be the better all round tyre, but the 285's are like a proper fit looking girl in comparison and even though not as good all round just sexier looking and thus more attractive to our hunter instinct I pleased with how they look and it's time to move onto the next conundrum

I could be tempted to look at a Collie slightly mote practical than the bigger stuff. Still I've never been in one baring holding the brake pedal on Chris's Dirty Gal at Lincomb.

I could have very easily afforded a 24v 80 for what I've spent on Swampy and there seems to be plenty about, but as you've said they are a mighty large tank. I'm very happy with her and can't wait to get her in her natural habitat

Given that the intake is up inside the wheel-arch liner, I probably wouldn't go beyond the top of the bumper, leaves a little margin for safety.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the wading depth for a standard 90/95 is 900mm, not so shabby really

Water, devils liquid that stuff is Steve , no snorkel was going to save me that day. Echo what Andy says, those 80 rims and tyre choice look fantastic on the darker Collies, Swampy is really coming together now.

I think the best thing is just to keep out of any water and if considering entering any to treat it with up-most respect. I think that also understanding the vehicles limits and systems and knowing those systems have integrity is also essential Thanks for your words of praise, I'm also loving the 80 wheels

You've certainly made the right decision going with the 285s on the 80 alloys. Looks great!

But then again, I would say that, wouldn't I ?

Lol I guess you would Thank you

So how was the trip Steven? Looks like a good fire.

Will we be getting a trip report?

Nothing escapes you Ben Surely no one on here wants to read about me spending the weekend in South Wales, completing 30+ lanes in three LandRovers! Do they That's not how many LandRover that were needed due to reliability issues before anyone asks

SWAMPY looks the danglies Steven, good choice!

Thank you Clive

Personal taste here but I'd have one even if I never plumbed it up. I really do think personally that they just finish a truck off.

Personal preference at the end of the day Chris. Fiery's snorkel caused me nowt but grief and cost since the day I bought it £300+ to buy, a whole day to fit, many smashed grills, damaged body work a smashed window and a broken top. and I've probably only ever gone in water deeper enough to have warranted it the once and contaminated my transfer box oil as a result No, no more snorkels for me

 

[Shayne]

What tyre pressure are you running in your 285's Steve ?

 

[sae70]

What tyre pressure are you running in your 285's Steve ?

I've no idea what pressure is in them currently as I've left them as they were after collecting Swampy from the tyre fitters following having had them fitted. I can't imagine that I'll run them very much different to how I did the 255's. 22/24PSI when laning and off-road, 30/36PSI for every day use and 40/45PSI for a long run from say mine up into Wales fully loaded for a weekend of dirty mucky fun

 

[Shayne]

Tyre fitters left all four corners of mine at 32 psi despite my instructions when i swapped wheels and it really hurt fuel consumption . I find 35/40 works best for me on tarmac , any more in the front virtually guarantees the front wheels spin off a certain junction which i must cross almost every time i leave the house as its approached up hill and is more or less blind , so i figure if 35 lets me keep grip there its good everywhere . At Lincolm i think i only dropped pressures maybe 5psi to soften the ride and my Cooper stt seemed to grip well .

 

[sae70]

I've had a number of packages arrive over the last week or so from various sources

This little lot came from Simon. Body molding clips for the off-side arch molding, front grill clips, Hub nut locking rings & split pins, plastic clip for holding the head light washer pipes, CV shaft 'C' clips and some sound deadening pannel trim clips.


Then this little lot from another source
Inter-cooler scoop and clips, front axle drain plug and washer, head light washer jet and the rear heater slider knob.


I also had a lovely gift that came in a little ARB box from a m8 in Australia Cheers m8


Some metric fine bolts for refitting the recovery pigtails, due to the Asfir bash plates the fixing bolts needed to be a little longer and some for bolting the storage down to the fixing points for the third row of seats.


A 20Amp accessory socket from the same place that I bought the dual USB socket from.


Everything is now together for getting the front axle re-built with all new bearings and seals. I should be dropping it off to an undisclosed address somewhere south of Birmingham this Sunday, fingers crossed

 

[sae70]

Took part of the front axle housing over to my m8's workshop today to remove the sheared drain plug.

The plug should should have an Allen Key Hex in the middle of it, but when I got the truck there was a 17mm bolt head that had been glued or welded into the Allen Key hole! This had been done so well and the plug was so tight that it just sheared off flush when I tried to remove it! You can also see in the photo that someone has had a good go at it in the past with a chisel!



Had a couple of attempts at puddle welding a nut onto the drain plug, but this just sheared of again both times!












So went for the big bolt and big spanner option and had a result

 

[chadr]

Glad it came off eventually without damage to the case.

Interesting that the bolt method works but the nut didn't - as it looks like the weld surface would be very similar? Why doesn't the bolt shear off?

 

[Shayne]

I'm no welder but it seems obvious to me the bolt was in direct contact with the sheared erm thread allowing electricity to heat and weld both tight . the nut wasn't in firm contact with the sheared thread so the weld was sticking to the nut only ?

 

[sae70]

The nut was definitely welded to the drain plug each time. It didn't just fall off, it tolerated a good pull from a wrecker bar before twisting off each time! I think it was a couple of factors myself, firstly the puddle weld in the center of the nut was not a huge weld with little surface area and secondly by the time the bolt had been welded on, there had been a fair bit of heat stuck into it. That old adage of 'I must have loosened that for you' springs to mind

Oh, and that adjustable spanner is no baby! The jaw end is as big as my fist, if you look it's as long as the axle housing

 

[Chris Green90]

Imagine if you will that you are tightening or loosening a screw.

Now if you use a relatively short screwdriver you will find that if you are just a couple of mm out of parallel with the screw head the tip will slip and cam out. Try the same thing with a screwdriver 3' long. the handle can be 30-40mm out of alignment (maybe even more) but the tip only moves fractionally.

In the scenario we have here "cam out" is the breaking off of the nut. This is most likely due to uneven pressure being applied at the weld point. due to what I have just explained above. So by moving the applied force further away the pressure is distributed more evenly at the weld point even if the angle is off.

Make any sense???

Just quickly on the note of long drivers. The fact that you can be further out of parallel also means that you can drive in a wider circular motion which in most people will increase the level of torque. (this may also be a factor here.)

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I'm sure your mate knew what he was doing but I don't do the first weld through the nut, makes it hard to get good penetration, 1st weld is to make a dome without the nut so you get better coverage with the welder turned up usually then pop the nut on the dome and plug weld it right into the corners. As well as better coverage and penetration the dome lets you use a bigger nut. Twisting off a couple of times is not unusual till you manage proper penetration. Sorry to go on but it's one of my favourite subjects

 

[chadr]

Thanks for the explanations - makes sense.