From: mendo_recce@ridgecrest.ca.us Subject: Digest for mendo_recce: 8/21/1996 Errors-To: owner-mendo_recce@ridgecrest.ca.us Reply-To: mendo_recce@ridgecrest.ca.us Precedence: bulk This is the digest for the mendo_recce mailling list ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------------ From: "John C. White, III" Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 06:44:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Young kids and Nice Cars For those of us of more humble means, this all sounds outrageous, but as they say, it's all relative. If you have $10,000 spending $100 is no big deal. If you have $100,000 spending $1,000 is no big deal. If you have $1,000,000 spending $10,000 is no big deal. If you have $10,000,000, spending $100,000 is no big deal. There are quite a few people out there who are worth millions. A few weeks back I saw a man leaning on one of the D90s I've seen parked in my neighborhood. I struck up a conversation by asking him if he was the owner. He responded with "I wish." Many people would find us outrageously well off just because we can afford "exotic" English cars. Cheers! John At 04:01 19.08.96 -0400, KKelly6788@aol.com wrote: >>The only other interesting thing to note is that one of the D90 >>owners is about 17, got it from his parents (starting school as freshman >>this fall) and has just about every extra on it that you can thing of. > >I was talking to a kid from Orange County (BTW he says he knows Brian Foster) >at Laguna Seca this weekend. He said he was moving to the Bay Area to attend >Stanford, I figured he was going to grad school (because he mentioned owning >a BMW M6 for the past three years) and I asked him where went to college, he >told me he was only 18 and his Dad bought him the M6 when he was 16. It gets >better, he does not want to park such a nice car outside at Stanford (he >will be living in the Stanford dorms) so he is going to store the M6 in his >parents garage so he will have a car to drive when he goes home, and he is >Dad is going to buy him a BMW M3 or other 3 Series to drive at school. I met >his parents and his Dad asked me if I knew of any nice cars for sale (they >are looking for a used BMW for the car he can park outside at Stanford) up >here, so the kid was not just making the whole thing up. > >Kevin Kelly > > ------------------------------------ From: "John C. White, III" Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 06:44:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Clonking Driveline, Cont'd. Portland is known for its microbreweries. Sounds like a good place for your offer, and maybe an away game for the Albatross/Hannigan's crowd. Cheers! John P.S. The HMS Defiant is still in dry dock. They needed to order some shims for the transmission before they can put everything back together. I'll know more Thursday afternoon. (!) Better be sure the San Jose lot orders everything it needs, or you'll be without the Light Brigade longer than you probably want to be. At 11:39 19.08.96 +0000, Tom Walsh wrote: > >Thanks! >This is the perfect ammo I need when I talk to the LR rep! >You definately get an ale for this one John! > >Tomw > >---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------* > Fluent Networks > "Intelligent Networking Solutions" >Tom Walsh, Founder, VP Technology/Engineering >tomw@netcom.com soon to be tomw@fluentnet.com >http://www.fluentnet.com >95 LR Disco "The Light Brigade" >#include >*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------* > > ------------------------------------ From: "John C. White, III" Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 06:58:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: What?! Portland ABFM already!? John White (jcwhite3@well.com) 1995 Discovery Epsom Green California 3MRV171 Safari Gard bumper w/Warn winch, Genuine expedition roof rack, Hella lights At 12:26 20.08.96 -0700, Robert Watson (CNA) wrote: > > Name & e-mail if it doesn't closely resemble your name > Vehicle type > Vehicle color > License Plate No. & state > Any unique accessories or characteristics (of you or your vehicle) > ------------------------------------ From: omont@mnl.sequel.net Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 22:08:24 +0800 Subject: '89 NAS RR ECU Alan : Dumb but.......the guy who put in the new chip >must have< shorted something. Lucky me he's paying for it but the down time is hell on me. The chip for replacement has 28 pins, 14 on each side. The chip's soldered in such a way there's soldering lead on the top on the board and on the bottom of the board. Desoldering from the bottom doesn't ensure you get the lead on the top side of the board, even with that suction gizmo. Guess the plumber shortened something in the process. Steve at BritPac says a used one can cost up to $1,400.00. Am also told chip replacement in CA is illegal. Heck, thought JE replacement was CA legal. Still looking............ ================================ >Anyone know of an '89 NAS rangie ECU for sale? The plumber who worked on >mine s?@#&!d mine up!! Email direct. >>Oscar, >>How could you mess one up I wonder ? I can't see what could go wrong >>unless you shorted it. >>Best bet is to call junk yards, or in your case you might want to just >>get a new ECU from someone like British Pacific (britpac@aol.com). >>Since your in the Phillipines it would cost you some $$$s in phone >>charges to possibly not find one, but my guess is that you can find >>one if you have enough time and patience. >>Alan DuBoff - OS/2 Advisor >>aland@ibm.net >>Bunker Hill Software Oscar omont@mnl.sequel.net ------------------------------------ From: BRITPAC@aol.com Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 11:46:32 -0400 Subject: RE: '89 NAS RR ECU I guess I should have been more specific. Replacement with a non-standard chip is illegal in Calif. (at least in those areas where emission testing is done). Also, that $1400 is for a reconditioned/exchange ECU. On older RR fuelies, the replacement units are NLA and reconditioned exchange units are all that's available. I understand that used ECU's are quite sought after in the UK as cores, and wrecked RR's are quickly stripped of this item before any other. I have heard of waits as long as weeks while a used ECU is scrounged for reconditioning. For better or worse, there just wern't many RR's built to NAS spec.(basically, '87-'89 3.5 efi's), and as such the market for aftermarket replacement units for NAS cars is too small for most manufacturers to pursue. We would not recommend fitting a used ECU without having it recon'd, specifically by Lucas (that's what the dealers are selling). Hopefully your early fuelie RR's will motor through it's service life without ever needing an ECU, or enduring a hamfisted chip replacement. Steve/BRITPAC ------------------------------------ From: aland@ibm.net (Alan DuBoff) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 96 08:58:51 PDT Subject: RE: '89 NAS RR ECU On Wed, 21 Aug 1996 11:46:32 -0400 you wrote: >Hopefully your early fuelie RR's will motor through it's service life without >ever needing an ECU, or enduring a hamfisted chip replacement. > >Steve/BRITPAC Steve, My understanding is that the ECU has a low failure rate on it. I'm not sure what happened to Oscar's but it sounds like it was shorted out somehow. Well, of course it was shorted out, a plumber was working on it! He must have put water in the ECU thinking it was a tank on the toilet that holds the water... All kidding aside, $1400 for a reconditioned one is nothing to laugh about... I called a local wrecker (READ as "parts whore") that has 3 RRs in his yard, which is fairly rare, and he just got a '90 RR in his yard and the ECU was already gone, that was the first thing I asked about since I figure that was an item that was hard to get if needed. You sure don't hear about many of them going out though, so my guess is that is why they are so expensive. BTW, on a side note...I was talking to Albert Molinaro (owns a D90 and a D110) who lives down south by you guys and was suprised that he didn't have the shop manual for his trucks...but when I talked to him last night he had bought the shop manual from you guys last week ...what irks me is that the Defender manual cost $75 with the binder, the RR manual cost about $200. This just seems out of proportion... Alan DuBoff - OS/2 Advisor aland@ibm.net Bunker Hill Software ------------------------------------ From: BRITPAC@aol.com Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 12:04:58 -0400 Subject: What?! Portland ABFM already? I've been burning the midnight kilowatts trying desperately to get Hippo ready for Portland. She'll be there, running and legal but not finished. As she sits today, she's a driver, with the dash 90% complete, one seat fitted, the floors mostly done. I hope to hang the front fenders and doors this weekend (after I paint them, hopefully tomorrow), and fit the newly regalvanized windshield (if they ever get it done). I plan to fit the pickup cab, but I don't think the 3/4 canvas will be up, or the bed area finished. I will be towing it up, only because there hasn't been enough driving time to trust it on a trip of that length (plus I have to bring all the goodies for the booth, including the new D90 cab rack, skid plates, and diff protectors). She'll be less than perfect, but she'll be there! More on the tech-y side in a few days. The Weber 2 bbl. did indeed need to be rejetted (it came with a 135 main, and I now have a 180 there, making it much happier). Oh yes, those of you who'll be ther might as well know now, my wife and I will be staying the night in the hotel (in the interests of domestic tranquility, no room for camping gear with the parts, and that some sleep might be a good thing). Please make your 'weenie' comments then move along. We will be bringing some adult malted beverages to share as pennance and look forward to the usual late night sessions. Steve ------------------------------------ From: BRITPAC@aol.com Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 12:24:23 -0400 Subject: RR ECU and shop manuals We agree that the disparity between shop manuals is puzzling. Range Rover manuals are composed of the basic manual, then an almost equally sized assortment of updates and supplements to cover later models. This makes it very hard to read and use. The Disco/Defender/Series manuals are model specific, but the Series III full shop is smaller and considerably cheaper than the IIA, even though it covers a more complicated series (including the V8's). Go figure. Additionally, the electrical troubleshooting manual is for the RR models, and as no seperate one was produced for Defender, that's what you have to use. The parts books are similar, in that it appears that each RR parts manual drew absolutely nothing from it's predecessor, and all are laid out differently. ECU's are not found under 'engine controls', or 'engine', or 'fuel system' in the '89 book; these are things you learn with use, but's it's really a pain as you're learning. You'll get no argument from me that there is a disparity in the manuals.Certainly Land Rover never considered these to be consumer items. After all, you really should take your vehicle to the dealer for all servicing for the life of the vehicle, which is about 7-9 years. After that, the car should be scrapped and replaced with the more efficient newer model. Owners are not properly trained to work on their own cars anyway, nor do they have the specialized tools or equipment to do so. Didn't you know that? Steve/BRITPAC ------------------------------------ From: Morgan Hannaford Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 13:51:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Examiner 4x4 adds Some interesting classified adds in today's examiner: Mercedes '57 UniMog good mech $6700 707-887-2997 '96 Range R Disco needs new axle 415-368-7414 '87 Range Rover $10,000 ********************************** I'd be interested to hear how the Disco owner screwed up the axle. At the price of that RR, a new mill could be popped in there for a sound vehicle. I heard a report from the Moggie festival up at Lee's Camp Oregon, near Tillamook, that Mog owners don't like to talk about long range driving..... -Mo ------------------------------------ From: Rob Dennis <73363.427@compuserve.com> Date: 21 Aug 96 18:25:34 EDT Subject: Please Resubscribe Me Ben, I just got back from my extended trip to Colorado. Please resubscribe me to the real-time list. ------------------- | | | | _ _ ____|____ _ _ | Rob Dennis O |[___|>>>>>>>>>|___]| O 73363.427@Compuserve.com \____===_=====_===____/ Atlanta, GA USA |oo |(_)###(_)| oo| (404) 875-4537 | | ### | | | | ####### | | 1972 SerIII 88 |_____|_#######_|_____| 1990 RangeRover [_______________________] 1996 Discovery EEEI EEEI EEEI EEEI Send By: Rob Dennis 73363.427@Compuserve.com On 21-Aug-1996 ------------------------------------ From: "Richard Larson" Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 15:42:14 -0700 Subject: This weekend? I've been off the list for the last couple days so please let me know if there are other proposals out there. The D90 has been sitting in the driveway feeling unused and getting jealous of the M3. I've been sitting in my office reading tech. manuals written completely in incomprehensable acronyms. We both need to get out. Think I'd like to run the Deer Valley/Stawberry Creek trails on Sat. and Sun. Start from highway 4 say 11:00ish Sat morning. Hopefully be through Deer Valley and making camp at PG&E Blue Lakes (or above Capels lake if PG&E is full) Sat. night around 4-5ish. Run down Stawberry Creek to 50 on Sundyay mroning. Assuming no major problems should be home for dinner on Sunday night. Both trails are medium difficulty. I ran Deer Valley earlier this summer and it was in good shape. Didn't have to use the lockers at all. D90's and 88's shouldn't have much problem. Little more challenging as the wheel base starts to increase. Stawberry Creek going North is gravity assisted. Both trails have one or two "tough" spots where it would be easy to get hung up or dent. Anyone interested? -Rick ------------------------------------ From: "Robert Watson (CNA)" Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 15:41:39 -0700 Subject: Field Expedient Fuel Pump idea The thought of having an spontaneous electrical failure in the middle of nowhere with little chance to troubleshoot in the field (until the satellite maintenance interface is perfected, but then this would probably be a Lucas part as well :-) is probably the biggest source for my (irrational?) distrust, or at least wariness of my beloved Rover. This is reinforced by the recent fuel pump failures reported by other list members. As a result I've been pondering some possible field expedients in my spare "cycles" that I'd like to toss out to the group for comment.. (DISCLAIMER: These ideas have not been field tested nor are these factory approved in any way, shape or form. Performing these modifications to your vehicle may invalidate the warranty, cause excess emissions, blah, blah, blah) In-tank Fuel Pump Failure (preventing fuel from making it from tank to engine) using an external (aftermarket) electric fuel pump, run a siphon hose from the filler neck (and into the fuel in the tank) to the pump input, remove the hose from the input side of the fuel pump (over the left frame rail just above the rear axle, I think) and run the output of the fuel pump to the fuel filter, Plug the fuel pump into the trailer wiring harness (or wherever is convenient--being on the switched side of the battery would be handy as well.) strap the fuel pump under the car somewhere (to the frame rail?) and be on your way. If you have a roof rack, does gravity feed provide enough fuel pressure simply by running a hose from a roof-rack mounted fuel tank to the fuel line? Is there an engine driven pump in addition to the tank mounted pump or does the tank mounted pump supply all the pressure for the Fuel Injection system? I guess it's time to put off buying a service manual. -- Bob Watson -- '95 Disco ------------------------------------ From: DANIEL OPPENHEIM Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 16:04:28 -0700 Subject: Green 88" in SF- Who's is it? I met with a very kind Rover mechanic in SF by the name of Phillipe who "blessed" Kermit and let me know a dude named Frank who owns an 88". Does anyone know this gentleman? I need some info re: alighnment and tire rotation and Phillipe thought Frank would know. Thanks. Daniel J. Oppenheim Oppenheim Associates - A Management Consulting Firm based in San Fransisco daniel@mgmtconsult.com phone: (415) 282-5500 fax: (415) 282-5005 1965 Ser IIA 88", "Kermit" ------------------------------------ From: DANIEL OPPENHEIM Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 16:07:49 -0700 Subject: Re: portland ramblings John Hess- thanks for the info re: Portland. My son and I got airline ticketsabout 6 weeks ago (for $25 roundtrip!) and they are for Saturday only. We''ll come up, say hello to all, shoot a little video and boom- fly home for dinner. We'd love to stay for the entire event, and you can count on it next year. See you there... At 09:09 AM 8/12/96 -0700, you wrote: >Daniel and others, > >Pardon my intrusions but I would say that you should spend one night at >Portland. friday is the opening day; cars arrive from late afternoon into >the evening and after. Saturday is field meet day proper with the bbq in >the evening. also sat afternoon is the valve cover competition--- mount >wheels under a british car valve cover and race it down a slope. (Since I >have just reminded myself of this, I think I need to get a cover so Alex >and I can build one.) > >A good deal of the total rover experience of portalnd is camping on the >grass, near the trees, with the bathrooms a couple hundred yards away. >Small conversation groups form at every camp and people spend the evening >moving around, talking, showing off photos and generally getting to know >each other. A good number of folks will be internet names that are >familiar but a bunch will be "new" rover friends. > >Sunday, the local club shows up early and gets moving on a hearty breakfast >of pancakes, sausages and eggs. People then take runs on the off road >course or say their good byes and leave. > >Final advice for Daniel and others who are contemplating the quick trip. >Fly in sat, spend the night, fly out sunday. Make sure you get your son on >a couple off road rides provided by Portland Land Rover, for people used to >the regular car on street experience, it's quite a thrill. > >Please let me know if I can help with anything else, I plan to be at >Portland friday evening through sunday morning. > >cheers, > >John F. Hess, PhD Phone me 916 752 8420 >Dept of Cell Bio. and Hum. Anat. FAX me 916-752-8520 (ask first) >University of California at Davis >Davis, CA 95616 Email me jfhess@ucdavis.edu > > > Daniel J. Oppenheim Oppenheim Associates - A Management Consulting Firm based in San Fransisco daniel@mgmtconsult.com phone: (415) 282-5500 fax: (415) 282-5005 1965 Ser IIA 88", "Kermit" ------------------------------------ From: Benjamin Allan Smith Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 16:15:43 -0700 Subject: Re: Please Resubscribe Me In message <199608212227.PAA15505@owens.ridgecrest.ca.us>you write: > I just got back from my extended trip to Colorado. Please resubscribe me > the real-time list. Done. Ben ------------------------------------ From: "James D. Howard II" Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 16:26:25 -0700 (MST) Subject: Re: Field Expedient Fuel Pump idea On Wed, 21 Aug 1996, Robert Watson (CNA) wrote: > > In-tank Fuel Pump Failure (preventing fuel from making it from tank to > engine) > using an external (aftermarket) electric fuel pump, run a siphon hose from > the filler neck (and into the fuel in the tank) to the pump input, remove > the hose from the input side of the fuel pump (over the left frame rail > just above the rear axle, I think) and run the output of the fuel pump to > the fuel filter, Plug the fuel pump into the trailer wiring harness (or > wherever is convenient--being on the switched side of the battery would be > handy as well.) strap the fuel pump under the car somewhere (to the frame > rail?) and be on your way. > With the SU pump setup on my MG, when it fails, you can install a second fuel pump somewhere in the fuel line, and it will pump (or suck) right through the original pump. Can you do this on the in tank set ups? James Howard Future RR owner. ------------------------------------ From: Michael Carradine Date: Wed, 21 Aug 96 19:40:46 EDT Subject: ECU unit for Range Rover Hello Rovers, I don't recall which email list the thread on ECU's was on, I was more impressed by the quoted replacement prices of $1,400!! and resulting total frustration. Apologies to those receiving double messages. Just received at LROA is the following postcard: V8 RANGE ROVER ECU SPECIALISTS Electronic Fuel Injection ECU Problems? ECU common failure symptoms and diagnostic checklist available by Email ECU's repaired and reconditioned from GBP 85 /US$ 128 Factory Reconditioned airflow meters GBP 125 /US$ 188 Prices exclude carriage & VAT (VAT applies to EU only) CAR ELECTRONIC SERVICES Tel. +44 1725 513145 Downton, Salisbury SP5 3NQ, England Regards from California, ______ Michael Carradine [__[__\== Rumpole of the Bay 510-988-0900 [________] Land-Rover Roughmobile cs@crl.com __________.._(o)__.(o)____...o^^^ '65 IIA 2.235m (was 88") _______________________________________________________________________ Land-Rover 4x4 Connection WWW page: http://www.crl.com/~cs/rover.html ------------------------------------ From: "Tom Walsh" Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 16:39:48 +0000 Subject: Re: This weekend? AAACK! not this weekend, please, please, please! I won't be here... any weekend but this weekend :( Tomw > I've been off the list for the last couple days so please > let me know if there are other proposals out there. > > The D90 has been sitting in the driveway feeling > unused and getting jealous of the M3. I've been sitting > in my office reading tech. manuals written completely in > incomprehensable acronyms. We both need to get > out. Think I'd like to run the Deer Valley/Stawberry > Creek trails on Sat. and Sun. Start from highway 4 > say 11:00ish Sat morning. Hopefully be through Deer > Valley and making camp at PG&E Blue Lakes (or above Capels > lake if PG&E is full) Sat. night around 4-5ish. Run down > Stawberry Creek to 50 on Sundyay mroning. Assuming no major > problems should be home for dinner on Sunday night. > > Both trails are medium difficulty. I ran Deer Valley > earlier this summer and it was in good shape. Didn't > have to use the lockers at all. D90's and 88's shouldn't > have much problem. Little more challenging as the wheel > base starts to increase. Stawberry Creek going > North is gravity assisted. Both trails have one or two > "tough" spots where it would be easy to get hung up or dent. > > Anyone interested? > > -Rick > > ---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------* Fluent Networks "Intelligent Networking Solutions" Tom Walsh, Founder, VP Technology/Engineering tomw@netcom.com soon to be tomw@fluentnet.com http://www.fluentnet.com 95 LR Disco "The Light Brigade" #include *---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------* ------------------------------------ From: Doug.Forehand@Eng.Sun.COM (Douglas W. Forehand) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 18:16:14 -0700 Subject: Re: What?! Portland ABFM already!? > From a-robw@microsoft.com Tue Aug 20 12:34:38 1996 > > Name & e-mail if it doesn't closely resemble your name NAME = Doug Forehand EMAIL ADDR = dwf@eng.sun.com > Vehicle type 96 Discovery SE7 (automatic) > Vehicle color Avalon Blue > License Plate No. & state 3PBB648 Calif > Any unique accessories or characteristics (of you or your vehicle) Factory winch kit -Doug ------------------------------------ From: "Candido Gomez" Date: Sat, 24 Aug 96 02:52:40 UT Subject: RE: What?! Portland ABFM already!? Hi Douglas, What's your opinion about a portable winch with receivers both front and back for my 95 Discovery, 5-speed. A friend of mind has this setup on his Isuzu Rodeo. Cheers, Dino (Tally Ho) ---------- From: Douglas W. Forehand Sent: 21 August, 1996 6:16 PM To: a-robw@microsoft.com Cc: mendo_recce@ridgecrest.ca.us Subject: Re: What?! Portland ABFM already!? > From a-robw@microsoft.com Tue Aug 20 12:34:38 1996 > > Name & e-mail if it doesn't closely resemble your name NAME = Doug Forehand EMAIL ADDR = dwf@eng.sun.com > Vehicle type 96 Discovery SE7 (automatic) > Vehicle color Avalon Blue > License Plate No. & state 3PBB648 Calif > Any unique accessories or characteristics (of you or your vehicle) Factory winch kit -Doug ------------------------------------ From: CplEJ3rdUS@aol.com Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 23:59:06 -0400 Subject: Re: Fork Fire On the brighter side, by next spring, there may be nothing but vast fields of wildflowers. And maybe good mushroom hunting. Horticulturally speaking, Eric Johnson ------------------------------------ From: Caroline Hinshaw Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 21:08:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Green 88" in SF- Who's is it? If he's Phillipe from Roverland, yep. He works on DEDLAWR ('94 D-90) and he's a great help to a helpless female (don't get the wrong idea!!). BMCD is giving me some stuff about dirty diff oil, and Phillipe has been monitoring it for me and telling me how to deal with the dealer. We aren't clear whether there are metal shavings in the fluid and DEDLAWR's got about 39,600 miles on him. The warranty ends at 42K. If there's metal in that thar fluid, I intend to insist that BMCD fix the diff. To be continued. . . Caroline Hinshaw chinshaw@ccnet.com At 04:04 PM 8/21/96 -0700, you wrote: >I met with a very kind Rover mechanic in SF by the name of Phillipe who >"blessed" Kermit and let me know a dude named Frank who owns an 88". Does >anyone know this gentleman? I need some info re: alighnment and tire >rotation and Phillipe thought Frank would know. Thanks. > Daniel J. Oppenheim >Oppenheim Associates - A Management Consulting Firm based in San Fransisco >daniel@mgmtconsult.com phone: (415) 282-5500 fax: (415) 282-5005 > 1965 Ser IIA 88", "Kermit" > > > ------------------------------------ From: Caroline Hinshaw Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 21:16:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Flying bolts DEDLAWR is a '94 D 90 with softtop (when it's on). About six months ago, something middle-weight metal came flying at me while I was flying at my usual 80+ mph down the freeway. DEDLAWR kept running, so I sort of wondered and then forgot about it. About three months ago and again about six weeks ago, I found what it was that was flying--bolts with very short screws. Last week, on the way home from Tahoe, a fourth, whole bolt/screw came flying at me. I dodged the hit in the face, and it landed in my lap. Guess what? 3 of the 6 bolts that hold the thing that the top slides into had sheared off, and 1 had simply unscrewed. Now we have a top that won't stay down at 80 mph. So we drove sloooowly to Davis (where was Walt when we needed him?!), stopped at Ace Hardware, picked up a "C" clamp and got home with the "C" clamp holding the top on. As soon as I took the top off to see what had happened, the fog came in!! We went to BMCD to see about getting new bolts. The guy has had the old ones for a week and we haven't heard from him. Good thing it hasn't rained! Any other experience of this ilk? Ideas? Did BMCD maybe torque the bolt/screws down too tight?? Caroline '94 D 90 DEDLAWR ------------------------------------ From: David Rosenbaum Date: Wed, 21 Aug 1996 22:13:59 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Black rear diff oil On Wed, 21 Aug 1996, Caroline Hinshaw wrote: > BMCD is giving me some stuff about dirty diff oil Dear Caroline: I had lost track of your original post about dirty rear diff. oil, but recently by '94 D90 was due for its 30000 mile service and I checked the fluids before I brought it in. The front diff oil looked like new, and my rear diff oil was black and opaque. I mentioned this when I brought it in for service. The service manager told me that there was excess 'lash' in the rear differential and that the black fluid was most likely due to abnormal wear somewhere in the diff - since the Defender was still under warranty, they opted to replace the rear differential rather than dis-assemble, diagnose and rebuild - so the exact cause of the excessive wear was not determined (unless the old diff goes back to LRNA, etc.) With the new diff, the 'slop' in the driveline is gone and my D90 feels really 'tight'. (The service folks also found that several bolts in the suspension were loose, and re-torquing of those cleaned up some of the slop before the rear diff was replaced.) I would ask your service folks to check to see if there is excess 'lash' in your rear diff - if so, that may explain the black fluid. Best wishes, David Rosenbaum '94 D90 ------------------------------------ End of Digest