LeeGray

Ashcroft are the only people I’ve dealt with in past and have a good reputation, but I’d happily take suggestions if anyone knows others that are good..as above there are a few on eBay but if something’s wrong will they still be there? im probably selling it as soon as it’s motd so will a buyer appreciate the extra expense of an r380 do you think or am I just throwing money away. It’s about £1250 all in where as the lt77 I ordered was under £800. i don’t need the vehicle just wanted to get it sorted as it’s sat for months, so suppose could send box away and cross fingers the bill isn’t massive and it can be repaired.

Ok, I’ll avoid that then cheers

Having a right chew on trying to get a good gearbox to replace my LT77 for 200tdi in an old 90. Clutch has been on the way out for ages, finally got the new one in last weekend but although all forward gears select easily now i still can't get reverse. I'd hoped it was the clutch as it was almost impossible to get into any gear before i'd done that. Taken the top off to check reverse plunger/stop/guide selector bits and all seams well. With the top off i can manually select reverse on the selector shaft inside the gearbox and it feels positively selecting as in no grinding or jumping but still no drive. Bit the bullet after messing about with it on and off all week and ordered a recon box from ashcrofts on exchange via the website, paid online, etc thought that'd sort it. They got back to me saying they can't do it as they have no 50g prefix boxes and have offered a R380 at additional cost or the possibility of rebuilding mine depending on what they find when they strip it. So looking for thoughts on what next.. go with a R380 instead? more money and is it direct fit on 200tdi or a complete pain in the arse? buy a 'cheap' unkown quality box of ebay/breaker and trust the seller when they say 'removed from a vehicle with 1 lady owner who serviced it everytime it went to the shops and only had 4 miles on it when we broke it'.. send my box to ashcrofts and hope they can do something with it and i haven't wasted money, labour and 6-8 weeks lead time.. Split the box and have a look myself? I'm not a mechanic in any way but happy doing clutches, top ends, pumps etc on my own. Had plenty of bike boxes in bits but is it a land rover special tool job? looks like you can get all the bits separately. better still have any arbtalkers got a box laid around at the back of the shed they want sell? or finally, set it on fire, walk away and never, never, ever buy another defender!!

great resource, cheers for posting that

I had a polaris side by side buggy, 550 petrol, auto, hi and lo, diff lock, 2 or 4 wd, tipping back, road reg lights speedo etc a few years ago. Was cheaper than a new honda quad ( i think it was £4500 new) at the time and was a great bit of kit. Had an IBC with 600l water in the back and another 1000 IBC water tank on a trailer regularly, fully legal and never had any trouble. Very safe, quick and great articulation over stumps or logs only reason i sold it was lost the woods i used to rent for pigs so needn't need to take so much water and feed about on the road. It was only £160 fully comp insured through NFU where the quad is £350 assume due to theft claims being significantly higher. reg as ag so free tax and no mot, drive on car license (without helmet) as others have said. More old farmers seem to be going for them as very easy access to low bench seat and you can get windows/doors/heater depending on how much you want to spend. Stick a hydraulic power pack or genny in the back bed and you can power a splitter/saw etc. My current honda quad is a lot easier to move sheep, pull out when stuck and uses less fuel etc but i wouldn't fancy it on the road much. The buggies are getting cheaper too and if you can find one that's been a groundsman's at a hotel or golf course or similar tend not to have had the hardest life like a hill shepherds old quad will have. Plenty of diesel ones about now but a lot of money if just occasional use.

90kg in each arm! shit..i struggle with a sack of tatties!

Hit bt and water in the same hole before, luckily the person who built the house was there and consulted after I suggested it looked in line with meter box from road. Got down to the duct, stopped and got owner and builder out. “Oh no, that’s just old gpo duct...just give it a pull” was the call. I said ok but you pay if it’s wrong, 2 minutes later the yard was full of water and teenager came out worried the internet wasn’t working!

And there is definitely only one!

How many lads have you got working for you fb?

The clutch has been dreadful on my 90 for ages and reverse and first particularly difficult to select to the point where it became pretty much impossible so I left it and assumed it was clutch as its been screaming for a long time. Its been parked up for ages until i got round to putting a new clutch in last weekend. Engine in/out went successful and plastic on release bearing completely knackered and almost through metal on the fork hollow, however on completion the reverse situation hasn't changed. All forward gears select correctly and positively but nothing for reverse. I have taken the top off to check usual suspects..plunger, stops, guides etc and all looks fine. With the motor running and the top off i can select forward gears direct on the selector and what feels like reverse clicks in but no drive. (no grinding or other noises either though). I'm at a loss...so before i chuck another £700 into for a recon box and the time to fit it any other ideas of possible problem or remedy??

Did a little job about 2 hours flailing overgrown paddock corner for a ‘freind’ a few weeks ago and picked up some ht wire, thought I’d got it all cleared but must have pulled some into rotor bearing. Knackered both bearing and hub, 3 hours to replace and £65. Still not running right as pulled a weight of the rotor but there all different sizes and I don’t know whether to go bigger or smaller than I’ve welded on. Have to get it balanced again. They probably thought the £50 I charged was expensive too!

£10/hr old labourer on the books

Fair enough, shame there’s no on local and more sensibly priced

Anytime I sell on eBay now I say dont ask any questions. It is what it is, come and have a look if you’re genuine or bid and take a chance.

+1 for a quad or dumper. Sold my old 4wd Suzuki on eBay for £500, £150 more than I paid for it and dumper went for £300 more than I bought it for. plenty cheap ones about that will do that job if you are handy and don’t mind rough looking! Trailer kit £150 if you’ve got a welder or new lambing style trailer £500. Keep forever for pennies per year or sell when done and get you’re money back.

The only persons income I’m concerned about is my own, if I’m happy with what I’m invoicing that’s great. If everyone else is getting plenty, great too. That way they’ll be around to give me more work in the future.

Probably a bit too far from ponteland Harry but happy to take chip here, NE65 8DA if your working closer to me in future

I got a kelfri bucket for my Schaffer, cheap but does the job. The other stuff I looked at when I picked it up seemed reasonable given prices....But I’d be be tempted to hire a loader or digger and a processor for the day and have it all done.

Been running a L322 v8 Range Rover for work for past 20 months, got sick of losing masses of depreciation on modern new stuff.. navara/rodeo/trafic etc. Which were bad enough when they were £20,000 but even worse now some are £30,000. Now got cheap modern little van for most miles and the Rover for towing. Done nearly 17,000 miles in it, could sell it tomorrow for what paid for it. £150 oil, filters and mot + £150 brakes. Masses of power, comfy as hell, better off road and towing than my 90 or any other vehicle I’ve had. Massive boot/rear seat area with great security rather than pick up canopy. I’d recommend them to anyone. And £5000 cash will get you a half decent one!

Ah, they always seem daft online. You think they’d just put the cheapest price online and then try build up policy when you ring to pay rather than other way round. When I got some quotes for the old 90 last time round looked about a grand on internet. £116 from Adrian Flux! Even NFU wanted £600. On limited mileage though so probably not much use to you. my only other thought is where’s the mattress going on the ranger ?

That’s mental. Try Nfu or Adrian flux, they’ve always been good for me on price and service. My 18 year olds insurance doesn’t even cost that much.

First rained off day today so finally got crossmember fitted on the 90, shocked to see it wasn’t the first time round and was a hell of a lot worse than rest of the chassis. Only been laid up 6 months or so! Went for 3mm one but imagine it’ll be rusty in no time so probably lather it in underseal. If it’s persisting it down tomorrow ill get tow bar painted and back on and have the engine out and have a bash at fitting HD clutch kit. Can’t see me getting it finished but forecast more rain Monday too...the grass may well grow yet this year!

If your jobs are £10,000 in materials I’d definitely get vat registered

Has it got a 3 point link and pto matty?

At the opposite end of the spectrum...must try harder!