The Money Pit

[Gravy]

Color is not an issue, its pattern.
The light output point on a HID is further out than a standard halogen.
This causes the the beam pattern to scatter mega wide instead of being a focused useful beam.
I couldn't say 100% without seeing your beam pattern but 99% of the time this is true.

Without a lens designed for an HID, you'll benefit much more from having a high power halogen like a Silverstar or IPF fatboy that gives you a nice focused long reaching beam than a mega bright wide pattern that is not only less useful but also annoying to other drivers and (some could argue) illegal (I don't care about that).
There are some cool mods I've seen to add projector lenses to stock housings or I'm sure there are aftermarket housings on ebay that would fit your needs if you want to stay with HID's.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

The beam pattern is surprisingly good and does not scatter. Its very much similar to my BMW that has factory HID self-leveling headlights. its not as well focused as the BMW, but not too far off.

My spot lights also have HID bulbs in them, but they are strictly off-road only. The beam is not nearly as nice as in my headlights.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

So Continuing on. Ignition system upgrade.

I was contacted by Performance Distributors to be a test mule for an Ignition system. Pretty sweet I thought.

System came with new high-performance wires and two new ignition coils. The new ignition coils are supposed to put out 65000 volts vs. the 50000 volts stock. I was able to open the gap on the spark plugs from .035 to .050". Power has increased, idle is improved and mileage is slightly better.









This is the old vs. new pictures.





Couple install pictures. Coils are on the back of the intake manifold up against the firewall. Kind of a pain to get to. So, I put the hood in service position. I love being able to do that. I've had a few Mercedes that do that as well. I guess my BMW does it as well.

New ones on the cleaned up bracket

 

[sawtooth4x4]

I fixed my key. Yeah I know, not exciting, except i can now get in without setting the alarm off every time i unlock the door with the key. Just a quick refurbishment. I had to order the parts from England. Cost $15 with shipping. New key would cost over $200 and i would then have to have it coded to the vehicle at the service rate of $110 an hour. And the closest dealer to me was in SLC at the time.

The back side for the battery was screwed by a previous owner and was a bit hard to get off. The buttons were worn through as well.



Replaced the batteries and the cover



Replaced the button

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Next up, new heated seat elements.

Why, the stock ones suck and the passenger-side was broken. The stock elements are just a piece of wire kind of coiled up on the seat cushions. it doesn't get warm at all. You can barely tell its on after 30 minutes of driving. I like my butt to be warm and hot within a few minutes of driving. North Dakota has been cold this winter and I was sick of freezing on my drives to the oil field and the office.

Took the seats out and disassembled them. They are held together with a combo of plastic parts and hog rings.

I picked this kit up off Epay. it cost $70 with shipping. It included enough parts for two seats, all the wiring, switches and relays I would need.

View attachment 81843

I hate messing with interior parts. I ripped a hole in my hand.

View attachment 81844

Pad installed on the lower cushion.

View attachment 81845

Using hog rings and pliers to put the leather cover back on the cushion.

View attachment 81846

Wiring. I tapped into the stock wiring to power the new stuff. Main reasons were: easier to wire, ignition will power it on an off. I don't have to worry if I left it on when I get out of the car. The stock wiring only lets the heat warm up if the vehicles engine is running.

Positioned the Relay and Ran the extra switch for the butt warmers. These are dual temp. butt warmers. Very nice. My goal is always try to make it look stock. If you can't tell what i did, it worked.

View attachment 81847

View attachment 81848

Drilled a hole into the seat trim and added the new switch to control the temperature.

View attachment 81849

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Seat wiring finished.

View attachment 81850

View attachment 81851

Tying into the stock wiring and making use of the stock wiring harness connectors. It makes it easy to remove the seat, if i need to down the road.

View attachment 81852

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Switch installed, everything works. Butt gets really hot now.

On high



On low

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Next up, the heater core started leaking again. The morons at Land Rover decided to use a plastic sided heater core and o-rings to connect it to the plumbing coming off the engine. Dumb design, i just replaced the o-rings 3 years ago when i bought the truck. they started leaking again this winter. not good. Decided it was time to fix it permanently. After digging around on forums I found there was a Audi heater-core that was all Copper that would fit. I found on on eBay for $50 and then bought all the other conversion parts for $25. The stock heater-core costs $350. So I saved a bit of coin and made it more reliable. Always my first consideration when building my vehicle for back-country trips.

Parts:

Lost that picture somewhere. I'm on my 3rd Phone this year. Kind of sucks.

Installation.

Part 1- 4 hours removing dash.



Step 2: get a set of these awesome hose clamp pliers. It keeps the mess to a minimum.



So to save another 8 hours on the job, i cut the dash support. After i stalled the new core, i drilled a few holes and used a piece of steel to rivet the dash back together.





Dash 90% back together.



I got it all back together, no more leaks. I shouldn't ever have to worry about it again. Should have taken more pictures, but I get sick of having to stop at each step of the process and want to get done.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

The front suspension bushings were past it. I had horrible metal noises upfront each time I hit a bump. I think the Golden Crack destroyed the bushings when I went through it. Opps. They had 125K miles on them.

Easiest way to remove old rubber bushings. FIRE!



Bought new Poly Bushings out of England. $75 Shipped. I also replaced the bushings at the frame with stock Rubbers for $5 each.

Installing new front Radius Arm Bushings. Use lots of lithium grease if unless you like to hear lots of squeaking.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Last month the gas mileage was around 7mpg. Pulled my spark-plugs and they smelled like gas. Pulled the intake manifold and it smelled like gas. Decided it was time to change out the injectors.

So i did a bit of part number searching online. I found the 2001-2004 Ford Escort used the same type of injectors as my range rover. New factory injectors cost $1200 for 8. I found 8 rebuilt ford escort injectors for $166 shipped. BINGO!

Parts arrived:NEW



OLD



While I was in there i replaced the valve cover gaskets and the plenum gasket.

Engine is nice and clean for 128K miles. I run synthetic in it. 5w40 Rotella T5 i think.



I cleaned up the top end a bit.



I also added a new set of upstream O2 sensors to the package. Instantly my mileage went up to 10 mpg in town. After a few trips down the interstate 500+ miles the ECU has recalibrated and i'm hitting 17.5 MPG.:greg: Cost me a total of ~$300 for the fix.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

So next up, my diff. started blowing oil all over the underside of my rover. great rust protection, but smells bad when you're cruising down the interstate.

This is the cheapest fix on my Range Rover yet, just a $5.00 tube of sealant. I'm replacing the oil with 75w140 synthetic as well. Why not, i put loads of miles on it anyway.

A couple pictures of the tear down. Nothing special. I'm gong to paint a few items while i'm in there.

Remove brakes.


Remove ABS wheel speed sensor



Unbolt hub and bearing assembly.



Spray it down with PB blaster to break the rust, then beat it with a 2.5# sledge hammer until it gives up.



Leave it hanging and work on the other-side.



Then pull the diff, clean everything, and add a nice coating of Silicon around the diff. Reinstall, bolt down and reassemble the side. Still working on this at the moment. I should finish it tonight. Just painting parts as they go back together.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Plans are to either leave it as it is now (if I do not get the job in SLC) or if i get the job:

33" tires
Rocker Guards
Bumpers front and rear
Roof Rack
CB Radio
Build a gas tank skid plate.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Well bit the bullet. 4 Treadwright 285/75/16's in Guard Dog Flavor. This will be my second set of Treadwrights. The current set has 50K miles on them. They wear like iron. They keep loosing air so i decided to jump up a couple inches and go to a 33" tire.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Also finished up the rehab on my front axle.

All sealed back up and wearing some flat black paint.

 

[Rot Box]

Again nice P38. Looks like you have all the right things in all the right places

 

[sawtooth4x4]

$1200 worth of windshield destroyed. Stupid truck drivers that don't clean gravel off their trucks before they cruise down the highway. i want to kill someone.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

Put my new 285/75/16's on today. I'm going to have to lift the front another inch. then level out the rear.

Before and after picture

 

[I Lean]

I have that same size Guard Dog on my F350--seem to be great still, other than they are pretty dang loud on the highway.

You've gotten more done on your rig in the last 3 weeks than I have on mine in the last 3 years though. I don't like that, makes me look bad.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

its finally been warm enough to do something in the garage. From October to April it never got above 40 degrees. It was a long cold winter. If I get a job elsewhere in Utah, I want to be ready to do some real wheeling.

 

[sawtooth4x4]

well, today I learned that the inertia switch works on my Range Rover. I hate those things. I used my BFH to massage the pinch weld inside the fender back to clear the tires a little better. when I went to start it, it wouldn't run. The display told me to rest the inertia switch. I did and it fired right up.

Today:

Wash and Wax
Oil Change
New Tires Installed