Tyre and other advice sought please

[Old Warthog]

Having taken total leave of my senses, I have just bought  a 1986 V8 3.9 EFI.   :?   It is unmodded and currently has road tyres on it which I am going to change.  It will be used for greenlaning and the occasional pay and play days.  Suggestions for the best option to go for would be welcome, a bit of lift would not go amiss, as Derbyshire rocks don't like my diffs.

Suggestions also as to the most essential bits of underbody protection, in order of priority.  Would you go for diff guards or steering guards or something else, bearing in mind that as a poor pensionioner I can only do a couple of things per month  

Cheers

Keith

[paul_humphreys]

2 inch life and 235-85-16s. You will have to give it a little trim on the rear arches but other wise its ok.

Paul

[Jim-Willy]

Diff guards first as that i the lowest point, steering guards are ok but i have bent my steering twice on the 90 wi a guard on (i want sumo bars next).  You may want a tank guard if it hasn't a tow bar.  You may also stuggle to get a m/t tyre with a high enough speed rating for a 3.9.

[Range Rover Blues]

You're spot on there Jim, I havn't found any MT tyres that are rated above Q and that's not enough for a 3.9.  You need to be S rated so it looks like AT and I'd suggest BFG AT, mine are either S or T rated.

Trim, sorry, what that about then? Range Rovers will happily run on 235/85r16 withou any bodywork mods, save perhaps removing the front spoiler.

Get diff guards for Derbyshire, a steering guard would be nice or the OE steering 'under ride' bar can be had from E-Blag for around £20.

If you want a lift I might have a set of 'police spec' springs, like those on Janes Rangie that will give you at least an inch, closer to 2 inches.  You might also want some longer shocks then, and brake lines, and then it's castor correction etc etc etc.

Anyway I've plenty of cast off Range Rover stuff if I look for it, I've got some decent AT tyres too if you stay with 205s.

[Range Rover Blues]

You're spot on there Jim, I havn't found any MT tyres that are rated above Q and that's not enough for a 3.9.  You need to be S rated so it looks like AT and I'd suggest BFG AT, mine are either S or T rated.

Trim, sorry, what that about then? Range Rovers will happily run on 235/85r16 withou any bodywork mods, save perhaps removing the front spoiler.

Get diff guards for Derbyshire, a steering guard would be nice or the OE steering 'under ride' bar can be had from E-Blag for around £20.

If you want a lift I might have a set of 'police spec' springs, like those on Janes Rangie that will give you at least an inch, closer to 2 inches.  You might also want some longer shocks then, and brake lines, and then it's castor correction etc etc etc.

Anyway I've plenty of cast off Range Rover stuff if I look for it, I've got some decent AT tyres too if you stay with 205s.

[jjsaul]

on mine ive fitted a steering guard (did its job as well...when i hit a road sign lmao!)

other things i would suggest doing are removing the rear bumper end caps...you will only lose them offroad hehe

[Old Warthog]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the advice.  I think the diff guards will be the buy this month, plus the tyres.  I think I will go AT as I've got Camac MT 31 10.5 R15  on the Daihatsu which is by no means a fast vehicle, but you can still get some "interesting" handling on wet/greasy roads plus a load more noise.  With the greater weight/power of the Rangie plus it will be my day to day vehicle, I'll be a bit more road biased.

RRB, perhaps you would like to PM me a price for your ATs if you want to get rid of them.

So the plan is:  Tyres and diff guards this month. steering guard and tank guard next month, then a modest lift later.  Then remortgage the house to pay for the petrol :D   Still it's worth it for the lovely sound.

Cheers for the help

Keith

[Range Rover Blues]

Now I've seen the pictures I'm just a tad confused, it's an '86 but it's a 3.9 EFi, do I sense a retrofit?

If so then get it on GAS, halve your running costs and make the engine last longer.

I've PM'd you BTW.

[Old Warthog]

RRB:- Yes - well spotted, the previous owner did say that his son had put a new engine in it - which allegedly came from a 91 EFI police rangie.

Thanks for the PM, I'll have to take a rain check as I've got some problems to sort out on the electrical side.

Problem 1:  the main beam doesn't work when you put it on main but works when you flash, side and dipped are perfect.

Problem 2:  Neither front window operates, but the back ones do.  I've checked the fuses and they are ok.  There appears to be power drawn when the switches are pressed, could this just be something simple like stuck windows or jammed motors?

Problem 3.  Press the front wash wipe - nothing happens, press the rear screen wash and the front washers operate  :?

Are the last two likely to be MOT failures, since its due shortly?

Cheers for any advice

Keith

[Range Rover Blues]

1 you must know needs sorting

2 isn't a failure I think but could be classed as unsafe.  I've never seen them tested though.  Some cars have 2 fuses, one front, one back...Occasionaly it is known fore the label on the fusebox to be wrong :shock:

Otherwise it could be worn motors, the switches could be upside down (sorry if that's too obvious) the mechanisms could be jammed.  Go steady if you strip them as the steel runner/glass channel rusts away, under a tenner form Paddocks

The mechs are farily simple beasts though.

Oh, just check the front and rear havn't been mixed up or something daft.

3 dead easy, there are 3 washer motors on the bottle, the big one does the headlights, the other 2 samll ones do the front and rear screens.  Someone has mixed the 2 up, reverse the connections on the 2 motors.

Nedd any more help just ask.