desertdude

Start with reading the owners manual first.

Oil Changes no, because no place, too messy and too much faff to get rid of the used oil. Not that I haven't done it, but just not worth it. Have a specific LR diagnostic tool, not very advanced but not basic like an OBD either, been very helpful. I've done ECUs, Fuseboxes, rewiring,electrical, mechanical engine and drive train, interior and body. But automatic transmissions is where I call it quits and would call a professional.

Auto Pathfinder 3.5

I would advise against spacers, they just raise you center of gravity without much benefit. You'll still have the same wobbly ride because suspension is the same, infant you'll be even more wobbly because now you are taller with the same stock soft suspension. Your wheel travel will not improve and you will still bottom out the suspension at the same rate as stock. My personal preference and one I've always used is using taller stiffer coils with stock shocks. This gives a good mix of on and offtoad ability. Not to stiff on the road and not too soft off road. And as a newbie/fewbie stay 2" or under. But my ost pertinent advise would be since you are still new at this. Develop your offroading skill rather than modify your tools. At 20 drives in I doubt you have maxed out the FJ, regardless of how shit I think it is, it's still a capable off roader and it probably has a lot more to give before it's actually the FJ that is holding you back

Well I thought I'd give you a heads up. There is a reason why the E90 is labeled the most unreliable BMW ever, more like a ticking time bombirs a question of not IF but when.

It's low hanging fruit so to put a bashplate was a good idea. But welding it in place, not so much.

You learn something new everyday. I thought you folk only spoke Gaelic.

Klingon? P.S : Hope you were aware of all the issues with the E60 before you bought yours https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bCp_4uVtT-Y

It's the local parts market, they don't make much money on bushes so rather sell you the whole arm. When clearly if you check online you can find bushes being sold separately and its not just Mitsubishi. Many do this here and vice versa. Sometimes you'll buy parts which are supposed to be sold as a single unit but unscrupulous dealers sell them separately. Like I remember I bought a radiator for a Land Cruiser and the packaging clearly had cut outs for a driier, clips, clamps, bolts etc etc but all were missing.

Fitting by welding. Meaning its welded in place? That doesn't sound good. What if you need to remove it to access say a lower hose pipe or when replacing a radiator etc etc.

That's just gross man.

There fixed it for you. People using 0-20 or 30 oil in peak 50c summer time sitting and idling in traffic for hours on end heat soaking the engine with often missed and long overdue oil change intervals cooks oil into grease. Specially modern cars which due to all the emission crap run hotter than they should be in the first place.

I concur.

You're probably running oversized tyres, hence the rubbing.

Unfortunately I've heard this lasts only until you hit the sand again.

Flushing oil is nothing but a very light weight oil. Better if you still must do it is the old mechanics trick of putting in a 1/4 liter of ATF around 100kms before you oil change is due. ATF has stronger detergents than regular engine oil and could help out in breaking those hard deposits and varnish build ups.

I've been out alone into the desert for more times than I care to remember on a regular basis. But this was part of work for me when I was in that line of work. Infact when I started out I was mostly by myself 95% of those times have been incident free, but 5% have been everything from getting lost ( pre GPS days ) having a simple puncture to having been transferred to hospital via ambulance.

I know. But I just couldn't be arsed in my beaters. As I said I ran the disco 8 yearsً on ordinary tap water, ripped open the motor just before I let it go to fix all the seals and new timing gear and chain at 330k kms. Absolutely no corrosion anywhere. A couple of years ago I did some real looking up into Evans waterless coolant. From what I remember it really wasn't sonething great and as you mentioned it ran much hotter and something to do with the chemicals used in it. Anyways overall it wasn't something that was recommended and too great on your motor in the long run.

Well I'm guessing you obviously didn't take the time to read my detailed response, as I said anti freeze isn't merely for the coolant not freezing during cold weather. As for brake fluid, obviously some cars have bigger engines, produce more horsepower, go faster and thus have bigger brakes and produce more heat so a dot 3 would not suffice. As for viscosity no where does the manufacturer recommend only to use 20, 30, 40 or whatever rated oil, there are two examples already in this thread where manufacturer recommends different rated oil for different ambient temperatures mentioned in the owners manuals. Problem is no one bothers to read the owners manual!

Say Wot ??? The engine of the temperature of the engine of oil temperature........?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I have no clue what you just said. Could you try to be a bit more clearer? NO, manufacturers don't always recommend DOT3 in fact most bigger, specially european cars mostly say ONLY DOT4. DOT4 has a higher oiling point than DOT3 so in heavier or performance orientated cars where heavy brake usage is anticipated its almost always DOT4 and now even DOT 5 or DOT 5.1 No, many a time I have run my older cars only on water, cars I was not really bothered with keeping long term or knew had aluminum heads and blocks. I kept my Series I for 8 years only on regular water with no adverse effects, because prior to selling it I opened up the entire engine for new timing chain, seals and gaskets. Had 0 corrosion in it. But anti freeze is not only for preventing freezing, its also a rust inhibitor as well as lubrication for your water pump and many don't know it also has a certain life and like brake fluid should be totally drained out, flushed and refilled around every 2 to 3 years, Not in the UAE, where there is not two different types of extreme temperatures. It just goes from being really hot to mildly chilly here. So something like a __-40 should suffice year round. And btw with an name like Glanz Lube arn't you suppose to be somekind of expert of all of this?

So much wrong information on this thread that I just couldn't help myself! Believe me I tried ! The two ratings on the oil is basically the minimum viscosity the oil will maintain in a certain temperature range. Like for example 0W-20 ( The W stands for Winter ) and the other number, 20 in this case ,a good rule of thumb is that 20 that oil will maintain certain thickness or viscosity for up to 20 C . So basically it wil not be too thick at 0C to not be able to pumped around the motor to keep it lubricated and at 20C it won't be thin enough that its not doing its job. Read your car manuals they recommend different grades for different temp ranges. Below I've attached a page from my manual. So if you are using 0w-20 "for all american cars" as is being suggested in peak summer time hear where temperatures are hitting close to 50C then you are asking for trouble. And the S and C stands for S= Spark as in petrol engine C= compression as in Diesel engines. And the next letter is the grade and usually the higher the letter the better it is, specially if you have a newer car But better to check for older cars. I mean 15-20 year olds. http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/oils.htm

I don't take it off road, because its too classy to be bashed off road. But if need be it can go off road. Ive driven a press Range Rover out in wagan. Went everywhere but honestly was very boring. Even off road its so smooth and quiet. But I would never take mine off road. I take comfort in the fact it can if ever needed. It's like having a Veyron just because it can do 400+ kph doesn't mean I have to take it to the limit or close to it

That thing is so utilitarian and rides like a donkey cart, not comfortable at all. I'm talking about my L322 Range Rover.

Because it's the same platform like a LX is a Cruiser and GX a Prado

As for my ride, it would be the comfort, the street cred and respect from other plebeian road users and then knowing it's just at home and capable off the road or in front of a swanky 7 star hotel.