Day 50. Tuesday 18th June. Edmonton.

The weather forecast is predicting showers for the day.

Today is going to be a day of doing “Stuff”.

Stuff is mainly mechanical, so there wont be much of interest to the girls.

Back to the things needing attention on the vehicle. Perhaps the most important changes the fuel filter housing. It was hoped that this was going to be the panacea for all our starting problems. Regrettably, we still have the same issue. Bugger!. Still, it’s another thing eliminated…:) .

Next on the things to do list was removing the broken part of a grease nipple that I broke off while greasing the drive shaft recently. Jen had to go out and buy an ‘easy out’ from a nearby parts supply shop. Once drilled slightly to accept the easy out, the offending part was removed, Bill kindly donated a new one from a spare driveshaft he had in his workshop. 

The next challenge was to fit the long overdue pre filter to the snorkel.  This device is a simple clear perspex chamber that sits atop the raised snorkel. The snorkel was fitted before we left but time and odd connecting diameters, precluded having it fitted before we left. Anyway, when we arrive in Villeirs-En-Ouche, (France) at the beginning of the trip, Mike and I visited a local DIY store and purchased a tin adaptor that was close to the dimensions we needed to make the filter fit, but not quite. Fast forward. We kept the bit and with time and application, Bill and I managed to make it fit!! 

I mentioned earlier that we had fitted a new K&N air filter element. Well, it seems there is much controversy about the suitability of these filters to deal with dusty conditions. On Land Rover Forums, there are those that discount them. All I can say is that, with our motor configuration, enhanced intercooler and a few other minor mods, the K&N filter had a big and immediate impact on performance and economy.

However, that is only a small part of the equation of suitability. The most important one is, does it filter all of the harmful dust from the atmosphere? So, in order to see how effective it has been, I removed the one I had fitted a few days before, to examine for any signs of transfer of dust from the input side, through the filter, to the clean side.

I was very surprised at how dirty the input side was after only a few short but dusty days. The clean side was just that, clean with no sign of dust ingestion into the surrounding housing. Despite continued scepticism I am going to continue the experiment and see how effective the pre filter is in removing much of the dust and contaminants. Also, how much cleaner the filter is after fitting the pre filter. So, the K&N was cleaned, a simple process, and refitted. 

Forgive me for gushing, but I continue to be hugely impressed with the running of the TD5 engine. Yes, there is a nagging starting issue, but when it’s running, it’s superb. The larger intercooler and new turbo, and filter, see it climbing strongly in 5th gear, beyond what would be expected from a 2.5l engine lugging a 2760kg load.

Another chore was removing the 50mm Allen head screw the rear tyre had picked up on the Dempster. Once done, and the repair effected, the wheel was reinstalled on the vehicle.

It’s now the next morning and I’m pleased to report, the tyre is still fully inflated.

A partially productive day was ended with us all enjoying a meal in a local restaurant. Most enjoyable.

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