How do I know if I have been lucky?

[reb78]

Out in the TD5 D2 today to pick up a wardrobe. Had the horse trailer on the back. Mostly lanes and pootling along on main roads (not ragging it).

On the way back, the heater started dicking around. It was cold the car so turned it up and it didnt do much, then blew hot, then not again. Temp gauge was in the normal position but I am aware the 'normal' position ranges from 70C to above 100C on these.

When we got home, opened the bonnet and the expansion tank was empty. Not much in the top hose.

I let it cool a bit and then topped up and bled. Took about 2 litres. Took it for a spin with nanocom hooked up and temps were normal. Got back and expansion tank level was down a bit. Checked for leaks and its weeping from the coolant pump weep hole behind the PAS pump.

How do I find out if there is any more damage? Chamge pump and drive and see??

 

[julianf]

Sort the leak, fill it up, drive it, see if it dies.

 

[Mr Roo]

Speaking of almost being in the disaster zone…

Drove Edinburgh to Bristol on thursday, setting off at 6pm and arriving 1.15am.

Loaded my mate’s T4 Kombi camper onto the trailer, turned round, drove straight home. Flat tyre, bit of peeing about, arrived back in Edinburgh around 11.30am.

Today, hitched our empty box trailer to the back of the motor, and…






Apparently we were just seconds from disaster the whole ruddy time

 

[fizzy]

Speaking of almost being in the disaster zone…

Drove Edinburgh to Bristol on thursday, setting off at 6pm and arriving 1.15am.

Loaded my mate’s T4 Kombi camper onto the trailer, turned round, drove straight home. Flat tyre, bit of peeing about, arrived back in Edinburgh around 11.30am.

Today, hitched our empty box trailer to the back of the motor, and…



View attachment 429708


Apparently we were just seconds from disaster the whole ruddy time

What vehicle is that on?

 

[Erie Fred]

Speaking of almost being in the disaster zone…

Drove Edinburgh to Bristol on thursday, setting off at 6pm and arriving 1.15am.

Loaded my mate’s T4 Kombi camper onto the trailer, turned round, drove straight home. Flat tyre, bit of peeing about, arrived back in Edinburgh around 11.30am.

Today, hitched our empty box trailer to the back of the motor, and…



View attachment 429708


Apparently we were just seconds from disaster the whole ruddy time

The safety chains would have held....
where do they hook ?

And I caught hell about our detachable 2" sq. receiver hitch set-ups.....

 

[fizzy]

The safety chains would have held....
where do they hook ?

And I caught hell about our detachable 2" sq. receiver hitch set-ups.....

We don't have safety chains over here!
All trailers must have a breakaway cable which in theory applies the trailer brakes when it detaches

 

[Erie Fred]

We don't have safety chains over here!
All trailers must have a breakaway cable which in theory applies the trailer brakes when it detaches

All our trailers have qty (2) safety chains, that hook onto the frame, exclusive of the 2" removable hitch, and ones with electric brakes have a break away switch to apply the brakes if both the hitch fails, along with the chains.

 

[selectedgrub]

To the original poster to check your radiator cap and replace.
They are junk nowdays

 

[Morrisman]

We don't have safety chains over here!
All trailers must have a breakaway cable which in theory applies the trailer brakes when it detaches

For 2/10s of a second....

 

[Morrisman]

Out in the TD5 D2 today to pick up a wardrobe. Had the horse trailer on the back. Mostly lanes and pootling along on main roads (not ragging it).

On the way back, the heater started dicking around. It was cold the car so turned it up and it didnt do much, then blew hot, then not again. Temp gauge was in the normal position but I am aware the 'normal' position ranges from 70C to above 100C on these.

When we got home, opened the bonnet and the expansion tank was empty. Not much in the top hose.

I let it cool a bit and then topped up and bled. Took about 2 litres. Took it for a spin with nanocom hooked up and temps were normal. Got back and expansion tank level was down a bit. Checked for leaks and its weeping from the coolant pump weep hole behind the PAS pump.

How do I find out if there is any more damage? Chamge pump and drive and see??

Put a self tapper in the pump tell tale hole and drive it for a week, see if anything else goes wrong, and if not, replace the pump.

 

[bricol]

For 2/10s of a second....

IF everything works as it should, it yanks the brake lever, and a strong spring ensures it moves to the full on position to brake the trailer.

Of course, that does depend on the trailer owner checking and maintaining it, which going by most people's idea of car maintenance . . .

 

[bricol]

The safety chains would have held....
where do they hook ?

And I caught hell about our detachable 2" sq. receiver hitch set-ups.....

Mount to the car has failed - which would be the same with the US version of course . . .

I used ot read a blog by a guy who relocated form Illinois (to Florida?) to escape income tax, stupidly high and increasing property taxes - he tied on his enormous trailer full of his machine tools etc and set off . . . part way there, discovered te whole hitch assembly shearing off in a very similar manner to the photo.

I have a 2" receiver on the rear of my Dodge, with a ball mount carrying a bolt on 50mm ball from Germany to suit our trailers - had to shim a fair gap to keep it from clattering about, and to stop the slop dropping the ball the extra inch I'd replaced the ball mount to gain!

 

[Erie Fred]

Mount to the car has failed - which would be the same with the US version of course . . .

I used ot read a blog by a guy who relocated form Illinois (to Florida?) to escape income tax, stupidly high and increasing property taxes - he tied on his enormous trailer full of his machine tools etc and set off . . . part way there, discovered te whole hitch assembly shearing off in a very similar manner to the photo.

I have a 2" receiver on the rear of my Dodge, with a ball mount carrying a bolt on 50mm ball from Germany to suit our trailers - had to shim a fair gap to keep it from clattering about, and to stop the slop dropping the ball the extra inch I'd replaced the ball mount to gain!

Well that is just poor maintanance. The annual DOT inspection should have caught it.
However in some states there is no annual inspection, including Ohio, we see some pretty sketchy
stuff coming over the border daily.

As far as shimming the 2" sq. to stop rattling, I've never had a problem, they fit pretty good when using proper 2" sq. tubing.
Your 50 mm looks lik1.968" so it looks like the slop is from your end.
Tak welding some shims would be a good fix.

 

[fizzy]

Well that is just poor maintanance. The annual DOT inspection should have caught it.
However in some states there is no annual inspection, including Ohio, we see some pretty sketchy
stuff coming over the border daily.

As far as shimming the 2" sq. to stop rattling, I've never had a problem, they fit pretty good when using proper 2" sq. tubing.
Your 50 mm looks lik1.968" so it looks like the slop is from your end.
Tak welding some shims would be a good fix.

I really don't like the 2" receiver hitches. All the load going through just 1 feeble little bolt/pin.
Give me an adjustable Dixon Bate as fitted to old Landrovers any day.

Or even better a NATO jaw

 

[Erie Fred]

I really don't like the 2" receiver hitches. All the load going through just 1 feeble little bolt/pin.
Give me an adjustable Dixon Bate as fitted to old Landrovers any day.

View attachment 429728


Or even better a NATO jaw

View attachment 429729

Isn't that " Dixon Bate" also going thru a simple small pin ? It's in more than simple double shear, the bending loads
are also trying to shear the pin, in a 2" tube, only the direct tension is the load on the pin.

As far as the pintle hitch, they always rattle, pulled an air compressor once, it was un-nerving.

 

[fizzy]

Isn't that " Dixon Bate" also going thru a simple small pin ? It's in more than simple double shear, the bending loads
are also trying to shear the pin, in a 2" tube, only the direct tension is the load on the pin.

As far as the pintle hitch, they always rattle, pulled an air compressor once, it was un-nerving.

The pin is thicker. And whilst the bottom of the hitch looks close to the ground it doesn't dig in anywhere near as much on a 110 than a normal hitch on my ford Ranger does. On my old Defender I cut off the bottom part though as I didn't have any trailers that low.

I see there are adjustable 2" hitches around but there is nothing connecting the bottom to the chassis - the turning forces must be considerable

I don't get the upside down ball either

 

[selectedgrub]

Aren't you allowed to start your own threads?

 

[Gritineye]

We don't have safety chains over here!
All trailers must have a breakaway cable which in theory applies the trailer brakes when it detaches

Some people might not have chains, but some of us who have had a trailer come loose do, just to give the breakaway cable a hand!

 

[fizzy]

Some people might not have chains, but some of us who have had a trailer come loose do, just to give the breakaway cable a hand!

I used to do just that.
But imagine if there was an accident. I can just imagine the court saying that a non approved modification had been carried out and throw the book at you!

 

[Gritineye]

I only put the locked chains as a security measure when it was parked officer, must have forgotten to remove them before driving off.

Any accident would be made worse without them in my opinion, I fail to see the logic of using only a cable, which can have so many ways of not working.