Recent content by nobb

I would suspect the best CV boot material is known as Hytrel which is a Dupont patented product. So only OEMs with deep pockets are willing to pay the premium to use that.

Country of origin is largely irrelevant now as a determination of parts quality since the science behind this stuff is well known. The problem is all mainstream CV axle manufacturers still insist on the cheaper 1980s neoprene technology, since they don't want to upgrade their tooling and they...

These repairs are totally easily DIYable, I've been doing this myself for the last decade. It's not worth paying the ~$30-50/chip that the pros charge IMO and is pretty hard to mess up with basic comment sense. One trick that has seemed to improve outcomes was to use a tool that pulls a vacuum...

I would imagine a molded TPU boot that is also properly cured with heat is an entirely different bonding process than trying to 3D print it. But yea the reason why 99% of aftermarket CV joints are junk is because they use neoprene boots.

Would be interesting to measure how much CCA rating is left on that. I'm guessing you live somewhere that doesn't get too hot or cold. In freezing climates, you probably need >60% of the CCA rating whereas if it's warm you can probably get away with 30-40% and not feel a difference.

Test how much play is in the old unit. If water and dirt has gotten in, it's likely loose. If that's the case, I would personally try to find a used (junkyard) unit and reboot it. If the boot is intact with grease, I don't think I've ever heard of a CV joint going bad. When re-booting, try to...

So what's the TL:DR on the necessity of resetting when doing a fluid change on a modern CVT? Is it absolutely necessary, or is this somewhat of an optional thing? I'd just be worried that there's some magic wizardry going on that may cause MORE wear on a CVT if it's not properly reset or...

The long OCIs from Land Rover and lack of oil dip stick are BS. The thing about timing chains is that they will always inevitably stretch even if you use good oil and short intervals. Most (if not all) Ingenium engines have the timing chain at the rear of the engine, meaning it's quite a bit of...

Like with many engineering design decisions, there is a point of which it takes exponential cost/effort to achieve minor incremental gains. While panel gaps may be a indication of quality in other areas (eg. if an OEM was attentive to panel gaps, it's likely they've put similar effort to other...

Modern transmissions are getting more complicated. The scan tool is used not only to read temperature, but sometimes to reset the CVT since the transmission adjusts itself overtime with wear. Anything with a clutch pack as well. Like on my 2024 Outlander, apparently just refilling the AWD...

I'm curious, I noticed the new Defenders don't seem to have transfer case or differential lockers anymore. Their traction control system I would assume relies on clutch packs and braking. Is this really just as effective? Doesn't every other manufacturer now have similar (although maybe less...

That's cool, probably for people with too much money though. I would say a Defender is more of a balance in terms of being a good modern DD with offroad capability. But if a person was getting serious about offroading or going on expeditions, realistically they should not be buying any modern...

Don't know if I agree with this. On paper, and in real life the Defender is infact very capable offroad with it's terrain management system. However, what makes it terrible as a practical offroader is the fact it's a rolling computer so doing bush repairs is borderline impossible. Also, if you...

Great feedback. What about the Discovery? Isn't it effectively the same as the Defender but perhaps more practical and luxurious? In the used market, the Discovery is also less popular and seems to depreciate more than the Defender so could be a better deal.

I had a 1998 4Runner and replaced the clutch at 300,000km only because the throwout bearing was noisy and I was in there anyways. To my surprise I could hardly tell the difference in material thickness between the old vs new unit. So clutches seem to last a very long time if driven appropriately.