starider

Hi, reflective on the outside,black on the inside, suckers in appropriate places.

I have for sale a 5 piece window blind thermal kit, windscreen, N/s door, O/side door and N/s and O/side quarter lights. Used only once. Cost new £80+p&p,yours for £50+p&p.

Blimey!! Seems awfully expensive to me, at their prices £100 per hour!! wow.If,as they should, be able to do the job in 1hour that's £100 extra profit. Perhaps they didn't want the job. What is the equipment they use other than a lift and spring compressors, I've never ever been billed for equipment!

Yep, living "down yer in dear ole Devon" has it's advantages, but many disadvantages, we only have 3 buses a week, one to Barnstaple,one to Holsworthy and one to Tavistock and if you miss any of these it's a taxi fare home! To get anywhere is by car[or tractor], and any real shopping is at least a 20mile round trip away.One of the mechanics was only involved for about 10mins, and I do know the staff really well.

Hi, I actually have 4 sets of spring compressors of varying strengths and sizes, but were still very aware of the dangers. I watched the process from a safe distance and because of the amount of movement they were able to get,the springs were easily gently levered out. The new springs although a lot stronger, with a mechanic heaving down on the suspended wheel and a liberal coating of silicon on the seatings,plus a little force, the springs popped into place, once in their seats each one was able to be turned into their correct position. The profile of the seatings is quite deep and it was these that caused some of the problems. Also there is little room to to attach compressors evenly. I totally agree with you,I definately wouldn't advise anyone to try to do it DIY. Talking to the workshop manager, he re- counted many horror stories of springs flying round workshops and the damage caused. As I have said before I, in recent years changed rear springs on my Suzuki Vitara very easily and quickly, but the springs were shorter and the rear suspension movement was a lot less. I would suggest you find a small well recommened independant garage and call in for a quote. We are lucky,we have an excellent relationship with our garage and the Manager is of the same generation as myself and we spend a lot of time talking about classic cars and tractors when I go in for MOT Tests or for work to be done! Hope what Rojie and I have said helps.

Hi, thought I would start a new thread on fitting Heavy Duty Rear Springs to my 2007 Alphard, which would follow on from my recent posts. As I said in my last post, I had tried to change both springs, but even with the correct spring compressors and 4 post lift, I couldn't compress the springs enough to remove them. I decided to book into my friendly garage who do our MOT Tests and major work if needed. I won't describe how they were changed[1hour],as my advice is leave this job to the professionals. There is always the danger that if I describe the method, someone may try to do it for themselves, get it wrong and I could be in trouble. What I will say is, that the problem was the difficulty in swinging the axle beam down enough to get the old springs out and the new ones in. Two problems prevented this,one was the ABS sensors which needed to be disconnected and the flexible brake pipes/hoses which also needed to be disconnected. I took two mechanics to then pull the axle beam down enough to remove the old and push in the new. The Alphard now stands as it should and the bonus is that the new stronger springs have reduced the roll on cornering to some extent and towing our box van means that being able to have a correct trailer nose weight, will make towing more stable.[All for £62! bargain! with no hassle].

Sorry if I seem to be obsessed with reflectors, I seem to be dogged with reflector problems,a couple of years ago I managed to crack the Connects L/H rear lamp lens. Bought a new one off fleabay[pattern make] a few months ago realised the white plastic in the reversing light lens had turned opaque so severely it needed replacing again. The new lens seemed of better quality until when I did a pre-MOT Test I realised the reflector didn't reflect! Luckily I hd some self adhesive rectangular ones, so fitted one each side on the bottom outer corner of each rear door. No problems for MOT at end of November

Fitting mud flaps all round has certainly reduced the amount of "crudd" sprayed on the pristine underside of our Alphard. Hopefully the flaps plus the undersealing I've done will give some protection to the metalwork. Next year in the Autumn I will,as with all our vehicles spray the underside with oil. It really does work,my wife's Ford Connect Van is still immaculate underneath with no corrosion even after 14years. Obviously great care is taken when spraying with oil to enure oil is not sprayed on sensitive parts such a brakes etc.

From my interpretation there is no height restriction. The best double sided tape is the one which the trade use for fitting number plates. I agree with your comments, but having dealt with insurance assessors in the past they do seem to look for the smallest reasons for refusing claims. Not withstanding this " go for it".

Having read The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, which state[if I read them correctly], that the minimum separation distance between 2 red reflectors is 600mm and the maximum distance from each the side of the vehicle is 400mm.These dimensions apply to the Alphard. These measurements are less if the vehicle is narrower. Hope this helps.

Hi,just had a thought, I had always understood that reflectors must be mounted to some point which gives an indication of the vehicle width.If the reflcetors were on the number plate; from a distance they would not indicate a true width. I will have to study carefully the MOT requirements, although I don't remember reading about width placement. Vehicle Construction Laws may give the answer. I'll see what I can find out.

I am not sure what the diameter or shape of the motorcycle reflectors are. I have a Greeves 250 Griffon MotoX motorcycle which is road legal daylight only. I have a rectangular reflector on the rear number plate 2" x 1 1/2". which seems adequate. I use the addage the bigger the better. As I mentioned before my Alphard has the reflectors in the rear bumper below the light clusters, but I have bolted an extra rectangular reflector on each mud flap.

If anyone wants chapter and verse on rear lighting requirements for MOT Test I have ALL the paperwork at hand,

If someone would tell me[sorry,the wife!] how we can put up photographs, I/she will happily post some pics of the rear of our Alphard showing the rear fogs.

I have previously posted on this subject,but to repeat,I wasn't happy with the single"add on" fog lamp, so purchased a pair of flush fitting lamps.there is not enough room behind the bumper to fit these so made a pair of brackets which allowed just the lens to protrude.The top edge of the bracket was bent at approx. 90%[which allowed for the angle of the bottom edge of the bumper]. and drilled brackets and bumper skirt to fit one either side. Removed the add on and used the wiring to it to join up the two new fogs. I had painted the brackets the approx. the same body colour. Fleabay number 361946449366.

Hi, if you read my previous posts on this subject you will see why I have decided to replace both the rear springs. When towing a trailer or caravan there must be a degree of nose weight at the hitch[i.e. downward weight] to ensure the trailer hitch doesn't try to lift off the ball hitch and also to ensure a smooth tow.This added weight will push down the re It is certainly not necessary to fit HD springs all round and I did not imply I was only fitting one to the rear, I have been in and around the motor trade for over 50 years and would never ever fit odd parts [such springs]to each side. The rule is "fit new parts to both sides when replacing suspension parts such as springs,shock absorbers" I also have given an ebay item number which takes you to a set of rear HD springs and shock absorbers. The same supplier will also supply just the springs.

Hi, had a go at fitting the HD springs today. Everything went quite well until I tried to compress the old springs and remove them. Even though I had some spring compressers I couldn't compress them enough to free them from their seatings to wriggle them out. As the heavy duty springs have an extra coil, I certainly wouldn't be able to compress them enough either. I haven't the special equipment I believe is needed, so will have to get my/our garage to do the job. I'm not at this time going to fit the new shocks as I will have to remove the R & R bed to gain access to the top shock absorber fitting. I notice that the springs are available separately, so it can be a cheaper job. What I did notice is that the rear is approx. 1 1/2" lower than the front.

Hi Rojie, when I have fitted these parts I'll have a better idea of how much is involved. I fitted a set if rear HD springs [due to POT HOLE damage] to my ex Suzuki Vitara 4 x 4 and each side litterally took less than half an hour. Just a reminder to everyone, any suspension springs must be fitted as a pair i.e. one each side.

Hi, just a PS to add, we sometimes tow a box van and these springs and shocks will help with the required trailer nose weight. I would also consider these essential if towing a caravan.

Hi, ebay 382465396973. If you sign up and use Complete Savings you can get 10% off. Have a look at how Complete Savings work, they have many popular web sale businesses which give discounts to members. Make sure you read and understand how it works. Screwfix is just one of the many companies on their books.

Hi, have just received an up grade to our Alphard. I was still not happy with the Camber angle so decided to fit heavy duty rear springs and relovent shock absorbers. I have a few jobs to do around the farm and hope to do the work next week. I will report on progress and results when finished.

Hi,I enclose details of a company who I used for my Suzuki 4x4s suspension parts. I have checked with them and they are able to supply Alphard suspension parts. They will need reg.no. model and Vin.no. If anyone contacts them mention you are in the Alphard Owners Club and they will give the best price possible. www.spring-loaded.co.uk/www.viamoto.co.uk 01409 211663 Tim Office. 07761700770 Mike Mobile.

Hi, my 2.4 has a passenger seat which is a captains chair, but this was fitted as part of the full conversion. It looks like a fitted turntable with the original seat fitted to it. It looks as though there was a centre console which has been removed to allow walk through from the front. The chair works well.

Fingers crossed!

Hi, it's a shame that a comprehensive workshop/repair manual is not yet available. I have tried to contact JPNZ in New Zealand, but have so far had no reply. If a translated manual was available it would prevent garages over charging for repairs, simply because there are enough Alphard owners on these forums with a good expert knowledge to accurately assess how much time is needed to have done or to do most mechanical repairs. It must be understood that there is nothing special about the Alphard's suspension,engine,running gear,brakes etc. although the elecronics,electrical system is a different animal. So of course the main requirement is a good W/Shop manual!!