Hello again, Yes the power difference is amazing. i must have at least another 40bhp! and so responsive, it's like i had been towing another car for the last year, and the tow rope has just broken...
i took it for a run up our local dual carriageway and when i came off at the double roundabouts under the main road i was able to drift the car, 2nd gear blazing away tires squealing and nearly full opposite lock.. it never did that before!!!
. so i guess it is running just as well as it can. i don't think re chipping could do that. the gaskets came from a company called ouest injection, there in Nantes, chateaubriant and a few other towns. the seals are just case gaskets that fit into a groove, ribbed to stop them falling out when you turn over the cover to bolt it on. I could not get the three sided bolt undone (tried a socket ) so i used my dremmel and a one of those brown disks and cut a nice slot 2.5mm deep across the middle of the bolt head. Then i used a shock screwdriver ( the ones you hit with a hammer ) to crack the bolt loose. did it up tight by hand afterward. The new seals were sitting proud of the seal groove where as the old ones were squashed flush. If you cannot get them in England then send me an email and i will get them for you. The cat came out easily. I had a spare exhaust (spare complete car but sold off most of it now) and cut the stainless steel cat can either side of the last rib on the top side of the can, then along one side just above the lip at the side. then opened it like a lid. the catalyser sits in a wire mesh wrap that protects it from damage when the exhaust hits road bumps etc, it can be levered out gently and kept intact for selling to a re-cycling dealer,
they are worth 50 quid!!! once removed the can is closed down and welded around the cut. grind any bad weld and re weld so that there is no gas escaping when you re fit the exhaust. Use a mig if you have one as the stainless steel is fairly thin, or use thin 2mm rods in an arc welder. The leaking diesel has actually soaked the rear bolts of the front exhaust section,and they came out easily. the front nuts with the springs were a bit stiffer but came off ok. unbelievably they were nylock nuts, on an exhaust!!! [smiley=lolk.gif] anyway they went back on and i will keep an eye on them as they just compress against the spring, do not over tighten, the spring should be compressed but not to the maximum. Fitting a second lock nut would be better than nylock nuts. When i started the engine after bleeding the pump, i took the car outside and gave it a big rev and shot off down my driveway with a massive cloud of crap from both the exhaust and the driveway (dirt) i could hardly see behind. the engine blew all the soot out that the cat had been responsible for accumulating in the silencers. once blown clean no more smoke. the exhaust note is only slightly louder but clearer no longer a mmeuhh more a grrrrrrrr
have a look on my photobucket albums, i will post one called cat removal on "minilandrover" so send the missus off to the shops and get the car up on the ramps.
i will do a fuel test (driving normally and post the results) i was getting up to 38 mpg recently so it will be interesting to see if it gets any better. the worst i got from the car was 30mpg when towing and driving hard and around town a lot.
keep you all posted on this thread. let's have your comments...
it gets worse...I have rebuilt the original keyfob 
so no cheating spare wheel in the boot and a tank of fuel. ok?