Bit quiet....

True and I haven't used my trucks for 3 years, except for the mileage to and from the MOT station each year.

If anyone is interested I should sell, the 110 ex MOD 1989 V8 lpg conversion will be the first to go if anyone is interested around 1500 quid.

AJH

Likewise quiet re LR use at home too, also the Armstrong is on a Sorn since last year, sad.... (I have kept the battery charged.)

Lots of 4x4 events cancled or postponed to times I cant do them, plus been away busy with work too.

MOT for the LR on Friday, only (due to work, family etc) got to check it over last night. Now waiting for a steering drop arm + ball joint to arrive (quick fix) with joint repair kit to refurb' the old one, for next time.

Someone said I should have gone with a Disco part and track rod, as that has "normal" ball joints each end. Comments from anyone, as I don't know the Disco range that intimately.

DJB.

Never thought I'd say it, but forums are (now) better than text only for me ..

Sadly, I hate web forums (fora?) about as much as I hate webmail.

Dave B.

In message , DaveB writes

=1

I'm lost, but don't like the forum format either. Does that make 4?

Well maybe not cos my = =+1 really

on here....

DJB.

....Very! .....

TonyB

But, we're listening .....

OK then: How heavy going is it to tighten the front wheel bearings? Do you have to remove the wheels? I have Free Wheel hubs.

Series LR? I think that someone did some free wheel hubs for the coil-sprung models but I've no experience of them. Therefore I'm assuming Series LR.

Easy but the free wheel hubs will have to come off do do so. How easy depends on which version of the hub you have.

Wheels can stay on but they need to leave the ground. You'll probably find it easier to remove them though as the inertia/weight of the wheel removes any feel that you may have for the bearing tightness.

One essential is a 52mm A/F box spanner to move the bearing adjusting nuts.

No need for dial gauges etc.. Just adjust for definite but minimum end play on the bearings. You'll be absolutely frustated though when you learn that tightening the lock nut reduces the end play and you have to start over again. Don't engage the lock washer until you've got the adjustment right with everything tightened.

This is an opportunity to check brakes, bearings, hub oil seal etc.. The task could grow on you: are you prepared for that?

:-) Oh yes!

It's a Land Rover thing. Happens all the time...

Pre MOT quick glance over, play in drop arm ball joint. It had to be that one...

The Drag link came off the taper OK, but could I shift the arm of the box?

Needed a borrowed hydraulic type puller, but it came off OK. (I want one of those kits!)

As time was short, I just fitted a new arm+joint, and plan to refirb the original (job started) to hold as a spare, for the next time.

Anyway, the "new" part was a **itpart item, and though it fitted the splines OK, was at enough of a different position that the drag link needed "adjusting" to re-center the wheel.

So, simple quick job... Could I shift those threads? Corse not. So, off comes the entire drag link, damaging the boot on the joint at the other end, so new part needed there too, and a lot of cussing while freeing up the threads in the end of the tube.

Result though, steering centered, and nice new (though fake looking simple printed, not even water marked paper) MOT cert too.

So, indeed, before any "minor" work planned, make contingency plans for a complete strip down of whatever system (and related parts) you intend messing with.

With wheel bearing re-tightening, you could pop the FW-Hub off, and find a nice dry dusty (or wet/muddy) mess inside, so needing new bearings and all that. Also then find the inner bearing has rusted or friction welded itslef onto the stub (no outward noises or bad vibes either!) So that needs changing too, but you can't easily identify the exact variation of stub axle part (there are several) to save your life..

Been there etc, as no doubt many others of you have...

Lets have some more joyous stories of "unintended LR maintenance" while it's quiet...

TTFN.

DJB.

And I'm still here! in fact I've never really been away.

Stephen

I'm lurking here also. Scarcely using the RRC - but that doesn't mean that= it does not need plenty of work.

After the delight of fixing the speedo - dead for 3+ years - by replacing t= he gearbox to transducer cable, I decided to look for the source of the exh= aust blow. N/S/R exhaust manifold-to-head gasket blowing. Still enthusia= stic after speedo success, I bought a new exhaust gasket and a condensor to= replace the pile of rust dangling off a wire attached to the coil. Manifo= ld bolts came out with suspicious ease but I couldn't losen the bolts on th= e next header and thought that this was a sign that I should leave well alo= ne - or at least leave it for my spannerer at MOT time. So I for= ced a load of Gun Gum into the blow hole and applied a bit of positive pray= er followed by bolt tightening. So far - starting engine and turning RR a= round - the bodge has held . . . . .=20

And the condensor is nice and shiny and it didn't require too much use of t= he angle grinder with slitting disc to get the relavant bolt off before I c= ould fit it :-)

Other good news is that I got talking to a bod at the War and Peace show. H= e observed that he had just scrapped his RRC which had a far better top tai= l gate than mine :-(

Richard

Couldnt be ar$ed to visit the Billing show this time (first one missed in over 12 years, and it's sort of local too.) But I did get out and under, and have at last fitted a pre used under seat tank I had cluttering up the garage, now with a gaping hole in the top, for use as another battery box. It's previous life must have been fun for someone, as there was a layer of dried mud found in the bottom once the top was open.

It had for a long time, often been put outside in the sun (when we had some) will all openings open for venting. No hint of fuel smell's now.

The biggest fiddle and faff, was marking things out in yellow crayon, so I could cut the hole for the old filler neck in more or less the right place behind the drivers seat. That will now serve to take the cables to the batteries that are going to live in there soon, instead of being straped or wedged in the back always getting in the way.

Long term projects these things of course...

Cheers.

DJB.

Bl******dy thing threw a fit of star temperament last Saturday on its first= outing with new ignition coil condensor and working speedo: N/S/F brake = caliper seized on. Loads of lovely smoke and boiling brake fluid. Stoppin= g an angry (auto) RRC with next to no brakes is an experience not to be rep= eated. Driving the reamining 10 miles of my journey through the hills and = valleys of the Weald of Kent - after the caliper had cooled - without using= the brakes was quite a challenge. Boy can you get some engine braking in= Lo box - much to the consternation of those following.

Big thanks to the ratty Defender and Disco that passed me without even paus= ing as I sat waiting for the caliper to cool. You'd thing that the wheel-o= ff, warning triangle-out status would have hinted at a problem. :-(

I _always_ stop for a possible LR product in distress and _ditto_ motorbike= s. Perhaps I will have to revise my views of LR owners and whether to offe= r help.

Richard