Bloody Land Rovers

Like Baldrick, I had a cunning plan which went badly wrong. My defender was MOT'd the other day and failed on only seven comparatively minor items, so I thought, get up at four on Saturday and get most of the work done before it gets hot. Unfortunately I couldn't find my wheel bearing spanner, so I had to wait until Craddock's opened.

I'd already done the first job. Apparently the drivers door has to open from the inside, something which it hasn't done for two years, passing MOT with no problem last year! When I'd been to Craddock's I started on the other jobs. Top shock absorber rubber, no problem if you hacksaw through the bush and fit it from both ends. I had to get a neighbour to run me down to buy a second 24mm spanner and another breaker bar before I could persuade the rear anti-roll bar to part company(How do Land Rover justify £6.75 for a bolt?)

This morning I started early again and tightened up the nearside wheel bearing with no problem and separated the drag link ball joint from its housing. Then the fun started, after spending an hour with WD40, heat from a camping stove and anything else I could think of I managed to unscrew the old ball joint. The new one went so far in and stuck! With a bit of persuasion I got over this and broke for lunch.

At about four I started again on the last two jobs, an exhaust rubber and the offside wheel bearing. when I bent over the wheel I noticed a smell of cat pee and made a mental note to hang the neighbour's cat from the roof rack next time I saw it. I should have known better, as soon as I removed the rubber end cap oil poured out from the diff. Bloody oil seal gone at four on a Sunday afternoon.................bloody land rovers. Cheers, John

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John Stokes
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in article 448c6321$1 snipped-for-privacy@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com, John Stokes at snipped-for-privacy@tiscali.co.uk wrote on 11/6/06 7:38 pm:

Bruce says its nice to know these sort of things happen to other people too!

Reply to
Nikki

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