Series 3 Wheels and Tyre sizes !! + other questions !

Welcome back to the fold!

Maybe 155, or 255 or 355 - who cares if it goes.

I would have thought that 15" wheels would make it /very/ low geared - and a Landy is low enough without that. Also will reduce your ground clearance.

Standard wheel and tyre is 16" wheel with 6.00X16 Cross ply or 205R16 Radial. You could fit LWB wheels and fit 7.50X16 tyres.

Sounds normal enough - fitting the right sized wheels and tyres might imporve things a bit.

If it's a bit noisy, but doesn't jump out of gear then just make sure it's full of oil and leave well alone!

On or around Sun, 21 Nov 2004 14:53:29 +0000, Kim T. English enlightened us thusly:

205R16 is standard size, in radial terms. 235/70R16 is about right for diameter but wider. 15" wheels (are you *sure* they're 15"?) ar commonly fitted with either 30x9.50R15 or 31x10.50R15 which are american-style sizes. IMHO, unless you plan on a lot of bog-trotting, 10.5 are too wide for a SWB; I'd not look st going much over the standard 205 which is already the same width as a 7.50 crossply, near enough. As someone else has said, 600x16 crossply was the standard for years, until they started fitting radials. The latest 90s are being fitted with 235/85R16 same as the 110s, but that's only in the last few years. 235/75R15 are going to make the vehicle lower as well as lowering the gearing slightly, thereby reducing the clearance under the diff.

Get normal-sized tyres and wheels on it and get the tracking checked, also check all the ball joints for play.

oh and blow the front tyres up to a decent pressure - I'd be looking at at least 30psi in the tyres you have. having the tyres soft (i.e. around 28) takes away a little road harshness, but makes the handling soggy, IMHO.

discos here both running on 36lb all round, except when heavily laden when a few more in the back.

Dunno about all the tyre stuff, execpt every S3 I've driven had heavy steering, and they all wandered... But it'd be worse if they are rugged offroad tyres, I fitted offroad's to one of my S3's and the steering was very odd onroad afterwards. U sort of get used to it after a bit, and compensate/don't notice it any more... Also, that advice about putting

30PSI+ in the tyre's is good, low pressure for offroad, so the tyres fold over the ruts, high pressure onroad for smooth running.

Knocking, my 2.5TD knocked BADLY when one of the injectors gave up the ghost, so it may be worth having a look, otherwise, I'd do the same as the other advice, just make sure the oil is topped up, and don't worry about it, Landy diesels can be very, very clunky, and U may be worrying about nothing.. Is it showing any smoke? again I had lots of white smoke and some black when the injector went, and recon injectors cured it (until as with most 2.5TD's the engine expired, but that's just because 2.5TD's are weaker than normal).

2.25D's are pretty solid, as are 2.5NA D's, my Landy mech describes them as "bullet proof", so if it pulls OK, and isn't putting up a smoke screen U can't see thru, I'd just leave it alone, it'll clatter on forver if U keep it's liquids topped and changed., so meddling may just get U a lot of unecessary expense and offroad of the wrong type (stuck off the road at the mechanics, or up your drive)

A 2.5 D will go about 2 miles in heavy traffic without an oil drain plug, and then not be seriously knackered afterwards! Thats fairly bulletproof IMO!

Well thanks to all your advice...... - the wheels and tyres will be changed probably to 7.50 x16 from a LWB - any suggestions for cheap tyres in the Nottinghamshire/South Yorks or where ever would be appreciated !!

As to the gearbox - I suppose the first thing is to do all the oil levels/seals and see how we progress - would an additive or something quieten it a little or would that cause more harm than good ?

The gear stick has alot of travel between 1&2 and 3&4 - 1 st gear being a learning process to remember where it is exactly !! - Is there a repair that can be done/part replaced to sort this without dropping the 'box I wonder ??

Does anyone know any good Series 3 or Landrover Clubs in the above areas ? - Any help appreciated !

Cheers again for all your help/replies

Kim

One potential cause is wear on the bottom end of the stick, where it engages with the selectors. I don't recall the exact details of how things all fit together -- the Lightweight has a few slight differences in the floor plates and transmission tunnel -- but once you get the transmission tunnel off, the gear-stick assembly and selectors are visible. I think there are four bolts holding the gear-stick assembly pn the top of the box.

Just scored a nice set of four wheels and tyres on Ebay...

Just check the levels and top up if required. Only change the seals if it's coming back out quicker than you can pump it in.

Sounds normal enough... You'll get used to it!

Travel may be long compare to what you are used to but there are two things that could be wrong and are external to the box. There is a screwed in peg that stops the gearlever rotating - this may be worn or loose - easy fix. Second, some S3 at least have a nylon knob on the bottom end of the gearlever - if worn or missing it will make the gear shifting terrible. JD

The first thing I'd do is change all the fluids, making oils a priority, that may well help with the noisy gearbox.

Regards. Mark.(AKA, Mr.Nice.)