Some County queries...

**2 rocks** · 17th June 2013, 09:17 PM

Hi folks
So the County's arrived...bringing a mixture of disappointment and pleasant surprises.

Pleased with the discovery of the rear Maxi Drive, plumbing and pump for a fresh water tank (tank's gone though), lack of rust in the bulkhead (more on that below), there are no oil leaks to speak of (assuming there is oil in anything rear of the sump

) and it seems to run happily on petrol and LPG.

Obviously there's a multitude of little things to attend to on a 28 year old car, but there's a few things that have priority. First off, I have a new ignition barrel/switch on the way, so can't do a lot until that arrives - a small jolt moves the key and it turns off, but there's a couple of other items I beg some advice on:

* The alternator sounded like it was grinding itself to bits and stopped putting out a charge. Is the alternator interchangeable with that fitted to the other V8's like D1 and RRC, or is there something that make this particular fitting unique?

* The only fluid leak I can find is the power steering reservoir, one of the hoses that disappears down towards the P/S box. Does this need to be a particular hose (pre-formed bends etc), or can I just purchase a length of suitable hose and cut to suit?

* On removing what passes for carpet in the footwells, I found suggestions of surface rust. Given what I have read about Series' bulkheads, I am keen to treat this to prevent it's progress.

Bearing that in mind, Friday & Saturday night were cool and the dew was enough to wet the floor. Last night we had some rain and they were quite wet - ok - there was a puddle in the driver's side footwell. I've left the carpet out...

So commonly, where does this come from? Is it normally the windscreen seal, or are there other places I should be looking at and addressing? The seal is pretty old and "crispy" looking, but I don't want to assume anything if there's other places it can get in through. There's no vents in the scuttle, so I'm not sure where else it could be...

Thanks in advance!
Cheers
Mike

**AdsLandies** · 17th June 2013, 10:04 PM

Can't confidently comment on your first two queries, except can say that I swapped my Lucas alternator on my V8 with a Bosch unit. Bosch make so many variants that you can find one that is a pretty close match to make it easy to mount. I still don't have much faith in Lucas as a power source.
The best fix I did to stop my footwells filling with water was to make sure the door seal was seated properly on the bulkhead. The area near the top hinge would come away where the seal starts to travel along the sloped windscreen area - does that make sense. Squished the seal before re-seating it so it would hold on more tightly and I no longer get water dripping down near my foot. They probably leak elsewhere but this solved my problem. Hope this helps. Enjoy the County!
Adam.

**manic** · 17th June 2013, 10:07 PM

Door seal most likely. Sit in there next heavy rain and you'll be able to see if its the door or from behind the dash. Windscreen seal is worth replacing if cracked. Also feel out the inner gutters of the roof for some wetness.

**2 rocks** · 17th June 2013, 10:28 PM

Thanks guys!
I'll try the rain thing when the opportunity presents, re alternator I was thinking of chucking on a second handy for the moment... Pretty sure this morning I could see a 'run' down the middle of the passenger footwell - from where the pedal box would be on a LHD. That said there is a rectangular hole on the extreme left of the pass footwell that I guess should have a cover on it???
Cheers
Mike

**Vinnie** · 17th June 2013, 11:10 PM

Hi,

Can't speak for County's, but as you have mentioned the car is on Gas, check the bulkhead where wiring for gas runs through. I have a Disco 1 on gas and the person who fitted it removed a rubber cap from the firewall (where other wires were already running) and never replaced it and I used to get a lot of water coming from the engine bay until I discovered it. But if it's just rain and car not being driven then it won't be this problem. As far as your alternator goes I would just go to an Auto Elec supplier with your old alternator and they will be able to match it with an aftermarket one. That's what I did recently and I got a 125amp one for $30 more than the standard one.

Cheers,

Vinnie

**yt110** · 18th June 2013, 12:35 AM

[ That said there is a rectangular hole on the extreme left of the pass footwell that I guess should have a cover on it???
Cheers
Mike[/QUOTE]

Countys air cond./heater can have fresh or recirc. air,that hole is the recirc. air vent.

**clive22** · 18th June 2013, 04:23 AM

Hi

The P/S reservoir to steering box is low pressure and can be any oil compatible hose

The alternator could be anything that fits. In my case unless you need big amps I just stick with the original spec, they do fail a bit - water muck etc and I'm on my third (twice replaced) in the last ten years so I would not spend too much.

**flagg** · 18th June 2013, 04:41 AM

There is an official water ingress manual... It is linked to a few times on the forum. Have a search around (I would post the link accept tapa talk is annoying).

**Judo** · 18th June 2013, 10:03 AM

If you're buying new PAS hose and it's the largeish round steel can, the hose is 5/8" or 16mm.

**2 rocks** · 18th June 2013, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by flagg

There is an official water ingress manual... It is linked to a few times on the forum. Have a search around (I would post the link accept tapa talk is annoying).

Cheers! I'll hit up 'search'

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