Picked up first LR, Series 3

[ashhhhh]

Hey all,

I'm Ash and i've just become the owner of a 1981 Series 3 109. :)

Its in good nick as far as I can tell aside from a few little issues I wondered if you could help with.

- The gear lever is extremely vague and I find im getting reverse instead of 1st, a lot.
Is this just how they are or is there something I can adjust to help make the gate a bit more positive?

- On the road it wanders about a bit.
What are the main causes of this?
The previous owner just had the front swivels done so I doubt these are at fault.

Also, where is the best place to source parts for the beast?

Ill post up some pic later on so you can check her out.

Cheers
Ash

[cammac91]

sounds like alot of fun,
where are you?

[Landy Smurf]

when u are goin for reverse it is far left and up
it goes
reverse 1st 3rd
2nd 4th

[Landy Smurf]

also just yank it over to the left as far u can then push up and left for reverse so just dont do that wen u r goin for 1st plus its just practise

[JDNSW]

The gear shift problem is probably either

a)the small bolt that stops the lever from rotating. If you pry out the rubber surround at the base of the gear lever so you can see the RH side of the aluminium block holding the gear lever, you will see there is a small bolt screwed in from the RH side. The end of this engages in a slot in the ball the lever pivots on. This bolt may be loose or missing.

b) the reverse block spring may be broken or missing. To check this you will have to remove the front floor and transmission tunnel. With these removed you will see at the base of the lever there is a hinged flap that the lever has to lift to get into the reverse gate. It should be held down by two springs. These may be broken or missing.

If you say where you are, then we can suggest the best places for parts.

John

[ashhhhh]

Hey cheers everyone.
I'm in Armidale, NSW.

I gave it an oil change and new filter this arvo, gonna do diffs/gearbox/tcase tomorrow - should be a fun day!

Ash

[JDNSW]

For Armidale, probably the closest is All four x 4 in Newcastle. But once you go to mail order there are quite a few others.

John

[ashhhhh]

Thanks mate, ill give them a buzz.

So I spent this morning greasing various nipples (ooo-er), cleaned air filter, check oil levels etc.

Im gonna try and tighten up the steering a bit this arvo and check out the shifter.

In the meantime here's some pics!

Ash

[D-Fender]

Very nice!

[Grover-98]

That is a very good example of a series three! great find mate, happy motoring! :)

James.

[korg20000bc]

Those rear-vision mirrors are something else!

[JDNSW]

Looks like you have a very good example of a Series 3.

John

[ashhhhh]

Haha yeah the mirrors are pretty funny, I think theyll be the first thing changed :D

[JDNSW]

Haha yeah the mirrors are pretty funny, I think theyll be the first thing changed :D

From a practical point of view, I would be inclined to fit 110/Defender mirrors. These attach to the top door hinge, and involve either drilling holes in the hinge or replacing with a 110/Defender hinge (hinges are the same, but the top front one has the holes ready drilled).

Mirrors mounted on the mudguards are very vulnerable, and unfortunately when they get hit they usually damage the panel as well as the mirror.

John

[hodgo]

Very tidy looking unit, love the mirrows on the guards , as for your problems JD ( John) is right on the ball thats where your problem will be.
As for parts I find CLR 4WD Parts top be good and reasonable priced with most parts and good to deal with, is located in the Blue Mountains NSW.

Hodgo

[jacknz]

Hi welcome to the joys of Series ownership.
I had the same or similar problem with a S3 that I had, turned out that there was a supposed to be a nylon ball that was on the bottom of the gear lever where it went into the selectors, this had gone and selecting gears was a very hit and miss affair. I made a replacement out of some similar stuff we had at work, problem solved.

Jack

[Shonky]

G'Day mate - very nice! :D

I agree with John that one or both of the reverse stop springs are broken or missing, allowing the lever to wander too far left. All Four x 4 can fix you up with new springs, but the ones they sell are VERY stiff so you might be best to only fit one.

[ashhhhh]

Thanks for all the advice, appreciated. :cool:

Ill have a look at the shifter soon, at the moment im changing all the oils, greasing bits and pieces etc.

Im off to give the whole thing a good degrease and clean this arvo, might be able to see what im doing then. :D