I'm on a roll here, bought a real nice D2, 150K genuine Km's, never been off road let alone in low range, looks 'real nice' and being a 'fussy bastard' I want it right.
My LHS knee had finally 'given up the ghost' so I needed an auto and being 'Landyless' (apart from the RRC rotting away up the back) what could be better than another D2 .
This time a 2002 V8 auto, previously a D2a TD5, to be essentially a 'Toorak Tractor' or on road SUV . The seat height is perfect for a 6 footer like me to be able to slide in without bending my knees and the (Landy) withdrawal symptoms catered for to boot .
A really nice 'tight' vehicle, done bugger all Km's and practically no backlash in the transmission, a rare beast. A bit run down when I bought it but definitely not abused, my biggest fear was that it could have been cooked as it had a leaky throttle body heater which the previous owner had been 'managing' by topping up the coolant for the last year or so. It wasn't.
The suspension had sagged of course and the factory shockers had reached their use by date. The only RWC items needing attention were an engine mount, a front bumper which had a hole in one corner, a couple of light globes and a rear bumper lamp lens. I changed the front rotors and pads cos I could and fitted the factory option 8" alloys and the 75% worn Michelin 255/65 R16's from our 'old' D2a.
It even came with the three amigos and a repair kit of new shuttle valve, plug, loom and ABS Amigo reset tool at no extra cost.
After the RWC and ownership change over I replaced the springs with standard King Springs (two near new rears from the wreckers @ $17 ea), a bargain and new standard fronts at a good price. 'Standard' King Springs are actually +20 mm or so, are thicker wire and have one extra coil compared to original. Height improvement over sagged original was 45mm front and 25 mm rear.
I replaced the shocks with OE (from Mario) as I'm 'over' after market shocks that are too stiff and have crappy little eyes and plastic rubbers that are basically a POS. Might seem a bit harsh but that's the way I see it. This is a Toorak Tractor not a comp vehicle. I also replaced the OE steering damper cos it was the only old shocker left.
Coupled with replacement of the PAS fluid the handling of the D2 has been transformed, basically as good as new but with slightly stiffer coils and is a delight to drive, and with the set of near new Latitude Crosses in the shed fitted should be even better.
Have a slight whirr/whizzing noise which I thought was the alternator but maybe not. So in an effort to track it down removed the alternator to change the bearings but realistically I reckon they're perfect. Managed to break the hard plastic line to the top LHS of the radiator which is about par for the course I reckon and found a pinhole coolant leak in the steel pipe from the block to the top hose. So from a simple alternator removal I've progressed to a new nylon pipe and radiator pipe replacement plus whatever else I find in my travels. Heather's OS trip is looking better and better .
Here's what I found under the alternator.
Arrow points to pinhole in steel coolant pipe to top hose. Aah well, better to find now than later .
But just goes to show how 'From Little Things Big Things Grow'
For an all up vehicle cost of less than $4K so far, though I'm working on it I reckon I'm doing OK.
Here's a close up of the steel pipe that goes from the top of the block to the top hose assembly.
Dodged a bullet here I reckon , it wasn't noticeably leaking. I reckon it had lost about a tablespoon or two of coolant over the fortnight or so since I replaced the coolant (water) with 'red stuff'. Interesting that the corrosion is all in a line along the pipe seam.
The only clue was a faint 'hot water smell' which I'd put down to various spillages and cleaning agents on hot surfaces. A good one to find.
"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it." -- a warning from Adolf Hitler "If you don't have a sense of humour, you probably don't have any sense at all!" -- a wise observation by someone else
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So from a simple alternator removal I've progressed to a new nylon pipe and radiator pipe replacement plus whatever else I find in my travels. Heather's OS trip is looking better and better 
Reply With Quote, it wasn't noticeably leaking. I reckon it had lost about a tablespoon or two of coolant over the fortnight or so since I replaced the coolant (water) with 'red stuff'. Interesting that the corrosion is all in a line along the pipe seam.
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