Thread: Walter the Dormobile

My co-driver arrived yesterday, he's out from the UK and had spent a few days in Sydney.

He was a bit nervous when he saw the Dormobile yesterday !
He's never been involved with Land Rovers but has restored a Triumph Stag and has always been into early Japanese2-stroke motorcycles (currently owns a restored Suzuki 750 'kettle'. a Kawasaki H2 and a Yamaha RD400)

He asked about 'safety features' on the Dormobile, me laughing didn't help....


Colin

I need to get the braking improved so I'm taking each drum off & checking, the axles were overhauled some time (years ?) ago.
Front passenger side removed and one of the cylinders is leaking, was resealed when the axle got overhauled.

What's interesting is that when I lifted one shoe off the slave cylinder the piston moved out, there seems to be residual pressure in the system.
I guess when I adjusted the master cylinder it's now not allowing pressure out of the system so I need to adjust again.

Also the shoes were touching more on one side than the other so I need to adjust the brake shoe support screws.

Fingers crossed I can get the brakes sorted at the weekend....maybe I should service the Defender instead ?


Colin

Still touch & go for Cooma.....

Master cylinder adjusted.
Replaced the front wheel cylinders, bled the brakes but couldn't get a 'good pedal', obviously air in the system somewhere.

This morning I decided to bleed the fronts again, the fact that you are trying to get air out of the top cylinder into the bottom cylinder and out the bleed nipple can cause problems.
Attached the bleeder, undid the nipple and stamped on the pedal a few times. Went to the front of the Dormy and brake fluid everywhere ! The end fitting had come off the bleeder.
Spent 20mins or so cleaning up, cable tied the bleeder fitting then bled the other side and hey presto I had a good pedal.

Took it down the driveway and much better, just need the shoes to bed in a bit.

Made a seal & mounting ring for the overdrive lever, re-fitted the lever.

Started installing windscreen washers, need to mount the manual pump & wiper arm mounted jets.

Repaired de-mister pipe behind the instrument panel. Looks like a wire has overheated in the past and burnt through the pipe, bound the pipe with insulating tape for now. Re-installed the instrument panel.

Fitted rubber matting in the rear section.

Latest problem.....getting fuel from the rear tank.
There's a changeover tap that switches between the rear tank and underseat tank. When I change to the rear tank it runs OK for a while then stops.
Checked the pickup in the rear tank and it's clear, no debris in the tank.
I might put a kit through the pump tomorrow to see if that makes a difference.

Still to do :-
Upholster the rear seat & re-install.
Fit the front headlining.
Fix the heater switch or replace (mainly to get the demisters working).
Finish the windscreen washers.
Fit reverse lamp.
Clean the Dormy.
Test the overdrive !

The Defender is still on standby.....

Colin

Looks like it's the backup plan !

Up early this morning and got the rear seat upholstered & fitted.
Still problems feeding from the rear tank, blew out the line, fuel getting drawn through. Could be the changeover tap or maybe the valves in the fuel pump, enough suction to draw from the front tank but not the rear.
Brakes very average but no time to really bed them in then.................a major problem with the overdrive.
It was secondhand so always a bit of an unknown quantity.
I could re-fit the original parts but with the other issues and still more to do I decided the Defender is the best option.

Packing tomorrow and heading off on Wednesday, will bush camp somewhere on the way.

Colin

Sorry to hear that, at least you will be able to attend the event unlike me sitting at home waiting for other people's photo's & stories. Things never go your way when you have a deadline always one step forward & two steps back.

Originally Posted by gromit

Looks like it's the backup plan !

Up early this morning and got the rear seat upholstered & fitted.
Still problems feeding from the rear tank, blew out the line, fuel getting drawn through. Could be the changeover tap or maybe the valves in the fuel pump, enough suction to draw from the front tank but not the rear.
Brakes very average but no time to really bed them in then.................a major problem with the overdrive.
It was secondhand so always a bit of an unknown quantity.
I could re-fit the original parts but with the other issues and still more to do I decided the Defender is the best option.

Packing tomorrow and heading off on Wednesday, will bush camp somewhere on the way.

Colin

That's a shame, Gromit, after all the work.
I did get a close up look at JerryD's vehicle, the other day.

Bugger! So close mate - sorry to hear this but completely understand. As long as you drive it sometime soon to a show or something after Cooma so I can have a good look over it.

Arrived at Cooma, tired of waving at other Land Rovers already

Overnighted at Willis Campground on the NSW/VIC border.

The Tanami ran almost faultlessly.....
Started to get a knocking noise on the road from Willis Campground, tracked it down when I got to Cooma. One of the rear shock absorber bushes has failed (as in disintegrated).
I purchased the Defender back in 1999'ish and it came with OME shock absorbers fitted. I've never touched them so maybe the poly bushes are past their use by date, certainly one was !
Also had a dust cap on one of the rear hubs break.
Hopefully I can find bushes at the swap meet, the dust cap can be replaced with some duct tape.

Need to think about cleaning the Tanami before the parade but rain is predicted plus I'll do some driving around the area, maybe Saturday.

Colin