Thread: New member to my land rover family

The first and most important thing to do before you get this on the road is to check the VCU on the drive shaft (and check it each service). They fail and when they fail they can take out the Intermediate Reduction Drive unit (IRD) and possibly the rear diff.

There are lots of little tricks with these vehicles like how to set up the rear window and emergency access so get a user manual if you do not have one.

Garry

So today I had a good look at the rear doors. There are no regulators fitted at all to both rear doors. Unbelievable. There goes getting a repair kit. So i went to the Elizabeth U pull it, coz I know there's a freebie1 there. Had a look. Manual windows in the rear. Bugger. Took out the roof lining tho. It's fantastic. Just has broken basket thingys. I'm not that fussed about them. Will try fit it shortly. Don't know what I'm gonna do about these rear reggys yet. At least the front ones are working good. Front drivers door lock barrel is a bit loose. Think it's cracked where the bolt holds the barrel and handle to the door. Shouldn't cost too much I hope. The one at the yard was grey, and cracked too. Mine are black. Still got to get to the oil change. Weather was crap today and had other stuff to do. Had to go out and check on my best mate today. All good and quiet. Ppl been visiting, seen their foot prints. Cheers

Hi Mate,

Have you thought about TR Spares in SA for the rear door regulators? I sourced an engine from them for my FL1....

Cheers,
GG.

Originally Posted by grey_ghost

Hi Mate,

Have you thought about TR Spares in SA for the rear door regulators? I sourced an engine from them for my FL1....

Cheers,
GG.

Yes I have, GG, but they want better than new prices for them. I can buy new of eBay for 120 a pair. I'm going to check the cam belt condition b4 I do anything else. The cam belt kit for V6 is around 450. You HAVE to use the special locking tools to fit them. The rear inlet cam has no pin or keys at to locate the sprocket. That's why you have to use the correct tooling. It's a bugger coz the V6has 3 timing belts. If the belts need doing it may be a deal breaker coz the expense of the parts and about 5/6 hours to do the job.

Ok update. Added engine flush and ran engine for about 20 mins. Engine got quieter as the flush started doing it's job. Drained and removed oil filter. Fitted new oil filter and added correct oil. Started engine. Runs really quiet now. Nothing like fresh semi synthetic oil and filter. I removed the engine cover and then proceeded to remove one of the rear timing belt covers. The belt was in great condition. Someone has spent the money and it has near new genuine rover timing belts fitted. Cool. I cleaned out the throttle body while the intake hose was off. Even idles smoother now. So, I now will spend some money on it. Bought and fitted new tyres. Checked under the freebie on the hoist. Super clean. Can still see the yellow paint marks on the bolts and other things from quality control check. NO OIL LEAKS. Gotta be a first, going on the mileage, at 350915klms. Took it for a little drive, so smooth. Trans shifts perfectly. I doubt this has even been off road. So I've ordered new rear door regulators, and a tailgate reg without motor, coz my motor still works. Can't wait for them to get here. Also found the drivers door check link is broken. Will get the one of the wreck at Elizabeth. Will also have to get the regulator bolts and nuts too. Got to try soften up the leather on the front seats too. Don't know how to do this. I'll find out. Can't wait to get this registered so I can drive it. Cheers

Pull up the rear carpet in the boot and check for rust. Mine leaks like a siv when it rains. I have the bum parked under cover. I haven’t been able to work out where tge rain is getting in. I have even sat in the boot while somebody hosed the car down from the outside.

I drilled a hole in the floor - the recessed section that the tools are stored in, to let water out.

I am driving mine today actually.

It’s a nice drive.

Welcome to the club!

Originally Posted by grey_ghost

Pull up the rear carpet in the boot and check for rust. Mine leaks like a siv when it rains. I have the bum parked under cover. I haven’t been able to work out where tge rain is getting in. I have even sat in the boot while somebody hosed the car down from the outside.

I drilled a hole in the floor - the recessed section that the tools are stored in, to let water out.

In the nearly 10 years I had my FL1 I never solved this mystery. Like you I sat in the back and looked for the leaks but did not resolve anything - what was obvious though is if you park up hill it did not leak but downhill it did.

My guess is that the water runs past the seal in the door that the window runs up down on and water gets in there and fills a pocket inside the door than over flows to the inside under the carpets and into the underfloor boot. One of the mysteries of life - I researched it at the time and got various answers that did not work - what was obvious was that every one with a FL1 that was parked outside had the problem.

Yes they are a great car to drive and quite capable offroad, certainly more so than my D1 V8 (if kept in high range) - a shame that the cooling system in the 1.8 and dare I say the V6 wrecked the reputation of these capable and likeable vehicles.

Garry

I have drilled a couple of holes in the "toolbox" like a flow through system. I will make sure the rear door is the same. Apparently there is an adjustment bolt for the tailgate window for when it goes all the way up so it seals properly. I'll investigate this when my rear reg gets here. My friend Robert, (vice pres of the LRREGSA) has found this in his hippo, and supposedly fixed the leaking problem. I've just removed his tail shaft and his freebie is 2wd. Was quoted over 8K to fix the VCU, Rear diff and IRD. He has a TD4. Rear diff has bearing noise and according to Sovereign motors, his VCU is seized, causing damage to the IRD. I'm not sure about the IRD, but the VCU is stuffed as is the rear diff. Next I'll probably take his rear diff out and just leave the outer CV joints in, to hold the bearings together till he decides what he wants to do. I'm looking forwards to actually driving my Hippo, after I've fixed the fast glass. Cheers.