Toyota Diesel into 2A Shorty

Hello John,

Thanks for the tips about clamping the flexible hoses.

The current run sheet is:
new brake master cylinder - Bearmach
new brake shoes - Bearmach
new set of brake adjuster "snails" - Bearmach
new flexible brake hoses - Bearmach
new brake springs - Britpart
new brake wheel cylinders - TRW made to OEM
new brake fluid - fully flushed system.

The 2A was fitted by the previous owner with a brake booster out of a Series 3 - the vacuum is provided through the Toyota 1B diesel's alternator with a vacuum pump.

I fitted the new Series 3 - single circuit brake master cylinder to the brake booster. The old remote reservoir was an original tin one accompanied by tin worm.

The brake shoes were compared for size against the old fitted ones and their base are the same radius.

Springs were fitted as per a couple of YouTube Land Rover Series specialist videos
I sorted out the issue of leading edge shoes by finding similar sources online.

I previously installed a brake system upgrade to a remote reservoir Series 3 diesel by fitting a booster and a integrated single circuit brake master cylinder. Despite the booster having no source for vacuum the hydraulic brake system was pressure bled to be a very firm pedal. I have another Series 3 109 which was fitted with the six cylinder 2.6 litre petrol motor and a brake boosted system from the factory. Its brakes were very - very firm and quick to engage.

I followed the same process on the 109s as I did the shortie and it resulted in their having good brakes. However, the same process on the shortie has resulted in the brake pedal needing three pumps to engage the brakes.

Apart from one brake adjuster snail on the driver's rear axle I could adjust the shoes properly one each wheel. The new snails were meant to solve that issue.

I will have a closer look at the brake joints from front to back. I did not immediately set about to replace all the brake lines as the vehicle is only going to be tootling around the paddock for a while as a service vehicle and for towing the trailer.

It will be a process of elimination to establish what is the culprit.

Kind regards
Lionel

Hello John,

I am starting to suspect that the hole the faulty brake adjuster snail operated in has enlarged itself. The new snail turns but does not seem to engage the brake shoe pin.

To solve this, I may have to do my second brake backing plate swap. The first swap was the passenger-side front brake which was the shape of a "Thins" potato chip - so I replaced it. With this second pending brake backing plate swap I will have replaced 50 percent of the brakes. If I had of known that I had to replace two brake backing plates I would have taken things a bit further. The previous owner had upgraded the 88 inch system to the four cylinder long wheel base kit. I could have taken it one step more and installed the six cylinder long wheel base kit - hindsight is such a wonderful thing.

I will replace the brake backing plate on the weekend and see if this solves the problem with having to pump the pedal three times before the brakes become effective. I can also agree with Colin's comment that the after-market snails are made of cheese. I will be getting a triangle file and notching the original snails.

Either that or I will alter the challenge and get stuck into the lighting system. You know things like having headlights, indicators and brake lights working. Oddly enough the horn works fine! Oh, add windscreen wipers on the unserviceable list too

Kind regards
Lionel

Hello All,

Well that was an interesting stroll. I went over to the shortie and noticed a very similar stain of brake fluid on the back driver's side tyre. The tyre was cleaned off with brake cleaner, rinsed off and rubbed dry last weekend.

Either I have cross threaded the hex fitting that connects to the brake wheel cylinder or the thread was faulty from the manufacturer.

I will try and track down a seal kit I bought a couple of years ago - hone one of the old brake wheel cylinders that were fitted to the car. I will see what happens then.

I will still swap over the brake backing plate as it is suspect. Well off I go to get dirty...

Kind regards
Lionel

Hello All,

I ran out of light before I could bleed the brake system this afternoon. However, this was the last thing on the "To Do" list for the weekend.

I removed the backing plate, brake shoes, brake wheel cylinder and the drum off one of the spares vehicles.

It turns out that this is the first Land Rover I have worked on where the springs were correctly fitted. Of course I cannot find the YouTube video now that I want it... anyway the scene opens with a view of the brake spring just under the brake wheel cylinder. The spring coil is on the top face of the brake shoes. The bloke mentions that this is incorrect. The spring coil should be located at the back of the brake shoe. The spares Land Rover was the first one that I have seen with this "correct" arrangement.

The other notable thing was that the previous owner must of put new brake shoes in not long before the vehicle was sold. I am pretty happy about that.

I took the hub, shoes and backing plate off the shortie and transplanted the whole componentry from the spares vehicle.

For the first time I could adjust the brake snails and have the wheel stop. I could actually feel the notches on the snail face as it interacted with the brake shoe pins!

I honed the spares vehicle's brake wheel cylinder and fitted a new seal kit to it. Hopefully this fixes the weep from the back of the cylinder and it dripping down the back of the backing plate and then through on to the rim; dripping down the tyre. The flare of the brake pipe that I made last weekend still looked sound. The new brake wheel cylinder I fitted a couple of weekends ago must have something wrong inside where the flare seats between the hex brake thread and the face of the brake wheel cylinder.

I also replaced the back flexible hose. The old one looked okay however I had replaced the two front ones so I might as well make it a complete set of new flexible hoses.

Looks like it is fingers crossed for the bleed next weekend and that I get a solid pedal for the first time. It would be really nice!

I am grateful for having sorted out the glow plug issue and being confident that when I want to start the motor that it actually complies.

Kind regards
Lionel

Hello All,

I replaced another leaking brake pipe with a new one. I even had the flare which has been leaking where it connects with the brake wheel cylinder made by a brake and clutch professional. I followed the advice about jacking the front of the shorty up as high as it could go. I pressure bled each brake wheel cylinder from: passenger rear to driver rear; to passenger front to driver's front. I had previously bled the master cylinder. Each wheel cylinder had a solid golden arc of brake fluid coming out of the bleeder.

I put the shorty back on four wheels and took it for a drive in the paddock. I put my foot on the brake pedal and it went straight to the floor. It pumped up after three pumps. Same old same old.

My son is getting married overseas in February so my last lot of expenditure on the shorty represents exactly that. Until after the wedding the shorty can just sit.

If the issue with the brakes is mechanical as John suggests such as: brake drums being out of true; faulty brake adjusters, it will need new brake drums fitted to it. When I buy new ones I might as well do a full upgrade. New brake drums, new backing plates for the 109 six cylinder engine-based units. In the process I will replace all the brake pipes and change them from the current single circuit to a dual circuit brake system.

At this stage I know I have achieved success in some areas with the shorty. When I first got it the clutch was inoperable and the engine would not start. The clutch was fixed with a new 2A slave cylinder; and a conversion from the Series 2A remote reservoir to an integrated Series 3 master cylinder. This meant my plumbing in a new pipe line and pressure bleeding it - successfully.

The engine was a total mongrel to start and attempts to start it were often fruitless. With a new system combining Land Rover parts and a genuine Toyota glow plug controller; plus new Bosch glow plugs, the engine can be started whenever I want it to. I can turn the engine off and come back hours later and it will again start reliably.

I may tinker with the electrics so that I have headlights, brake lights and indicators. Also, the windscreen wipers do not work. However, no further expenditure on the brakes or other major componentry until after my son's wedding next year.

Kind regards
Lionel

Hello All,

Well the weekend is over and I did not do any work on any of my Series Land Rovers. I spent Saturday sorting out my main work area which had started to emulate the Bermuda Triangle. Things routinely starting to go missing. During the clean-up I found a 1.5 mm drift from my Stanley punch and chisel set. One tool missing and it is no longer a set. With the missing tool found, all is well!

I also found the two LED trailer light combination and the 10 metres of 7 core wire that I bought years ago. They were put away while waiting for some free time so I could re-wire the trailer. One LED light was still in the twin pack. The other had grown legs. I actually found the loose unit first. I also found the flat seven pin male plug which was bought years ago too and stored somewhere else.

Today - Sunday - with all the parts found I started off by removing the old wiring loom and then I installed the new wire. I removed the old bulb-based light units and fitted the LED ones. All the wire joints were soldered and then insulated.

I ran out of daylight so I have the after work job of wiring the trailer plug in so it matches the car-based female plug. Hopefully, I have solved the problem where every time I hooked the trailer up I would blow the car's brake fuse. It turns out the old loom somehow got pinched and a couple of wires were mangled.

Not a spanner, a screwdriver, or a socket was wielded on a Land Rover this weekend... now I am in withdrawal. At least I know it can be done.

Oh, the reason for re-wiring the trailer? So I can do a Land Rover parts trip one weekend soon - teehee!

Kind regards
Lionel

Hello All,

Late last Thursday - the 20th of September, I ordered three complete sets of brake springs for my Series LWB vehicles direct from Bearmach located in the UK. The parts arrived at home this morning - 25th of September. You cannot fault Bearmach's level of service.

The springs themselves seem to be made out of superior materials than a set of "itparts" that came with a set of brake shoes. The Bearmach spring even feels heavier to hold in my hand.

Kind regards
Lionel

Hello All,

When I first bought the Shorty it was at the very least a cantankerous thing to start. After some interactions here and on a Toyota Diesel forum I was guided towards a solution. A previous Series 2A owner who went over to the dark side and bought a BJ40 Land Cruiser came up with a suggestion. It was the combination of a Series 1 Land Rover press button starter switch along with a genuine 1B diesel glow plug controller.

Having come back from holidays and then playing catch-up had caused me to not go near Shorty for months. Today I engaged the battery isolator and pressed the starter button on the dashboard until the glow plug indicator - glowed. I turned the ignition key on and the engine started up straight away. There was no hesitation at all. So it was a win!

I then looked at the back driver's tyre and it became obvious that the brake system still has some bladder control issues. A reminder of some still unresolved problems. I am going to replace the whole rear brake piping - apart from the now only months old flexible hose. The wheel cylinders are all new TRM OEM products.

Oh well it is a 2A wide light Series Land Rover - you win sometimes and other times you don't.

I am very happy for the win because without glow plus the Toyota 1B Diesel is far from user-friendly to start.

Kind regards
Lionel