Thread: Rusted door tops - fix or replace? Some other questions too!!!

Originally Posted by pfillery

Hi all.

I have a 75 Series 3 LWB, was a "barn find" which I'm in the process of putting back on the road.

Amongst a few other things like seals and oil leaks which you'd expect to need replacing after 35 odd years, the door tops under the sliding windows are rusty on the inside (right on the front and rear inside edge of the steel frame) and there is some movement when you push them. Is this a death sentence for these door tops or have any of you managed to repair them, and more to the point, is it worth it? Can they be filled/strengthened from the inside with filler or fibreglass?

Forget fibreglsss - they may be weldable, but this needs looking at to assess. I would not have thought they would be a RWC issue, though.

Or do you DIYers still feel that the easiest route is replacement of the whole frame?

Simplest, quickest and possibly cheapest is to replace the door top - but S/H tops are rare in good condition. New ones are available, and can also be bought in all alloy, which is probably preferable, but are not cheap.

I know this is one of the common rust spots on these cars and so far is the only spot with any visible rust (don't even have any surface rust on my chassis!). For that matter, can I pull off the door tops and take it back without them - no door tops = no rust so should pass RWC?


No reason not to remove door tops unless it is raining.

A couple of other things - is it common for people to remove the steering stoppers from the front hubs for any reason? Mine have been removed so the wheels touch the springs on full lock. Presumably a simple matter of finding or fabricating some new ones and fitting them to stop this problem.

There is no reason to remove the steering stops. They may merely need adjustment, and the rubbing may be due to oversize tyres. They are a longer bolt on the front of the swivel seal retainer which hits a tab under one of the bolts attaching the ball to the axle housing. Rubbing tyres IS a RWC fail!

Also the RWC inspector said the gearbox mount was broken and that when he drove over a speed bump the gearbox jumped out of gear - could the broken mount cause this to happen or did the guy just not have it in gear properly? (never happened to me before while I've driven it and I don't think they'd ever seen a Land Rover for an inspection)

Broken mount should not cause it to jump out of ger unles, for example, it allowed the gear lever to hit the driver's leg. Jumping out of gear may simply have been a pre-existing fault that you have not encountered but he did because he is a rough driver. Replacing the selector springs may stop it if this is the case, and it is a minor job (see manual)

I have to do the swivel hub seals and a couple of the swivel bearings have play so is there an easy way to do this or am I better buying a front end rebuild kit and doing the whole thing in one go? I have a workshop manual but still would imagine this isn't a 5 minute job for the faint hearted?

Your knowledge and advice would be greatly appreciated. And does anyone know any wreckers in the Brisbane north area who wreck Land Rovers? Most of them only laugh when you ask!

Loose swivel bearings will cause the seals to leak, and you might perhaps consider adjusting the preload to see if this fixes the leaks. You can get a replacement seal which has a join, and this is easy to install, but in my experience shorter lived, although it might be worth considering if swivels can be successfully preloaded. Doing the job properly is not particularly difficult, but will probably take all day the first time. Replace the swivel bushes and possibly pins and bottom bearing while at it, and consider replacing the wheeel bearings while you are about it, although this is easy enough to do any time. The U-joint will probably be OK, but be prepared to fit a new one if any doubt, as they are cheap. If the surface of the ball is not in good condition, consider replacing them or getting them reconditioned, although this is expensive.

Hope this helps,

John

Originally Posted by pfillery

And does anyone know any wreckers in the Brisbane north area who wreck Land Rovers? Most of them only laugh when you ask!

I'm new here too and would like to know about this too, although I believe that British OffRoad up at Forest Glen specialise in Land Rovers.

Let me know how you go at finding out about the door tops, mine have a slight amount of rust although someone in the past has done a repair job and completely removed the locking mechanisms for the windows (and the doors), so I may be looking for some new door tops.

Originally Posted by pfillery

Hi all.

I have a 75 Series 3 LWB, was a "barn find" which I'm in the process of putting back on the road.

Amongst a few other things like seals and oil leaks which you'd expect to need replacing after 35 odd years, the door tops under the sliding windows are rusty on the inside (right on the front and rear inside edge of the steel frame) and there is some movement when you push them. Is this a death sentence for these door tops or have any of you managed to repair them, and more to the point, is it worth it? Can they be filled/strengthened from the inside with filler or fibreglass? Or do you DIYers still feel that the easiest route is replacement of the whole frame? I know this is one of the common rust spots on these cars and so far is the only spot with any visible rust (don't even have any surface rust on my chassis!). For that matter, can I pull off the door tops and take it back without them - no door tops = no rust so should pass RWC? I have been running without door tops ever since I got my 2A, it also was not an issue with road worthy. I have a spare pair of tops I don't use if anyone is interested.

A couple of other things - is it common for people to remove the steering stoppers from the front hubs for any reason? Mine have been removed so the wheels touch the springs on full lock. Presumably a simple matter of finding or fabricating some new ones and fitting them to stop this problem.Not a good idea to run without them. It will kill the seals, I have mine adjusted to suit the offset of my rims and to allow the swivel to turn to maximun before the seal runs off the swivel onto the neck of the swivel. I am scrapping various rover parts this thursday, including a complete hub to hub front axle set Also the RWC inspector said the gearbox mount was broken and that when he drove over a speed bump the gearbox jumped out of gear - could the broken mount cause this to happen or did the guy just not have it in gear properly? (never happened to me before while I've driven it and I don't think they'd ever seen a Land Rover for an inspection)I would try new selector springs first up(easy fix) with new gearbox mounts

I have to do the swivel hub seals and a couple of the swivel bearings have play so is there an easy way to do this or am I better buying a front end rebuild kit and doing the whole thing in one go? I have a workshop manual but still would imagine this isn't a 5 minute job for the faint hearted?

Your knowledge and advice would be greatly appreciated. And does anyone know any wreckers in the Brisbane north area who wreck Land Rovers? Most of them only laugh when you ask!

I have heaps of parts, some of them are going to scrap this week, PM me or email me at sideroad@gmail.com and I can sent you pics of my spares. I want to get rid of all spares.

Originally Posted by Sideroad

PM me or email me at sideroad@gmail.com and I can sent you pics of my spares. I want to get rid of all spares.

I tried sending a PM, but I think I failed, email sent instead.

I have some new door tops in the shed--not yet fitted--came with my series 3 so they are available, or once were available.

I bought new top tops from England (without glass) they cost 19pounds each + freight

Mrs hh

that is not to bad i do have glass if anyone needs it but i am pretty sure you would have it

Interesting how everyone reckons doors tops are expensive, a local 4wd parts peddler,(Kotara) who has excellent prices and knowledge sells brand new locally made ones for $120 even come with the bailey channel, would rather give it to a local than go offshore. At that price who would be bothered even trying to repair the old ones

john