Dad's Landrover

**Quarks** · 21st December 2010, 10:38 PM

Thanks all,

Work done to date is, er, not much - it's been the trailer that's had my attention recently. It has a load of firewood in it that I want to take to my district's Scout Camp... but it is now just up for the task.
I'm pretty sure the trailer is older than the SIII - and by the looks of things, has had a fair bit of modification for purpose over the years. As the photos previous show, it's really been part of the touring combination.

As the SIII has been safely (except for possum excrement) stored in the garage, the trailer has been exposed to the elements, and had bugger all maintenance done to it. So it is in need of a bit of loving.
That said, a couple of years ago I pulled the brake shoes out so the LHS wheel would turn (it has LWB rear brakes + series hub).

Anyway, I started by testing out the lights - I found only the centre light (brake / tail & numberplate) was working. So off came the side lenses and the problem was quickly revealed. The bulbs were perfectly fine, as they were being held in good contact to the ferrous oxide terminals, aided by the pressure from disintegrating rubber bands.

I thought the rubber band idea was a pretty good one - these lights had festoon style bulbs - and the band double or triple wrapped around the terminals on the housing, pulling them together. This would have made them more secure in bumpy conditions, although some did seem worse the wear from the heat of the bulbs.

That's not really relevant, as I ended up splashing out and replacing the side lights with LEDs. This took a bit longer that anticipated whilst I extended the wiring to put a brake light line to the side outriggers. But now they work brilliantly.

I jacked it up to see how the wheels were spinning - and found that the LHS, that I'd rebuilt was making a bit of a grinding noise as it went around. In my naïvety I thought they could have done with a bit of lube. So, hey, LR hubs, these take 90EP right, so I dutifully put some in. Only to have it promptly work its way through the axle, and start leaking out the other side.

Tins and rags now in place to catch the drips, now emanating from both sides, I decided I'd try and find out what was going on by pulling them to bits (again). Long story short, plenty of oilygreaseylube about, but the bearings were the issue. The manual says that the bearings ought to be a press fit in the hub - well, these were rather looser, which explains the sound. So everything back together, and a proper rebuild goes on to the todo-list that mother has just started (with a repaint).

As to the SIII, well, it's just taken a step back, as the Disco's new rear bumper needs to be cleared off the bonnet first.

**Quarks** · 24th December 2010, 10:19 AM

Some real progress at last!

As the wind laid off a bit the day before yesterday, working in the carport (aka wind tunnel) was tolerable, so I got the Disco's new rear bumper off the bonnet of the SIII, and swapped on. Here's hoping that little borther doesn't try precision parking again.

So on to the SIII.

I might have said before that I have a bit of a worklist - part from it's last failed roadworthy, part from what I've noticed since. Dad did start getting things together and some stuff did get done, but there's still a bit to go. There's also a box of bits in the back which I need to go through and catalogue so I know what's what.

From roadworthy:

Rear Spring Shackle Bushes
Front Spring Shackle Bushes
R/H/F Axle Oil leak
Oil leak Engine
Oil leak Transfer Case
Oil leak Steering Box
Front Shock Absorber Lower Bushes
L/H/R Shock Absorber Bushes

Also on the to-do list are:

Swap the soft rear springs back in
LH mirror
Investigate brake M/C - leak?

First priority, however, was dealing with a near-empty radiator, that also leaked from the top when I tried filling it.

So out it came, and I gave it a flush through. In doing so, a lot of stained water came out; and I couldn't locate the leak. Heck, even the drain tap was watertight

until I hit it with the water jet

.

I finally found it, by blocking off the bottom outlet, and filling it up completely until it was under pressure. Then it was a bit more apparent, coming from the front join in the top tank.

I can't see it really well in the pic, but I've since taken brush and file to the area, and it's a bit more apparent. I'll see what I can do with it later today.

I cleaned the other bits that came off - and put them in a container marked with the operation number from the manual, along with the (now annotated!) photocopied page from the book. So theoretically I should be able to put it back together

My thoughts are to work basically from engine through to the wheels. Given the limited space in the garage (there's less than inch roof clearance under the tinny), if I get the engine going, I should be able to swap the SIII over with the trailer, putting the SIII under the carport, where vertical clearance is not an issue!

Nor, for that matter, is giving the whole thing a good clean - I could do without the red dust and grime accumulated over the last 17 years.

Question time.
I'm thinking that given the colour of the water that came out of the radiator, flushing the block would be a good idea as well at this stage? I do have copious supplies of tank water - but containing it is going to be the hassle.

And if anyone is vaguely interested in taking a look, just let me know, as I'm usually about and will probably need some knowledgeable eyeballs.

**Blknight.aus** · 24th December 2010, 10:42 AM

just quickly solder up the radiator put it back in temporarily then hit it with a chemical block flush...

leave the cap off put a blanket in front of the radiator to block airflow and crank it up. let it do 1500rpm till the coolant starts to steam then slowly lift the blanket till the coolant temp hits and stays at about 95 degrees.... put the cap on and run it like that for 15 minutes or so (assuming its not drivable)
If its driveable take it out and work it up hard with the flushing agent in it, let it cool down some then running at a high idle flush fresh water into the system from the top with the drain open, a heater hose removed or with a screw driver inserted up along one of the main cooling system hoses. untill the water runs clear.

It helps to have removed the thermostat first but thats not mandatory.

With that done if you're not fixing it immediately pull the system apart and blow everythng out with compressed air to get rid of the water.

**Quarks** · 24th December 2010, 04:07 PM

Thanks Dave,

I soldered up the hole this morning and then tested it out to see how I'd done, but found that I now had 1 little jet, in place of the big one, plus 4 more similar ones. So I'll go back and attack them now.

I suspect the cooling system has been out of water for quite some time...

as when I drained it off, less than a litre came out!

**dolphint** · 25th December 2010, 02:35 PM

Hey Quarks, Merry Christmas, Great work your doing

I'm really enjoying your thread. i was having a look at your trailer photos and I'm not sure, but it looks lik a WW11 Jeep trailer, No. 4. I think there are some pictures in the REMLR section if you want to check 'em out. Keep the updates comming

**Quarks** · 30th December 2010, 10:42 AM

It lives!!!!

Got around to starting it up this morning... first time in 15 odd years... give it a bit of glow, and whaddyaknow, takes first turn of the starter!!!

Did the blocking thing on the radiator, got it up to temp, took it off, topped up a few times, found the thermostat works.

I have Permagrin.

**Blknight.aus** · 30th December 2010, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Quarks

It lives!!!!

mate it never really died, it was just having a bit of a breather.

15 years on the series landrover time scale is just a bit longer than a blink, shorter than a nap and yet is still about 3 times the life expectancy of a normal modern vehicle

**Quarks** · 30th December 2010, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by dolphint

Hey Quarks, Merry Christmas, Great work your doing

I'm really enjoying your thread. i was having a look at your trailer photos and I'm not sure, but it looks lik a WW11 Jeep trailer, No. 4. I think there are some pictures in the REMLR section if you want to check 'em out. Keep the updates comming

Thanks mate,

Hope you're having a good one.

I took a look around, and I'm pretty sure that it's not a No.4 - it looks a bit similar, but that's all.

The no.4 drawbar is much shorter, the tub sides have a different profile, likewise with the wheel arches. Probably inspired by, or something like that.

**VladTepes** · 31st December 2010, 05:18 PM

That's a fantastic family car / history mate. Half your luck.
Do her up and don;t sell it !

**Quarks** · 14th February 2011, 10:24 PM

3 pages back!

Yeah, well, really a whole lot of not much has been done by me, at least in the mechanical stakes. Well, ok, the clutch is good, but then it ought to be, sitting inside. And I'm a bit annoyed at discovering that the radiator still leaks - although not quite as badly as before.

However, I have found out some more of the last lot of work done on it.
Basically, it did a trip around WA & back home in '93, which it wasn't intended to - the County was meant to do it, but wouldn't fit on the Indian Pacific (till Broken Hill or Adelaide or some such). That trip took its toll, as pretty much most of the list of stuff I posted earlier as a 'to do list' stems from round about then. Anyway, it seems that with Dad's health failing, bits of the job were 'parted out' - with one family-friend-mechanic doing the engine sump, and another helping with the gearbox (which seems to be surprisingly leak-free!

). Probably helped by a generous use of sealant between each section up until the overdrive. Which, I reckon is the one responsible for the high-tide line in the drip tray.

As for the trailer... it was re-engineered into a 4WD style in the late 70's.

I found pics of it being towed behind my uncle's corona in '78. Back then, it was a little orange thing!

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