S3 Landie....

[ArtistsRifles]

Good news - hopefully!!!

 

I whipped the oil pressure switches off the old and running engines today, in between rain showers, and - after a moments panic because the tops were totally different - fitted the one from the old engine to the running one. Getting covered in old engine oil in the process....

Anyways - started 55FM 58 up and the green light stayed off. Now to hope this switch hasn't failed the other way and I really don't have any oil pressure!!!!

 

On the down side - I happened to look at the I/P and noticed the bolt that holds the facia in place on the driver door side was loose. Tightening it had no effect, as did trying to remove it so after about 30 minutes struggling I managed to get the bolt out. Seem that the brass threaded part the bolt screws into has pulled out of the plastic moulding.. So when I get home after the Solihull trip it looks like being a case of dash out (again), insert out, packing the hole with super glue and tapping the insert back then letting the super glue set.

 

As regards the speedo - if I have to have the dash out again to do that insert I might see if I can borrow a speedo from somewhere and try it out to see if the issue Ruxy describes could be the cause. If it's not then I'll replace the cable and see if that cures it.

[Chrisg]

Hi Neil re the speedo problem I suspect that the problem is the drive in the gearbox slipping .it slips on to output shaft and only held in place by the tightness of the nut on the output shaft

[ruxy]

BRITPART brand speedo cables always were a problem at the gearbox end. So easy to copy the original exact & yet there were a few detail differences that caused lack of drive , possibly ones of more recent manufacture are better - they must have had loads back for warranty claim LoL

[ArtistsRifles]

Hi Neil re the speedo problem I suspect that the problem is the drive in the gearbox slipping .it slips on to output shaft and only held in place by the tightness of the nut on the output shaft

 

AFAIK - this one is a genuine Landy part (shows no signs of having been changed) - so to rectify it's a simple case of tightening the nut????

I know I'm going to regret asking this - it can never be this simple!!

[ruxy]

Are you certain the securing retention plate has 3 qty. little screws (2BA x 1/4" long) are present tightened fully home . IIRC the Britpart cable drive end was triangular , not square or &/or too short to engage the drive ..

[Chrisg]

AFAIK - this one is a genuine Landy part (shows no signs of having been changed) - so to rectify it's a simple case of tightening the nut????

I know I'm going to regret asking this - it can never be this simple!!

Got to be worth trying

[ArtistsRifles]

Are you certain the securing retention plate has 3 qty. little screws (2BA x 1/4" long) are present tightened fully home . IIRC the Britpart cable drive end was triangular , not square or &/or too short to engage the drive ..

 

Not certain as I've not looked closely. I'll have a nose whilst I am up at Solihull this week.

[ArtistsRifles]

Long overdue update.... MoT time just came around and the garage I used to use has changed hands, the new owner's being rather less interested in old interesting vehicles and more into Euro clones so I was bricking it a bit at the thought of going to a new garage with an unknown examiner. Turns out there was no need - I arrived at the appointed time and the examiners first words were literally "Oh wow!" Turned out he was a Landie enthusiast (sadly not military) of many years standing and knew them inside out. I got sat down with a hot cup of coffee whilst the test was carried out, invited into the testing area to view the chassis and underside because, as the tester said, "normally when you see this area you are flat on your back with muck falling in your eyes". Some 45 minutes late I was driving out with a new MoT certificate with no advisories what so ever.

If any one is in the East London area and needs an MoT I'd recommend the Icthus Service Centre at Chadwell heath (hope the free plug is OK with the mods).

For the MoT all I had to do was swap the wiper switch - that packed up on me coming home from the Bunker at Brentwood in March after an LRO photoshoot - and of of course it was heaving down with rain at the time which made driving rather interesting!! The Britpart unit is now replaced with a genuine Landrover part.

Then I found the passenger side wiper stopped moving - at first I thought it was the wheelbox but turned out to be the adapter spinning on the shaft. Murphys law struck here - I have a very early Series 3 with round wheelbox shafts and the only adapters available are later ones for the squared shafts - also a smaller hole. So I had to get these bored out to fit on the shafts. This is when I found out all the local jobbing machine shops around me that I used to use had been forced out of business by the recession :cry: Luckily both Lee and Ian from EMLRA stepped in and bored a pair out for me so I now have spares

Murphys law struck again when trying to do the grub screws up as the were flat bottomed and soft so when tightened to the point of rounding off the screw still skidded over the surface of the shaft. I had to grind a small flat on to the shaft where the screw touches to get it to lock. Then cut a small slot in the end of the rounded screw so I could use a screwdriver. Obviously next step there will be to get some better quality grub screws - perhaps stainless - with a pointed end. Jut need to work out what the thread is, thought they were m4 but the O/D of the grub screw is 4.56mm or about 7/16" so perhaps UNF?

Next step once the weather settles down is to get the shunt box relocated from behind the passenger seat into the rear where it should be and get the power distribution feed for the radio batteries fitted and wired in.

Also still need to sort out getting the adapters for the capillary senders for the oil and water temp gauges and fitting them in, the heater blower unit (currently sitting on the sideboard indoors much to the OH's annoyance) - again no idea what bolts are required here, running a new feed for the panel light switch from the 6 way to the I/O switch on the panel and then just finishing off the radio fittings.

I managed to get hold of a set of mil-spec plates for 55 FM 58 with no silver edging. Just need now to work out a way of easily fitting them securely at show's.

[ArtistsRifles]

Latest update:

Took the old girl down to Middle Wallop for the AAC veterans day on Sat. Talk about eventful!!!

First I had just crossed the QE2 bridge when the speedo needle twitched and dropped to zero.

Next I just turned onto the M3 when loud banging came from the gearbox (think driving over cats eyes at 20 mph) and the lever started jerking from side to side. Pulled onto the hard shoulder and into neutral and banging stopped. Put into 3rd - started banging, back into 4th and more banging - into 3rd and quiet! Back into 4th and still quiet so I opted to carry on. Got there OK and headed home all was well till the Dartford tunnel and the exhaust manifold gasket blew.

By the time I got home there was a very strong smell of hot gearbox oil and the gearbox cover was almost too hot to touch.

 

Got the gearbox end of the speedo cable off today and this is what it looks like:

 

Also noticed the actual cable had been laying directly on the exhaust pipe and the outer cable sheath was melted away:

 

Which might well explain why the speedo slowed down as she warmed up. So - new cable required. The ISPL for the 109" FFR does not list a part number that I can find for the cable, Craddocks website suggests it is 90623054 - can onyone confirm this please??

I also started removing the bolts from the manifolds to change the gaskets out - got all but the bottom 3 (the ones hidden by the down pipe_ out before the heavens opened and rain stopped play. Again - looking in the ISPL it only gives a part number - GEG661 (now 564307) - for the exhaust manifold, no part number is shown or seemingly given for the inlet manifold - again can some one confirm this please?

 

Other than these issues I had a nice day out down with the AAC - the old girl seemed to be a magnet for both young and old alike, Just got to get her fixed for W&P now.

[ArtistsRifles]

Spent the day in between showers of varying intensity finishing the strip-down. Speedo cable is out - what a performance!! - and alll but two of the manifold bolts. Can't get those out till tomorrow as I seem to have mislaid my short socket extension and need to go get another one.

 

Folk over on EMLRA have confirmed the part numbers need for the gasket and speedo cable and these are now ordered. Hopefully here the day after tomorrow and the rebuild can take place.

 

Checked the oil level in the gearbox again - I did check it on the Thursday before I left and it was OK, Today it took over half a litre of oil top get it to start appearing out of the level plug. Bit confused by that one as there are no apparent major oil leaks!!

[Richard Farrant]

Checked the oil level in the gearbox again - I did check it on the Thursday before I left and it was OK, Today it took over half a litre of oil top get it to start appearing out of the level plug. Bit confused by that one as there are no apparent major oil leaks!!

 

Check the transfer box level, it may well have increased.

[ArtistsRifles]

Will do Richard - floors are out to make life easier so..... If it has - - dumb question perhaps - what's the fix??

[Chrisg]

Leaking seal between the main gearbox and transfer box

[ArtistsRifles]

Thanks Chris - will check when work resumes tomorrow.:cheesy:

[ArtistsRifles]

​The parts from Craddocks arrived today so first job was to finish taking off the manifolds by playing hunt the bolt..... Ended up looking at the scrap/spare engine by the garage to find the one I could not see for love or money... Finally found it and got them off and looked at the old gasket - no sign of a blow which worried me!!

 

 

However I fitted the new one piece gasket and tightened the bolts up to 17 lb/ft. Refitted the carb etc and thought give it a whirl over see if its cured. Thats when I found out in removing the old speedo cable I'd pulled a LT wire off the starter solenoid.

 

 

So I moved on to the speedo cable - fed it through the bulkhead, refitted the grommet the fitted the head end to the speedo. Routed the cable down behind the engine and starter to the gearbox and fitted that end. Worse part of the day - getting those screws in!!!

Tomorrow I have to refit the steering wheel, floor plates and that dislodged wire and all will be done. After that the next job will be fitting the adapters for the temp gauges as they arrived from DingoCroft today.

 

 

Oh - and as I finished work for the say I happened to look down - and the N/S rear was nearly flat... Not sure if its a puncture or the local little sh*ts have been playing again so pumped it back up and will see how it is tomorrow.

[ArtistsRifles]

Well - the day started off sunny so I cracked on. had to stand the bonnet upright to be able to reconnect the solenoid wire but once done all went well - no more blowing from the exhaust manifold. Refitted the steering wheel and floor plates after checking the box oil levels - both seemed normal - but - the gearbox drain plug seemed to be dripping more than it usually does....

Was going to go for a test drive but the OH had blocked me in so I opted to carry on. I needed to change the jockey pulley over as the existing one was moaning like hell at idle speeds. Filled the new one with oil to the level and then started taking off the old one. What a PITA. the nuts will not unwind the last few threads to get them off. Tomorrow if we get sun again I will wind them back on and try cleaning the treads again. I also found the oil temp gauge sender had been shut in the bonnet or something whilst in a garage - it was squashed and now will not fit through the adapter sleeve.

Again if we get sun tomorrow I will will try heating it with a hot air gun to see if I can soften the brass enough to be able to squeeze it back down with a set of mole grips. Oh the joys....

And then rain stopped play again - the heavens opened big time.

[ArtistsRifles]

After 2 days fighting rusted nuts and bolts - indeed shearing one in two I finally got the jockey pulley off and the new one fitted. Front bolt sheared as stated and the back nut would not come off the last few mm. Didn't want to shear that long bolt so was stumped for a while as nothing seemed to work. Then from the dim and distant memory came a dodge learnt in my apprenticeship - winding the nut back to expose the unused 12mm of thread I used a junior hacksaw to cut a slot diagonally across the thread just a tad deeper than the thread root. That did the trick and the nut came off sweet as anything. Fitting the new one was a lot easier!

 

 

Then I went to fit the oil temp sender only to find the actual sender had been crushed at some point when it was in a garage - probably for MoT. Got a bowl of boiling water hoping to soften the brass and let me squeeze back into shape enough to fit through the adapter only to find the gauge did not register when the sender was placed in the bowl of water. To verify I placed the water sender in and that gauge registered so obviously the oil sender was stuffed meaning I had to replace the entire gauge. (unless any one knows a firm that can repair capillary gauges?). Checking Craddocks web site they were listed as NLA - but oddly were for sale on their eBay page so a new one was ordered.

 

Today I wanted to take her out (a) to get a suspected puncture repaired and (b) to verify the speedo against a GPS based one on the phone. Talk about best laid plans!! As I pulled out of the side road onto the main road I saw lots of flashy blue lights ahead and as I drew closer sure enough the road was closed for an accident - right outside the tyre place. Just as I went to turn into a side road to return home the exhaust started blowing again - up until then it had been quiet. After getting home I let her cool so I didn't fry myself on the rad and checked the bolt tightness - all were tight. Started her up and all was quiet again. So I repeated the experiment to verify the speedo only for the exhaust to go again more or less in the same place. After metaphorically banging my head on the brick wall in frustration I had a word with Stu (Saracen Stump) and he suggested checking the retaining washers hadn't turned on the lower bolts. I had a look and it was a case of what bolts?? let alone the washers. Looking on the scrap engine the two bolts under the car assembly were there with the bridging washers. Looking on the engine in the car they were gone! No idea if they were ever there or not as they aren't in the most accessible or visible place. So next step will be to break out the tool with a camera on the end of a probe (no idea what the fancy name is) and have a look to see if the bolt holes are there and do not have sheared bolts in. IF they are there and are clear then I will take the bolts off the scrap engine and try fitting them without having to strip the entire manifold down again. Hopefully that will cure the blowing business. If it does not then I may well be prevented from taking her to the W&P show :cry:

[ArtistsRifles]

OK - I now have one of those problems that leave you feeling as though you wish being born was an option to be avoided!! >

 

Changed the manifold gasket - run her up on the drive and quiet. Took her for a test drive and for the first 1/4 mile or so still quiet then the blowing came back. Quietly but rapidly getting to the point heads were turning. I've checked all the bolts, they are tight - even the two hidden down by the central block on the manifold the carb sits. on.

 

Came back in again from another test run today - it happens pretty much on the same spot - i.e. - same time and distance covered every time. Left the engine running at above fast idle on the hand throttle so I could feel for the pulse of hot gas around the manifold gasket. Picture below shows where I found it - coming out of the leading edge of the number 3 cylinders INLET port!!! Tried twiddling a few things and found that if I applied torque to the cylinder head bolt at top centre of the photo the noise changed, went quieter.. But I have no idea why it is doing this and time is running out for W&P.

 

Has anyone else come across this situation before and if so - what was your fix?

A blowing exhaust I can understand - but why does it need about a 1/4 mile before it starts and why it is blowing exhaust gas out past an inlet ports gasket????

 

[sirhc]

Is it flat? Maybe warping when it is hot?

[ArtistsRifles]

As far as I know - yes. All was fine till the run home from Middle Wallop. Started blowing coming through the Dartford Tunnel. That trip was the journey from hell there and back and this was the icing on the cake.

[Marmite!!]

As far as I know - yes. All was fine till the run home from Middle Wallop. Started blowing coming through the Dartford Tunnel. That trip was the journey from hell there and back and this was the icing on the cake.

How did you check it was flat?

[ArtistsRifles]

Put a steel rule across the surfaces. The thought did occur but why would it warp mid trip???? And why is it pushing exhaust gas out of an inlet port?

[.303fan]

just a question,are the tin gaskets in place too?

 

i just read the start of the thread, nice friends you had... reminds me of mine!

[ArtistsRifles]

Which tin gaskets?? Bear in mind engine is a 3 bearing lump out of an S2A - it only had the one piece composite gasket same as I fitted. I thought it was only the later 5 bearings that had tin exhaust gaskets??

[Richard Farrant]

Which tin gaskets?? Bear in mind engine is a 3 bearing lump out of an S2A - it only had the one piece composite gasket same as I fitted. I thought it was only the later 5 bearings that had tin exhaust gaskets??

 

I built hundreds of S2a and S3 2.25 engines and I only recall them having the pressed steel inlet gaskets, no exhaust gaskets. See link here, they are for 2a and 3 : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/371035779077?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

 

You said that you checked the manifold faces with a rule, hope it was longer than 12 inches as you need to go end to end and also check alignment between the two manifolds.