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Ex RAF LHD Land Rover 90 2.5na Diesel engine and gearbox rebuild


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Well,

 

Where to start? The 90 is an ex RAF vehicle that has fallen on hard times. Yes I will post all it's info later.

 

The injection pump is leaking, the gearbox has lost syncromesh on 2nd and 3rd, and in general the vehicle is undriveable for the most part. The degradation has been fueled by a multitude of drivers with a lack of skill on a manual gearbox and just a plain old tired engine.

 

We took the vehicle off the road about 2 years ago and parked it awaiting time or the instruction to sort it. We have looked at putting a tdi in it but cooler heads have prevailed and the decision has been made to rebuild locally what we have.

 

To put things in perspective for all of you, in case you have not noticed in the top right hand corner of this thread, we are in Canada. There is no product support for this vehicle from the Land Rover dealerships. This vehicle was never sold here in this configuration. All the parts will be sourced from the UK and sent air freight.

 

The plan is to sub out the rebuild of the LT77 gearbox and the transfer case to a local shop that has engaged and partnered with us and is not afraid of something different. The engine is also going out to a diesel shop that is run and owned by a very smart gent who I totally trust.

 

We at the Union Jack Collection are employees in the end and all of this work has to be slotted in between our regular work of being farmers and builders for the organisation that employs us. The MV work we do is such a small part of our jobs here, sadly.

 

We have been struggling with the serviceability of our fleet and this is one that has been singled out for getting serviceable by management. I am aided by my trusty mate and mechanic Gerry who comes in on wednesday nights to help us, as I am mechanically inlined but no means a mechanic. I supply all the grunt power and organisation in the furnishing of manuals and parts to make the work happen smoothly.

 

To help you get a flavour for the truck, it was purchased as shown from a wee company in Grantham UK a number of years ago and shipped to Canada. It has been used as a hack and daily driver on and about the property and done a lot of hard work.

 

The yellow paint job has always been a bone of contention with some saying the inside and out paint was an RAF gig but somehow I suspect that it was gussied up to make it look pretty and make it sell, who knows!

 

I will be dragging it on the A frame to the shop in the morning to get it ready for the work.

 

Hopefully we can turn this truck around in reasonable short order and get it back into use again.

 

The picture is from a few years ago when it was quite a lot tidier.

 

If you have any comments don't be shy to chirp up and chime in, all comments welcome.

 

Robin

Omva Kingston 08 017.jpg

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I would go for a 200tdi or 300tdi engine and box out of a Discovery it would make the 90 so much nicer to drive. you can get a running and driving disco fo £600 to £1000 a few mods and your running. I know your on the wrong side of the pond but looking at the fleet you have out there you could easily fill a container with lots of toot and get all the bits you neeed.

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I have just done a military 110 that we will be using on the H4H rally in June(Band of Brothers route across Europe) this has transformed the 110 I have fitted the complete engine and box from a 200tdi disco. This truck will be sold after(or during the rally with all the money going to H4H. if you need any pictures of the conversion let me know even managed to get the gearstick in the right place:-D

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Dear Tony,

 

I know you are a smart man so you will understand!

 

The quirks of working for other people rather than yourself plus being across the pond do present some challenges.

 

Nope, it is going to be a 2.5 na diesel as manufactured. End of story.

 

Dont get me started about "getting a container" and stuffing it full of goodies, don't go there

 

Ps much preferred your old avatar.

 

R

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IIRC they were yellow painted to be seen by incoming aircraft.

 

The engine designation on the N/A is 12J (in case you need to knowe to get parts for it,apologies if you knew that) The turbo diesel was 19J , But you really don't want one of them.:nut: (Not to be confused with Tdi)

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Dear Nudge and Mike,

 

I honestly can not agree with you on why it was painted yellow. I am well aware of how some RAF vehicles were painted like the glider 90s, but here is where I draw my suspicions come from;-

 

- when the vehicle was received out here the vehicle was so freshly painted, all over and all inside save the engine bay with no patina or wear to the paint.

 

- It already had a rebuild engine in it from MOD but all the fasteners that hold the gearbox tunnel in inside the cab were painted over. You have to take those out to change the engine.

 

- I can not honestly see the RAF taking the care to paint the inside as that part is not visible to an aircraft and would be extra work for the sake of extra work.

 

- I have visited the certain seller in Grantham and have been through their paint shop and see how pretty they make a vehicle, putting filler in the blade of a grader for example. It just reeks of their work.

 

- The colour is not one that I would say has any resemblence to any of the other 90s painted by the RAF.

 

Over to you

 

R

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Here is the data plate off the seat box.

 

From what I recall this vehicle build was not made in great quantity, can anyone else comment?

 

Funnily, at least to me, after going to the great effort to give a long description as to what type of vehicle it is the one thing they neglect to put on the data plate is that it is LHD.

 

R

LR 90 data plate 2.jpg

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I started yesterday afternoon working for about an hour and removed the radiator and front grille and took out the air filter and the fan shroud.

 

I did try to get the Phillips head screws out that hold the floor panels in but they were all corroded so elected to cut them off. We will have to address that issue later. Phillips head fasteners should be banned under the Geneva convention.

 

I had four hours booked last night to get the engine and gearbox out. I had been advised to pull the engine out first which we did, no drama there.

 

The gearbox was a bit more awkward and it was our first time but after some head scratching it went well.

 

We have found some extra issues that we will have to sort out plus some we think wise to do at the same time.

 

- The fuel tank is leaking

 

- Prop shaft U joints need replacing in two places

 

- All four axle seals leaking

 

- Think we should put in a new clutch slave and master cylinder as it is easy to do now.

 

- Think we should renew the brake master and check the wheel cylinders at the same time, truck has sat for 2 years.

 

- Inspect brake shoes

 

- Radiator to be pressure tested and washed

 

 

That is all I can remember from the dry erase board. Taking the various bits out today so I can clean the shop up.

 

R

LR 90 gearbox and trasnfer case.jpg

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My advice on your above list, replace all the uj's on the prop shafts, in my experience you do one end, then the other will give up a week later ........ (been there done that)

 

Nothing ruins Landy oil seals better than having the vehicle sat for ages, so you'll probably be better off replacing most of them.

 

And as to those philips floor screws .... i couldn't agree more ... horrid things .......

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Well,

 

On Thursday I took the gearbox and transfer case to Kingston transmission and then turned around and went back to the shop and made a crate to sit the engine on and then loaded that and took it off to Pratt Diesel in Carp, Ontario.

 

Now with those two items gone I can pull out the leaking fuel tank and send it out for repair estimate to the same shop I will take the radiator to.

 

Next week we will start the "list" of parts needed and get those ordered and set it all aside until parts or assemblies come back.

 

R

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Most of the landrover Repro fuel tanks I have seen for sale over here are made in Canada. may be worth a look! Fit a new one it will save mucking around later.

I bought my last one for £90 not sure if they are able to be sourced over there.

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The fuel tank and the radiator went to the same shop.

 

They want over $450 to repair the fuel tank and the radiator needs to be re cored and they want $400 for that.

 

I told them thanks but no thanks and went and paid the inspection fee of $41 for the pair and took them back.

 

A call to our local supplier of Land Rover parts got me a quote of $695 and $395 plus taxes landed at his door which is an hour and half away.

 

A call to Craddocks in the UK got me a quote for $395 for the pair plus freight and import duties. I think considering we need a new exhaust and a host of bits for the gearbox and the engine this will be the route i'm going to take.

 

If we had the fuel tank repaired that was only an estimate and as they said it will still be a 1985 fuel tank at the end of it.

 

As space is at a premium I have bundled all the bits and chucked them in the back and fitted the A frame and towed it the 7 kilometres to our other site and parked it undercover so I can pull in the next project to the shop.

 

Looks kind of sad sat there doesn't it.

 

 

 

R

LR 90 parked.jpg

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A small sidebar here,

 

as Tony or M109a3 posted the Land Rover fuel tanks and radiators are made in Canada, by Spectra International.

 

We have tried but they have an exclusive agreement to sell to the UK market, so its coals to Newcastle for us . . ..

 

 

 

R

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I cant find out who seems to make these tanks I'm at a Landrover how at the weekend and will have an ask round there. Prices you have quoted seem very high but i guess shipping kills it.

if you want me to get a price for shipping one over let me know.

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I was in the transmission shop last Saturday for other reasons and took the opportunity to take a couple of photographs.

 

The gearbox and transfer case are apart right now and a diagnosis of what parts need to be ordered which has been done and so we sit and wait for the parts now, which will be just over a week I figure.

 

The main cause of the failure of the syncro and gearbox was this tapered bearing which I believe if I recall what Tommy said, goes on the end of the main shaft. Once that had failed the shaft was not rotating but more oscillating and hence the syncros wouldn't engage properly coming down in the gears. This also lead to other wear in the gearbox which caused other problems.

 

R

LR 90 gearbox apart.jpg

LR 90 gearbox failure.jpg

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