A Landy is reborn

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kstrutt1
Posts: 516
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2011 8:55 pm
Location: essex

Re: A Landy is reborn

#181 Post by kstrutt1 » Sat Jun 06, 2015 7:58 pm

Could you use a banjo fitting such as the one on the rear of morris minors?

I am told bleeding them backwards withn a syringe works well, mine also seem to bleed the last few bits of air out with use, after a few miles the pedal improves significantly.

tractorman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A Landy is reborn

#182 Post by tractorman » Sat Jun 06, 2015 11:02 pm

I have to admit that I did think of a banjo fitting, but I suspect it may be worse as the diameter of the fitting is larger and there's not a lot of space around the cylinder. I didn't go into it in any depth though!!

It was one step forward and eight backwards today! I got the studs out and put the first one through the link - or should I say, I tried to put it through the link and it wouldn't go! Someone has made two new studs out of thicker bar (possibly 12mm) and I don't know how they got it through the links originally as they wouldn't go without a good hammering for me (and I don't hammer things like that into castings!). I then had a closer look at the other six studs and the eight nuts and decided that the threads were well past their prime, so have ordered new ones. I did think of using bolts (7/16" BSF to be exact!), but they are NOT cheap!

On the other hand, I decided to use the time it takes for the studs to come to sort out the alternator. I don't like the way the Lucas one is so close to the exhaust, so got the original alternator out and eventually got the double pulley off. I intend to have a mess with it tomorrow and see if I can get the rather rusty through-bolts out and turn the front mounting plate to make it a RH alternator. Of course, the pulley is 17mm and the Lucas one is 15mm - so there's another mod to do!!

tractorman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A Landy is reborn

#183 Post by tractorman » Sun Jun 07, 2015 11:07 am

Slight update: the through-bolts on the alternator were almost loose and two came off very easily! The third was bent between the nut and the end, which ruined the nut. Fortunately a second nut has held the poor one in place and the newly cleaned alternator is just waiting its new pulley. I was pleased to find that the end bearing is in good condition - as are the brushes! I'll leave the pulley on the Lucas alternator so that it's ready to fit whatever vehicle needs it in the future.

tractorman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A Landy is reborn

#184 Post by tractorman » Mon Jun 08, 2015 11:41 pm

Another session today saw the hub assemblies back on the housings. There were only a couple of minor snags: the n/s half shaft didn't want to go back into the diff (but I did manage in the end!). I'm ashamed to mention the other problem - I'm putting it down to not wearing my (reading) glasses: I managed to get the bearings the wrong way round on the RH housing! The hub did look odd, pointing down at a 20 degree (very roughly) angle and, even looking at the original housings didn't help (still without glasses!). However, it was all sorted quite quickly and, when the studs and nuts come, I can fit those and set about adjusting the pre-load on the top pin.

The brake pipes weren't as bad as I had feared: I ended up slackening the wheel cylinders off while I put the links on and, after a bit of fiddling, I have about 2mm between the pipes and the nearest bolt (which will be a stud and nut soon).

Thanks to the cock-up, I did two and a half hours' work on it today!! Nell was not impressed - it meant that lunch (mine) was late - she enjoys that as she sits on the sofa and cuddles up to me - pretending she isn't begging!

tractorman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A Landy is reborn

#185 Post by tractorman » Thu Jun 11, 2015 11:06 pm

Just to show the rearranged piping for the front brakes:

Image

You can just about see the pipe that will connect to the flexi hose behind the bleed nipple. Note that there are only two bolts holding the top pin - the other two are holding the steering arm on as the studs and nuts that I ordered last Saturday haven't arrived yet! Oh yes, to show we DO get some sun "up North", the white bit is the sun shining on the bumper!

The new pulley and fan arrived yesterday so today's job was to get the alternators swapped. I'm glad to say the job was a success and, for some strange reason, the alternator is also further from the engine (the adjustment is further along the "slide"). I would say that it was a quick job, but the bolt holding the bracket to the big plate is nicely in line with the front mounting bolt - I may go back to it later and sort that out as I suspect the nut on the mounting bolt may have stripped - or stretched its thread. You can see the bolts in the pic below - it looks as if there's plenty of space, but there isn't! However, there's a lot more room between the alternator and the turbo, which was the reason for returning the original alternator to its rightful place.

Image

Image

Incidentally, some of you may recognise the three countersunk screws on the back mounting. They were taken off a scrap Minor when I replaced a door hinge on the boss's Moggy pick-up in 1971! Yes, sometimes not throwing anything away is sensible!!

I may have a panic attack later on and buy some lagging for the turbo/exhaust just to be on the safe side!

The day was spoilt because "my mate Phil" turned up with a Transit problem - it sometimes charges and sometimes just shows a red light! Luckily it was a "Kev job" (ie the local garage), but Nell and I were needed to give him a lift home. Nell doesn't give up her front seat easily - or to be more exact, Nell doesn't give up her front seat - as Phil discovered! As Phil couldn't get to his jobs, he decided to change the (kids') Corsa back brake shoes - and then reappeared for help/advice. So it was a double whammy - triple if you count the fact that he didn't realise the Corsa has ABS and he bought the wrong shoes! Even worse, after I gave him a can of brake cleaner, he discovered the Corsa needs a new wheel cylinder. Kev will be a wealthy man next month!

Dare I suggest that tomorrow's job will be to put the new brake shoes on the Landy? That was on today's list!

tractorman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A Landy is reborn

#186 Post by tractorman » Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:46 pm

I actually managed to get both tasks completed today - in spite of having to reuse my original springs for the brake shoes.

Here are the identical springs:

Image

First success - the new shoes:

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These went on quite easily and I was impressed that Britpart had even put a chamfer on the leading edge of the shoes. Again, note the new pipe layout - and note that this was the swivel housing that I got wrong (the blue "silicone" gives the game away).

The drums were in pretty good condition once they were cleaned off, so not as difficult to put on as they were to take off! They look quite smart too!

Image

That photo gives the game away for the next task that I managed to get done - the new freewheel hubs!

Image

I just need to put a bit of black paint on the new spring washers (and the bolts) and they will look like new! I suppose the axle should have been cleaned and painted though!

The new studs haven't arrived and the order is "awaiting", so I have sent an email to see if I can hurry things along as it's now holding things up as I want the pre-load sorted before putting the new seals and gaiters on and I can't sort the brake pipes until the seals are on (the seals' retaining ring bolts also hold the pipe bracket in place). Also, I don't really want to jack the back end up while the front end is on stands - that's courting disaster - so I can't get on with the back brakes either.

tractorman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A Landy is reborn

#187 Post by tractorman » Mon Jun 15, 2015 6:45 pm

There hasn't been a lot of progress over the last three days. As the studs hadn't arrived, I did one or two of the jobs that get left: the tee into the top hose for the header tank was sorted; I wanted a 10mm hose to the tank and the original hole in the adapter was about 6mm (at a guess). However, I have a 1/4" BSP tap and a 1/4" BSP fitting which will take a 3/8" hose, to a few minutes work gave me the required outlet! The next job was even easier - I spotted the four clips and screws that were part of a set of eight to hold the back of the wings to the "A pillar" and, as I had four original clips, I didn't fit them. After a bit of thought, I decided to have it all new and was glad I changed my mind after taking the old ones out!

The final job was to clean the bolts and drain/filling plugs for the hub seals etc. That will save a bit of time when I get to doing the job!

I don't know how I'll manage for the next few days as my apprentice is on heat! She's being more clingy than usual - though is getting to the stage where she wants to be out in case a likely male calls! However, she did persuade me to fit the studs this evening - they arrived while I was out this morning and were left with a neighbour who then went out to work until three o'clock!

When the Golf was in for its MOT (mid April), I asked Kev to have a look at the n/s/r tyre as it seemed to have a slow puncture. He (or Alex) didn't notice anything, so I kinda left it (it's easier to blow it up now and then!) When I was at Phil's the other day, I noticed one of the Chinese front tyres was nearing the limit. "Yipee" I thought - the front tyres aren't a pair and that annoyed me - especially as they were both cheap (unknown name) makes. So I went to my "friend" at the local indy tyre place and bought a pair of Michelin "Energy" tyres (£140 fitted and balanced etc) and asked if they would have a look at the back tyre. They found a self tapper in the tread straight away! To really annoy me - it had Land Rover blue paint on it! The f***in' Land Rover is even causing damage to other vehicles when it is parked in the garage! One of the reasons for going to the independent tyre place: they repaired the puncture FOC.

Oh yes, the Golf is much nicer with decent tyres on it; the brakes are better too :oops:

tractorman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A Landy is reborn

#188 Post by tractorman » Sat Jun 20, 2015 7:46 pm

There have been some progress: the front wheels are back on and the Landy is standing on the ground again! I managed to get the gaiters fitted without too much difficulty (though one of the "bellows" has stuck together a bit). The break pipes have been made and fitted (as have the two front hoses) and the hubs have nice new oil in them - as has the front diff. I had about a teacup's worth of oil left in the can and can't remember if I have changed the back diff's oil or not. I will have to check and will be annoyed if I haven't as I'll have to buy more oil!

I also cleaned the steering box and filled it with oil (it was almost bone dry). There isn't any sign of the new oil leaking, so I am a little perplexed as I haven't changed any seals or gaskets!

I managed to get the transmission brake drum off today and, like John, have found a nice oil-soaked pair of linings (there would have been a year or more's life left in them!!), so the next order is starting to bulk up a bit. I'm glad to say that it is only linings, oil seal and "special" tool to remove the propshaft bolts at the moment.

Tomorrow's job will be to jack the back end up and strip the back brakes to see what else may be needed. I hope that they are on good condition, but very much doubt it!

tractorman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A Landy is reborn

#189 Post by tractorman » Mon Jun 22, 2015 7:06 pm

It won't come as a surprise, but the back brake linings are/were pretty worn! I had a fight with the n/s drum - all three retaining screws were well past their prime and it took a while to persuade them to come out and it took heat, percussion from windy gun and air chisel and lots of "Shock and Release" before a few gentle taps with a punch got them moving!

I spent a while pressure-washing the flags at the back of the house today - after treating the drums to a soak in Gunk (the green stuff seems better than the original), I gave them a blast with the pressure washer and got carried away when I noticed how much crud came off the flags! I ended up using a 45 gall barrel of recycled water (from the bath) and some out of the rainwater barrel (it got refilled later on!). Guess who has a water meter!

After a thorough wash, I got the angle grinder and wire brush out, gave the drums a good clean off and they are now in nice blue paint to match the front drums. How I got blue paint on my hand this evening while bringing them back indoors is anyone's guess - I was wearing gloves, but I am one of those people who spends their life getting mucky (I even came out of the operating theatre with the pink/purple antiseptic stuff on my hands - nowhere near the scar!

The shoes were rather worn:

Offside:

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Transmission brake:

Image

Note the oil on the one on the right!

Cleaned off backplate:

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All the old shoes have been double-bagged and I intend to go to the recycling place tomorrow and get rid of them - and a lot of other stuff (like old brake pipes and other scrap I've taken off the Landy).

There are about half a dozen orders "in the post" at the moment! Unfortunately, the important one has been delayed as some spring rings (for the track rod end boots) were out of stock and a delivery was due this afternoon.

I have found a way to reduce the cost of the refurb! I've moved a lot of the "odds and sods" I've bought to the "stock" section, so the refurb total doesn't include a few hundred bolts, sheets of metal or lots of primer, abrasives etc!

tractorman
Posts: 1399
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:22 am
Location: Wigton, Cumbria

Re: A Landy is reborn

#190 Post by tractorman » Tue Jun 30, 2015 11:12 pm

Someone asked last week about when I would start to put the body back together! He was rather surprised when I said it would be this week and I won't be far out!

I spent some of last week sorting the steering: the various rods have been rubbed down and are now in nice satin paint with new boots on the ball joints! The link from the relay to the n/s/f hub should be on tomorrow and that's another job off the list. I am a bit perplexed though: there was oil all over the steering box and, after cleaning it off and putting new oil in, there aren't any leaks! Yes, I know it's a Land Rover, but what do I have to do to get it to leak again? Thinking of things needing oil, I spent a happy quarter of an hour topping up the idler with an oil can and used a lot more oil than I expected.

The new linings have been fitted on the back brakes and the transmission brake is in full working order at long last! I ended up cleaning the backplates off and repainting them - though I didn't bother taking the transmission brake's adjuster off and checking it was free (it wasn't - but some "Shock and Release" soon cured that). I can't really adjust any of the main brakes though - I need to bleed the system first and get the shoes "set".

Image

The eagle-eyed will notice the lack of a propshaft. It's hanging from the roof timbers at the moment and has a nice coat or two of stone-chip and a coat or two of black satin. It is somewhat pitted though, almost enough to make me think of changing it. Annoyingly, it is in good condition otherwise - the UJs and the sliding joint are excellent! You may also notice the nice clean oil in the newly-cleaned bowl. That has come from the transfer box - a second batch after I forgot that the output shaft is below the oil level :oops: However, there was only a drop or two on the floor as the "paraffin bowl" was there to catch the stuff that came off the backplate. I have added some more dirty oil to the bowl as the back diff's oil needed changing - it was a nice shade of black too!

While I was fighting the drain plug on the diff, I realised that there was another oil seal to change, so I was glad I hadn't put the prop shaft back on! This is one of the annoying "quirks" of my S2a SWB Land Rover - it has a Salisbury diff (as per the S3 LWB!) and the flange is pre-loaded, so I'll have to "count the turns" when I take the nut off and hope that I don't lose count!

Tomorrow's tasks include sorting out that last steering rod and getting the steering finished off and then I want to make a start on bleeding the brakes. I suspect that some of the flaring may not be too clever and expect an odd leaking joint or two.

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