Help needed - black exhaust smoke, overheating, rattling hot engine, conking out

[jamesmartin]

2.5/1000 for the honing. The cross hatching gets down to silly small sizes at 25Ra which apparently wears down to 20Ra within a day of use. Out of interest I'll keep an eye on the oil filter and see if it picks up anything chunky after a short while, but at these small measurements I wouldn't expect to see anything without a microscope.

2 thou is plenty so should be good ,some often just but a cross hatch on top of bored surface which doesnt remove all tool marks 320 grit was what i used to use ,and plenty of thinners and paper towel to clean after

 

[sible88]

So pleased it all worked out and what a story

 

[gallaghb]

Talking of garages, does anyone know any reliable landrover/defender mechanics/garages in Essex in case I need to call in the troops. I'm in CM16. PM me if you don't want to go mention them publically. Foleys was recommended earlier today. Ta.

To answer your question couple pages ago, not sure if you still need one, but AJD Landrovers over in Hoddesdon have a pretty good rep. Not used them myself for any work but pick up parts there every so often when I need something quickly.

 

[chiefweasel]

Just when I thought I was finished with this saga...

Everything went back together and I didn't have any worrying nuts/bolts/washers left over. I started her up and let her idle for fifteen minutes to heat up and make sure nothing went pop. Not only did nothing go pop, but nothing heated up with the temp gauge staying almost unmoved. A quick inspection of the thermostat showed that there was nothing inside it - no moving parts at all. In fact all that was left was the top cap to keep the water in.

One new thermostat later and another fifteen minutes idling gave me a warm engine. Good. However, a quick test drive generated a small oil leak from the sump. Surprising that there isn't a gasket here, does anyone know why? Lots of silicon and 24 hours of curing later and all looks good.

Apart from the battery light on the dash isn't on and the engine isn't running as smooth. A bit of research throws up that if the battery light bulb goes then the alternator can't charge the battery (a new 1000CCA battery). Sadly the bulb isn't blown, it's the alternator which is now needs attention. Hopefully its just some new brushes...

It rhymes with clucking bell.

 

['91 Defender]

Bloody hell, you have some patience! :lol:

 

[danny6801]

i feel your pain mate i only had mine a 195 miles before its gearbox blew up and had all belts changed and im still smiling everytime i get in it (only with a land rover).

 

[chiefweasel]

i feel your pain mate i only had mine a 195 miles before its gearbox blew up and had all belts changed and im still smiling everytime i get in it (only with a land rover).

I've got to admit, even though I was effing and blinding at it, I had the same smile I think you have

Once it's functioning properly I'm going to sort the bodywork and make it look as good as it works - I'll start a new thread for that.

 

[chiefweasel]

To answer your question couple pages ago, not sure if you still need one, but AJD Landrovers over in Hoddesdon have a pretty good rep. Not used them myself for any work but pick up parts there every so often when I need something quickly.

Thanks for that; AJD are pretty close to me, I had a chat with them a couple of weeks back and they sounded really helpful.

At the risk of hijacking my own thread, where did you get the side runners on your profile picture? They're exactly what I want to put onto mine. There was a 110 CSW in the Tesco carpark near me the other week that also had them fitted but after waiting half an hour for the owner to come back so I could ask him/her about them I gave up (I was getting some funny looks from the security guard). Cheers!

 

[trax]

Check the wiring first with the alt. Get a multimeter on it and the bulb wire. New bearmach (i dunno how good they are) are only 55ish.

 

[trax]

Oh and hopefully the overheating issue (thermostat removed) was hgf

 

[chiefweasel]

Cheers Trax. I had to bypass the alternator completely to get the battery light on the dash to turn on; as soon as I include the alternator in the circuit again the light doesn't come on (this is all with the key in ignition position 1 so 'all' of the lights should be on before starting the engine). Which doesn't make sense.

The light does not come on when the engine is on. I always thought that the light would come on if the battery was being drained more than it was being recharged; is this how it's meant to work in Defenders?

I'll be happy with £55, but now I need to know what's wrong with it or it will bug me.

The same mechanic who originally told me the turbo needed replacing also told me that the alternator was fine and it was the battery that needed changing. Consequently I'm getting a pretty good stash of working spares. Must thank him when I see him next.

A tip for anyone else doing this: the grey and white lead that looks like it's part of the alternator wiring setup is actually connected to the rev counter. No matter how many different wiring variations you try, it won't make the battery light do anything

 

[chiefweasel]

Finished!!!!

Typically the alternator was the heavy duty model and it was 50% cheaper to refurbish it than buy a new one. I got someone else to do it in the interest of speed and them being better at it than me.

So four months after buying it, it's (back?) on the road and I can start rescuing normal cars from ditches. I'll post up a new thread with anything else interesting I find as I start sorting the bodywork and adding bolt on goodies.

Now then, what happens if I tighten up this rattling panel. Oh b*****ks...

 

[fett]

well done mate!