Well Landy has been to the garage.
No report of it being a ringer or cut and shut so that's good.
but that's about the only good news.
Front and Rear Axles he thinks are from a Range Rover classic and not a defender. and due to that the shocks face the wrong way (i think he said)
I was not aware the RRC axles were different. How are the shocks fitted? The front should be through the centre of the spring and the rears should be in front of the axle.
Rear hub seal leaking onto brakes
That is a nice easy one to repair yourself.
Remove the wheel,
remove the brake caliper or drum (need a 13mm bi-hex socket for caliper bolts and then tie the brake caliper to the suspension spring so you do not stress the pipe),
pop off the rubber cap from the end of the drive flange and undo the circlip
undo the 5 bolts and remove the drive flange this will reveal the two hub nuts with a lock washer between them
Bend the lock washer back to flat and undo both hub nuts (you will need a the hub box spanner)
remove the hub.
You will then see on the inner face of it the hub seal which needs replacing.
And in true Haynes fashion reassembly is just the reverse!
If you have gone this far it is probably worth replacing the wheel bearings as well and if you get a wheel bearing kit it will include this seal and the gaskets/lock washer you need for reassembly. There are some very good write up with pictures for how to change wheel bearings which would be worth looking at even if you just swap the seal as it is the same process.
Chassis in poor condition needs work urgently.
This is the perfect opportunity to learn to weld! Nearly all the chassis parts are available as repair panels, just make sure whoever repairs it cuts out the old metal and lets a new piece in rather than just patching over the rust otherwise the whole will come back very quickly.
Rear prop shaft Uj had gone and the flange (possibly coupling) was gone so he replaced them
Tracking was miles out so he sorted that
Tyres are oversize but not sure if thats an issue or not apart from it stops the rear wiper from working as it gets jammed.
What size are the tyres? you have to be getting very large before they will casue problems. I run 265/75/16, which i think were the largest you could get standard from the factory. But you can run up to 33/12.5 without needing modifications.
Manifold is where the engine oil leak is and where the psh psh noise is coming from (so at least its not head gasket). He also said he reckons thats the only oil leak so thats good.
I am about to change my manifold gasket again. This is a job which should not be difficult but access makes it hard as does the potential for all of the bolts and studs to snap causing no end of problems and potential needing the head removed to drill them out! If you are going to attempt this yourself make sure you spend a good week covering all of the manifold and turbo bolts with penetrating oil to ensure they come off.
Front shocks weak
Another fairly straight forward job to do yourself. You will NEED replacement turret rings as they will shear when you remove them. It is also a lot easier with new shock turrets as well as it is very difficult to remove to old shock from the old turret is the nut has seized.
Shock removal:
Undo the bottom nut
Remove the plastic cover in the inner arch at the top of the shock.
Undo the 4 nuts around the top of the spring which hold the turret on. (These are the turret ring studs which WILL shear)
Remove the whole turret including the shock.
Undo top shock nut (realise it won’t come I done and replace the turret as well)
Refitting is the reverse.
Turret ring removal:
The shock needs to have been removed before the spring can be removed.
Jack up vehicle as high as you can and place an axle stand under the chassis
Lower the axle as far as you can
There should then be enough clearance to just remove the spring. If there is not you will need some spring compressors to make is shorter so it will come out. you can then remove the turret ring and fit a new one.
Refitting is the reverse.
Again there are some very good write up with pictures for how to change shocks which would be worth looking at
Diff and axles have severe backlash
A lot of this back lash will probably be in the drive flanges as these are the quickest to wear. to check remove them and look at the teeth in the center. If they are pointed it will need replacing, as they should be square and flat. These are cheap and quick and easy to replace. .
it they are visible you do not need to remove the wheels, if you have alloys you will need to take the wheel off first.
Pop off the rubber cap from the end of the drive flange and undo the circlip
Undo the 5 bolts and remove the drive flange.
Refitting is the reverse.
Front washer pump faulty
This will want testing to check if it is the actual pump which has failed or if it is the switch or the wiring. If you do not have one it woul dbe well worth investing in a multi-metre as you can then check each part of the circuit is getting power. If the pump is not getting power it will be the switch or wiring at fault rather than the pump itself.
I did ask was anything good on it and he just laughed.... haha.
The mechanic was quite sad that someone had made such a mess of a Defender but on the positive side he never said its a wreck and get it to the scrapyards so I have still got a tiny glimmer of hope!
