SIII 109 FFR - gearbox issue

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mcupis

Member
Posts
63
Location
Bridgeyate, South Gloucestershire
I bought a 26 year old 109 FFR yesterday and had a great time driving it back to my home near Bristol from Lyme Regis. When I got home I encountered my first little problem. Reversed her into the driveway, then, with clutch depressed, tried to move from reverse to first and found it refused to budge. I switched off, restarted and all was well again. It happened once again last night when I similarly maneovering at low speed. I guess the clutch is sticking. I'd be grateful if anybody might be able to cast some light.

Secondly, there's an orange idiot light on the dash, towards the right side, which glows at low revs. I'm guessing this is an alternator light and it shows it isn't charging. Anybody able to confirm?

Have to say that for a 26 year old ex military truck, Gloria (as my girlfriend has already christened her) drives very well indeed. She has an outstanding chassis, a very good bulkhead and apparently purrs like a kitten. I have the military service record which shows that she has only ever racked up 43,000 kilometres, she has a new MOT and, best of all, I paid buttons for her.

Having said this, I know I'm going to need to spend some money on her, but I'm prepared for this and looking forward to getting stuck in with the spanners. She's my first Land Rover and I suspect I'm likely to become a regular fixture on here, trying to pick your brains.

I've put a picture of "Gloria" in the gallery.
 
I've just discovered that Gloria apparently has no oil in her engine. When I went to collect her yesterday she was alrady warmed up and the owner assured me she had just been serviced with the MOT, so I didn't think to check fluid levels before setting off. So either:

1. He lied
2. She lost all her oil between Lyme Regis and my home

She definitely wasn't burning oil. I'm off to find some 10w40 and a filter. Fingers crossed that no damage has been done.
 
Well, I've just put about a quarter of a litre of oil in, crawled underneath and there are no leaks. I'll go out again in a minute and put in another couple of litres, which I'll allow to settle, and then I'll check the dipstick again before starting her up.
 
hi mcupis
nice looking landy is it still 24v ?
are you going to get all the radio gear for shows etc
have you got the military reg no on the plate on seat box
ive only just joined so ill suss the picture thingy then put some of my ffr pics on here
regards
ray
 
Hi Ray,

Unfortunately it has been converted (apparently at great expense) to 12V. I'm not thinking of getting all the gear (sorry if this is sacrilege). At present my plans don't stretch further than making certain it is robust and reliable as possible.

Cheers,

Malcolm
 
hi slob
guess that would depend on the 12v x 24v conversion
it may still have 24v bulbs if it was a parrtial conversion

and 12v barely lites the 24v filament

guess thats the prob with buying messed around 24v landies

regards
ray
 
Apparently it is a full conversion. I should hope so for the 600-odd quid he paid for it! There are a few anomalies - the main fuel gauge and the oil temperature gauge don't work.

I've done a complete oil and filter change this afternoon and there wasn't much in there. It definitely isn't leaking and it definitely isn't blowing it out of the exhaust. There's no oil in the coolant, and no coolant in the oil. I think the chap I bought it from was either ripped off by the people who serviced it or else didn't tell the truth about getting it serviced. Anyhow, it appears that no harm is done, it sounds great, idles well and seems plenty powerful enough.

However, the reverse gear gremlin has just reoccured. I wonder if the cluth is dragging or if there might be a problem with the traansmission brake. Or maybe it's a simple matter of a Land Rover virgin doing something daft....

Once again, I've reversed it up the drive at low revs, then tried to select first with the clutch still depressed and found it refuses to shift out of reverse. Switching off the engine frees it up immediately. I guess it's plausible that it's due to a lack of oil in the gearbox, given the lack of oil in the engine. Better not run it until I've had a chance to investigate.
 
sounds more like a bit of clutch drag.
heres what y'awl need to do (after checking g/box oil)
start injun,
depress clutch pedal till you can just get reverse ( note height of pedal)
then slowly release clutch pedal till you start to creep forward (note height of pedal)
if you have any more than about 1/4 inch difference yer clutch is ****ed.
of course if it ain't been driven much the plates could just be stickin.
 
Clutch or just master or slave cylinders? The cylinders are easily replaced. Moving gearbox to clutch is a real drag.

Warning light - bound to be charge light. Normally comes on dim at low revs, goes off at high revs.
 
I had a fairly annoying conversation with the previous owner last night - transpires he hadn't bothered to check the fluid levels in the year he owned the vehicle. His excuse was that he only did 1,000 miles in it and therefore didn't think it was necessary. Apparently the vehicle stood for several years before he bought it from the MOD.

He spent £700-odd on getting it changed to 12V but couldn't be arsed to look at the dipstick!

Gloria is going to have a major service now before she turns another wheel in anger.
 
Think I may have just got to the bottom of this. Bled the clutch last night - checked it this morning and there's clutch fluid leaking down the clutch pedal Too much to be spillage. I guess this means that either the cylinder or slave cylinder are shot?
 
Hi mcupis sounds like the master to me, don't bother with a seal kit though it won't last, I've always changed cylinders as a pair as the slave has done just as much work as the master, and they're cheep as chips. hope it all works out well for you chappy...regards cartman690...:)
 
cartman690 said:
Hi mcupis sounds like the master to me, don't bother with a seal kit though it won't last, I've always changed cylinders as a pair as the slave has done just as much work as the master, and they're cheep as chips. hope it all works out well for you chappy...regards cartman690...:)
Click to expand...
Got to agree, seal kits aren't worth the bother. Been there, done that !!!!!!!!

Regards WP.
 
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