Ingles Tico

New Member
Hi Landy Lovers,

A funny story. You know the one where the problem vanishes, when the Landy gets near a mechanic?
Ever seen the opposite?

I have a 58 Series 2 that’s a regular drive, but only short distances. 5 miles each way type of thing. A few days ago I set off up the steep hill I live on (1.5 miles long with about 1,000 ft gain). I always drive up steadily in 1st. Well the gear box whine got surprisingly loud & at the top it was reluctant to get into second.
My fantastic gearbox has never given the slightest problem in 12+ years, so I head back home, switch vehicles & call my trustee mechanic. He says “bring it over”! It’s 11 miles away & the best gear I could find was low box & 4th. So I plod over to see him at about 15 mph max. He lives at high altitude (in coffee country) so it’s steep uphill virtually all the way (As an aside, “Land Rover” brand coffee is grown right here around San Ramon, Costa Rica).
I’m praying the gear box holds together, but it’s kind & runs smooth & quiet all the way.

Well the mechanic gets in & typically the moment he drives, he finds all the gears & is looking at me as if I’m completely insane. He drives a bit downhill from his house going through every gear without difficulty.
Well it’s time to go back & he lines up to reverse uphill into a driveway to turn around on the narrow road.
Bloody hell, I thought the gear box had exploded on him! It never went backwards again, but did it make a din? That Landy wasn’t going anywhere, at least backwards it wasn’t. He had to tow me backwards back up the hill with one of his Landies, to get to his workshop. He has lots of Landies (& nothing else).

What happened? I don’t know yet, because the gear box is coming out today. The look on his face when the gear box “let go” was spectacular. All he had to say was “Malo” (bad, in Spanish). My Spanish is awful, but I managed to get the message across “see, I told you something was wrong with the gear box”!

If interested, I’ll write another chapter once the busted bits are removed & replaced. We have literally hundreds of Series Land Rovers around here. They were bought by Coffee farmers in the 60’s & 70’s.
It’s sometimes called a “Land Rover country”.
Good used spares are everywhere from Landies, that met their end, plus the local spares guy does a roaring trade having so many Landies to care for. Some of them are Family Heirlooms in the third generation of ownership, having been bought by Grandpa brand new! All working vehicles too, not showroom specials.
He’ll have my Landy rolling again in no time,

Cheers, Ingles Tico.
 
Hi Landy Lovers,

A funny story. You know the one where the problem vanishes, when the Landy gets near a mechanic?
Ever seen the opposite?

I have a 58 Series 2 that’s a regular drive, but only short distances. 5 miles each way type of thing. A few days ago I set off up the steep hill I live on (1.5 miles long with about 1,000 ft gain). I always drive up steadily in 1st. Well the gear box whine got surprisingly loud & at the top it was reluctant to get into second.
My fantastic gearbox has never given the slightest problem in 12+ years, so I head back home, switch vehicles & call my trustee mechanic. He says “bring it over”! It’s 11 miles away & the best gear I could find was low box & 4th. So I plod over to see him at about 15 mph max. He lives at high altitude (in coffee country) so it’s steep uphill virtually all the way (As an aside, “Land Rover” brand coffee is grown right here around San Ramon, Costa Rica).
I’m praying the gear box holds together, but it’s kind & runs smooth & quiet all the way.

Well the mechanic gets in & typically the moment he drives, he finds all the gears & is looking at me as if I’m completely insane. He drives a bit downhill from his house going through every gear without difficulty.
Well it’s time to go back & he lines up to reverse uphill into a driveway to turn around on the narrow road.
Bloody hell, I thought the gear box had exploded on him! It never went backwards again, but did it make a din? That Landy wasn’t going anywhere, at least backwards it wasn’t. He had to tow me backwards back up the hill with one of his Landies, to get to his workshop. He has lots of Landies (& nothing else).

What happened? I don’t know yet, because the gear box is coming out today. The look on his face when the gear box “let go” was spectacular. All he had to say was “Malo” (bad, in Spanish). My Spanish is awful, but I managed to get the message across “see, I told you something was wrong with the gear box”!

If interested, I’ll write another chapter once the busted bits are removed & replaced. We have literally hundreds of Series Land Rovers around here. They were bought by Coffee farmers in the 60’s & 70’s.
It’s sometimes called a “Land Rover country”.
Good used spares are everywhere from Landies, that met their end, plus the local spares guy does a roaring trade having so many Landies to care for. Some of them are Family Heirlooms in the third generation of ownership, having been bought by Grandpa brand new! All working vehicles too, not showroom specials.
He’ll have my Landy rolling again in no time,

Cheers, Ingles Tico.
My mates have been to Costa Rica, they said it was one of the best places they have ever been, and they have travelled all over the world.
They don't speak more than a few words of Spanish either, but managed to get by on sign language and gestures.

Just a wild guess, but it could be that the spacers in your transfer box are completely worn out.
 
Thanks for sharing.
Great to hear that you are well catered for with spares and professional expertise. :)
 
My mates have been to Costa Rica, they said it was one of the best places they have ever been, and they have travelled all over the world.
They don't speak more than a few words of Spanish either, but managed to get by on sign language and gestures.

Just a wild guess, but it could be that the spacers in your transfer box are completely worn out.

Very possible lots is completely worn out. I checked the gear box serial # & it dates from 1957! Was probably left over on a shelf somewhere at Solihull (from Series 1 diesel manufacture) & they dropped it into my Series 2 to use up old stock.
Over the years most everything has been found to be worn out & replaced. The gear box was one of the exceptions, until now. Couldn’t last forever though. The mechanic might find it’s close to original spec once he opens it up & starts looking for spares.
 
Thanks for sharing.
Great to hear that you are well catered for with spares and professional expertise. :)

Yes, we’re very lucky. I wouldn’t try running an old series Land Rover as much as I do, without the support we have.
My mechanic skills/facilities are OK for a 73 Triumph motorcycle, but not a Landy.
I’d buy some old Jap Pickup under those circumstances, but luckily I can drive nostalgia every day in a 58 Landy & not worry much if it breaks.
 
Chapter 2.

Well my mechanic called with good news. Landy was ready. Turns out a bearing disintegrated, making reverse impossible. He showed me the remains which were mainly fragments. It’s running beautifully again, nice and quiet.
He tells me the gear box is “buenisimo”. Meaning he was impressed a 64 year old gear box could look so good.
For those in UK, the next part will be shocking. Gear box removal, repair (including new bearing) & reinstallation, with a remarkably quick turnaround by Costa Rican standards of just 2 days. Total £174! There are benefits of living in 3rd world countries, especially with excellent Landy mechanics living in neighbouring Coffee country.
I’ll share any other adventures that come about. Life here is “different”, especially with a Landy.

Cheers Ingles Tico
 
Here is Trueno (Thunder, in Spanish) back in his parking spot this afternoon.
I’ll take pictures of the wonderful Land Rover collection owned by Snr Marin Jimenez next time I’m up at the mechanic’s shop. They’re beautiful. Every “gringo” that arrives here talks about cars & what to buy. I always say “buy a Landy, from Snr Jiminez”. But no, a Hyundai SUV shows up, no taste.
613CF5B4-63AF-43F6-BE4B-36557905EA0B.jpeg
 
Very possible lots is completely worn out. I checked the gear box serial # & it dates from 1957! Was probably left over on a shelf somewhere at Solihull (from Series 1 diesel manufacture) & they dropped it into my Series 2 to use up old stock.
Over the years most everything has been found to be worn out & replaced. The gear box was one of the exceptions, until now. Couldn’t last forever though. The mechanic might find it’s close to original spec once he opens it up & starts looking for spares.

Is the engine 2litre or 2.25litre ? I believe the first 1500 or so Series Twos had 2l engines , to , as you suggest, use up old stock . If , as you say , it has a Series One gearbox then it could possibly have a 2litre engine . That makes it quite rare .
 
Is the engine 2litre or 2.25litre ? I believe the first 1500 or so Series Twos had 2l engines , to , as you suggest, use up old stock . If , as you say , it has a Series One gearbox then it could possibly have a 2litre engine . That makes it quite rare .

It definitely used to have a 2l diesel at one time. I got the original engine serial # off the Costa Rican National Vehicle Registry document, when I bought the Land Rover in 2009. I checked the # to find out details of the engine & it did correspond to a 2l diesel.

It doesn’t now however. The diesel it had when I bought it was a complete disaster & I got my local mechanic to swap it out for a reconditioned 2.25 petrol engine. I always struggle with injectors, compared to carburettors.
He said the diesel he removed wasn’t the original either, so sadly the 2l is lost in the mists of time.

In some ways it’s good, because spare parts for such an old diesel could have been a challenge, even if the rarity value would have been fun.
When I replaced the clutch/fly wheel I had to find a different pressure plate 9 1/2” (Land Rover manufactured 69-71) to accommodate their old transmission (without synchro) & a different fly wheel used on 2.25 engines. The old fly wheel was trash & the one I found to replace it different. Such is Landy life.

Land Rovers were assembled here for many years using CKD kits from Solihull, hence the abundance of old vehicles, used spares & knowledgeable mechanics. Many worked at the factory when it was running in the 60’s/70’s. Costa Rica is one of the rare countries in Latin America where running an old Landy is both easy & fun.

Cheers Ingles Tico
 
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