Wednesday, February 17, 2010
step 3. vinyl removal
Yesterday was vinyl removal day. The lr was littered with it. The quickest and cleanest method I found was to zap it with a heat gun for about a minute and then grab a corner and peel away. panels that have been exposed to sunshine seem to give extra problems as I think the UV rays have broken down the vinyl to the point that it's not strong enough to come off in one piece, so I've only gotten about 50% done so far.
step 1. Removing unnecessary crap Streamlining
Buying this landrover was something of a leap of faith, insomuch as that it's not a runner, but it was cheap enough for that not to make me lose any sleep over it.
The first thing I tend to do after buying a vehicle is separating what's necessary, from what's dead weight, and then going about with removal of the latter. This 'new' defender is no different. Firstly, It took me about 2 hours fiddling with a broken bonnet pull before I got pissed and just removed the front grille and pulled the cable by hand.
Then after standing, staring, smoking a cigarette and staring some more, I've decided that the EGR is the first candidate for the guillotine. Its removal was a story in itself, because, some smartass at LR research & development though it would be a good idea to use allen head bolts on the EGR valve, needless to say those broke off after a healthy dose of penetrating lube one day, heating the next and penetrating lube again the third day, so I'm off to the engineering shop to fabricate a plug. (note to self :- I think i've just found the best solution typing this in that I'll cut a threaded plug on a lathe, tap the cast iron and use a bit of loctite on the thread, will update on the final decision)
The second, would be the ventilation fan; "but why?" I hear you ask, the answer is simple, the fan on my previous lr only served to blow rust into the cab and this one is no different, therefore, I have decided that it should get the axe. All of the associated heater lines were also promptly removed as well as any radiator lines deemed unimportant according to my equation below;
more radiator hoses = more places to spring leaks
Third to go was the intake piping, now, on a Td5 the physical inlet sits on the driver's side (RHD) of the vehicle whereas the intake side of the head is on the passenger side. If like myself you plan to install a snorkel for wading, there's a whole heap of plumbing and drain valves between those two points that are designed to stop water ingress but after time harden and actually allow water in. Therefore, I have decided that I'll purchase a 200tdi snorkel, which is mounted on the vehicle's passenger side and negate approximately 50% of the intake runs.
The first thing I tend to do after buying a vehicle is separating what's necessary, from what's dead weight, and then going about with removal of the latter. This 'new' defender is no different. Firstly, It took me about 2 hours fiddling with a broken bonnet pull before I got pissed and just removed the front grille and pulled the cable by hand.
Then after standing, staring, smoking a cigarette and staring some more, I've decided that the EGR is the first candidate for the guillotine. Its removal was a story in itself, because, some smartass at LR research & development though it would be a good idea to use allen head bolts on the EGR valve, needless to say those broke off after a healthy dose of penetrating lube one day, heating the next and penetrating lube again the third day, so I'm off to the engineering shop to fabricate a plug. (note to self :- I think i've just found the best solution typing this in that I'll cut a threaded plug on a lathe, tap the cast iron and use a bit of loctite on the thread, will update on the final decision)
The second, would be the ventilation fan; "but why?" I hear you ask, the answer is simple, the fan on my previous lr only served to blow rust into the cab and this one is no different, therefore, I have decided that it should get the axe. All of the associated heater lines were also promptly removed as well as any radiator lines deemed unimportant according to my equation below;
more radiator hoses = more places to spring leaks
Third to go was the intake piping, now, on a Td5 the physical inlet sits on the driver's side (RHD) of the vehicle whereas the intake side of the head is on the passenger side. If like myself you plan to install a snorkel for wading, there's a whole heap of plumbing and drain valves between those two points that are designed to stop water ingress but after time harden and actually allow water in. Therefore, I have decided that I'll purchase a 200tdi snorkel, which is mounted on the vehicle's passenger side and negate approximately 50% of the intake runs.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Behold!! that which shall henceforth be known as my Td5!!
Ta-dah! I've just bought myself a 2002 Td5. It's not a runner right now but I'll get to that in a later post. Hopefully it's just a fuel pump issue.
This will be my second, I've had a landrover before, but it was a 1997 300tdi, and it set the bar pretty high. Of course it did all of the usual landrover peculiarities i.e.
1.The lights worked when they felt like it.
2.Any part that carried oil, leaked it.
3.The bulkhead t'were rusty like nobody's business.
4.There was that 'knock of death' coming from below.
But, that aside, I loved it and anyone that's owned a landrover before knows that owning a landrover is an intricate love-hate relationship, and you'll never be satisfied with a lesser vehicle again.
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