Serpentine Belt

A few weeks ago I had the timing belt changed - the garage also did the serpentine bely - it has squealed (mostly at idle) ever since. On inspection the two lines on the belt tensioner are lined up  this indicates belt or tensioner wear - or maybe the wrong length belt is fitted?

300Tdis had of couple of different length belts fitted depending on the year (alternator pulley size) so I bought the correct part

ERR 3287

fitted it, and now the the tensioner alignment looks good and the noise has gone (at least for the moment).

A 15mm spanner is required to move the tensioner (I used a wrench and socket to get the necessary leverage).  However I did not remove the fan and it was a bit fiddly to get the belt on - but not that bad.

Rear Propshaft

Oh Dear - I am pretty sure you are not supposed to be able to see the UJ bearing spindles.  No wonder there have been a nasty noises coming from underneath.

Have a replacement prop on order.

Mudflaps

Visited the spring adventure at Harrogate last weekend (Sunday 19th May).  Picked up some Mudflap brackets for my 90.

These are in Stainless Steel from YRM metal solutions.  Also got a galvanised exhaust hanger from them.

Am going to to paint them black so started with a couple of coats of Hammerite Special Metals primer.

Don't know if the stainless will take the paint but there is only one way to find out.

Servicing - Cam Belt Change

Had the cam belt changed today (135825 miles).  It was done by a small rural garage near my work in Kirkby Lonsdale - reckon they should have enough experience with Land Rovers in that neck of the woods.
Had the alternator belt done at the same time.

Front Seats

Sold my old front seats on ebay - got 70 quid which is not lots but as it was pick up only I was quite happy.

The money will help pay for my cambelt change :-)

Rear Door

Just won an ebay auction fro a new rear door.  It was sold by Hobson Industries and is a genuine Land Rover parts new style, steel door.

Just have to save up now for a rear window and to have it painted.

Servicing - 300Tdi Engine Oil Change

Not the most interesting post in the world, I have to admit, but she was due for an oil change.
Put a new filter on (ERR3340) and filled her up.  There seems to be some debate as to whether you should use 10W-40 or 15W-40.  I thought I would try the 10W-40 (Castrol GTX) for a change to see if it makes any noticeable difference.

New Puma Front Seats 01

My new front seats arrived today.  Won them on ebay from LRIsolutions.  They are new take out XS half leather jobbies and very nice they are too!

Covering the Seat Box

Have removed the Hardura seat box cover and now need to remove the remains of the sticky tape that held it in place...not as easy as it sounds.

Spigot Bush

Just got Sally back from the garage.

She was making a nasty crunching whirring noise when I brought the clutch up which would go away on reaching the bite.  Turned out to be a disintegrated spigot bush.  It was only a couple of quid for the part but needed the gearbox to come out to replace it...Ouch!

Anyway the gear change feels much nicer now and it could have been worse...she might have needed a new box.

Servicing - R380 Gearbox Oil Change

Well the sun is shining, so I decided to change the gearbox oil.  This time I used Difflock Evolution1, bought from the British Indoor 4x4 Show.  This worked out cheaper than buying it on-line as there was no p&p to pay.

Servicing - Props & UJs - Part3

It has taken longer than expected but I finally got round to fitting a new front prop.  It is a Britpart supplied Hardy-Spicer unit, so should be decent quality, but not too expensive.

It's a Td5 part but fits a 300Tdi just fine, and because it is a later part it has wider yokes than standard.

Fuerteventura

Haven't posted much recently...but then I haven't done much recently.
Got back from Fuerteventura on the 8th of January.

I saw a few Defenders out there but, unfortunately, only got a picture of this one.
That said, I think she sums the place up perfectly.

Xmas Shopping

Have just got back from the Trafford Centre and couldn't resist posting this picture of a display in Selfridges!

Servicing - Props & UJs - Part2

Well it took me a few weeks to get around to it, but I took the front prop off, put the difflock on, and took for a drive. And, what do you know the vibration, went!

Greased the prop and put it back on (torqued the nuts to 45Nm)...am going to replace it in a couple of weeks with a new TD5 prop (bigger yokes I believe) and change the UJs on the old prop at my leisure - it never hurts to have a spare.

Air Filter Support Bobbins

All four of the air filter mounting bobbins had sheared, so the filter casing was bouncing around, making a right old noise.  So replacement bobbins were ordered and I got around to fitting them today. It's not a difficult job but is a bit fiddly.

I loosened the Jubilee clips, removed the air intake and outlet pipes and then removed the air filter housing.

I then removed what was left of the old bobbins before fitting the new ones to the bottom of the filter housing.

 

This was then flipped over and refitted. A little washing up liquid helped with refitting the pipes.

Servicing - Props & UJs

Since her chassis swap Sally has had an annoying vibration resonating through the chassis at about 40 - 50 in fifth gear. The forum consensus is that it is probably a faulty UJ or prop.

So today my quest to track down the annoying noise starts with giving the UJs and prop splines a good greasing.

The only problem is I have taken off the air filter why I await new support bobbins so it will be a day or two before I can take her for a test drive.

Chassis Swap - Wheel Bearing

After discovering the grinding noise (rear, drivers side) I asked some questions on the forums and came to the conclusion it likely to be the wheel bearing. So a pair of new wheel bearing kits were ordered from Brookwells. These include Timken wheel bearings (STC4382) and a choice of oil seals, gaskets and locking washers. I also ordered a new set of Terrafirma shocks (not big bore this time) and a 52mm deep socket for the hub nuts.

I unbolted the drive flange and pulled out the half-shaft (flange and half-shaft are a single item on my 90). I removed the outer hub nut, locking washer and inner locking nut then removed the hub.

I laid the parts out in the order I removed them for reference. I (carefully) used a screwdriver to drift out the old tracks.  I used a grinder with metal cutting disk to cut a slot out of one of the tracks so it could be used as a drift to fit the new tracks.

I then greased the new bearings, cleaned up the stub axle and put it back together again.

Notice the cats cradle of paracord holding the brake calliper out of the way. After putting the hub back together I swapped out the rear shocks and took her for a drive - the grinding noises have now gone.

Chassis Swap - Shock Absorbers - Part2

So after a test drive I'm getting slight grating noise from the front end.  A little investigation reveals that the Terrafirma Big Bores are grinding against the Terrafirma shock towers.

Chassis Swap - ROW Exhaust - Part5

Just got a call from the Fedex guy saying the Bosal tailpipe will come at lunchtime.

The new tailpipe arrived and I fitted it.  It is better quality than the one it replaced but still fouled the rear tank bracket.

Now I'm not sure why the exhaust bracket should fowl the chassis - the exhaust is designed for a rear tank.  Maybe the front pipe is slightly longer than it should be causing the back section to be an inch or so further back than it should be, or maybe the tank bracket is different on the 300 Tdi than the Td5, or maybe the chassis is out.

Whatever the problem there are only a couple of things I can do.  Either get a custom made exhaust pipe or cut a bit off the chassis.

Well since I cannot afford another new exhaust, and since I will not be needing a rear tanks for a long while, I cut a section of the tank bracket away.  Not ideal but it can always be welded back in place at some point in the future.

Conclusion:  After all the research and hunting for parts the ROW spec exhaust is still not right,,,so my advice is, if you want to fit a rear tank into a 300Tdi 90, get a good quality custom pipe made to fit!

And finally, I took her for a drive -  only to find that the noise of the exhaust rubbing on the chassis had been masking grinding noises from the front and from the rear drivers side.  I think the noise from the back is a wheel bearing going - oh joy!