General The workshop adventures of Miffy the 110

[Geobloke]

Just a wee bit of piping and wiring today (not complete). I replaced the intake hose adapter with one that includes a boost gauge outlet. This replaces the T-piece between the turbo outlet and actuator that was less than tidy. Now it is all tidy and much simpler. Plus the boost value is being taken post intercooler which will return a more accurate value entering the engine.

Yes the new pipe matches the other blue silicone hoses and yes the final route of the hose is not quite done yet... much coiled and tucked away until the weekend when I can strip out the dash and feed it through properly.

Plus... it will give me the opportunity to tweak the wiper wheel boxes to remove the slack in the system.

 

[mikeau]

Shiny!
nice... Reminds me that I was going to move the boost gauge pipe onto the manifold tapping on mine... oh, and that reminds me that I still have the VGT turbo to fit (and make adapters for etc etc etc) and that reminds me that I still have the full-width intercooler to fit... and the new rad cradle to adapt and fit... and... and... and...

 

[Geobloke]

Well a little update. This week Miffy's handbrake began to slip whilst at a steep junction. No problem, popped underneath with a 17mm socket and gave the adjuster a tweak. A good number of miles later however... Billowing smoke and a red hot brake drum... Ahhhh heck...

Next morning popped underneath, whipped the rear propshaft off, backed off the adjuster and removed the drum... Drippy drippy transfer box oil from the crapy felt spline washer. The culprit was the flange retaining nut coming loose, somehow... Could have been much worse mind you. Cleaned up all the oil, de-contaminated the brake shoes, linkages and drum and put it all back together again with a little RTV and some thread lock. Jobs a good'un until I can get a new nut and felt washer sorted.

The good news is that the oil dripping out of it was nice and clean looking, not burnt grey or brown, so the overdrive and additional cooling sump appear to be happy.

Have to confess this transfer box has ben nothing but a pain in the arse sine buying it a couple of years ago. This is the forth time I have had output flange leaks and at some point prior to me someone has majorly overtightened the drain plug. The thread in the box is not well at all, but what to do?! Drill, retap and use a bigger plug I guess.

Oh for a garage in which to build (refurbish) my own LT230. Actually, there is ALOT of slop in the rear diff too. Goodness. But that transfer case is what grinds my gears at the moment...

 

[Geobloke]

Huh.... Water in the fuel filter light flickered on yesterday. Weird... Had a look at the filter and nothing obvious, but I did find this split in the breather tube...



I guess that deep water crossing wasn't a great idea... Ooops...!

1x hose connector and length of hose to source... Ha...!

 

[Geobloke]

Another day and a few more things sorted out, some new things to do too

The good news is that I have completed the plumbing of the post intercooler boost piping to the gauge and at the same time wired up the rocker switches and gauges to illuminate with the side lights. It’s a small job that is been on the list for a while now.

Whilst doing the switches I also wired up the dual battery link to the split charge relay. I believe the relay calls it start assist. That was a good one to get done and just in time for winter too…




I have also made a mistake with the Anderson PowerPole connectors and bought the wrong ampage. During a vigorous bit of tyre pumping the other day I managed to over heat a couple of the connectors. So have bought some original 45amp PowerPole connectors which will sort that problem out.

One problem I have been having this past week is a strange case of intermittent non starting. It began after fitting a new starter motor but that might be a coincidence… so tracking down the problem has led to the relays under the drivers seats as reputedly these can cause a heap of weird issues. I opened each of them up to have a look at the contacts and they were all badly pitted and worn. The glow plug relay showed signs of over heating to the point of burning. So for a stop gap I have cleaned up the contacts and will buy a new set of relays for the old girl…

I believe the part number are:

Fuel pump relay (yellow): YWB000150
Main relay (yellow): YWB000150
Glow plug relay (black): AMR3773

Can anyone confirm these are what I need?

 

[Geobloke]

Ok I have just been checking which relays are which and these are they:

Fuel pump relay (yellow): YWB000150
Main relay (yellow): YWB000150
Glow plug relay (black): AMR3773 or YWB500220

The glow plug relay has two part numbers because the same relay was used for the Disco 2 air compressor pump.

It is also worth saying that having just been through the rest of the LR relays on my 19 year old and 219k mile Defender, they all show signs of the same eroding of the electrode. I advise people go and check there's too.

Incidentally, since cleaning the electrodes the other day I have not had any trouble starting the old girl up, first turn of the key. So fingers crossed the relays are the culprit.

 

[Geobloke]

Huh.... Water in the fuel filter light flickered on yesterday. Weird... Had a look at the filter and nothing obvious, but I did find this split in the breather tube...

View attachment 258526View attachment 258527

I guess that deep water crossing wasn't a great idea... Ooops...!

1x hose connector and length of hose to source... Ha...!

Ok for future reference:

• Rubber flexible pipe is ID: 6mm OD:11mm 2.5mm wall thickness.
• Solid pipe is ID: 5mm OD: 8mm

I removed the damaged portion of the pipe and remembered I have fixed this before... See amalgamating tape repair... What was also interesting was the vast amount of detritus inside the rubber pipe, almost blocked with dirt, very much hoping that it didn't make it backwards in to the tank.

The breather works perfectly and the solid pipe is in great condition

Anyway all cleaned up and new pipe on the way...

 

[Geobloke]

So here is what I did to retro-fit the R380 gearbox cooler thermostat housing. My Defender, being a UK spec model did not come with an oil cooler for the R380, probably because temperatures in the UK do not often get hot enough... right...!? Fast forward a number of years and the gearbox chucked out it's 5th gear and layshaft. Heavy duty bearings my arse... :roll:

So I had Miffy transported home on the back of a flatbed and as we had just gone in to the first of the UK's lockdown periods I decided to strip and rebuild the gearbox myself. Quite an experience and well worth doing. The thing that I noticed was that the internals of the gearbox were black, and the oil was not a pretty colour neither. This was the point at which I thought since I am rebuilding this gearbox I may as well do what I can to protect it. It took a while to figure it out but these are the parts I sourced for the job;

• Single pass alloy oil cooler
  Gearbox thermostat adapter FTC2687
  x2 Male AN8 to M20x1.5 adapter
  x2 M20 Dowty washers
  x4 AN8 (female) to hose
  2x 90 deg 3/8" NPT to AN8 (male) adapter
  2x 90 deg AN8 (female) to AN8 (male) adapter
  AN8 braided hose
  Selection of rivnuts, bolts and washers

The reason I went for the Land Rover adapter over the Ashcroft one is that it includes a thermostatic valve which here in the UK would probably be best, or at least that is my view. I went for the solid alloy cooler over a radiator style cooler because it is more robust. I would have loved a double pass alloy cooler but alas they are hard to come by.

The only adaptation I had to do was remove about 1/3 of the M20 thread off the AN8 to M20 adapter then it fits perfectly in to the FTC2687 adapter. After that it is just a case of situating the cooler and running pipes to it. I chose to situate the cooler under the nearside footwell panel as it is safe and out of the way of mud slinging etc. If I feel the cooler is not getting enough airflow i will move it to another more exposed position. I did think behind the steering guard under the bumper as a second choice.

Ten months on and it is working perfectly. On a normal easy drive around home and to the shops the thermostat does not open and the cooler remains cool. But when the vehicle is heavily laden and/or on a long haul (motorways etc.) the thermostat definitely opens and the cooler gets hot to the touch.

Was it worth the effort...? Time will tell... :roll: All I know is that here in the UK the R380 mated to a Defender 110 TD5 with a remap and on 33" tyres definitely gets hot enough to warrant the addition of the cooler.

 

[Geobloke]

It's Miffy present day today Thank you Mr Postman....

This weekend I will be whipping out the injectors and replacing the seals and most importantly re-setting the tappets. Then oil, filters and injector harness.

What is even more important is that the new relays have arrived These will replace all the LR original relays that have seen way to many activations, see above post. It is encouraging to note that the starting problem has not raised its ugly head since cleaning the contacts. Fingers crossed that the fly wheel positioning sensor wiring is not the problem. Incidentally if you are having the above problem then opening up the relay, cleaning the contacts and replacing works a treat, but is obviously not a long-term solution. It's get you home though.

Also in the post is a length of pipe to replace the fuel tank breather pipe that perished in the rear wheel arch. Fun times ahead



One last thing, the Smith and Allan oils are superb and are a great company to deal with 100% satisfaction here.

 

[Big Sandy]

One last thing, the Smith and Allan oils are superb and are a great company to deal with 100% satisfaction here.

Yup, I like Smith and Allan too, used them for paint a few times over the years. Always happy to help, so they are.

 

[Geobloke]

There aren’t enough expletives in the world to describe this

The last time someone worked on Miffy they did a head gasket after a skim. It looks like in rebuilding the top end they have used masses of thread lock and over torqued the rocker bolts. So Flippin’ annoyed, just wanted to sort out the injector seals…



Now what the heck do I do…

Has this happened to anyone else, what’s the procedure?

 

[Big Sandy]

Now what the heck do I do…

Looks like remove head, bench, drill and retap/helicoil, new bolts.

B@stards. All you need.

 

[Geobloke]

Looks like remove head, bench, drill and retap/helicoil, new bolts.

B@stards. All you need.

On closer inspection they have re-used the old rocker bolts too. Buggers...

I am deliberating whether it is worth going down the extractor route first or whether it will be a fruitless task. Using a set like the Sealey VS7233 stud extractor set

Tell you what... I am going to miss having a roof over my head doing this job...

​

 

[Big Sandy]

Stud extractors may do it. More likely to break in the stud, and they're hardened, so that's a waaaay bigger problem.

Pillar drill, drill as close to bolt size as possible, then retap.

You may be lucky and all the others come out okay. Offer up a sacrifice brother.

 

[Big Sandy]

Oh... Roof. Garden gazebo is a useful substitute as long as its well tied down.

 

[Geobloke]

Oh... Roof. Garden gazebo is a useful substitute as long as its well tied down.

Great idea Sandy I agree about the extractors... but there is a part of me that says... hey it could work...

 

[Mike_Hammond]

If they've been loctited with anything other than blue then they may need some local heat to break them free but care is needed with the alloy head!

 

[Geobloke]

If they've been loctited with anything other than blue then they may need some local heat to break them free but care is needed with the alloy head!

I dread to think what the garage used. Heat will be key, but first comes the dismantling cleaning and parts listing.... I could really do without this right now

 

[Geobloke]

In other less destructive news from yesterday...

The fuel tank breather has been repaired and the relays that control the fuel pump, glow plugs etc have also been replaced. I opened all the relays up and 1 out of six was in passable condition. The rest all showed pitted and worn electrodes. Definitely worth checking.

And lastly, just before I broke a rocker shaft bolt the old girl turned 220k miles

 

[Big Sandy]

In other less destructive news from yesterday...

Positive waves baby!