Fuel Pump

While waiting for information about other areas of the project, decided to do the fuel pump overhaul. This turned out to be pretty simple, using a kit I had ordered, except that the kit included press-fit valves only (turns out that mine has screw-fit valves, which luckily were in excellent shape), and while the diaphram assemby went on without problem, the tabs on the new didn't match the tabs on the old, as if the flexible material had been installed upside down. Careful examination indicated no differences between sides, and it installed, as mentioned, without problem. Testing it manually showed it to be working normally.

This is how it looked fresh off the Rover. I'm guessing that no-one had really checked if there was sediment in the bowl in a while. The loosening knob at the bottom was seized, as well.

The screw-fit valves:

The aptly named sediment bowl: inside view.

The ensemble after disassembly and light cleaning. Sediment bowl took the most work, requiring a lot of scrubbing, but ended up looking like new.

The overhaul complete, with new diaphram, and gaskets (including the rubber one for the bowl) and ready to go back on. The sediment bowl clip had been soaked overnight in Evapo-Rust, and now the loosening knob works as it should.

Replacement Differential

Received the replacement differential, a used one supplied by 3 Brothers Classic Rovers (who, as usual, did an outstanding job - thanks, Peter!). As far as I can tell, it's from a 1968 Series 2a. A bit of rust and corrosion here and there, but a short while with the ever-useful brass wire wheel, wire brush and some cleaner and the gears look like new. More cleaning will be needed, but will need to wait for me to get over the flu. The original 1960 diff is in overall better shape than the 1968 one, with less rust and corrosion - except for those broken teeth. It's a shame it can't be used, but so it goes. There are some other small differences in design, but just small things, and are more interesting than anything else.

There is a question as to whether the pinion pre-loading is as it should be, and there about a millimeter of in-out play at the driving flange. This probably means adjusting/adding shims. I'd also like to substitute the old retainer for the oil seal and it's fittings on the replacement differential, as they are in pristine shape and the one on the replacement pretty badly corroded, but I'll have to ask around to see if that's feasible.

Here's a view of the two differentials; replacement at top, original at bottom.

Note the two different oil drain plugs, and differences in the castings. New diff at top, old at bottom.

Some small differences in the way the castings have been machined. I wonder what the four "M"s are for?

Finally, just a view of the original differential, with the piece of halfshaft still in there. I think I can leave it there for the time being.... : )

Advertising: 1960

Don't remember where I found this, so can't credit anyone (sorry), but it's interesting in that it dates from September 1960, and my vehicle six weeks earlier. Click on the picture any you'll have a larger version, which may be readable.

Front Springs

Final piece of the front assembly is now dismantled, and essentially if the weather was warmer then it would be on to cleaning and painting and reassembly on the new chassis. However, there are still a few small things to work out before then, in any case.

Here's a view of the front springs, and their shackle plates and bolts, with the new U-bolts and things in the box at top, and the new bushings at the bottom.

Here's the new mystery. The replacement bushings I purchased are not the same diameter as those in the springs. The new ones are 3.05 cm in diameter, which I understand is correct, while those in the springs are along the lines of 3.5 cm. Hmm, something else to solve.

Front Axle and Differential; Spring Dowels

Today, the final disassembly of the front axle components. U-bolts off (had to cut one with the angle grinder), axle removed, and differential taken out of the axle.

Here, bottom and top view of the axle, after a little light cleaning, along with the spring bottom plates (one being used for support).

And another view, with the differential removed, and the axle upended to drain out the few drops of remaining oil. When removing the differential, there was a forgotten pocket of oil in the casing which happily poured out onto the floor. Now the whole house smells vaguely Land-Rovery from the subtle sulpherous odour of EP90 - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. : )

 Now the bad news: note the broken teeth on the differential wheels. Whatever caused the halfshaft to break apparently also caused damage elsewhere. This probably means sourcing a replacement differential, as I do not have the tools to correctly disassemble and reassemble this. In spite of this damage, the differential turned very easily by hand and without any noticeable indication of a problem.

Removing the axle casing revealed the dowels for the front springs. I don't know if these are both original; it may be necessary to order replacements. Why?

This is why. The head may be the right size, but clearly the threaded part on this one is not, extending a good two inches below the spring! (The other appears to be a correct length.) And while both heads are identical, they are both somewhat smaller than the holes in the axle supports that sit over the dowels. I'll have to see what the head sizes are on the originals, and take it from there.

Prop Shaft Battle; Production Line

Oil seals for the front axle arrived here just 48 hours after placing the order with 3 Brothers Classic Rovers - which is typical of their truly excellent service.

Getting the proshaft bolts off proved to be a struggle, but they were eventually removed. They were all seized, and the awkward spaces around them makes getting tools in there difficult. Even the special prop shaft tool I had purchased didn't help, as it was blocked slightly by the yolks. On top of that, the prop shaft wanted to turn a little, making trying to turn the nuts frustrating, even with the rear wheels on the ground (in 4wd). After struggling with every approach I could think of, I ended up searching on the Rover forums at the options others have tried. I settled on 1: used a trusty 24" pipe wrench to immobilize the prop shaft; and 2: drilled a large hole in the side of the nuts, and then split them with a cold chisel. An easy process, it turned out, not taking too much effort or time. Of the four nuts nearest the front axle, one nut was already loose, two were drilled and spilt, and the last surrendered after being drilled only. The nuts themselves were very soft, and had rounded off immediately; don't think they were original. This thought was reinforced by the discovery that the four bolts were inappropriate for the prop shaft.

The four bolts on the right are those from the prop shaft at the front axle. The bolt at left is from the end at the gear box, and is the correct type (at least it has a shank, if not).

Prop shaft hangs its head in defeat. : )

A view of the front axle 'production line'. Everything here is just waiting for cleaning and/or paint, and then is ready to be then be reassembled (once the axle itself is off, cleaned and inspected). All the new bearing races, etc., are in place (except one bearing, which I damaged today while installing. Argh!) Lower left: Swivel assemblies; On the right: windshield under wraps (at top), and then the  halfshafts, hubs and then brake backplate parts. Steering arms are just visible. The white cover is protecting the new chassis.

Swivel Hubs Disassembled

Today's after-work project was to take apart the swivel hubs and inspect the parts. They came apart with no trouble, and the revealed parts showed surprisingly little corrosion or damage. The swivel balls did have some fairly deep corrosion on the polished surface, but only around where the oil seals sit, and could probably be repaired at some point and kept as spares. The interiors had no corrosion at all. The swivel bearings and pins are in good shape, in spite of not having bathed in oil in quite a while, but do have enough small damage from corrosion (and perhaps impacts) that they warrant replacing. I'm glad I didn't try to fill the hubs and swivel assemblies with oil, as it would just have leaked out quite rapidly: the swivel ball oil seals were all substantially damaged or worn.

This view shows one of the swivel assemblies, with bolts and sub-assembly parts bagged. That's the old swivel ball at the top; plus the old oil seal at bottom right, dented and perforated.

A view of the axle casing end, with the oil seal still in place, and needing the old gasket scraped off. Still a little oil in there! I'll have to order new oil seals.

Halfshafts Assembled

Thanks to the new shop press, assembly of the halfshafts was relatively easy. Relatively, because halfshafts are somewhat heavy, and maneouvring them in the press to put in the universal joints, for instance, was interesting. Spacers, bearing races and bearing retaining collars all went on their respective inner halfshafts smoothly, and the universal joints were slightly tricky but aside from having to reset the bearing rollers in one cap, all went well. So, that's one set of sub-assemblies done. Next it will be the turn of the swivel ball assemblies.

Halfshafts

The new inner halfshafts arrived from Blanchard today, so it looks as if everything is now here. The two inner halfshafts looked in bad shape when unwrapped, the longer being encrusted in ancient dirt and the shorter having a thick coat of what appeared to be soft black paint or a protective layer of some sort. The paint was so thick in the splines that I thought they had been worn down. However, degreaser and a few passes of the brass wire wheel later, they came out looking like new, and the good Hardy Spicer shafts that they are.

I have now sourced an inexpensive press, which will make bearing and spacer installation much easier over the course of the restoration, and so will wait a few days to see how the press appears in reality before perhaps obtaining one and using that to put the halfshafts together.

Brake Backing Plates; UJ's; Swivel Balls

Parts are trickling in for the axle rebuild. The new Girling brake backing plates (on the right, obviously) look great. Nice to have anodized units, but they have been around long enough that there are small rust spots here and there. Easy to clean up, however, and they'll get the rust-prevention treatment.

 Apparently the loose brake-shoe swivels were a known problem, as these new ones are welded in.

A view of the brake-pad side. As the Girling plates come with brake adjusters installed, the adjuster kits I purchased earlier will be relegated to spares. I have no idea who RECA is; these came from Rovers Down South, in New Orleans.

The new universal joints arrived recently, as well. Haven't heard of GKN before, but as they have Hardy Spicer among the companies shown on the box, plus impressive info on their website, and are listed as Hardy Spicer by LRSeries, from whom these were purchased, I imagine they are good replacements. An original Hardy Spicer uj is on the right (minus two caps), next to an outer halfshaft. The new inner halfshafts are due to arrive from Blanchards any day now.

Also received the new Timken bearings for the swivel balls. Won't be long, I hope, before everything starts getting put together.