Rust; Springs

A typical time spent with an old Land Rover: a selection of rusted nuts, bolts and washers, all in various states of damage and corrosion - all to be replaced with brand new ones, thankfully.

Test fitting of the front axle casing on the new springs. Good thing I tested, as it turns out the dowls that center the axle are not exacty in the middle, from front to back (not side to side). On each front spring, they were off by about 3/16, both in the same direction when reading the stencilled words on the springs. Not much, but when I had the springs initially placed with the stencilled wording facing outwards on each side, it was visible, by comparing with the chassis, that the axle had a very slight 'turn' in one direction. By making the springs identically placed, i.e. with the stencilled wording reading from the driver's side, on both sides, the axle lined up properly.

Have now made sure the rear springs are also identically placed.

Busy

No photos these past days as there's been too much going on, and the garage has been very cluttered. Basically, had set up to paint, and have been doing the axle casings and many other parts. With all the parts now waiting for reassembly into front and rear axles, plus the wait for the last remaining small items to arrive from the UK, USA and here in Canada, I think it'll be nicer to take some photos when things are a little further along in a few days. : )

Hand Brake - Dismantled and Cleaned

The hand brake parts have cleaned up nicely. Have ordered new OEM brake shoes and springs from Rovers Down South, along with the dust cover for the expander unit, and the packing plate, locking plate and retaining spring which go with said expander - these last were completely missing. The hand brake cover, which isn't visible here, has already been cleaned and has received a new coat of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator, prior to getting final coats of chassis black. The same will be done for the backing plate.

In this view you can the expander and adjuster parts in the plastic bag at top. They are in top shape.

Over the past few days have also started to install the springs on the chassis, seeing as the axles are coming together and it may be possible to make a rolling chassis fairly soon. Today I found a place that will remove the old tires from the wheels, and have already lined up a company that will media blast the wheels. Then the wheels can be painted in Limestone (the original off-white visible on one of the wheels immediately behind the chassis) and the new tires  installed.

The original rear springs bolts are truly seized, and I can't get a good angle to try and get them off, so have ordered new ones (plus shackles) from 3 Brothers Classic Rovers. Was able to use the original shackles and shackle bolts on the front springs.

Hand Brake - First Look

While waiting a few days for the garage to get warm enough to work in again, went in briefly and took the hand brake drum off. Drum itself appears in perfect shape, however the rest will clearly need a good cleaning, inspection, overhaul and, if nothing else, new brake shoes.

Before:

After:

Rear Axle

Finally removed the rear axle today. The prop shaft bolts came undone without any trouble at all, a nice change after the struggles with the front axle. I have to say, though, that the special tool I bought for the purpose has been useless, not fitting around the prop-shaft yokes. Brake line screw-in connections were rusted solid, so simply cut the lines again. U-bolts were not going to be used again, so simply cut through them. Et voila, off it came, although I forgot about the remaining oil in there and had to clean a fair amount off the floor.

Best news today is that the replacement refurbished galvanized bulkhead from Ashtree Landrover International is due to be shipped from the UK at the end of next week. Looking forward to seeing that.

Rear axle itself appears, externally at least, in good shape, and should clean up nicely. The differential turns as it should, and so I'm hoping that when I take it out that all the teeth inside are in equally good shape. So far (touch wood) the rear axle and hubs have been refreshingly free of problems.

Spot the Land Rover Parts : )

Just a couple of views of the heated storage area, which shows many of the parts and assemblies that are ready to go back on the vehicle or have been primed (grey) ready for their Pastel Green paint later in the restoration. The more you look, the more parts you'll see.... 10 points if you can spot the tires. : )

Back in the garage, the rear axle has been disassembled to the point that just the U-clamps holding the axle to the springs  need to be undone, and then the axle can come away and have the differential taken off and looked at. Hubs have both been disassembled and throughly cleaned. Everything is in excellent shape.

Out of sight here is the front axle case, which is painted and ready to go, and the front diff, which is in the garage. The entire front axle is ready for reassembly, just waiting for some shims to finish off the differential, and I'd like to do a leak-preventative overhaul of the brake cylinders before they are installed.

Among other things in this view are the steering relay and arms, plus the rebuilt hand brake lever mechanism.

Rear Left Hub

Having spent the warmer past few days painting the forward axle components, tonight it was the turn of the rear left axle hub to be dismantled. This seemed very simple after the front ones! Everything came apart easily, although coated in a goo made of brake fluid and dirt. Once the brake shoes were off, it was quickly apparent that the shoe pivots on the backing plate were loose here too, and given that the shoes, cylinder and now backing plate were all scrap, it was just a matter of taking the brake backing plate off with everything attached and throwing it out. Axle casing, drive shaft, and stub shaft all in good shape, and new backing plates ordered. Brake line fitting into the cylinder was a rusted corroded mess, impossible to remove, so the brake line was simply cut.

View here of the drive shaft and stub axle.

The main hub castings, after a cleaning and inspection. The bearings are in perfect shape, so they'll be staying. The parts below are from the hand brake, waiting for the painted parts to come back (the newly painted parts are drying/curing the the warmth and dryness of the basement).

A view of the rear axle casing hub with everything removed.

A look inside the axle casing towards the differential, off in the distance.

Not much left of the axle bumper stop! Strap fittings may need replacing.

Finally, a view forward. Note the corrosion in the aluminum where the steel bolts passed through. The corrosion will be neutralised and large washers will help strengthen the area when all is back together.

Overview

Last night and late this afternoon the transmission brake assembly was removed and the parts cleaned and those needing it are spending the night in Evapo-Rust. Looks as if the fuel tank will have to be removed to take out the remaining bolts which are holding the shaft for the hand brake relay lever.

This weekend the temperature forecasts are good for painting the remaining front axle and steering parts. In the view below the parts awaiting painting are spread out everywhere (most, but not all, parts that are already painted are stored away in the basement). The tub and roof are where they are just because I have nowhere else to put them for now, although once all the front axle parts are assembled and on the new chassis, the tub and roof will be moved over to sit on the new chassis (just visible under the gray fabric) temporarily while I work on the rear axle.

First Look Rear Hub; Carb Dust; Unexpected Visitor

Cleaned out the carb, and replaced the gaskets or anything that looked worn (which wasn't that much). All the jets looked good. The small ball for the the starter valve was missing, and I've ordered one. That was about it. View here shows the parts changed. The brown powder was the dirt found in the float chamber.

 Took the rear left wheel off, to have an initial look at the hub and well. Pretty much as expected, and lots to do! Note the springs, held together with metal straps, all of which appear to be pulling apart. Glad I have new springs.

Just a closer look at the hub. The driveshaft is in perfect shape (pulled it out and had a look), and the parts here do not appear to have suffered the same abuse as those at the front hub.

A view of the well, looking aft.

And a look over at the other side. Prop shaft and axle casing look in good shape externally, encased in that oily dirt that protects so well.

While in the garage tonight, had an unexpected vistor. Found him semi-conscious on the paper towel next to the front axle case, shivering. Probably not the smartest thing I've ever done, but brought the heater down to warm him up, gave him a piece of bread and something to drink. Took a while, but he came around and then ate the entire piece of bread, and later drank a lot of water. Didn't show any fear, even as I continued to work on the Land Rover. Last I saw of him, he was sitting on the flange of the axle casing.

Rust Encapsulator; Carb

Today, as the garage had warmed up somewhat thanks to the outside temperatures, took a few minutes to start spraying some of the prepared parts with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator, as a primer, prior to painting with 3x Chassis Black. Should be warmer again later this week, and then can finish the front axle parts and steering arms in their Rust Encapsulator coats. Then, in a few days following that, once everything is dry, the Chassis Black can be applied (when temps are suitable), and finally the front axle can be reassembled.

View here of the two brake backing plates in their Rust Encapsulator coating. I hope to spray the cylinder side with Eastwoods new brake fluid resistant paint. The rest will be Chassis Black. All parts were throughly degreased and cleaned with Eastwood's Pre Painting Prep product. Differences in the finish here show where rust was starting to show through the anodizing.

The swivel housings also received their coating, but not on the faces that will mate to other parts.

While waiting for shims to finish up the replacement differential, it too received a coat. Rust Encapsulator has a high epoxy contect, and is recommended as a primer over rusted surfaces. Should be highly adhesive and quite durable. Fittings on top of the differential (from the original, which willl be used) are just placed there for now, partly to keep dust, etc., off the bearing underneath.

Have also been reading up on how to service the carburator. The engine ran quite well, so will just make sure all is clean and replace the gaskets, but have a full service kit if necessary.

Differentials: mystery solved

Thanks once again to Peter at 3 Brothers Classic Rovers, I now understand a little more about Land Rover differentials! It turns out the replacement is from an axle suffix 'B' (1965) onwards, which accounts for the different bearing and washer. See the orange dots on the illustration below (supplied by Peter).

Differentials: mystery

 Well, a mystery to me, at least. Took the driving flange and oil seal retainer off of the original differential, and all appeared as the manual said it would - shims, bearing and washer for the bearing. Then, the same for the replacement: but this time it's different. No shims, a shorter bearing, and attached to the bearing (I think it's attached - doesn't come off by hand, but haven't tried anything harder) is what I assume is an extension. I'll have to ask around and see if this is just a development over the life of the design. Always something new!

This view, a differential as per the Manual:

And this view, the different setup I don't have a reference for: