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:

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.... : )