Starter Failure; Block Heater

Went to go for a drive, on a brisk -10 C day. Engine started normally, and I let it warm up. Got in, put the vehicle in reverse, and then it stalled as I hadn't given enough fuel. Started again - and just as it the starter engaged, there was a metallic bang/clang and everything stopped dead.

I got out to see if the engine could still be turned over using the starter crank handle, but no, the engine wouldn't move. Something had broken. No amount of rocking the vehicle while in gear would free the flywheel.

Given that when trying the ignition button again, there was absolutely no noise from the starter itself, but the lights on the instrument panel went dim, it seemed likely that the starter had jammed the flywheel somehow. Either that, or something major had broken inside the engine. As the starter would likely need to come off in any case if the engine needed major repairs, removing the starter to see what was potentially wrong there seemed the logical first thing to do.

As the steering linkages were in the way, I elected to take the wing off, followed by the forward exhaust pipe and the exhaust heat shield. That way I could see clearly, too. Only difficulty was the -10 C temp in the garage. Even the shop hand cleaning lotion had frozen. (I have to say those front mudguards do a great job at stopping dirt etc., from accumulating on the bulkhead.)

With everything off, the starter was easy to remove. As it came out, it was plain that the spring, pinion, etc., were just floating on the shaft and everything slid off as the starter came out. Clearly the nut on the end of the shaft had come off. No visible damage to the flywheel, however, which was good to see. The engine turns over by hand as smoothly as ever.

In the photo below, the hole where the starter was. At the very back, it's possible to see where the spring, or something, on the shaft had contacted the bell housing, making a few gouges before everything jammed.

I managed to get everything out except the nut itself. A flexible magnet should take care of that. Below, the remains of the nut's threads still on the shaft. Shaft threads appear to be in pretty good shape. Split pin that held the nut in place was neatly cut each side where it comes out of the shaft.

The starter out. As I'm not sure what kind of damage may have been done to the shaft or the internals of the starter, I have ordered a re-built unit from 3 Brothers Classic Rovers.

While I was back there, I had a good look at the original block heater. It hasn't been tested. Cord just plugs in like any other appliance, although the rubber cover on the cord side had melted somewhat. I don't know why.

A slightly blurry view of the cord's socket.

January

I know, I probably post too many photos of the Land Rover. : )

Anyway, took a nice long drive at lunch, temperature just at 0 C, most of snow melted for now, but at least some of the river is still frozen. But no worries, lots more winter to come.

(As ever, best view of the photo is when clicked.)

Some Dramatic Advertising

A rather amusingly dramatic advert for Land Rover. The header says 1969, but the Land Rover featured is clearly a Series 3, which were produced from 1972 to 1984.

 

Twilight Drive

-9 C, gently snowing, evening falling: perfect time for a drive. And, incidentally, the first drive of 2013.

If you like, for a nicer sense of the 'atmosphere', you can click on the photos to see them full-size.

A Little Winter Driving

Hardly tough conditions, but still nice to be out. The Land Rover was well up to the -12 C wind chill and windy conditions, and was both warm in the cabin plus the windows didn't fog up! Used the vehicle in 2-wheel and 4-wheel drive, and even did a little low-range just to give it some excercise.

Yes, there's a red "reindeer" nose on the radiator muff. There were pretend antlers on the roof, but they wouldn't stay on. Will have to find another way. :)

Electrical Brake Light Switch Kit

The brake-line pressure-actuated brake lights have been difficult to get working smoothly. Although it's a simple mechanical pressure switch on the line, I could only get the brake lights to work easily if the brakes were badly adjusted, for some reason. If the brakes were (and are) correctly adjusted and working as they should, it took a lot of pressure on the brake pedal to get the brake lights to come on. Don't ask me why. As the Land Rover doesn't need a lot of pressure on the pedal to stop, the brake lights were never on.

This being a safety issue, and not wanting to replace the pressure switch (which would not be an easy job in any case, what with awkward access and draining the system, etc.) without being able to know in advance if the replacement would solve the problem, a work-around was needed. I contacted the ever-helpful Peter at 3 Brothers Classic Rovers (and no, I don't work for them), and he put together what has turned out to be an excellent and simple to install electric brake light kit, consisting of a steel bracket and switch.

The kit requires no new holes be drilled, so the Land Rover can revert to standard original configuration in just a few minutes by taking off the bracket and remove the wiring. This is a real 'plus'.

The only things I had to supply myself was the wiring (and I opted for correctly coloured braided cable, from Autosparks), the connectors, two wire clamps, and one rubber grommet to let the wires go through where there was a plug previously.

Pictured below, the basic layout. Essentially, there's the well-made and position-adjustable steel bracket, through which passes the pedal return spring, and into which the brake switch itself is installed. The switch's body position is also adjustable, forwards and back, and so it's easy to imagine the installation can be made to match any brake pedal setup. Installation was just done by taking out and re-installing two of the six bolts connecting to the brake pedal box. The bracket first appeared somewhat large, but it turns out to be perfectly sized and it stays well away from my foot on the pedal - and is not visible from the driving position.

The switch, as it attaches to the bracket. One nut on the pedal side holds the switch in place. There were several spacers, so the switch button could be exactly positioned against the pedal arm.

Here, the switch button can be seen pushed in by the pedal. As the pedal is pushed, it releases the button, and the brake lights come on. Very simple.

Then, its just a matter of routing the wires through the bulkhead and down to the original pressure switch, attaching them directly to the connection points already there, leaving the original wires also attached. Again, very simple. The electrical switch takes over from the completing the circuit from the pressure switch, lighting up the brake lights. Here, you can just see the new green wires passing under the black bundled wires on the firewall.

Seen head on, from a lower perspective. The switch assembly is actually invisible when you are seated.

And finally, just an illustration of the clearance between bracket and a large boot. With ordinary shoes, etc., there's obviously even more room. The bracket is very stiff, and certainly won't be effected if a boot should come in contact, in any case.

Radiator Muffs

As the cold weather is here (well, not too bad yet, but definitely chilly) it seemed the right time to install a radiator muff in order to keep the engine temperatures up.

3 Bros, kindly supplied two versions to try. The first was from Rovers North, the second from Britpart. In the end, I chose the Britpart one.

Both will do the job. The Rovers North one is of somewhat higher quality, but more difficult to install and remove, and I could see the fabric being difficult to clean if necessary. The Britpart one was very easy to install, just requiring some tie-wraps (one set of which comes with the muff, and are cheap to purchase afterwards in any case), and the vinyl surface will be easy to keep clean. The Rovers North muff provides more choices of opening sizes, but the adjustable flap folds and hangs down over and against the apron, which looked to me as if it could wear away the paint once dirt and wind are involved, while the Britpart one is either open or closed, but I prefer the way it rolls up.

There is about a $20 difference in price between the two, with the Rovers North one being the less expensive.

Below: Britpart radiator muff installed.

The Rovers North radiator muff. Comes with a nicely done Rovers North label on it, too. It fits snugly over the corners of the grill, but in my case would require removing the grill to install, and the captive nuts are loose enough already.