Check Straps

New check straps for the rear axle arrived, and have been installed. Finally a set that fits. I had ordered two other sets previously, from other suppliers, and both times they were too short. However, these ones were supplied by Paddock's, made by Dunlop, and fit like a dream.

On other subjects, have been chasing down the oil leaks on the rear lower right of the engine block, and it turns out that the bolts in that particular area simply weren't tight enough to hold in 40+ psi of oil pressure.

Did the tiny-est bit of off-roading on Wednesday, just to see what a Land Rover can do. What a pleasure. : )

Short Drive

Went for a short drive at lunch today, just to test things. Engine running well, oil filter cover needed tightening, and in the beginning the clutch pedal briefly made a whirring noise when depressed. I think this is the bearing in need of lubrication, but in any event the noise went away after a short while. Something to pay attention to, however.

Biggest event was the Kodiak core springing a leak as the coolant system pressurised, which made the cabin into a foggy sauna until I turned the unit off. A new core is in order; I'm pretty sure the one in there is the original, and so, as with many of the older parts on this Land Rover, it's not really a surprise.

Beautiful day for a drive: +5 C, in February!!!

Head Gasket Cont'd; Spark Plugs, New Front Right Spring

After having acertained with Steve that the former problem was indeed a pushrod that had come out of its cup during adjustment of the tappet clearances, and that no damage had been done, the new head gasket is in place and the cylinder head re-installed.

Cylinder head being lowered back into place:

Rockers cleaned up (and pushrods carefully checked!):

A new front right spring was installed, from Paddock's, as previously the Land Rover was leaning towards the left-hand side, when using two equal front springs. By using what is normally (on right-hand-drive Land Rovers) a front left-hand spring in this right-hand side, the vehicle now sits perfectly level. Thanks go to Lars for that tip.

After having the cylinder head off three times in the past couple of weeks, everything is now back in place. I ran the engine for 20 minutes, re-torqued the cylinder head bolts (which will be done again after a long drive, when the engine had been at a higher operating temperature), adjusted the carb, and it now appears to be running well.

New non-resitor type spark plugs were installed, NGK B5ES (6410). Incidentally, I'd initially ordered Bosch W8CC plugs from Rovers North, but what arrived were WR8CC+ resistor plugs. A query to RN resulted in them saying that these resistor plugs had superceded the non-resistor, but the website does say W8CC (at time of writing), so if you're looking for non-resistor plugs from RN, call first to see what you'll get.

Just waiting for the hood/bonnet to go back on, and the Land Rover is ready for some more driving.

Dreamer

Received the winter edition of excellent magazine "Built Two Last" from the Series 2 Club in the U.K. today. The editor, Dan, had asked if the photo of my daughter could be used on the rear cover, but it was a real treat to dicover that the photo is in fact the entire rear cover! There will be one happy little girl around here when she sees that. Thank you, club! If you own a Series 2, it's a club you simply must be a member of, and has been a tremendous resource in helping restore this Land Rover.

Head Gasket Replacement

A low top speed in 4th gear suggested that something was wrong. Adjusting the timing didn't help. A drop in compression in cylinders 2 and 3, and no indication of problems in the oil or coolant, suggested a blown head gasket. Taking the cylinder head off showed that was in fact the case, and so the gasket is in the process of being replaced.

It's turned out slightly longer to do than normal, first due to a slight bit of damage to the fibre covering the metal core of the replacement gasket the first time around, which allowed the coolant to leak out. The fibre covering is quite delicate and comes away from the metal core easily.

Head off again, a replacement gasket was installed, and all seemed well, but then when starting the engine, there was a fairly loud ticking noise which suggested that something metal was hitting something metal in the head or rocker cover.

An initial investigation seemed to indicate a pushrod wasn't seating correctly in the tappet cup, but when the head was off again a detailed look at the tappets, rollers, pushrods, rockers and camshaft surfaces indicated that everything looked in great shape. I may have just maladjusted the tappet clearances, in spite of it being relatively easy to do, but to be safe I've asked that Steve come over and have a look at things, to be sure.

Other than that, taking the head off is not a difficult operation, but having done it three times in one week, I've found ways to make it more efficient each time! It's also been a great excuse to clean everything up.

Below, cylinder head removed, and engine block covered while waiting for Steve's next visit. Cylinder head is suspended from engine hoist.

Rocker assembly prior to removal. Tie wraps prevent the springs from pushing the assembly apart when lifted.

A handy way to make sure all bolts and pushrods are reinstalled in the same order they came out. The rocker assembly was later taken apart, cleaned and inspected. The springs don't exert much force, so disassembly and re-assembly was pretty easy.

Rocker assembly removed, and head disconnected from everything.

The old copper head gasket. Can you see where it's burned through? : )

Carbon on the pistons:

In case you missed the burn-through: : )

After the initial cleanup. Tappets and rollers have been taken out, cleaned and inspected, and the camshaft surfaces inspected, as well.

Short Video

Had made a few small changes to the carburator and timing, so just went around the block a couple of times to make sure I hadn't made anything worse.

Turn signal doesn't automatically turn off, and I forgot.... : ) And the aspect ratio of the video looks a little squashed....

-10 C, fairly cold but at least the wind had died down. Lots of ice left from two days ago, however, as can be seen by my attempts to get back in the garage.

Leather Steering Wheel Cover

Given that we had an ice storm yesterday and a howling blizzard today, and the temperatures will be around -12 C for the next few days, the Land Rover isn't going anywhere for the time being. And so, took the opportunity to put on the leather steering wheel cover, purchased from Pangolin 4x4 .

It took about an hour to do, and is a very nice kit. The leather has a nice feel, the instructions are clear (a rarity), and comes with waxed thread and needle. Pretty straight-forward to do, the only casualty being the skin on a finger from constantly having to pull the thread tight!