Retroanaconda

Just to close this one out - I swapped the gearbox at the weekend (ably assisted by a very helpful forum member) and all has returned to normal. Old box sounded quite rough when turned by hand once removed from the vehicle, it may have lasted for another 100,000 miles or might have failed tomorrow, who knows. Interestingly more filings had accumulated on the drain plug magnet since I changed the oil a couple of weeks ago than had done so in the previous few years, so it seems something was breaking up inside. Thanks to all for the help.

I had to look it up as well. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

Looking at those better photos it's a hybrid dash, looks like the main part is the old style (1983-2001) and the centre panel is the later style (2002-2007).

Would you be willing to share the name of said reconditioner? By PM if you'd rather. Pretty sure mine is gearbox, in fact I'm sure of it. I can hear a faint rumble at idle which goes away when I put my foot on the clutch (i.e. when layshaft slows down and stops) and its present in all gears except fourth. Done a video of the noise for reference, in this case on overrun in third gear. The best capture of it is toward the end.

Looks like he's already got the 2002-2007 dash to me.

That sounds quite like it, mine's not quite as loud as that but it's a similar noise certainly. A shared characteristic in that it's most noticeable on overrun. How has yours developed, if at all? I've got another box coming (punt off eBay - wish me luck!) and will try and get it swapped as soon as possible.

Thanks guys. Noise now audible in first and second too, so all gears except fourth which very much suggests layshaft bearings as above. For all I know it may well rattle away quite happily for some time, however I think I will bring forward the repair schedule, doing 750 odd miles a week I really don't want it going bang on me. I foresee a 'fun weekend' in my near future.

That makes sense, except that there's no noise in first or second, unless there's a bearing on the layshaft that is only loaded when third/fifth is engaged and not when first/second is. Changed the oil this morning, it was long long overdue however apart from being slightly discoloured showed no signs of major problems internally. Drain plug had usual small amount of filings on it, and the filter in the extension housing was fairly clean. New oil is in and has maybe made it slightly less audible but noise is still there, I will monitor going forward I think. The car spends a lot of time in fifth gear, so I'll be able to see if it gets worse.

Folks, The car developed a new noise this week, a 'rumbling bearing' kind of noise present in third and fifth gears either when power is applied or on the overrrun. It is most noticeable on overrun in third gear, when slowing for a roundabout for example. No noise in first, second or fourth from what I can hear. The frequency of the noise increases and decreases commensurate with road speed. I can't replicate it by running through the box with the transfer box in neutral, suggesting it relies on load being applied to the box. The fact that it is only present in certain gears leads me to suspect only the gearbox, rather than other drivetrain components. The gearbox is pretty old however I'm not sure what actual age it is or how many miles it has done. The car has done 290k and the gearbox was in place when I bought it at 140k and didn't look new then, so there is at least 150k on it. In theory it could be original to the car however the mileage and the fact that the output splines were revealed to be in remarkably good order during a transfer box swap a number of years ago lead me to suspect it has been changed at some point. Not sure what the life expectancy of an LT77 is to be honest? I have read about LT77 gearboxes doing many tens of thousands of miles with rumbly bearings without it getting worse or failing catastrophically, however l need to be able to rely on the car so my plan to start with is to change the oil, having a close look at what comes out, and then monitor the noise with a view to replacing the gearbox later in the year. I wonder though if anybody has any relevant experience that they could share?

As much as I hate to give Britpart credit for anything the swivel balls on my 90 are from them, 'OEM' spec bought before I knew better - though I did know enough to use proper suppliers for the rest of the bits of the kit. They have done well over 120k now with no issues other than the Teflon coating wearing off. If I was doing it again I would probably go for Land Rover ones though just because I hate giving Britpart money for anything, even if it's good. I would avoid the kits because you still have some unknowns in there. The gaskets for example, we've all seen Britpart gaskets made out of tracing paper. Proper Land Rover ones are generally nice and thick. However to be fair the most important bits seem to be taken care of in that 'OEM' kit.

Enjoying watching this come together Steve. Some nice work. Will have to try and get down to watch a race one time.

Yes to threadlock I believe, I've always put some on. I used a locking tool to hold the engine still - doing it against the transmission seemed a bit off to me, there's a lot of 'spring' in it all which would make it hard to get the required torque. My method for tightening the bolt fully was a 5' pole and a 50lb fishing scale, which gave me the 250ft-lbs required on the 200Tdi. Though the second time I did borrow a proper big boy's torque wrench which went up to the required figure.

Yes, straight swap and the ratio is the same - 3.54:1 You'll need a longer prop from a later vehicle also as the diff nose is shorter.

The walls are all done with 4" nails, very few screws. The studs are fixed to the floor and wall plates via a mixture of: 1. nails into the stud end through the plate (not so strong), and 2. double skew nails from the stud side into the plate (very strong).

Do you mean the framing of the stud walls themselves, or the shelf brackets?

Yesterday I got the compressor wiring finished. The workshop power comes in from the house CU on a 40A circuit (10mm SWA) and then the compressor has a 32A radial circuit from the workshop CU in 6mm T+E to a suitably rated isolator switch, into which the compressor's own cable is connected. The MCB is a type C to allow for the startup current, I also swapped the 16A one feeding the welder's circuit to a type C as well. So with power sorted I checked it had oil in it, turned on the supply and pulled the on switch. It whirred into life quite happily - I was actually surprised at how quiet it was. It's loud if you're standing over it but inside the workshop it's there but not oppressive. I ran it up to pressure and cycled it a few times - the lights dim a little when it kicks in but they do that when I use my chop saw as well so not too worried about that. I will have to see how the type C MCB copes on cold weather startups, but hopefully the insulation will help mitigate that somewhat. Ive hooked up a temporary airline setup into the filter/regulator to allow me to spray the chassis (when the paint arrives), in due course I will run a permanent copper pipe into the rafters with a couple of attachment points. Shelving With this weekends plans for painting scuppered I thought I'd finally sort some shelving for the long wall of the building. I'd been meaning to sort something here for ages but never got the round tuits lined up to get it done. Supports are made up from 2" x 1-3/4" and pick up on each wall stud. Height wise it's set so that I can walk underneath without feeling like I'm going to hit my head on them. The shelf itself is 18mm hardwood ply, I took an 8'x4' sheet and ripped it lengthwise into three pieces 400mm wide. This gives a good depth of shelf while not projecting too far into the building and specifically not blocking the lights. Part filled with junk already. It doesn't quite go all the way down the wall yet as I'm not sure how I'm going to sort the other end, I would like to carry it on right round and along the gable wall too but there are some clearance issues with the existing shelving to think about first.

Was going to get the new chassis cleaned up and painted, but the paint didnt arrive so was that plan scuppered. Instead I think I will get some shelving put up in the workshop and have a bloody good tidy up. Got the air compressor up and running this morning though which was exciting - shame I can't use it yet! Then I might see about stripping down and cleaning up an axle.

On mine it wasn't attached to anything.

With the glorious weather this weekend I was able to make good progress. Got the frame roughly laid out: Wrapped in breathable membrane and clad in shiplap same as the main building: A layer of insulation, in this case 1" polystyrene that I had laying around. There are battens to space it back from the membrane so as to maintain an air gap: And then finally this afternoon I got the compressor moved in. Had to do that in order to get the final piece of wall in place properly: The roof is not finished yet, I've attached it at the hinge and flashed it to the wall but I need to put the covering on before too long. I then need to sort a few more things before it can become operational: Run power supply in from consumer unit (30A Type C MCB). Add remote drain point for receiver (depending on how much of a faff it is to reach). Install air line back into the building. Once the unit is up and running I can observe airflow patterns and add ventilation/ducting as required.

That should give you enough room if you keep the place tidy. Mine is 14' across and just about wide enough to work on the car easily. As long as you keep the floor clutter to a minimum. Some decent shelves down the sides up above head height can save a lot of space by moving things off the floor. I plan for a 15" deep shelf right down one side of mine, which shouldn't interfere with the wider car clearance envelope.

http://www.lubetec.co.uk/ http://shop.hle.co.uk/ Both seem to offer what you're after. Writeup of an installation on a Morgan: https://sites.google.com/site/morganatica/70-modifications/remote-greasing-of-front-suspension

I see, that sounds simple enough. I think I'll go down the electric pump route for mine, just trying to figure out how to plumb and wire it to allow for the control required. Current thinking is a pump under the drivers seat, hooked into both a low pressure switch so that it will run automatically when the ignition is on if the pressure drops below 5psi, and also a manual switch to increase the pressure (raise vehicle). Non-return valve between pump and a 'system' manifold linked to the air bags. Then a solenoid to bleed off pressure operated by a second switch (lower vehicle). And a gauge to show system pressure. Potentially a second pressure switch set to interrupt power to the pump and protect from over-inflation. The gauge and switches would need to be mounted somewhere accessible, ideally at the back of the vehicle (rear lighting cover panels perhaps).

That's good to hear. How do you control the system? I am aware that one is required to keep a minimum pressure in the bags to prevent damage - do you just monitor this manually and top up when needed via electric pump etc? Rather than spending hundreds on the Air Lift control system I was thinking of having a pressure switch wired up so that it kept the bags at least at the minimum pressure automatically, and then I could have extra switches to raise/lower the system pressure as required for a given load.

How is your fix holding up?

See here: