Jaroslav

I'll see if I can easily turn it upside down. The oil there is pretty dirty, not to mention the fact that I, by mistake, filled it with MTF at some point. I'd like to get a clean start (literally).

Well, with my type of filter it wouldn't be easy as it has holes at the bottom. It needs to be assembled air-tight in place: the bottom, the filter and the top.

I'm puzzled. It seems that the steering box has only a filling plug on the top cover, but no drain plug at the bottom. At least I can't find one. Granted, the shaft to which the steering arm is attached is all covered in oil, so some "natural" leakage may be occurring all the time... Anyway, how do we replace the oil? /Jaroslav

There is no problem. I was able to bleed the system by cranking the engine with the bleeding screw loosened. What bothered me is that I didn't do it by-the-book, which means that I might have succeeded only by dumb luck, and that next time I might not be that lucky. What you're saying confirms that I did the right thing and therefore I'm all prepared for the next time. Thanks for all replies. /Jaroslav

So, you just kept cranking the engine with the starter? But what about the bleeding point? Did you keep it open?

I see... All this doesn't make much sense to me. They say you might have to bleed the system if you run out of fuel, which might happen on the road. Unless you keep keep a toolbox full of sockets and wrenches with you all the time, how the heck you're supposed to loosen the bleeding bolt (and know which one) and also turn the crankshaft on the road? Fuel priming should have been designed in a more user-friendly way. /Jaroslav

Well, would cranking the engine for random intervals get the cam into the right position eventually? Can you turn it manually somehow? /Jaroslav

Hello there, I've just replaced a fuel filter on my N/A Diesel 110. I have a Hayes book that describes a rather bleeding procedure that is supposed to remove air from the fuel system. Well, after trying this and that, I ended up cranking the engine with the starter while keeping the bleeding bolt on top of the fuel filter assembly loose. At the end it worked, after spilling a lot of oil on the floor, but I'm still puzzled why I couldn't do it the proper way using the manual pump. When I pumped the manual fuel pump, there was a feeling that it's not doing anything and that there is no resistance at all. I've pumped probably 500 times. The Hayes book says, that if the manual pump level is up when the engine is stopped then the pump can't be operated. Isn't that stupid? I've tried cranking the engine with the lever up/down, but couldn't see no difference. Is it even supposed to work? The WSM where it describes fuel filter replacement procedure doesn't even mention any bleeding that needs to be done afterwards. Perhaps I just overcomplicated everything and all I needed to do is to replace the filter and then run/crank the engine until it clears itself of the air all by itself? /Jaroslav

To whoever might be watching this thread. Somebody gave me another neat idea: to cut it with a Dremel tool. And, voila, it worked.

Yep, that's it! Using a wrench socket sounds like a neat idea. I will try it right away. Thanks! What's oxy gear and how you can use it? I have an propane torch, but how it's gonna help me? Are you talking about heating till it expands enough to insert a smaller diameter socket? /Jaroslav

I'm stuck... literally. I took apart the steering arm ball joint: removed everything except for the inner ball socket that is stuck inside the housing. The WSM says use a sharp chisel; heat the housing if you have difficulties while removing. Well, the problem is that the socket is pretty worn out, so there is not a lot of edge for the chisel to strike on. Besides, I'm trying to fix the joint while the arm is still attached to the steering gear, so there is no space to swing the hammer. (I couldn't remove the arm because I don't have a 35 socket right now). I guess my question is what is the smartest way to remove the socket? All the dumb ones I've already tried out. /Jaroslav

Last night, when faced with this problem, I loosened the nut a bit and then tightened it again. That seemed to help in reaching the alignment with the required torque.

Hi all, has anybody faced a problem when you try to tighten a castle nut and just as you reach the required torque you find out that the holes don't line up? If you turn it back counterclockwise, you lose the required torque. If you keep turning it clockwise, you risk overtightening it. What do you do? /Jaroslav

Mine squeaks somewhere in the box around the pivot axis on the right side. Covered everything with WD40 - didn't help. Need to find a diagram to see how can I disassemble the damn thing and lube it properly.

It worked like a breeze! It was a very educational experience too. Laying under the vehicle and rocking it with my foot showed how the different part of the read suspension interacted with each other. And BTW, now I know that I need a new a-frame ball joint!

Hi All, I've been struggling with a clunk in my rear transmission path for quite some time. It occurred to me lately that the clunk might actually be coming from the A-frame with loose fittings. Yesterday, I was doing some work underneath and by chance touched the upper link which, to my surprise, produced a clunking noise. This morning I got under the truck again with a pry-bar, but couldn't make it clunk again, so my pry-bar test can't be trusted. I choked the wheels and released both the parking brake and the gear box. My driveway is slightly sloped towards the rear of the vehicle. BTW, the clunking bushing looks just fine. Guys, how can I tell if the bushings need to be replaced? How can I tell if the ball joint needs to be replaced? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! /Jaroslav

Apparently it's an american company: http://www.amsoil.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsoil

First of all, I hope I'm not starting a religious war here over which brand is better. I'm currently using Redline Shockproof Gear oil for diffs, transfer box, swivels etc. The reason I am considering the Amsoil is that I came across a supplier nearby, whereas for Redline I need to travel to the other side of the town. The other "problem" I've discovered with Redline Shockproof is that it's so thick and sticky that the oil level drops after you fill it up: you top it up to the plug level, but then a sizable portion of it sticks to the gear when you start driving so that you'd have to recheck the levels and top them up again (perhaps it's an urban legend, since I haven't checked my levels yet). So, my question is this: is the Amsoil Severe Gear Oil as good as Redline Shockproof Gear Oil? The same question goes for gear box oil: is Amsoil Synchromesh Transmission Fluid a reasonable replacement for Redline Synthetic MTL? Thanks in advance, /Jaroslav

Wow! A quarter of a turn! And I was losing my sleep over some 30 degrees of slack...

The normal ones didn't work for me. They only block the high-pitch noise. What makes my head explode is the low-pitch "ooooo" produced by the diesel at high revs.

I might be in a better situation than you as I have a soft top, which means a lot of sound waves escape outside. BTW, Dynamat's site says that they don't offer their led-based product anymore :-( Have you tried something like this: http://www.complyfoam.com/Product/NR{48}10...ction-Earphones /Jaroslav

I don't care about not having power - I'm not into racing. All I'm trying to do right now is to avoid noise, that's why I started to switch gears at lower and lower revs, but I'm wondering if it's not too healthy for the crank shaft and fuel consumption. Yes, I do have a 2.5 N/A ex MOD 100 and I love it, except that the noise started bothering me. I want to join an off-roading club; I saw some pictures of Jeep wranglers and Toyotas all traveling in a convoy. To keep up with them I'll have to go at a maximum speed (95 kmh so far) for long periods of time and that doesn't seem to be very appealing. I started questioning the wisdom of getting a diesel :-( Lars, what did you do to make your "bearable"? /Jaroslav

I don't know if I have this W connection, but I'll check. Is this the only/standard/reliable way to count revolutions? Thanks /Jaroslav

At the end I found myself switching to the 5th gear at 50 km/h (and I thought that that's probably was not enough!) BTW, mine is a N/A engine. Two follow up questions: 1) I found that it's quite easy to start driving from the 2nd gear (my 1st-to-2nd gear switching is sometimes difficult); is anybody else doing it too? 2) With the 5th gear at 40km/h - how fast can you go at all? I could barely stand the noise at 80 km/h (don't know how many revs that would be). So I ended up driving back roads at max 60km/h. Is there anything I can do about it? Ears plugs seem to be cutting high-pitch noises only while the low-pitch still gets in :-( /Jaroslav

Hi all, I think I am being paranoid by over-revving my diesel engine when switching gears. I'm used to a gasoline engine where you have to be at least 2000RPM to get any power from the engine, so I'm kinda doing the same by force of habit. I don't think it's gonna break anything, but I think I'm wasting fuel and subjecting myself to an extra level of noise. The vehicle has no sound proofing, so the noise can be deafening. I know what it feels like when a benzine engine is under-revved, but can't sense this line for the diesel yet. Diesel engines have lots of torque at low RPM, but what is considered to be low and is there any torque at idling speed? On the other hand, one would assume that the lower RPM number the higher stress on the crank shaft; so it can't be too good for the engine in the long run. Questions, questions... that's why I'd like to install a rev counter on my ex MOD diesel 1987 defender. Is it even possible? Is there a rev sensor at all in this model? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks /Jaroslav