Mossberg

Just a question on stronger brakes. Is there a point where the brakes can be too strong? I presume braking is the whole package- pedal, master cylinder, calipers & pads, tyres and road surface. I presume the weakest link will de the failure point in any scenario, but control of the whole system will be the key to effective braking. So, will brakes that have too much bite be detrimental to overall effectiveness of the whole system? I presume this is why abs brakes were developed, to counteract the loss of braking as wheels lock and loose grip. I have lots to learn and I am enjoying my education ☺

I have just fitted new calipers on my truck. I got them from one of the forum members but the were unused. The part numbers were SEB500460 and SEB500470. These were advertised as for a 300tdi/Td5 by the member. They are Britpart calipers. These are a single feed. I went from standard discs on my truck to these which are vented. My axle is an older 10 spline which I believe was 200tdi. It would be worth confirming the hole centres for fixing though. I have a feeling the axle cases are the same but can't confirm. Also, when you take your calipers off, check the bolts. If you are refitting the same bolt then that's fine, but if you are going to fit new bolts make sure you get the right ones. My axle was M12x1.75 coarse thread on one side and M12x1.25 fine thread on the other!!! (It should have been the course thread on both sides but the muppet that changed the caliper on the near side fitted the fine thread which ended up with me having to fit helicoils!!). Remember the bolts are bi-hex 12 point heads, 13mm - but people also recommend 1/2". I found that a good quality socket makes a difference as you want a good tight fit. Hope everything goes well as mine were a bit trying!! PS - My new calipers are Britpart but seem to stop me well enough with Ferodo pads fitted.

Thanks Uninformed, I didn't realise this so thanks for the heads up. Tha axle case is from a 300tdi so I am presuming this will be the same as my 200tdi one.

It's only the axle case, but I will give it a good coat of looking at before I decide if its scrap or usable. It will be a while before its fitted as I haven't finished doing my rear one yet - though I hope to give it a topcoat on Monday. I will also order my calipers, bushes, A frame ball joint etc. In fact, I also picked up a 300tdi bulkhead to repair today - though that will be a bit of a project. But that will be for a future thread!!!

Many thanks 92a, much appreciated. You folks on this forum are so helpful.

I have been offered a front axle case for my defender. My existing axle is a 10 spline (not sure if defender or disco). The replacement axle casing is from a 300tdi. I understand the hockey sticks will be different widths, but this is OK as I can get them with it. So the question is, are there any other differences or are they interchangeable? As always, thanks

Many thanks for the help folks. I will look at getting a new ball joint. I am going to have to remove the axle so I will have to separate the trailing arm joints. I will have to hope they are OK, but I doubt that!! I think I will have to expect to do those too!

Wow, that was quick - thanks Maverick! If it is difficult to detect I will look at getting a new one. I have a friend that will let me use his 30t press so I will look at getting one on order. I know folks will say get a unit in the housing, but I have never done this kind of work before so I am enjoying (?) gaining the experience. Are their other things that can be checked at the same time? I don't want to replace things for the sake of it as I am on a budget, but also don't want to miss doing something that is good practice to do when the axle is separated (well removed as I am replacing the axle casing) from the truck.

How do you check an A frame ball joint whilst off the vehicle? I have a joint but the rubber gaiter is gone. The joint is not loose but I would not know how to check for signs of wear. I don't want to replace it for the sake of it, but I certainly don't want to put a worn part back! I was just considering fitting a Gwyn Lewis polyurethane gaiter, but I will get a replacement if I am not sure it's OK. As always thanks for your help. Mick

Borrowed from a Fireman friend who started life as a mechanic. He has been a fireman for 25+ years so obviously older than that. I suspect it is around the 30 year mark as I know he had all his tools stolen from work at some point, so they can't be from his first day's as an apprentice, which could go back to 81!! He lent me his 30 and 32mn spanners letting me know there was no rush to get them back as he rarely works on anything that size. The Teng can live in my toolbox now, though I hope I won't be needing it too often. I have the rear axle case to change in the next couple of weeks, but after that I am not sure when I will next need it. I could have not bothered and borrowed one next time I needed one, but it would be like an itch I couldn't scratch 😫 Land Rover ownership certainly expands the tool box.

Well I picked up my Teng 30mm spanner today. I compared it to the snap-on one I had borrowed and it looks very similar. There is slightly more play in the Teng, but nothing silly! £8.15 delivered, so not too bad. Not new but less than half price of a new one.

I am just starting on this job myself so please be aware that others will be far better to give you good advice than me. However I think you are correct. I think the bracket will be where you would have a washer with the caliper against the axle casing.

This may help too. It's the image of the axle I bought for the casing as I was taking it appart.

I don't know if this helps any. https://www.landrovermonthly.co.uk/articles/how-to/rear-disc-brakes-defender-discovery/

I think grit blasting would be a good choice. I think a big advantage of blasting is how it removes all the paint etc. Inside the chassis is a different story as I am not sure how good the blasting would be inside as your line of sight and the openings to blast being very limited. Someone I met once said aquablasting was the best method of cleaning as you ended up with no shot inside the chassis, but I have never experienced this so can't comment. So would I use electrolysis to clean a chassis- yes I would consider it. I think you could make a suitable bath by using a damp proof type membrane. I did wonder if you could plug the holes on the chassis and do the inside that way, but I don't think that would be viable and I still think you would need to clean off the residue - though a drain type pressure washer attachment may be suitable for this task. If you are cleaning your chassis in preparation for galvanising then this may be an option as the Pre-galvanising acid bath may remove that residue- note I say MAY as I really don't know.

Just soda crystals. 79p for a bag from Home Bargains. Wire brushes and paint brushes are also a good price from there.

Just a heads up, Aldi in Ramsbottom are currently selling the torque wrench at £15 (they should be £20). I am not sure if this is in all stores as the ones in Rawtenstall (about 4 miles up the road) were full price, as they are on line. I was just looking for another as my Norbar one is not rated high enough for my current tasks - I was looking at a Teng, but at £15 it was silly not too!

I just hope the painting is good enough to stop the rust 🙏

Just one note - I was going to get new brake shields but decided against it as they were all painted black and I presumed it was going to be the carp paint that so many parts have. To be honest I would prefer bare steel as at least I could use a more resilient paint process. I decided the existing ones painted properly would probably last as long a a brand new set!

The electrolysis only attacks the rust - that is one of the great things about this process. I will list some of the good and bad points; Good It leaves the Good material alone. This process only works on the rust of the steel. It gets into areas you can't see. It loosens thick rust so that you can pick it off with a screwdriver etc. Any rust that is treated but still remains in pitting etc is not rust anymore - but have a look on youtube for a video of the chemistry as I can't explain it. It's relatively easy. You hang your part in the bath, connect up and switch on, then take it out and clean up. You don't create lots of grinding dust! Bad You can only treat what you can fit in your bath. Your part does not need to be fully submerged, but it only works on the submerged part. Originally my bath (large bucket) was about 450mm deep. I did one end of my axle, cleaned it up, turned it over and did the other end. However the middle section was not done and I was going to do this with a wire wheel in the grinder - unfortunately this was just polishing the thick rust. I the changed to a 200 ltr drum, but this still would not fit the full axle so needed one end then the other. You still need to clean the part. A lot of rust just comes off but you still need to remove the black residue. I used a combination of flat bladed screwdriver to pick off the crusty stuff, various sized wire brushes and a pressure washer. I would brush/wash/brush/wash until I was happy with how clean the part was. This obviously needed a suitable area to do it, though small parts could be cleaned in another bucket or sink, so no need for the pressure washing. Some parts benefit from a two stage clean - treat in the bath, take out and clean (at this stage you can pick lots of the scale/scabs of rust off. After the first cycle just assess if it needs to go back in, if it does, just repeat. Areas you can't see will still be treated. The bump stop plates on my axle were only accessible for cleaning with a screwdriver - I could not get the brush in there. The pressure washer cleans a lot out, but this is an area that will rust so you want a good treatment here. I did my best with cleaning and then painting, but in here will get a good amount of Lanoguard (or whatever treatment you prefer). Time! This process takes time so if you are addressing a rusty item in one afternoon this will not be an option. This process only works on rust on steel - it does not work on corrosion on other materials so you can't use it on aluminium etc. As this process is wet you can get flash rusting. You need to dry the part quickly to avoid this and even thennit is not easy to avoid. If needs be, spray the part with WD40 to get rid of the water, which is OK for parts you are not going to paint. Also, remember that this process removes the rust. Once the rust is gone you are left with the remaining steel. Thus may mean you are left with holes, but you may just be surprised at what does remain. Some things look far worse when they have all the rust on them and you wonder if they can be salvaged, but some come out OK (but obviously not pristine!). If you want to try this it is relatively simple and you can use various power supplies. I have used a modern battery charger (Aldi £12.50 type) but with an old battery in line to fool the smart electronic bit or I believe this type may not work if connected directly. I now have an old style battery charger that I connect directly. BE AWARE OF THE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS - THIS PROCESS PRODUCES HYDROGEN WHICH IS EXPLOSIVE, AND ALSO YOU ARE USING ELECTRICITY WITH WATER! Some parts from yesterday's batch. Please note that these parts gave also been treated with phosphoric acid after the electrolysis though I am not sure if this is needed. Note the stub axle as this was treated fully submerged in the bath - the bright steel is unaffected. The flange that had rust would have been a blacker colour but the phosphoric acid turns them grey. I wire brush and wash after the acid treatment and I don't really know if there is any advantage in doing the acid process (I bought the phosphoric acid before I discovered electrolysis so thought I may as well use it!!)

Many thanks for that. I never thought of that with Bonda. I have put the axle in the garage until I top coat and will make sure I keep it dry until the top coat is on.

During the process of applying Lanoguard to the truck, I was brushing and poking all the rust and crud away the best I could so I could identify areas needing attention. I was looking at my rear axle and brushing with a wire brush/poking with a screwdriver. Noticed a long hole in the shock mount - poo! but never mind as you can buy weld on replacements. Looked at the other side and the same story (I didn't know they had a slot in as standard). Ho hum, never mind, they can be replaced! Anyway, I then moved onto the bump stop plate. What a s**t place to collect mud! In goes the screwdriver poking all the crud out and the top flips off without too much effort. With further poking I can see the actual casing is also seriously crusty, and whilst I can fit a bump stop plate, I was not happy with the state of the casing. With this potential hole/weak point I decided I would look at the cost of a replacement axle case - I didn't want a full axle as the other parts seemed OK anyway appart from the parts I would probably replace on an axle anyway (calipers/discs/etc). Anyway I got a price for a replacement at £80 Well I can live with that as it also means I don't have to mess around with the other bits. I collected the case which also had the hubs, calipers and parts of the A frame & trailing arms attached (I picked it up from a local off road enthusiast who obviously needed it for the drive gear - which was removed). I was happy that the attached bits would u/s but at least it would give me the opportunity to strip it down and thus gain a bit of much needed experience. I managed to get everything appart without too much drama. The A frame to joint was a bit challenging as one bolt didn't want to come out - but the 600mm breaker bar managed to sort it with lots swinging and backward/forward small "crack" type movements with lots of plusgas. Whilst it was a pain I am gaining experience of what is likely going to be required when doing the job removing the axle, so all good. Next onto the A frame ball joint to the axle. Out comes the 30mm socket and 600mm bar - feck! socket won't fit on. I don't have a 30mm spanner so I tried the large adjustable - that won't fit either, though I am not a fan of them anyway. So off to my friend who is a mechanic and he kindly lends me a 30mm spanner. Well the split pin is not coming out so its just brute force and ignorance applied and the nut comes off - no real drama once I had reassembled my vice (which was in the middle of a clean and paint job). Now onto removing the joint from the axle. I put the nut back on and gave it a few good whacks using a piece of 25mm dia bar as a drift. I try to undo the nut but my application of force has made the nut grip the joint. I grab the spanner, give it a turn and the ball turns with it (ffs). I tried holding the joint at various angles but no joy. I reached for a good set of mole grips but knew that I nay have issues on the hard and very shiny joint but thankfully it came off. So with everything off I cleaned the axle ready for a bit of derusting in the electrolysis tub. I only gave a 40 ltr tub do I can only get the ends in. Thankfully it is just deep enough to cover the bump stop plates and I will do the centre part of the casing with a wire wheel in the grinder. I do both ends and they come up good. I then attack the central section with the wire wheel but I am not happy as it removes the surface rust but just polishes the crusty stuff underneath. So the hunt for a 200 ltr barrel starts - £17 on ebay but all miles away. A couple of posts on local Facebook groups and I have one for free within a mile of me - all good, I fill the barrel and setup the kit, axle in the barrel, switch on and let electricery do its magic. After 24 hours, get it out and remove the major rust, then back in for another 24 hours. Out it comes and it gets a good wire brushing. Their are still some black deposits in the area where the rust was (generally around the welds) so I decided I will give it a coat of phosphoric acid. I applied the acid in the afternoon with the intention of hosing it down and putting it in the garage overnight. However, things don't go as expected and its dark when I get back. I don't want to mess about with it in the dark due to the acid so decide leaving it out overnight won't be an issue as its not due to rain anyway. Well things don't turn out quite as expected. I check the axle in the morning and itc covered in condensation - never thought of that! I have to go out for about an hour and a half and when I get back the axle is covered in a flakes scale. Aargh, ffs, poo! I triedjust jet washing but that ain'tenough - i have to wire brush it again to remove the scale. Do about 45 mins of brushingandjet washing and it comes up clean - but then starts toflash rust! I was going to paint it in a couple of days time, but I didn't want lots of rusting so decided to wipe it down, scotchbright it, brake cleaner de-grease and paint. So, two coats if Bonda Rust Primer and left for a few hours before putting back in the garage. I will leave it a few days to fully dry and harden before I apply a black top coat. For those managing to get to the end of this post, we'll done, I hope I have not bored you too much 😀 A few photos The replacement casing First lot of electrolysis Centre part of casing after wire brushing - just polishes the rust! After electrolysis, wire brushing and pressure washing You can see the difference here between the section that gas not yet had electrolysis. The flakey scale after phosphoric acid/condensation. After wire brushing the residue and pressure washing. Leaves a dull grey finish. And after two coats of Bonda Rust Primer. I will add more as I progress, but I am still using the truck so will probably be over a few weeks. Well done if you managed to get to the end. Mick

As soon as I get the outriggers on I will get the inside of the chassis done. I have had this two years now and I don't think I have done over 600 miles in it, mainly due to covid, but I think I will put more miles on thus year. I will give the chassis a good clean and leave it to dry out before doing the treatment.

I am currently doing work on the underneath of the truck. I am having to change an axle case but have outriggers on my list. I have noted that corrosion mainly occurs in moisture and crud traps. On my chassis I have been brushing it down and applying Lanoguard. I have chosen Lanoguard as I want to be able to monitor the condition of the chassis- it is 30 years old so need to keep my eye on it. On cleaning things down I have noted the main areas of corrosion are the nooks and cranies that hold mud etc, and also behind loose paint. I have come to the conclusion that if you paint something you are likely to create corrosion issues, especially over rust . I have tried rust convertors, but so far I am not impressed. So, if painting a clean surface, what is the best way to make the paint stick like s**t to a blanket? My next thing to paint is my rear axle case. It's currently in the electrolysis tub, so I am hoping to get most of the rust off before applying paint. I currently have the following on the shelf; Phosphoric acid Bonda Rust Primer Zinc oxine Primer Thinners Brake cleaner Single pack top coat. Aquarust rust converter - (not impressed so far) Lanoguard Lanoguard grease The truck has had bulkhead outriggers before and on brushing and poking these ro remove rust you can see how small sheets of paint have been holding moisture in. I think if you can’t get good paint adhesion then it's better being left bare and painted with Lanoguard or another rust prevention soft coating. Thanks in advance for any help. Mick

I took the wheel off the rear to have a look at the hubs. I also took the drive shaft out to have a look at the stub axle. The stub axle had the flat rather than the groove. This is the drive shaft. It measures 910mm from the flange face that fits to hub, to the end of the shaft. looking at the hub. Note the recess around the full circumference of the hub. The diff end of the drive shaft This is the hub from the axle that I am taking the axle case from. Note the recess seems to only be in three areas. And the stub axle from that. I may have to wait until I strip the existing axle before I know fully what I have before I can say that the parts are interchangeable or not. I hope I can find the part number on the hub as I need to understand if the full recess hub has been replaced by the one with three part recesses.