ian_s

I'm going to need to replace the seals around my rear side windows at some point, they are really brittle and the insert has disappeared out of a big section around the window. are these standard windows and if so what seals would I get? if you can see on the attached photo, the white insert is about 1/3 gone. They arent original to the hardtop sides, as there is a sticker on the inside that disappears beneath the seal. Thanks Ian

Thanks, I'll add that to the ever growing list of bits I want to buy!

I used to, but without the 3rd hinge or any kind of brace or support on the other side, so the door was flexing massively. I now have a swing away wheel carrier because of this exact problem. How do those brackets fit? behind the striker and braced with the external galvanised plate?

It seems that some of the rivets around the rear tub capping have broken meaning parts of the tub are flexing quite badly, especially near the rear door latch. looking at my parts book, i need part numbers 78885, 78410 and 78248 they are all 4.8mm, and are countersunk 13mm, domed 11mm and 14 mm long my question is, do they need washers on back side if I can get to them, and is there really much point in buying both 11 and 14 mm long rivets, surely a 14mm would do both jobs?

Merry Christmas all!

I would assume the the brakes are set on the rear that way so that when moving backwards there is at least 2 shoes out of all 8 that will add some bight, assuming the 109 has a twin leading shoe setup how fast do old bikes move backwards?

there will probably be condensation in the crankcase which needs the engine to get properly warm to evaporate. you could also have a little blow-by until the piston rings bed in properly if you've changed them and had the bores honed. I was told both of these by a Royal Navy trained diesel fitter, after he rebuilt an engine for me when I was a teenager, and the breather did calm down after the engine was run in fully.

to get the relay out of mine (20 years or so ago) too an immense amount of work. in the end, what got it out involved having the thing up on a 4 post lift, straps around the chassis to the lift, a pole under the relay down to the floor, and lowering the lift and car down using the weight of both. it still didnt come out add ratchet straps pulling the lift down at the front end too. i don't know how much tension a ratchet strap can create, these were heavy duty big-ass ones. it went in the end with a very loud bang.

these?: https://www.paddockspares.com/pm228-locking-steel-wheel-nuts-steel-wheels-set-of-5.html

spot on, i was one tooth out on the pump and in stripping it down again i wrecked the timing cover gasket, so had to order one in to the local main stealers, and on the way to collect it I had a stone hit my windscreen and crack it. so this was a bloody expensive error

yep, i think i'm going to have to strip it all back down again

Done the cam belt today, but I have a horrible feeling that I've got the pump 1 tooth out as its chucking out smoke, which smells like unburnt diesel. Annoyingly I started the engine with the front cover off, and I didn't notice any smoke, but I did notice that I hadn't put the oil cooler back and so it was pumping oil all over the place! Then I refitted the radiator and inter cooler, so maybe there was some oil splashed into the intake pipes and that's causing it to smoke. I didn't run it for long as it was late and I don't want to upset my brothers neighbours.

@lo-fi i replaced the crossmember 25ish years ago, with the cheapest i could find. and I didnt waxoil it. Lesson Learned!! @Snagger i'd love a nato hitch, if one comes up locally i may well go that way, but i'd still like to brace it more with arms going forward. filters have already been bought, but i forgot to buy oils! @Bowie69 mine had 2 plates about 1/4" thick stacked

I've spent today cutting out the bad metal in the rear cross member, it actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but i know I'm never towing anything again with it if I don't beef it up a bit! i'm slightly annoyed at myself as I forgot my phone so couldn't take any pictures. I was slightly shocked to find that the bolts holding the drop plate on didn't use crush tubes through the chassis. the majority of the rust was in the lowest inch of the cross member, almost everything upwards is intact, and still about 2mm thick as it should be. So, on to beefing up the tow ball. I'm basically replacing the complete underside of the cross member and a few inches up the rear, plus a 12 inch wide section on the front side about 2 inches high, right in the centre. So I lost the original bolt holes for the drop plate, which wouldn't too hard to re-drill, but I want to put tubes in spread the load. I also thought about putting in bracing arms from the front side of the chassis, similar to the setup on a RRC or disco where the arms meet up to the chassis further forward, but not as low down. I'm still not towing much with this, my license doesn't cover it, but if I have to be recovered backwards I want it to be strong

It's got me worried now, I replaced the relay about 20 years ago with an aftermarket one, it was an absolute b****rd to get out.

by the sounds of it, your steering has had a massive hit at some point in the past, which has weakened the relay shaft, which has then over time got worse until its sheared.

Thanks, I knew I'd seen a thread on it before but i couldn't find it!

Thanks, I've had to do that a few times over the years, it does make a massive difference. Tappets might be a good idea. I've got the front end apart at the moment to do the cam belt, what is the best way to make sure the timing doesn't shift out of place? is it just a case of marking all 3 gears where they are, or should i line them up to a certain point? it's been so long since I've done a cam belt I cant remember how to do it!

so current list: cam belt engine oil coolant gearbox oil transfer box oil brake fluid clutch fluid axle oils, front and rear swivel oils / one shot wiper blades steering box/relay oils steering ball joints fan belt tires damper bushes check chassis again

fan belt added to the list haven't got the oil bath filter anymore, so thats not needed, though it will get a wash.

Thanks guys. I originally took it off the road when it failed the MOT on some welding, which I actually fixed at the time, but then my Son arrived and as it's hardly baby safe I never got round to getting it back on the road. Since then more of the chassis has rusted in the front and rear cross members, which I am currently fixing. The Front cross member I have already done, but for the rear I think I might buy a complete rear 1/4 chassis. the bulkhead is solid. The tires are shot, I forgot to include them in the list. At the moment as I've got the front end apart most of the water hoses are disconnected and I can inspect them, i didnt see any sign of any deterioration. Inspecting inside the drums was almost the first thing i did, as the driveway it was on was pretty steep and i didnt want to try moving it without knowing it would stop! wiper blades are a good idea! i had completely forgotten about those. steering relay is good call. the steering is much heavier than i remember. I'll also look at ball joints.

I'm finally getting round to resurrecting my 1980 series 3 that I bought back in 1995. Over the years its gone through a lot of changes, I think the (short) list is: rebuilt 2.25 diesel replacement factory recon 2.25 diesel after a few years upgraded front brakes to 11 inch parabolic springs pro comp dampers defender 200tdi fitted, which died discovery 200tdi replaced the defender version, but kept the defender manifolds/turbo so now I'm looking at getting it back on the road.I got as far as making sure the brakes are free, which they are ( 15 year old britpart cylinders still working! ) engine starts better than any other car i've ever had, even with 6 year old diesel in the lines. what should I be looking to refresh/renew/replace? current list is: cam belt engine oil coolant gearbox oil transfer box oil brake fluid clutch fluid axle oils, front and rear swivel oils / one shot lucas wiring harness smoke blinker fluid Can anyone tell me what else i need to look at?

front dumb irons and the main chassis rails are all good still, this is really just a band aid until I can afford a full galvanised chassis which should happen in the next few years. at the moment i'm actually having to put patches on patches, which is never good.

It's my first car that i've owned for 24 years, resale is never gonna happen!! 200tdi fitted, so I've already lost the starting handle the only other downsides i can see are that it might not be as strong, but i'm not 100% on that, and secondly I can currently turn the engine over by hand with lots of extension bars through the front bumper, something i rarely do

so recently I dragged my Series out of where it was stored, and I plan to put it back on the road. first thing on the list is the front cross member which is in a pretty bad way. I've cut the worst out today, the metal either side of the dip is still 2mm thick so is good. the big questions: what's the reason for the lowered section? is it just to allow for the PTO hole? any reason I can't just replace it with straight box section?