Julian

That's a galv bulkhead? If so then you always get some distorsion due to the heat and will need to 'encourage' alignment a little. Julian.

Field repairs.... a handful of bran, a couple of egg whites Julian.

Rivets are not 'hammered in,' that's for nails and wood! Ignore some of the misleading information here! You need one of these, a rivet snap: (of the correct size to suit the rive) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AIRCRAFT-TOOLS-NEW-1-8-401-STRAIGHT-RIVET-SNAP-5-1-2-LONG-/160853163082?pt=UK_Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item2573987c4a This fits in your windy hammer. And some sort of bucking bar: (block of metal, shaped if access is difficult) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bucking-Bar-647-for-Riveting-use-w-Rivet-Gun-Ductile-iron-NEW-/270983299498?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f17dd01aa Practise first on scrap or you will fill your Landy with circular divets :-( See the instructional videos on youtube. To remove a rivet, first centre punch the MANUFACTURED head, never the formed head as only the manufactured head is guaranteed to be central to the rivet tail. Run a pilot drill most of the way through then open up with a drill the same (nominal) size as the rivet, then with luck a few sharp taps with a punch should see it drop out. If you've drilled squarely and centrally you should not have touched any surrounding material with the drill - this takes much practise! Julian.

You can get ones with a 'thumb wheel' at the top (skin pins) - no spring, just a central threaded spindle so no special pliers required. http://img.webme.com/pic/p/pembleton-archives/screwcleco.jpg These type have a much better pull allowing you to pull things together that otherwise would tend to spring apart. Clecos are quicker to use however. Julian.

Clecos or skin pins if memory serves. I was once a licensed airframe (and engine) aircraft engineer on wide bodies for a decade or so until I changed tack! I've often wondered why techniques differ between aircraft and ship builders, and came to two conclusions: 1 Ship structures are too hefty and 2 the rivets are upset when hot so they shrink and pull the components tightly together. Aircraft rivets are assembled with a clearance, ie a 1/8th (0.125'') rivet has a hole drilled out with a number 30 drill bit (0.1285) and by reacting against the rivet tail the thing expands into the hole with no clearance. That's my understanding, could be wrong. The easy way out with rivets if close to an edge is to use rivet squeezers Julian.

On thin structures like this, the normal method is always to have the snap in the rivet gun and thus hit the manufactured head, the rivet tail is reacted against the bucking bar - that's how aircraft structural riveting is done. Look at about 3.30 in this video for a demo: I think the method you describe is more akin to the ship building or boiler industry when components are much heavier. Julian.

That was my thought too, especially if you have FWH fitted as you don't have the UJ flinging it all around. I Used 220 oil in mine working on the assumption that the general disturbance in the hubs as you drive through the pot-holes would fling oil about well enough and the 220 would be less likely to leak than the 90. My swivels are a bit pitted, but not really bad enough to warrant replacement, and I'm a bit tight too! Julian

That's as I understand it but LR changed to one shot with new vehicles as a way of preventing all the warranty claims from swivels that leaked from new. I think hot countries like Australia had the most problems? Julian.

One shot grease is a semi-liquid stuff, it's unlike regular grease. It's the same as chassis lube grease that you fill the auto-lubricators in the trucks with, but as it comes in little blister packages the price is ramped up ten fold! Julian.

I would use thicker gear oil. I use 220 grade gear oil for my series 3. I believe it lubricates better than grease (which is a thin oil in a soap medium) and stays inside the swivel better than 90 grade. Julian.

My suggestion is to maybe consider getting someone who knows these carbs well to take a look at it, if an 'o' ring is missing then the chances are that it could have other issues, especially if someone without much knowledge has been playing with it. It's worth getting right as these sorts of issues can sometimes have a dramatic impact on MPG (at £1.35/litre) and a rich mixture can cause bore washing and negatively effect engine longevity. Julian.

Don't worry, that's how they came from the factory! Julian.

Out with the old and in with the new! Progress was steady as it was bloomin warm today, but the box I reconditioned is now in place. I decided to swap the OD unit seperately. Julian.

That's where you're going wrong - forget about watertightness, allow plenty of leakage then the water can run out faster than it can run in Julian

Did a little more work today, floors, seat base, and roof off now so I can lift the GB out with my chain hoist and 'A' frame. 1. Will the gearbox come back far enough with the Fairey OD still on or should I remove it first? 2. Look at the state of this gearbox mount, look carefully and you can see it has a split in it due to it rusting right through - unbeliveable given how much oil these things leak! I'm sure new ones are not available, has anyone got a good one they would like to sell me? Failing that I'll have to get some 1/8th plate and weld some patches on :-( Cheers Julian.

Petrol is not to blame and the timing is certainly not way out. Look towards the carb, chances are the float valve is sticking or you've got a puntured float etc - this one really is a basic fault and you don't need to think beyond the basics! I notice you've got an in-line filter in the fuel pipe fitted, I just wondered if you've done any other mods to the fuel delivery system as I know some of the Facet electric fuel pumps produce too much pressure for some carb float valves to cope with.....

I'd just swap the diffs, much easier that swapping the axles. Do the rear one first, drive it and see how you like it, then if you don't mind the fact that it probably won't pull the skin of a rice pudding in top (esp with overdrive) then do the front! Julian.

Maybe convert to negative earth, I don't think it's difficult. Julian.

Hi Bog Monster, you seem to know a lot about this issue. I've always been intrigued as to why the injector harness gives trouble on the TD5, I understand that it's oil working it's way along the wires, but why should that give trouble? - oil is a good insulator and the old electric welder sets used to run immersed in oil! I would go as far to say that oil on wires and connections is a good thing as it keeps the moisture and air out and thus helps prevent corrosion..... Julian.

Thanks chaps, good helpful advice as usual. Julian.

I'm hopefully going to put my rebuilt gearbox in my Series 3 next week and I've got two questions so far: 1. Is it a good idea to replace the pilot bearing in the flywheel/crankshaft end? 2. Taking up the floors has been the normal struggle with rusted screws and spire nuts, does anyone do these items in stainless? Cheers Julian.

I'm no expert, but I had this problem on my (late) Disco TD5. It was under warranty, LR4*4 said it was the injector loom and dispatched a mechanic to my house to replace it, (about a 1 hour job) It did not fix it so he drove it away and replaced the electric boost pump in the fuel tank - this did the job. Julian.

You can get 'cogged' A section belts that 'wrap' around smaller pulleys much more comfortably. I guess there is no definitive answer as much will depend upon belt speeds and expected reliability etc. If it's just for some sort of mill that gets just limited DIY use I'd just go for it, the worst that can happen is that it chews up a belt every few years for about £5 :-) Julian.

The fault here is with the carb, as simple as that. Take the air filter ducting off and run it, look down the top, I bet you'll see it flooding, or maybe the choke flap has stuck... Julian.

As always the devil is in the detail. Small print, Terms & Conditions, go read! Julian.