Betsy

I suppose I could take the floors out and remove the selector block from the box and have a look inside. I won't see the bearings, but will be able to inspect the gears.

Many thanks chaps. I have previously rebuilt this box, along with the transfer box and the engine about 30k miles ago. Since then its been fantastic, and I am really kicking myself for letting this happen. I take the car green laning quite a bit, and the last trip was a very wet one. I should have changed the oils before parking her up. I have put a few miles on her over the past few days, and it does seem to have quietened a bit. I might give it a few more before deciding if I want to remove and strip. I don't do many miles, and she is standard engine and running gear, so the box is not normally under stress.

Does the layshaft stop turning in 4th gear? I can understand why it could be the bearings, its the lower shaft in the box and its bearings were probably sat in the bad oil.

Following a long layup, I got the S2a started last week. As I normally do, I press the clutch in before cranking to reduce drag on the engine. Once she was running, I let the clutch out. When I did this last week, there was a 'thud' from under the car, but she kept running and whilst in neutral was fine. When I went to drive her, I found that all gears except 4th were accompanied by a fairly loud whining/whirring noise. The noise went away if the clutch was depressed, but always there when under power. In top gear she was quiet as normal and drove well. I dropped the oil when I got home and what came out was a horrible grey coloured yuk. There was a full quantity of oil in the box, and the transfer box, but it was obviously water contaminated. New oil has failed to quieten it down, so am now resigned to pulling the box out and repairing. Has anyone got an idea as to what has broken from my description?

It would be a shame to ruin a good S2 bulkhead, they are hard to find now.

Maybe I can offer some useful experience. I know you said you did not want to cross the Sahara, but I took my 109 series 2a soft top to Morocco a few years ago. Its a standard 2.25 petrol, so I agree with everything you said about hills and fuel consumption - it will be slow and it will be costly. I met a fella who had 200tdi'd his 2a last year, and he said it was like a second coming! loads of power, the ability to climb hills, and reasonable fuel consumption. The only downsides were it vibrated a lot a tickover, and was a lot noisier to drive than the petrol. As for the brakes, I had no problems whatsoever, despite the car being very heavily loaded. We went up and over the Rif, and Atlas mountain ranges, and the brakes were much more effective at stopping it coming down than the engine was at getting it up! So long as it has the larger twin leading shoe setup (all 109's do) then it will be fine providing they are adjusted correctly and not full of oil. I have snapped a couple of parabolics, so if I have to change them ever again, I will put standard spring back on. Once you have weight in the car, they do move a bit.

I have carefully sanded the shoes a bit (with breathing mask) until the drum would fit. Now I've driven about a hundred miles they have freed off and stop nicely. When I discussed it at Landranger svcs, they said that they usually have to do this or grind off some metal to make them fit. He said it was because the shoes are made in China, He can get genuine parts, but reckons they are very expensive so does not stock them. Next time I will use genuine, it should not take too long, I reckon I have sanded 25% of the lining away! ....

Even with the wheel fitted, its very hard to turn by hand. I took it all apart again today, and cannot find a problem. The shoes are fully retracting, the springs are good and fitted as per manual, and they already have leading and trailing edge chamfers. I even tried to fit the original drum on the hub and that too is binding on the shoes. So its not the new Britpart drum! I can only think that the shoes are slightly thicker than they should be.

I got the drum on, so they should be centred. The problem is, when the drum is on and the screws fitted, it is almost impossible to turn. Its binding very hard. I dont want to drive it, it will overheat. The shoes are Allmakes 4x4, the drums are Brittpart, the cylinders are all Allmakes 4x4. All from Land Ranger Services. I appreciate that there is nothing better than genuine original parts, but are these available now? I doubt it. I think the sandpaper option is looking most likely.

My 109 2a needed new front brakes after a hub seal leaked oil. The brakes were all pretty worn anyway, so bought new drums, shoes, and cylinders. All bought from the same supplier. The brakes are the twin leading shoe version. Everything has been reassembled carefully, but when it came to fit the drum it simply will not fit over the shoes. I have made sure that the adjusters are backed right off, and the drum is a very tight fit over the shoes. I have made sure that the shoes are square to the back plate. The only way I can see to get the drums to fit will be to sand down some material from the new shoes. Is this normal?

Mine is 1966, and did not have seatbelts fitted when I first got it. It passed MOT for years before a new tester failed it. I appealed and lost. Post 65 needs front belts. I also have para's and ES3000's. The ride is better than the old mil spec leafs, but its still choppy and crashes over bigger bumps. I have also managed to snap 2 parabolics whilst driving off road. I have just fitted new Britpart poly bushes and it has improved things, but still a choppy ride. Its the nature of the beast unfortunately.

I don't think it will cause any problems, because the the port takes water to the cylinder gallery area anyway, so a small hole between the two will not affect flow at all. Its all internal, so no water loss will occur.

I have just been replacing the front hub seals on my series 2a. Previously, I have only been able to get hold of rubber seals which always seem to be a bit hit and miss to fit squarely, and without distortion. I managed to get hold of some original spec leather seals, which are housed in a much more robust steel housing, and which seemed to fit very nicely into the hub. They were soaked in oil for a week prior to fitting, and whilst they were tight to fit over the seal track when the hub was fitted, they appear to be sealing well so far. Whats the forums opinion on leather vs rubber? Do you reckon I will be doing the job again in a short space of time because leather is old fashioned? Opinions please.

Thats ok, its the thermostat that has not opened, but in this freezing weather, I am not suprised. So long as its not boiling over with a cold bottom hose.

I'm not sure if its any help, but all Discovery 3 and 4 TDV6 vehicles have a Webasto auxilliary heater installed behind the left hand headlamp. Out of the factory it is configured as an auxilliary heater to aid faster warmup of a running engine. On the D4 you can order a pre-heater remote to have the car warmed up before you set off, but you could never get one for D3. It is possible to convert the D3 unit to a pre heater by installing the webasto timer kit with a modified wiring loom. You can also incorporate a remote control system to fire it up with a handset plipper, or you can even connect a GSM remote switch so you can send a text to the car to switch the webasto on! I have done it to my D3, and it is fantastic on a cold morning, warming the engine to operating temp in about 20 minutes, prior to leaving for work. Maybe the same modification applies to the Eberspacher heater with the right timer fitted?

Thanks Snagger, the 2.5 engine is already fitted and running, and mated to a knackered series 3 gearbox, so if I understand you correctly, I need to take the bellhousing and associated pinion and layshaft gears off the knackered box and fit to my good 2a box. Of course, whilst its all out I will replace the clutch anyway, with a unit the same as the one thats already fitted. This swap is temporary in order the keep the vehicle on the road whilst the S3 box is rebuilt by myself over the winter, I just happen to have the 2a box in my shed, and I know its good because I rebuilt it a few years back as a spare for my 2a.

Ok, thanks for that. I was expecting to have to swap bell housings, and its good news that the 2.5 clutch would work. With regard to loosing synchro on 3rd and 4th, that no loss then! the S3 box has eaten its synchromesh already, and jumps out of gears for fun. The long term plan is to rebuild the original box over the winter, and eventually swap it back.

I have a series 3 LW, fitted with a 2.5 petrol engine, and the gearbox is kaput!. I have a very good gearbox and transfer box from a 2a that I would like to install. What bits will need to be swapped over to the 2a box, and which clutch should I use? I am sure this is a reasonably simple swap, but any advice would be welcome.

Most likely to be a wiring fault, there is a multiplug behind the front lefthand wheelarch liner that gets corroded. Later models have a modified loom to cure the problem. You need to drop the front left wheelarch liner, and pull the plugs and check for corrosion on the pins. Other possibility is a wheel speed sensor at fault. Ideally, you need someone who has a diagnostic kit, and who knows how to interpret the faults.

Just for information, I measured with electronic calipers, and the output shaft of the Mayflower PTO unit has a diameter of 1.25 inch, and a housing of 1.62 inch. The seal is .25 thick. I ordered the exact size seals from simplybearings. I have ordered the R23 version, with double lip. Hopefully they should be fine.

Thanks for the replies. I have not got the exact dimensions to hand, but I seem to recall that they were a very odd size and it was Simplybearings who got the metric versions for me. The shaft is in good condition. The original seals were unusual in that the sealing lip was a V shape without a lip and spring. The one supplied were traditional lip and spring items. In case anyone has done this before, its the smaller shaft, that has the output to the winch on one side, and the shear pin housing on the other. The shaft goes straight through the PTO and has the same seal on each side.

I have a Mayflower PTO winch on the 2a, its fantastic, but I am now having a problem with a serious oil leak on the PTO output shaft. I have tried rebuilding it using some metric equivalent seals, obtained from an on line supplier, but they were not exactly the same, and lasted about 6 months. Now they have failed badly and its loosing a lot of oil from the PTO. I need to locate some correct size imperial seals, does anyone know where I might get some?

My Mayflower PTO drive has started leaking oil, from the output shaft. I have stripped it down, and have the seals out. Can anyone recommend a good supplier for new oil seals, they appear to be imperial 1.25 shaft diameter x 1.6 outside diameter x 0.30 thick. There are several general oil seal distributors who have very similar measurements but not exactly the same. The nearest I have found is a 1.25 x 1.62 x 0.25. It will fit the housing, but will be slightly bigger on the shaft and thinner in the aperture. Do you think it will work?

Cheers for the info, I might give it a go over the winter. Whats a 90 degree GF fitting?

Just to add to the conclusion of this thread, my 'good' 361v which did all the miles, including Morocco and France has now started exhibiting the same bad idling characteristics, and MPG is in the low teens. I cannot be bothered to go through all the hassle again, and need a new challenge. SO, what is the best SU carburettor to use, which vehicle did it come off, and what jetting changes are necessary. The manifold looks neat, what materials are used? Any other advice, as this is the way to go.