tugboat

If you prefer the Series 3, why go to the trouble of rebuilding and converting a Series 2a when S3s are more plentiful? There's a growing premium on genuine Series 2s here (whilst prices of the even less refined Series 1s are already miles through the roof). Advantages of the Series 3 include a much more robust gearbox, whereas the S2 boxes can eat layshafts depending on how they've been used, and (on the 109) a Salisbury rear axle instead of the weak half-shaft-snapping Rover unit. Other small, but important, details are knock-in wheel studs, not the old screwed in type which have a tendency to strip out of the hub. For what it's worth though, I prefer the Series 2a in many ways. I used a newish S3 109SW when I worked in Kenya for a while in the late 70s, covering big distances over washboarded dirt roads, and I was disappointed in the cheap, rattly naffness of its dash compared to the solidity of the dash on the late 2a I'd left at home (and which I still own). It's the sort of thing thet really gets to you over days and miles of it. The S3 dash makes the vents much less effective too IIRC. If I was planning on touring, I'd put my effort into sorting out the functional weak points in the 2a, some of which I've mentioned, but the bolted down tin dash is one of its stronger features.

^^^^ And one thing leads to another. Bad timing leads to very poor starting, which leads to heater plug and starter motor burnouts and short battery life. Misfires on idle and at low load give rise to diesel vapour condensing on the cylinder walls which causes ring and bore wear. It also results in fuel contamination of the lube oil which, of course, accelerates further the wear in the timing gear. I agree that the long path from the crank to the injection pump appears to be a recipe for trouble, and in the Rover diesel it most certainly is, but I've a lot of experience with the similarly configured BMC 1.5s and these seem to be very much less susceptible to the problem. It's definitely the Rover's Achilles heel. If Rover had tackled it properly, the engine would rightly be regarded as a classic rarher than a bit of a dog. Too many sexy projects for the boys to play with instead of sorting out their main revenue earner's boring pump timing, layshafts, half shafts, etc., etc.,

The indirect injection Ricardo pre-chambers in the 2.25 have a Rover patented mod (see link below) for inducing additional swirl and turbulence to give a cleaner quieter burn than other diesel engines of the period. This innovation actually does work well. Indirect injection diesels are generally much smoother and quieter than direct injection engines (until you get to computer controlled multi stage common rail setups). The Rover 2.25 in good condition and properly set up is exceptionally quiet for its time. If yours isn't, it's very probable that the injection timing is out, quite likely too advanced, set that way to mask wear and to get rid of blue smoke and misfires at idle. http://www.google.com/patents/US3025839

My 2a 109 suddenly started to do it many years ago - scared the living daylights out of me. As you say, slowing to 10 mph was just about the only way to kill it. I nursed it to the farm and wouldn't use it or let anyone else use it until I'd sorted it out. Very ropey swivels seemed to be the problem, including some loose/stripped studs fixing the lower bearings/steering arms - that's the only tuppence worth I can throw in. Note, I remember clearly that it had very recently passed an MOT test when this occurred (that sort of thing sticks). A few months later, I was following a nearly new S3 109 along a single track road in the Highlands and it was obvious he was having really bad death wobbles too. I flashed him down and told him what had happened to mine but he said the Rover dealer in Inverness (who must have had hundreds, probably thousands, of Series Land Rovers through their hands) had checked out all of that and more and still couldn't pinpoint it. I think you're right - you don't want to mask this with a damper, much better to fix it.

And if you do break a rear halfshaft, and if you're on a hill, and if the FWHs are disengaged, and if you've no one with you (all of these events can easily come together).... then .... you've no handbrake and no way of getting out to chock a wheel or engage the front hubs.

Pointing more and more towards fuel. Everything else sounds good. If the volume at the float chamber pipe is fine at idle, or with hand priming, that would take me back to the carb again and the original fault - the float valve. Have you taken it out and had a look? Back in my BMC SU days, I would change valves and seats every two or three years. The Viton tipped valves were more forgiving than the older metal ones which used to wear a shoulder into the taper and then without warning jam fully open (been there, completely stuck - hence my 2-3 year rule) but they DO still wear and tend to seep or stick rather than let you down completely. I see they're about £11 from sucarb.co.uk for the HIF44. Best to clean the pump gauze and replace the filter as you say - they should really be annual service items anyway, especially if your tank's not so new.

True but the opposite is worse - a poor battery giving prolonged starting day in and day out really does knock the stuffing out of the starter, with high amps due to the motor being near stalled or actually stalled, in which ALL the energy is converted to heat. It's much more of a problem with the diesels where cranking speed is vital for cold starts in cold weather. I know - I ruined a 2.25D starter trying to get by for months on a weak battery with, just to add to the cocktail of woes, Series 2 dynamo charging. If the petrol engine's in good nick, a couple of compressions should fire it up so the battery condition hardly matters at all. There's always the handle. But in answer to the OP, the bigger the better.

Any joy yet, DRA890? Let's suppose the carb overflowing and the "separate" running problem are connected somehow. Otherwise, to have totally unrelated issues at the same time would be quite literally a coincidence and the probability of that is a bit less. That would point me towards looking for crud coming through from the tank. That is possibly what caused your needle valve to stick. It could also have partially blocked the small flex pipe between the bottom of the float chamber and the jet, and the jet itself. You've blasted these through so in the first instance, you could maybe assume the source of the problem is elsewhere. Crud could also have blocked the strainer and/or either of the valves in the fuel pump. Is it the type with a sediment bowl? If so, how does it look? Is there sediment or water in it? The way the engine is running has all the hallmarks of fuel starvation (but possibly other things besides). You've tried some obvious quick fix solutions including ignition (I'd have done much the same) but I think you may now have to tackle it methodically. [Only a couple of other thing on the quick check front first - how is the compression? If you don't have a compression gauge, either turn it over by hand and feel each cylinder, or spin it on the starter with the coil disconnected. Do the cylinder read/feel/sound reasonably even; if so, we can probably assume there's no stuck valve. And are you absolutely certain the plug leads, plug caps, distributor cap, rotor arm and points are all ok? Old points build up a non-conductive crust if left unused for a long spell. If in doubt with any of these, chuck.] Back to methodical. Given that there was, FOR SURE, a fuel problem I'd now be ensuring that the whole fuel system is running clear from tank to jet. The problem may be the tank itself. If you don't feel like draining it first, then do the checks on the pump; clean the pump strainer and bowl (best to have a new washer handy for the bowl first), flush through with the hand primer and then pump some fuel into a jar and have a good look. If it's carrying noticeable sediment, or if the bowl quickly shows more sediment coming through, you need to go to the tank. It may have a lot of internal rust. If there has been a lot of previous contamination and you suspect the fuel pump valves or diaphragm are damaged or dirty, you could have a go at rebuilding but I've heard bad reports about some repair kits; I'd try to source a new Delphi replacement pump (should be under £20 if you can find a supplier - ssldieselparts.co.uk are excellent for Delphi diesel pumps and might be worth contacting) but failing that fit a £15 ebay copy. Once you are sure you have a good supply of clean fresh petrol, you might still have to go back to the carb and strip and clean it. On the plus side, at the end of all of this, the engine should be sweet!

Sticky valve? Stale petrol?

I use these. Marine grade internals and externals. I find they last well in boats and Land Rovers. http://www.chandleryworld.co.uk/catalogue/12v-round-stainless-steel-interior-light-fitting-140mm_p2205-1578.html

Hi Snagger, I clearly remember my cousin's bronze green, early 1970 swb 2a utility hardtop was delivered new with green wheels. And although I didn't buy my own 1970 bronze green lwb hardtop until 75, I knew it from new and it too had green wheels until I sprayed them. (Naturally, both had limestone hard tops.) Cousin went further and had the whole car sprayed limestone. We lost touch with his around 1980 and, to my amazement, I passed it last year, only twenty miles from its original home - it was the all-over limestone and the maltese cross grille which drew my attention and prompted my double-take. Happy memories. I think you're correct about the earlier series 2s having wider application of body coloured wheels.

Quite right!

Standard ex-factory colour for wheels was limestone except for body coloured bronze green models in which case it was matching green. Earlier Series 2s might have had other applications of matching body colours, I can't remember for sure. But unlike landy-novice, I went the opposite way and the first thing I did to my green 109 2a when I bought it 37 years ago was to paint the wheels limestone! My feeling is that limestone wheels suit green body + limestone hardtop or safari roof, green wheels suit green body + green truck cab or canvas tilt. Standard wheels and colours are smart, anything else (with the possible exception of Wolf rims) looks a wee bitty naff in my view.

Rivnuts! Cheers! That should make life really simple. By the way, I used to find a dollop of Castrol CL chassis grease was the best for long-term maybe/never dismantling precautions like this.

I always use Duralac chromate paste on fastenings and metal mating surface on my boat's deck fittings but if you search yachtie forums you'll find there are differences of opinion on this too. The corrosion rate depends quite critically on the actual alloying content of the aluminium in question and in this respect, by some accounts pre 1980 Birmabright seems to score better than the later LR aluminium body materials. My experience is that Duralac helps a lot on stainless to aluminium connections where frequent, sometimes constant, sea water drenchings are the norm, as well as on 316 fittings to aluminium castings in sea water cooling circuits, but I wouldn't dream of having anything but perfect electrical insulation between aluminium and copper, bronze etc. Insulate with plastic pads or washers wherever possible I'd say, and always use Duralac.