Reiny

Aaaaahhh, the joys, the absolute joys of series brakes. Hadn't touched series brakes for 10 years until a mate lately purchased a 1978 109 CSW which displayed hte same symptoms. Rock solid pedal was traced to the rear flexible hose collapsing internally, whereupon the master cylinder decided that it didn't like being bled through and gave up the ghost, soaking the footwells in brake fluid (as has also seemed to happen in your case).

Jode, timing belt was replaced in February. Covered 2000 miles since then. Yes I do believe that I torqued the crankshaft up to the right torque. Chocked wheels, handbrake on, in gear, 80 Nm (that was easy), then approx 45 degrees (pretty hard), and another 45 degrees (woke the whole neighbourhood with my groans!) Quick update. Since I first posted, I have had no further trouble with starting. The fact that the fuel tank is now totally full may have something to do with it. Serviced the vehicle over the weekend and today it fired up on the button. I'll keep it monitored and see i it repeats the same symptoms when the amount of fuel in the tank decreases. The few air bubbles I saw in the return pipe were in the bit between the rear of the fuel injection pump and the bulkhead (returning to the fuel tank). Should that narrow my search down?

Thanks for all your replies and suggestions. I still haven't decided what to do. The setup I have has worked just fine and i can't fault it in any way. It's just that it's not neat and I hate looking at it whenever I pop the bonnet open (which is quite often). As Snagger said, the Bosch system is simpler, hence, neater. Just one pipe in, one pipe out. Furthermore, I don't like the piping that's used in my vehicle. Rather than change the pipes from the ends of the banjo bolts, some eejut just cut the original pipes (stiff plastic) from both ends of the injection pump and fuel filter, leaving a 2 inch stub in place and push fit transparent plastic tubing onto the ends, secured with a mixture of jubilee clips and cable ties. I would just like to replace all the piping to avoid having too many joints. One last question. over the past few months, the engine has been a bit reluctant to start. It turns over a couple of times sometimes (it never takes more than 3 seconds of cranking to fire up) but it used to be better. I know that the timing isn't 100% spot on. When I replaced the timing belt, the crankshaft remained about half a tooth out and no matter how many times I removed the belt, re-set the pulleys, refitted the belt, etc, I kept getting the same result. Furthermore, the lift pump died about a month after replacing the timing belt and I've felt that with the new lift pump, the engine has become ever so slightly lazier in starting up. I had a quick look a couple of days ago and saw a few small air bubbles in the return pipe. Should they be there?

thanks Grem. A racor is worth considering too.

No, they're not. The earlier type is a smaller filter with a steel bowl at the bottom and a bolt that goes through the head of the filter, down the centre of the filter and screws into the steel bowl. The later type is a larger filter which screws into the filter head (not unlike an oil filter).

No idea. Just prefer the way it looks

My vehicle is an ex turbo diesel with a 300tdi fitted. For some reason or other, the previous owner skimped on costs (can't understand why. he had bought the engine and R380 brand new in 1998!!) and left the turbo diesel fuel filter fitted. After 10 years of ownership, this is now really getting on my nerves and I would like to change it. Does the 200/300-type filter head fit to the existing bolt holes in the bulkhead on the earlier vehicle?

I'm expecting the same thing too Grem. We'll play it by ear. Must admit that I'm enjoying every second I spend working on it. Haven't touched a series for 10 years now.

Leaks traced to wheel cylinders on the front and master cylinder.

The fun continues. Mate was supposed to pop over this evening so that we could do some more work (front brake cylinders, fuel lift pump and perhaps a general service) but he texted saying that braking power has gone totally awol. He gave no further information so I really don't know what could have gone wrong. I don't even know whether he has used the vehicle or not since we freed the brakes off and bled the system. Let's just say that there are no apparent leaks, where should I start?

Sorry Snagger, I only saw your post now. I'm just as stumped as you are. Everything's working fine. The only theory I can come up with is that perhaps the cylinder was full of fluid, the collapsed hose couldn't let the fluid out when the pedal was released so the pistons wouldn't budge. No idea really. I'm letting sleeping dogs lie.

Thanks Jeff! Looking forward!

Thought I'd give this a little bump. Jeff, I have read these stories out to a number of friends during a heavy "comtemplating session" (as you put it) and they almost died laughing and are demanding more!

Sorted. It was the flexible hose. Opened bleed nipple, pressed pedal, pedal solid, no fluid. Removed flexible hose, blew threw it, NADA. Replaced. Opened bleed nipple. Nice flow of filthy brake fluid. Flushed around half a litre through the system. Rock hard brakes. Mate is a happy chappy!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the 3 Malta teams best of luck.

Bang in the middle is just about right, however I was recently told that Land Rover temperature gauges sit bang in the middle for any temperature between 80 and 110 degrees Centigrade.

As far as I know (and I may be wrong here), the bottom hose gets hot first. That's because there's no flow through the top hose until the thermostat opens. Hence, bottom hose heats up, thermostat opens, hot water flows through the top hose into the rad (getting hot in the process), gets cooled through the rad and re-enters the engine via the bottom hose. Bottom hose will remain hot to the touch.

Thanks a lot Grem. Just in case you see the air turn blue over the Fgura / Tarxien area, you know what would have happened.

That's what i wanted to do Grem but time was tight and i didn't want to risk introducing air into the system. will try that first. thanks.

I remember your story Mike. I had followed it closely because I have a similar ticking sound but it's most definitely coming from the release bearing. Any pressure put on the clutch pedal will make the noise go away. the ticking sound mentioned in this topic is definitely not engine related. Sometimes I can hear it when the engine is off too!

It's a 300tdi but it's not engine related. Something is loose somewhere behind the dials. I can even hear it when I close the door. Oh well, will have to remove the darned cluster and fiddle around in the spagheetti junction I guess.

I have an irritating ticking sound that seems to be coming from somewhere within hte instrument panel, especially when the going over bumps or turning the steering wheel. It sounds like a pencil being held from one end and having the free end dropped onto something hard. I try to avoid opening up the instrument panel at all if I can. Has anyone got a clue what I should be looking for?

A friend of mine has just taken delivery of a lovely 1978 Series III LWB CSW. It's been immensely well looked after but has not been used much over the past few years so some things have decided to go AWOL. The first issue we have is the rear brakes. I haven't worked on a Series for about 10 years now so my memory's getting a bit hazy. First of all, when he drove the vehicle home, he realized that it was a bit down on power and when he got home he noticed smoke coming out of the right hand side wheel (which was of course very hot to the touch). I drove it yesterday and it drove fine, freewheeled nicely, etc. Time to get the drums off. No hassles whatsoever. I thought that I'd find the shoes welded to the drums. Right hand side wheel cylinder moves in and out without gentle pressure. Still no braking power though. Left hand side cylinder will not budge. Am I right in suspecting a collapsed flexible hose?

Thanks for your help lads. it was the lift pump.

I think that's what I'll start with first. the lift pump.