zul69 Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Hello All, I have an old and battered LR S3 109, maybe 1976-1980 model. I have the LR for about 3 years now, and they runs fine, except for few repairable gremlins, eg engine, broken clutch flexy line, brakes etc. Last week, my LR was reluctant to reverse, hesitation on reverse. What I meant by that was: I can put it into reverse, no problem, and it reverse ok if I do it very2 slowly/ very gently with gas pedal, but after about 5 feet or when it has some load, like going uphill or trying to reverse a little faster, the vehicle just 'reluctant' to reverse. It seemed like something stuck somewhere. Like putting the handbrake on real tight, it hesitate to move rearwards. Feels like something stuck in the gear or something like that. I looked underneath the vehicle, to see if there was somethng obvious (like broken UJ), but nothing unusual that I can see/find. So I think it is internal, somewhere. Maybe gears, I dont know. Has anyone here experienced something like this before? For information, the forward gears are all ok, except the 2nd gear whines when go fast. But this has been like that ever since I have the LR. Is this sort of problem likely lies in gearbox? Transfer Case? Rear Axle or Rear Differential? What is the culprit? How can I repair it? I plan to take the gearbox out this weekend. Thanks in advance. zulkifli malaysia _________________ Land Rover 109 Series 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Could be rear brake or handbrake shoes binding. (Probably not fronts with 2 leading shoe brakes, as both shoes are trailing in reverse). Could also be stuck in 4WD, but you should get the same problem going forwards. IIRC you can see the reverse idler gear with the gearbox top removed, they do have a habit of stripping teeth. The first thing I would do is check that all the brake shoes and their springs are fitted correctly, shoes are properly adjusted and free to move on the pivot points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Early S3 gearboxes had a reverse gear problem and a modification was available (I fitted it to my 1st 109). I think they tended to just break though (mine did). Have you drained the box to see if anything interesting and made of metal come out? As Mr Barton says - could be something like the hanbrake or perhaps something unrelated,. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondjeremy Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I think its almost certainly brakes - possibly a sticking trailing piston on one of the back brakes. Its worth jacking up one wheel ad turning it backwards and seeing what happens - then trying the other. You'll have individual adjusters for each shoe. Its also possible that the shoe is jamming in the bottom clamp arrangement holding the shoes in place. The ends of the linings should be chamfered (cut back at 45 degrees or more) to prevent the shoes being picked up by the drum and pulled on. I had a mysterious back brake problem on my 109 - when one brake would bind on after being adjusted tight. After much confusion I took the shoes out to find a wear groove in the adjuster pin which looked to have been worn by the snail cam. Adjust - cam sat in groove - apply brakes and cam sat on unworn section! If it were handbrake I'd expect the gearbox (and lever) to jump around and if it was gearbox internal problem I'd expect noise (which could go on for years) and more seriously - jumping out of reverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zul69 Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Thanks guys for all the replies. This weekend I will look into the handbrake and rear brakes first, as suggested. I hope that it is just brakes giving problems, as I hate to take the gearbox apart and do the overhaul. I need to use the vehicle on both Saturday and Sunday on every weekend. The forwards gears are all ok, no problem whatsoever. I can shift into reverse, no problem, and it never jump out of gear, any gear for that matter. I will post here of the findings. Thanks so much guys.. zulkifli malaysia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zul69 Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 Hi All, You guys were right, it was the brake. The handbrake! The handbrake shoes jamned somehow to the drum, and it cut (more like sheared off) the drum into 2 pieces, one look like a disc brake, and the other like a radial ring, if you can imagine what I mean (lol). I tied the 'ring' thing and be able to drive the LR for the weekend job, minus the handbrake. I have to use the LR to pick oil palm brunches to the collection point on almost every weekends. I have weekdays job too (lol). Some of you guys might be asking, Why using LR? Answers: (1) Hard terrains, hilly and muddy, and during rainy season, the job can be a lot tougher. Must have reliable and light 4x4 for this job as I carry about 1500 kilograms (1.5 metric tonne) of oil palm brunches from the plantation to the collection point. Laterite roads, streams, monsoon river, etc. (2) Lorry would not do the job due to not having the 4x4. But now they have 4x4 lorries, but they are too expensive to buy. (LR about $5000-$20000, 4x4 lorry no less than $80,000). In addition to that, lorry has to be inspected (by govt agency) every 6-month, like MoT in UK, but due to hanky panky undertable money deal, I have to forgo having/buying the lorry. It is as simple as, 'if u dont pay, u dont pass', if you guys get my drift (3) Other vehicles like Hyluxs are quite expensive to buy, and in addition, they are too tall (too high) to carry that much weight on hilly laterite roads. Not so stable and surefooted. (4) I have Isuzu Trooper too, but being a van like, it is hard to load and unload the fruit brunches. IT is good though, very2 reliable, incl the 4X4 area. So far I've mostly been using the trusty old LR and they are good. For the price, they are better than good! I have 2 LR's, one 1976 and the other is 1978 model. Thanks so much guys. You guys saved me from having to take the gearbox out, which is a pain (I have done twice before). Thank you, thank you, thank you. If anyone of you guys are planning to come over and visit Malaysia, you can contact me, and I try to help with what I can. I have a friend in Coventry who visited Malaysia in 1991 and I drove the guy to see about 80% of Malaysia. Thanks again. Zulkifli Malaysia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zul69 Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 Hi again, Looking at the sheared drum, one part looks like a disc. So I think, is it possible to modify a car/lorry disc brake system into the LR handbrake? Has anyone done it before? Disadvantages? Advantages? Any posts on this excursion? Thanks guys Zulkifli Malaysia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 X-Eng do a disc handbrake conversion, a friend has the 90/110 version, and I have the Series 3 version. Both are extremely effective and well worth the money, although I did ruin a set of pads when the rear output seal let go and covered it in EP90..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zul69 Posted August 15, 2011 Author Share Posted August 15, 2011 Thanks for the replies everone... Any picture of that drum to disc handbrake conversion? Any pics will be much appreciated. Now I am driving without a handbrake. But I seldom use handbrake anyway. zulkifli malaysia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeriesEwan Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 http://www.x-eng.co.uk/X-BrakeSeries.asp that's the X eng handbrake conversion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zul69 Posted August 16, 2011 Author Share Posted August 16, 2011 SeriesEwan, Thank you, thank you, thank you... zulkifli malaysia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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