Cheesy Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 There's a reason I always call it the lottery... 10 Years ago my only car was a SII 88 that had a Ford strait six in it out of a Falcon, all 4.1l of torque and a 5000rpm red line.... I took it into a testing station in Auckland for a WOF (our version of a MOT), with that motor in it I never used first gear so I never noticed/cared that the spring was missing from the reverse gate. The WOF tester (equally keen to fail it on odd things) jumped in, started it, tried to show off his driving skills by pulling away fast onto the brake rollers but reversed into the car behind with a fair bit of force putting the tow bay through the grill. He was Mildly miffed and I had lots of things to fix, was worth it though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 There's a reason I always call it the lottery...Think it could be the lunar eclipse due this summer or perhaps he just got the boot from his old lady on Valentines, of all days would induce a bit of trauma, so my sauve and sophisticated 200Tdi Disco pulls in and he's as jelous as a fat kid watching through the window of a sweet shop and had to find something wrong.Oh well, at least I got a legit road test on the "ZZ" plates, just, well, errrmmm, not sure I like it :? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Dont let people kid you that a Landcruiser is all blue skies, I repaired enough of them when i lived in Australia, same as any of the other 4x4 s , what they did have over landrovers was a more powerful engine , and landrover didnt have anything to compete with them untill the discovery came out that was affordable by the average man . The take up of discovery in australia was phenomenal , and was a big a difference on fuel economy as the diesel landcruisers were compared with the petrol V8 in rovers. where landrover has consistently lagged behind is power , never investing in re engineering , of the various parts to allow a power upgrade . The defender was a spend the minimum to keep it in the stable , which has now run out of "bodges" to keep eu legal , and although they are not saying publicly dont be surprised if a "real" replacement quietly doesnt eventuate. But then the market they have focused on is most likely generating far more money than having a fight with landcruiser. I am still a multiple LandRover owner. But I took my blinkers off many years ago ! I suspect that the LandCruisers you repaired over here were either high mileage fleet units or vehicles subjected to harder work and/or much more abuse than the average LandRover owner would be prepared to inflict on their pride and sorrow. The fact of the matter is that Toyotas are able to survive well in fleet and hire use where unfamiliar, un mechanically sympathetic or disinterested drivers thrash the daylights out of them. Doubt you will find any firms in Oz any more that hire out LandRovers. the last such firm I knew about, started by former LR enthusiasts in the Stage One V8 days, was sent broke due to the cost of keeping their LR's in serviceable condition.They refinanced and re started, Hiring Cruisers and Hiluxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_grieve Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I'm afraid I have to agree with Bill on this one. I've run both 40 series 'Cruisers and Land Rovers as daily drivers, in fact, I should say that other than them I only once owned a car, a Fiesta for six weeks trying to be sensible before hating it and running a lightweight instead. I also manage large fleets (100 units +) of vehicles for international NGO's for a living and the majority of vehicles are either Defender or Land Cruiser, often armoured. Both have faults, both break. Cruisers bend and crack axle housings, bodies crack, engines and pumps wear, diffs wear and break, transfer box bearings die and the sliding spline in the front prop lasts about a week before it starts flapping around. No chassis problems, ever, not even once, maybe the odd crack in a rear crossmember right at the pintle hook but nothing else. Hilux chassis crack around the steering box. No main gearbox problems other than oil leaks or water ingress. No electrical failures. (200 series electrics are a disaster and I would never order any more as long as I live.) NO switch, wiper, indicator, heater silly dramas ever. Defender: Cracks in the chassis start at as little as 4000Km's on the newer ones, axles and hubs OK on older ones, bearings last the same as Cruisers and are strong. The newer narrower stubs with that stupid spacer and use once nut are destroyed in seconds. Engines are generally good (300tdi, the rest don't work overseas) but have stupid bad manufacturing defects like porous blocks and heads sometimes. The water pump is a stupid design that cracks at the inside of the 'P' and leaks the coolant out or the stupid plastic bleed plugs break and you loose coolant that way but either way by the time it's done 50,000Km's it'll have had the head gasket changed. Any heat will warp the heads but the thick gasket will sort all but the worst cases. The rocker shafts would also break with alarming regularity. Clutches don't last as long as Cruiser ones and often they fail catastrophically leaving the vehicle stranded. Surprisingly the LR gearboxes last really well compared to UK use. Roads overseas are often really really bad so the speeds are lower but gear changes would be more often I'd say. Prop UJ's wear more but the sliding splines on the LR last much better. CV's and half shafts last better than you'd think. They usually wear out before they break. LR electrical problems, window problems, door handles, ..... the list just goes on .... it gets to the point that they become old before their time but you can keep them going with relatively unskilled maintenance. If I'm buying new vehicles to transport people and have free reign then it is without exception the Toyota 76 or 78 series, shame they stopped the 105. Land Rover just don't offer anything that even comes close. If I'm buying a new pickup I buy Ford Rangers, the Hilux surprisingly doesn't come close now with the new ones. Why oh why then am I still pissing around with old Land Rovers then? Because I like them and because they still represent something that's missing. You can name the man that started them off, most can even tell the name of the factory where they are made, how many Toyota enthusiasts can do that?More importantly, you can fix them because the same thing that makes them carp is the same thing that makes them good. The bloke that designed the bit you're fixing just now probably didn't know any more about it than you do and that gives it a kind of simplicity lacking in other vehicles. After all these years I still never learned a Toyota wiring harness but ask me what a blue and white wire on a Land Rover does!! The very fact you can bolt a 1948 diff into a 2014 housing is still pretty cool even if not any use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 I see all of your points Jamie, and agree, but for the most part I see a lot of Land Rovers that in this day and age that are completely firked, I mean basically run into the ground, little or no maintenance, bodge it to get by after a breakdown, poor welded repairs, scary wiring additions and a general lack of care, but when for sale, that owner thinks its worth serious money just because it starts. If I had been the previous welder on this Discovery of mine, I should hang my head in shame, same for the "intetesting" wiring additions that got ripped out a long time ago, I am not saying that from an enthusiasts POV but just a general WTF do some people bother to try when they either can't or are not willing to do it properly, I spent countless hours fixing other peoples work, it was depressing to say the least that some donkey went to that much effort but still failed to achieve a satisfactory result in their accomplishment. Looking forward to Monday, easy fix so should be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I see all of your points Jamie, and agree, but for the most part I see a lot of Land Rovers that in this day and age that are completely firked, I mean basically run into the ground, little or no maintenance, bodge it to get by after a breakdown, poor welded repairs, scary wiring additions and a general lack of care, but when for sale, that owner thinks its worth serious money just because it starts. If I had been the previous welder on this Discovery of mine, I should hang my head in shame, same for the "intetesting" wiring additions that got ripped out a long time ago, I am not saying that from an enthusiasts POV but just a general WTF do some people bother to try when they either can't or are not willing to do it properly, I spent countless hours fixing other peoples work, it was depressing to say the least that some donkey went to that much effort but still failed to achieve a satisfactory result in their accomplishment. Looking forward to Monday, easy fix so should be ok. I know how you feel, half the problem is that joe bloggs goes out and buys himself a cheap land rover/hilux/etc and forgets that the buggers need to be maintained. He lacks the knowledge to do it himself therefore he puts his trust in the cheapest garage he can find (generally run by the lone ranger and tonto), result is bodge after bodge on bodge..... I have seen far too many threads where the Landrovers are compared to jap vehicles, hell, in the past I've even bought some jap 4x4's they were more comfortable for sure, but they were a hell of a lot more complicated. Again, you could but pattern parts, but...... Whilst I run land rovers, I do not have rose tinted specs, I know their strengths and I know their weaknesses. Take the current Disco, it's 20 years old, done 240K miles and I'm it's 18th owner- I didn't expect it to be perfect! Got the head off at the moment and the big surprise is that after 240k, you can still see the hone marks in the bores and this thing has been abused, seriously Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 I went with Rusty for todays test. I have never been so depressed in my whole life!!!! Still no F***ing certificate , the steering box decided to completely empty it's contents on top of a tester today, but my shiny new mud flaps looked smart while it was doing so. Anyone got something stronger to drink than Teachers? Think I might go to the chip shop and start a fight with the local boy racers by sitting on the bonnet of the POS they call a Clio If I am away for a while, worry not, I'm not suicidal, YET!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Oh dear Nigel , Rusty really is trying to break you ......the Clio will have been driven to the chippy but you will be walking ....... no I didn't have a coat and yes I'm going ..... seriously , I know what you are going through and I also know you will overcome keep at it Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneck Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 You mght want to read this thread. http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=58575 Just in case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 You mght want to read this thread. http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=58575 Just in case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Weigh it in. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Think I might go to the chip shop and start a fight with the local boy racers by sitting on the bonnet of the POS they call a Clio Why sit when you can drive on the bonnet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Why sit when you can drive on the bonnet? So Liberating..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Ramps is cheating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 i was on 29's then okay... haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete3000 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I see all of your points Jamie, and agree, but for the most part I see a lot of Land Rovers that in this day and age that are completely firked, I mean basically run into the ground, little or no maintenance, bodge it to get by after a breakdown, poor welded repairs, scary wiring additions and a general lack of care, but when for sale, that owner thinks its worth serious money just because it starts. If I had been the previous welder on this Discovery of mine, I should hang my head in shame, same for the "intetesting" wiring additions that got ripped out a long time ago, I am not saying that from an enthusiasts POV but just a general WTF do some people bother to try when they either can't or are not willing to do it properly, I spent countless hours fixing other peoples work, it was depressing to say the least that some donkey went to that much effort but still failed to achieve a satisfactory result in their accomplishment. Looking forward to Monday, easy fix so should be ok. Could be any second hand car I have bought/worked on. from mini's to Vw's to Audi's to minibuses. The problem is people mess or tinker thinking they are saving a bit of cash instead of getting/paying someone who knows how to do it. Then they bodge it, make it worse then offload it for cheap when the repair/fix/bodge doesn't pan out as expected or is likely to cost more than they have. My latest second hand (dealer bought) VW has just had £4500 worth or warranty work with most of that being on injectors and egr cooler. Luckily with the warranty they were paying. The difference with older LR's if you know what you are about and CAN do the work yourself the bits are plentiful and cheap enough compared with French or German marques. Unless you own a P38 of course now there's a different story.... They break common part usually and wear out others often but the supply of parts or basic mechanics means they can be fixed or mended almost anywhere with spares from various sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honitonhobbit Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Best motor I have ever owned was my 200Tdi RRC. On an '87 plate, so issues with ALL the non chassis steel. After 5 years I had, had enough. Swapped it for a 100" on a Q plate; it was stripped and partially re-built into another 100". Damn but I miss that bus. Been looking for a Disco for my wife for 4 years as she doesn't like G wagens. Found 2 solid examples in that time - looked at so many vehicles now, I can spot the issues from 50 yards. Found a 1 owner from new 200Tdi, garaged, washed by the chauffer, waxolyled every year, never off roaded, never towed, 82,666 miles. Sweet. She didn't like the interior - "too basic". I know how to get rid of bodies easily; I was so tempted. Finally after all this time, I have found a 300Tdi Auto XS. It's sweet. Really sweet. Part modded but then the owner got bored - so it has good underbody protection for those times when She avoids other cars at speed. It's got a snorkel, which round my way is good. She likes it. So I have just made another rod for my back. If life wasn't so interesting we would be bored... When ever your build gets you down, read what Jeff has been doing - it will make it all seem right. I've known him for 14 years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 The difference with older LR's if you know what you are about and CAN do the work yourself the bits are plentiful and cheap enough compared with French or German marques. Unless you own a P38 of course now there's a different story.... Same there. They're really not all that complex once you get to know them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 The same could be said for women but that is a whole new can of worms LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 The same could be said for women but that is a whole new can of worms LOL Nope, those only get more complex the better you get to know them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Nope, those only get more complex the better you get to know them tell me about it..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Jeff's bloody woes got worse this week, all my own fault - exhaust downpipe parted company with the car after hitting a road sign in lane 1 of the A69, easy job, but I'd bought a blue box clamp (hell for £6, couldn't go wrong...), a while ago I'd bought the pukka, all singing, all dancing , testicles as a deposit genuine part, but that had gone on holiday in the garage and well.... Did find it today, blue box one had stripped it's threads once again and the down pipe was having a lie down on the gearbox crossmember, and SWMBO was stood at the train station with more kids than we own (how the hell that happen?) in horizontal rain (that's me on the couch again...) and I couldn't find a box of matches and a gallon of petrol... Never mind, empties the garage and finds the genuine parts one (part No NTC4881 if anyone is interested) and thought, "sh!t I haven't laid down under the Disco in the mud and the rain and the bloody sharp gravel in ooh, gotta be 12 hours at least" so set about takin the blue box one off. No fukcin wonder it wouldn't tighten - genuine one uses an M12 bolt to apply clamping pressure, bloody cheap nasty ineffectual pos blue box one uses an M8, a bloody Jubilee clip would be more effective... AHAHAHAHAHAHAJHAHAHAH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 The joys of a blue box purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 The joys of a blue box purchase. I must check out the other thread to see how the blokes with the blue box cast chocolate swivel balls are getting on ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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