land rover shops in nor cal...anyone?

[gobie desert]

i am in northern california, anyone know of any good lr series guys in the bay area? anyone have any experience with west coast british? he seems knowledgable but a bit like he is put off by having to answer his own business phone. ask him a question and he throws a quick answer then hangs up.
any good tips would be great.

[Linus Tremaine]

west coast british

Mike green is the only one that I know. Hes a good guy from what I hear, but a bit short with people. I guess he is pretty busy. If you really need someone to work on your truck I think he is the only experienced series guy (professional that is) anywhere around.

What does your truck need? Maybe some of us will help you do it.


Linus

[gobie desert]

what info i could get out of him was def great. just felt like i was bothering him. i do believe he is a true series guy and will probably take the truck to him but i was just curious to know if anyone else is out there.
i need to put parabolics on my rig...any DIY's out there who can help?
i was going to get the rocky mountain ones. are they good?

[greenmeanie]

Rocky mountain parabolics are good. I've run the 2 leaf up front and 3 leaf out back on my '71 88 for the last 6 years and they are still going strong. I went with the Rancho shocks which have been fine but if you feel rich the yellow ones are a nice luxury. Truck drives well, feels stable and corners with the best of 'em. Oh and it transformed the comfort as well.

If you have a jack, axle stands, some basic tools including a torque wrench and a flat place to work doing the change is an easy day's job if nothing is rusted solid. There's no reason to bother the poor man for something this straight forward. DIY and spend the money you save on some shiny new tool

Cheers
Gregor

[derek]

Yeah good luck with not having anything rusted, the bushings are a big pain. I had to have a local shop (not rover related) push them out with a press. If the bushings are not rusted to the chassis it is a nice job for a saturday with a buddy and a couple beers.

I have the 2 leaf in the front and the 3 in the back. I wish I would have gotten the 2 leaf in the back since I have a soft top on 95% of the time. But the ride is nice when I throw an extra 200-300 pounds in the back.

In sacramento, I have had luck talking to the guy at british car service. He has a series IIa sitting on the side of his shop. He mostly deals with rolls Royce's and MG's

Series III 88 1973

[gobie desert]

i've done axle swaps and leaf springs before in mustangs and what have you but other than the rusted bushings is there anything i should be aware of when doing this? also i never have done it on such a big rig, can one of you guys walk me through the steps just to make sure i don't kill myself. do i need 2 jacks? how many jack stands? and how high do they need to go? thanks

[greenmeanie]

Two jack stands and one jack is enough. It's easiest to do one end at a time. Just jack her up so you have a few inches of clearance under the wheels as they are now because the new springs will most likely sit higher. Place your jack stands under the chassis rails and use a block of wood or equivalent to pad between them and rail.

If anything is rusted forget WD-40 and use a proper penetrating oil like PB Blaster. Soak things for the week prior to the job and all will be OK. HAving a Southwestern truck that's lived in the desert all its life is one of life's little pleasures when it comes to things like this. No rust!

THe rear end is less complex than the front so it is a good place to start. Only complex thing on this end is to get the retainer straps to a useful length. Other than that you may end up widening the holes in the spring shackle plate to accommodate the slightly bigger U-bolts.

I think it says it in the instructions but bolt the spring shackles together loosely and then drop the truck back on its wheels. Then invite your largest frind to come round and bounce the truck up and down. Only then do you tighten the shackles.

Cheers
Gregor

[Big Wheels]

hi, guys. i'm interested in the original question -- is there anyone, besides mike green, who repairs the land rover series vehicles in northern california?

mike knows his stuff, it's true. but i need a mechanic who's willing to apply that knowledge on my car... and not give me a headache while doing so.

thanks.

[gobie desert]

i hear you there. so far i have been just learning as i go. i have restored muscle cars top to bottom but not old rovers so i am trying to do all i can. where in nor cal are you? i literally shutter at the thought of calling west coast only because i need to be prepared to be shouted at and then hung up on. i thought there was a really good guy somewhere in mountain view...anyone?

[Daurie]

i've done axle swaps and leaf springs before in mustangs and what have you but other than the rusted bushings is there anything i should be aware of when doing this? also i never have done it on such a big rig, can one of you guys walk me through the steps just to make sure i don't kill myself. do i need 2 jacks? how many jack stands? and how high do they need to go? thanks

Sounds like you shouldn't have a problem. Aside from removing a wheel, replacing a spring pack is the second easiest thing to do on the suspention end. Series trucks aren't too big! Last week I swapped a sagging spring on a '94 Ford F7000 bucket truck! Now that was a pain .

[TeriAnn]

You have gotten good advice so far, just a couple more things:

1. remove the shocks first. You will need to replace them with new stiffer shocks that have a longer extended length anyway. Depending upon the springs and which frame you have you may need to remove the diff end of the propshaft as well.

2. Just buy a new set of U bolts and nuts. If you or the previous owner have not been retorquing the U bolts ever 12K miles like the service guidelines say chances are some of the nuts are rusted on to the point you will break the U bolt trying to remove them. Best to use all new ones.

3. If the frame bushings are good, you don't need to replace them

4. If you are going to replace them here is a method that has worked for me.

A. use a propane torch to burn away the rubber bushing
B. Use a sawsall with sharp blade to cut the outer steel tube through on one side (try real hard not cut into the frame)
c. use a punch & hammer to pound out the outer bushing steel tube
D. Use a rat tail file to smooth out the frame bushing hole

If you wish to install a new stock bushing use anti seize as a lubricant to help slide the bushing in , if you are installing poly bushings use a good grade of water resistant grease.

E. I use a big C-clamp to press the new bushing into the frame.

5. When installing new springs, bolt the spring to the axle first, bolt the front of the spring to the frame second, install the shackles third, using the jack under the axle to adjust height.