Most Miserable Repair on a Series Land Rover?

[greenmeanie]

greenmeanie-
OMG that excelsior-like material that is molecularly bonded to the top with what must be the Devil's own coal tar adhesive was less than enjoyable to remove. Hours with a wire wheel over my head, I relate to the needing a shower afterwards thing. That black debris raining down from above as it came grudgingly off coated everything inside and out. Anybody know what they actually used as adhesive for the insulation? Not a technically difficult "repair" but certainly miserable.

Jeff[/quote]

Jeff,
I think the secret here is to keep the stuff cold and make it flake off if that is possible. I got about 90% of the black stuff and its hairy coating off by sitting insude with a 2500psi pressure washer. It works great but you have to be prepared for everything inside the truck to get very, very wet. Fortunately mine has no floor or sides of any sort right now so at least drainage is good.

[daveb]

i got to thinking about that black adhesive. I scraped a bunch of it off of the inside of my 109 HT. It came right off and I got covered in black flakes.

I've heard that some old adhesives like that can contain asbestos. just saying. be careful guys.

greenmeanie-
OMG that excelsior-like material that is molecularly bonded to the top with what must be the Devil's own coal tar adhesive was less than enjoyable to remove. Hours with a wire wheel over my head, I relate to the needing a shower afterwards thing. That black debris raining down from above as it came grudgingly off coated everything inside and out. Anybody know what they actually used as adhesive for the insulation? Not a technically difficult "repair" but certainly miserable.

Jeff

[scott]

What ever repair has to be done at night, along the road, in the wet snow AND that requires crawling underneath.

i'll second this! no snow but on I-40 east of flagstaff in December at about 2 am with a steady 35 mph wind with no gloves and just a light jacket, cleaning a clogged fuel filter with carb cleaner. i thought i was going to lose my freak' fingers.

[JSBriggs]

^^Ooooh, I forgot about the steering relay! Yes, very miserable. I gave up and split the frame open.

Good call! I decided to convert to power steering for that exact reason!

-Jeff

[badvibes]

i got to thinking about that black adhesive. I scraped a bunch of it off of the inside of my 109 HT. It came right off and I got covered in black flakes.

I've heard that some old adhesives like that can contain asbestos. just saying. be careful guys.

Well of course it would, getting cancer from that little job would be about the only thing that could make the experience worse. Thanks for the heads up.

Jeff

[CliftonRover]

the black glue on the inside of the series headliners is pretty bad, I spent days trying to get it out of a vehicle. I eventually found a solvent, but it felt like I was going to get poisoned just holding the can. It was some old military stuff my dad had been given years ago.
the steering relay can be bad, the an thing that the tranny needs to be pulled apart for is miserable because of the work required to get it out.
I agree that the suspension bushings in the frame are difficult,

My worst experience was trying to get the kick on wire connected to the solenoid on the stater of the tdi in our 109. you can't reach it without squeezing twisting and burning your arm.
I got my arm into a spot so I could plug the wire in, but my arm was against the hot manifold, and then I could not get my arm free. I will have that scar forever...

good to see that I am not the only one who finds the paper work the most miserable, and I only deal with about one customer a month...

[bobzinak]

worst part to work on

I vote for the removal of clutch master cyl. on left hand drive LRS.

[Cosmic88]

[quote=jac04]You mean zinc plated fasteners? What else are you going to use for applications requiring high strength? Yes, you can purchase high-strength stainless fasteners from specialty hardware suppliers, but it's crazy expensive.

Yes it is and in the LONG run ends up being more hassle free and easier on your hands / knuckles and other collateral damage... a few extra cents over years of time is a no brainer decision. Why go cheap with simple things? And a little never-seize on the threads wouldn't be missed either...

[Jeff Aronson]

Now I want to add, for your consideration, the replacement of the front bumper on a II-A.

The task should be simple. The new galvanized bumper, purchased from Rovers North, fit impeccably when offered up to the old bumper. The holes matched up exactly. All that should be required is to remove the 4 bolts that hold the old one in place.

In my case, I took solace in the fact that my bumper had been off the car in 2003, so these bolts should be in great shape. Only a set of Hellas sitting on the bumper would provide an impediment to an easy removal and replacement.

WRONG!

Land Rover cleverly designed the bumper bolts to reside in a cupped area that meant you could not get a ring spanner in there, only an open wrench. And it would help if the 1/2" wrench was of the long "professional mechanic" type, not the shorter standard Craftsman wrenchs that I use.

A 3/8" ratchet would not turn the corroded bolt head so I moved on to my 1/2" heavyweight. Even the larger ratchet required two hand to pull it, which left my right knee to provide leverage to hold the short open end wrench in place. For one bolt I even had to get out my breaker bar. After a pleasant 30 minutes of wrenching, I watched each nut fall to the ground and disappear in the dirt.

So I got out a magnet and found them all. The bolts had been covered with Never-Seize (thank you East Coast Rover!); still, they were a bear to remove. I tried to chase the threads with a tap and die set but found I did not have the right sized unit for these bolts and nuts. So I sprayed them liberally, put on a new coat of Never-Seize, and tried to put the new bumper on.

That's when I discovered proof that Rover must have employed child labor when my II-A was built. No adult hand could hold a washer and nut in place in the tiny inset of the bottom of the bumper. I balanced them on a greasy finger and offered them up to meet the bolt. Cleverly, Rover also designed the inset so you can't see anything from underneath; if you lie on your back, you can't line up the bolt properly. Don't ask me how I know.

One hour later, the new bumper sat on the car, lining up perfectly with the crank hole and pulley. Thank goodness I wasn't charging out for the labor - it would have been an embarrassment.

Will I now learn to search out any large rocks BEFORE tackling an off road route? Yep!

Jeff

[amcordo]

Why do we buy these things?!?!

[4flattires]

and....

..why do we continue to sink money into them?

Jeff

[kevkon]

..why do we continue to sink money into them?

Jeff

Because someone has to?

Because we like fighting a battle that can never be won?

Because it's such a challenge to constantly try to figure out how it's humanly possible to disassemble parts you know were somehow assembled by humans?

Or maybe there's just something enjoyable about keeping a connection to the past alive.

[JayGoss]

Why do we buy these things?!?!

Haha! I have asked myself the same question thousands of times- it's like an addiction and it makes no sense- financially or common sense-wise. I've tried to get off the sauce more times than I can count but then I'll see a Series sputter by and I know I'm in trouble. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll always have a Rover. Most of my friends think I'm nuts but they've come to accept my, um, problem. Even though they can be a major PITA sometimes you've got to admit there's something therapeutic and rewarding about spending a few hours in the garage tinkering on these guys. I've had the opportunity to work on & own some other marques- but I have yet to find another vehicle that has that magical quality where it becomes a member of the family- with it's own personality and traits. You can sit three Rovers side by side with the same components, mileage, torque settings, etc- each one will drive differently and make different noises than the next- it's wonderful.

Repeat after me: "MY NAME IS ____ AND I AM A ROVER-HOLIC"

I digress. With regard to the subject at hand, I'd have to say that I agree with those who have mentioned rusty steering relay removal and chassis bushings- those are two projects that have resulted in more expletives than I care to count!

[bmohan55]

I know this is old but for those of you who may never have seen it, or have forgotten...

http://www.eastcoastrover.com/Seriesswear.html

[msggunny]

My biggest PITA was the clutch slave cylinder for some odd reason. Had a hell of a time getting the hydro line to line up correctly, not to mention the contortion and doing it laying on my back in my drive way.

Maybe pulling the trany and tcase by myself with a strap and some lower back strength.

or putting the trany and tcase back in with same manual effort

The MC for the clutch and brakes could be considered a mild PITA

Not much else has been too much of a PITA, which is why i like working on my SIII better than working on my 2 Discos...