1973 Series III SWB (Austin, Tx) project update

[RoverForm]

looking good.

questions, how are you liking the BFG's? why did you decide on the 15s instead of 16s? and why did you decide on white lettering out?

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Well, let's see: I've now driven 0.5 miles in the alley and so far the tires are great, real edgy in the potholes! As noted earlier in this thread, I went back and forth on wheel size and in the end decided to stick with the original 15"s that I had esp since they cleaned up nicely. White lettering out? Unscientific poll shows that <1% of vehicles have the white out so this is going to be one trend-setting eye-grabbing rig! (Tire man thought it offers a nice combo with the light colored wheels.)

[RoverForm]

excellent!

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Heater control valve repair? Festoon light bulbs?

Have now been at this long enough to have something that was working nicely break so I guess that is a measure of, well, something ha ha! Noticed a significant leak from the base of the heater control valve at its lower connection to the adapter. Has anyone ever tried to open up and repair one of these control valves (am told that there is a rubber diaphram inside??) or is it something I should just replace?

Also, my 1973 has the old style backup lights with the fat bodied festoon bulb 12v 18w. Has anyone ever found any chain autopart stores that carry these? If not, they look like they are available online.

[SafeAirOne]

Noticed a significant leak from the base of the heater control valve at its lower connection to the adapter. Has anyone ever tried to open up and repair one of these control valves (am told that there is a rubber diaphram inside??) or is it something I should just replace?

It sounds as if the diaphragm is cracked. Ask me how I know...

I don't think there are repair kits available, though I've never checked around. I've just never seen one.

If it helps, here's what's inside one of those valves:

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thanks!

Thanks for the snap of the innards -- looks like it could be a tricky repair -- I'll just order a new control valve. If the temps here in central Texas hadn't started their precipitous winter plunge down in the low 70s, I probably wouldn't have even turned on the heater ha ha!

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Passed state inspection!

Been a while since I've updated, day job and all, but I have been making progress on the rig over the past several months. Replaced the heater control valve and all is fine there now. Started in on the brakes and had to replace the master cylinder and rebuild the servo. When I pulled the wheels I found that all of the brake cylinders were beyond repair, gear oil and brake fluid everywhere, and so I went for the full brake rebuild, new cylinders and shoes, turned the drums, also replaced the hub and swivel seals and repacked the bearings, put in a hub oil slinger, pulled and inspected the axles (all fine), and cleaned and painted everything. Few things as satisfying as a good brake job!

Yesterday I worked up the courage to hit the traffic on South Lamar and drove down for the state inspection and PASSED! Road legal now (see yellow arrow pointing to stickers). Will surprise my boy by picking him up from school this afternoon and can't wait to see his grin when he sees the Land Rover drive up!

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A month later...

A month later and time for an update...
The first run to pick up my son was successful, big smiles and all, but the very next one, 15 minutes later, to pick up my daughter was not: the rig stalled and would not start and the three of us had to tow it back into the driveway – only good point was that the 11 year old got to steer the Land Rover, much to his delight! It sounded like a) it was not getting fuel, and/or b) the ignition system (=condenser) was acting up, the two issues raised here so frequently. I added a Pertronix ignition and replaced the fuel filters and those fixes seemed to work because I had several successful shorts runs around town -- but see below...
I noticed another frequently noted problem: the clutch did not always disengage when shifting. I took the shifter assembly apart and found that the end diameter of the old shaft was much smaller than the replacement shaft (pic attached, old at bottom) and that its worn end was probably not fully engaging the shifters. I switched this out with a new one (but getting it all back together with the circlip is a real bear!) and it now disengages just fine. While I was doing this repair I had the passenger floor out and in driving the rig up and down the driveway I noticed that the front drive shaft was rotating even in 2 wheel drive – clearly, the outboard selector shaft on the gearbox was stuck (another problem frequently noted here). I removed the selector dust cover and, lucky for me, a few light taps with a ball peen freed it up so now it works the way that it should.
My next big run was to Home Depot and this was on the freeway so that I could try out the overdrive. The OD worked great and I was able to drive at about 55 mph. It took me about 20 minutes to do my shopping and the AC in the store was a nice contrast to the 100 degree heat outside. When I tried to start the rig it would not start and showed the same symptoms as noted in the first paragraph above. I went back in for another 20 minutes of shopping but again no luck starting, and then more shopping for 30 minutes in the nearby Academy and finally it started and I managed to get home. The back door was coated in gear oil and that pointed to a plugged rear axle breather. I had cleaned the breather once but cleaned it again and I’ll see if that solves the problem.
Re. the stalling, given that I have clean fuel filters and an electronic ignition system, I am now wondering if I could have a vapor lock, esp with the high Texas temps adding insult to injury? Once the rig cooled down it started again. The fuel line was originally routed from the mechanical fuel pump to a small aftermarket inline fuel filter located at about the height of the spark plugs and then up to an original LR canister fuel filter located on the firewall and then below the air intake hose just above and parallel to the valve cover and around the front to the carb. Maybe there is too much heat along the valve cover? Today I rerouted the fuel line from the firewall fuel filter to the carb so that it runs higher, routing it above the air intake hose, and we’ll see if that helps or not. This routing also puts the line in more direct air flow from the fan.
Ideas on this problem welcome!
I have done other general maintenance, replacing the front and back window channels, and replacing some of the worn out seals around the rear door. These repairs really dress up the rig!
But here is a question for you: today while I was running the engine to test the new fuel line routing I noticed that the floor of the tub was really really hot, too hot to touch, too hot for anyone to ride back there and rest their feet on the floor. I don’t know the temp since my non-contact thermometer is in the lab but this just does not seem right – I have not done anything to the exhaust system and am wondering if this is the next problem to fix, a plugged muffler? (Remember, this rig sat under a tree for ten years or so and had a scorpion in the air cleaner and ants living in the charcoal filter so maybe someone decided that the muffler was the perfect place to den for the winter.)
Or, should I just leave it like it is and cook dinner on the floor of the tub while I am driving home from work? LOL!
One thing for sure: this little rig just keeps throwing the problems at me… But yesterday I did get my first thumbs up from the driver of a brand new LR Discovery!

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Hot tub anyone?

Sorry, am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on my hot tub? Question was at the end of my too long update post of yesterday and so I am bumping it and pasting it below:

I noticed that the floor of the tub was really really hot, too hot to touch, too hot for anyone to ride back there and rest their feet on the floor. I have not done anything to the exhaust system and am wondering if this is the next problem to fix, a plugged muffler? Or something else?

[LaneRover]

Sorry, am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on my hot tub? Question was at the end of my too long update post of yesterday and so I am bumping it and pasting it below:

I noticed that the floor of the tub was really really hot, too hot to touch, too hot for anyone to ride back there and rest their feet on the floor. I have not done anything to the exhaust system and am wondering if this is the next problem to fix, a plugged muffler? Or something else?

If the muffler was plugged it wouldn't run well at all - or it would run well to a certain level and then bog down. Is the exhaust original or has it been modified and is too close to the bottom of the tub? Otherwise my guess would be an exhaust leak that blows onto the tub.

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muffler

Exhaust system looks original and it sounds generally ok but sort of gurgles and chokes a bit. I'll measure the distance between the tub and the muffler, and check for any leaks -- thanks, that is great tip! But I take it that this amount of heat load is not correct?

[jac04]

I think no matter what, the tub is going to get hot from the exhaust due to the placement of the muffler. You could easily make a heat shield that mounts to the tub supports out of thin aluminum or stainless sheet. You could even install some Thermo-Tec insulation on the shield if need be. Thermo-Tec also makes some heat shields that mount directly to the exhaust or body, but the stuff is very expensive.

[artpeck]

Looks like you are making good progress. On the hot tub...we have the same truck and mine isnt hot in the slightest with the original exhaust in place. As mentioned above I would check for any leaks or if it has been rerouted and is in contact with the tub. If you can describe where it is hottest I am also happy to send a photo on mine for comparison of the routing, if useful.

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Bad carburetor = high temps

Discovered that the bulk of the high heat problem was due to a bad carburetor. When setting the timing I could just not get it right, some missing, ran rough, esp at the muffler, and it was running very very hot. I used a laser thermometer to take some readings: the #4 exhaust manifold outlet was 617°F, the muffler body 450°F, exhaust outlet pipe 272°F, and the tub floor 160°F! The spark plugs were running way hot. I had another Zenith and I installed it and presto! – everything worked the way that it should. I was able to set the timing at 800 rpm, 6°ATDC, and it purrs along, no misfiring, and the muffler sounds even now. It is doing a little dieseling on shut down so need to track that down. I do have a couple of shut-off solenoids on old carbs so might install one of those.
The temps instantly dropped by ~100°F or more all around: #4 exhaust manifold outlet dropped to 523°F, muffler body temp dropped to 275°F, and exhaust outlet to 166°F The tub floor dropped to 125°F which is still too hot for dog feet (but approx. the same temp as the front floor). The muffler body hangs 3.5" below the tub floor and I couldn't find a leak.
So, just as they say, a mistuned engine will run hot, just that it was hard to know exactly how hot before these laser thermometers came onto the market. The only steady temp was the 40°F beer on the front bumper! (Once you get one of these thermometers, you starting shooting the temp of everything!) Will take the bad carb apart and see if I can figure out what is wrong. I rebuilt it and thought I got it right, even lapping the warpage on top and bottom halves. Maybe I missed a plugged jet?

[SafeAirOne]

The lean mixture (presumably) didn't cause any damage to the engine internals, did it?