Baselining My 80 / Overland Build

[Mblinko]

Long time no update on this thread, mainly because we've just been enjoying the car. However, having done 30k miles since the rebuild it was time to check things over in detail, especially since my rear diff has been clunking and getting worse and my shiney new rear diff lock stopped working after less than 2 years.

So, first off, I dropped the diff oil and out came silver sludge at first followed by cleanish oil. Metal all over the drain plug magnet as well.

Something unpleasant going on though.

I pulled the halfshafts and one was as installed .....

The other was not quite so good, so a clean up and new seal is needed.....

The diff lock wasn't functioning electrically on or off the car so given the guarantee had expired I took off the cover and found this .......

The breather was always properly connected. It's as if it came pre-packed with mud and grit Looking at the cover plate seal, it seems the O ring is a bit feeble. I think though the culprit may be the breather pipe, so I'm going to have to trace it back and see if such ingress is possible. After a thorough clean though, I got it to work again on and off the car

Got the diff off as well but not really inspected it yet. It looks less worn than my replacement but not putting it until some new seals etc arrive.

 

[froggy Steve]

must be all that Tabernas sand! did you go through any deep water in the last 30k?

 

[clivehorridge]

Odd for the locker to look like that after only 2 years, but you know better where you've been and the conditions it's been exposed to.

My rear locker is original, 22 years old and almost 400k km, and I've used it regularly (say once every 2 weeks) in the last 11 years.

Never even had the cover off, so I've no idea what state it's in.

 

[Chris]

Oh crud!

Unusual for the inside of a locker to look like that. Unless there is a hole corroded through it. But for 2 years old that's shocking. That's a lot of swarf on that plug.

 

[Mblinko]

The only deep water we spent some time in was 18 months ago in Oxfordshire with a bunch of LRs some of which got stuck. Could have been that Steve.

It's bizarre Clive. My old original one wasn't as bad as that.

Thing is Chris,maths seals for the motor are all fine and it is squeaky clean in there. The only significant entry point is that breather. I extended axle breathers etc a while ago but the diff breather is not connected to that.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

iirc I think the OEM actuator breather is just a bit of open ended pipe that runs in the wiring loom to a bit higher up and needs extending when you do the axle breathers.

 

[Mblinko]

After 45,000 Miles my RCV CVs started clicking a little in reverse on full lock and less so forwards on full lock, so I got in touch with RCV directly. This is their response......

“..... In order to fix the clicking issue it may need a rebuild kit. A rebuild kit for these joints cost $95.00. However, when you take these apart, if you do run across something broken then we would definitely help you out. I will also advise that light clicking with our joints after they're broken in is normal. This kind of clicking does not mean the joints are worn out or that they are weak and are going to fail. Now if you're hearing a loud popping sound then they are likely in need of a rebuild......“

I didn’t know that a little was acceptable. That combined with the low cost to rebuild and the lifetime warranty makes me very reassured.

Just saying in case anyone else has RCVs

 

[nick_the_fish]

Great looking truck you have there, and really well built up. A very enjoyable read.

 

[clivehorridge]

This is a good read, start to finish.

It’s funny looking back 5 months to my post #203 above, ‘cos my rear locker actuator has failed now, probably due to wiring that’s corroded away at the terminals.

The indent switch plug terminals literally went to dust, and I suspect the motor wires to be the same.

I still haven’t had the actuator apart, but I’ll replace it and then look closely at the old one to see if it’s salvageable.

 

[Mblinko]

Having enjoyed trouble free motoring for a few years since the major works on the undercarriage and interior, I’ve got a little problem with the fuelling now. After a day of standing, it takes about 4 attempts to start it. The each time it gets better than the last and on the final one it splutters into life and then runs normally and restarts normally every time until left overnight again. Once it started, I noticed a fuel drip where the arrow is in the picture. And this stopped after a minute or two.

I’m guessing that there is an air leak in the pump allowing the fuel to drip out overnight.

Am I right ? Is this a DIY repair with a seal kit or is it more involved ?

All advice welcome.

 

[chapel gate]

looks like the ACSD. once the coolant has warmed a little it often stops leaking.
did this coincide with your starting issue?

 

[Mblinko]

looks like the ACSD. once the coolant has warmed a little it often stops leaking.
did this coincide with your starting issue?

Yes, within a couple of minutes of starting.

 

[Mblinko]

It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything at all on the truck really. we’ve travelled quite a bit in southern Europe and Morocco configured with the roof tent, drawers, awning etc, doing one or two night stops before moving on. A while ago we got a Tentipi

and quickly learned that while it takes longer to put up and take down, it fitted better with our plan to travel off road, stay somewhere for longer and radiate out from the campsite for a few days before moving on. We also got a couple of dogs which also change how you think.

The last interior change was to accommodate the dogs and now we are are goingto change it again, mainly because I still want to do occasional one night stop holidays on my own but without all the fuss of setting up and packing away. At the same time the car needs to function for holidays with my better half and the dogs. So, the other day I stripped it out ......

and took the opportunity to fix the drivers seat adjustment forward and back because teeth had stripped on the nylon bush ......

I guess this wouldn’t have happened if I was a few kg lighter .

As the seat is out, I’m taking the opportunity to remove the heater under the seat tomorrow as the pipes look a bit dodgy and I don’t want to spring a leak in the wrong place or wrong time ..... more later





.... in the meantime, spread the message, stay indoors folks...... you know it makes sense

 

[Mblinko]

Ohh, and we are officially on the return trip from the moon ......

 

[froggy Steve]

Look fwd to nights in the Tipi whilst is pishing down outside! Dont forget the wood burner

 

[felix2566]

Just read through from start to finish, great read! Having recently bought an 80 and want to do similar trips to you, I have been taking note of the layouts and kit you have been using with obvious reliability and success.

 

[Mblinko]

Thanks for the kind words. It’s still running strong though in need of TLC after a few years good wear and tear ! That’s my project for April.

 

[Mblinko]

It looks like I forgot to post that the interior ended up as a sleeping platform for one ! I haven’t slept on it yet as it’s much too useful for transporting stuff.

 

[froggy Steve]

Thanks for the kind words. It’s still running strong though in need of TLC after a few years good wear and tear ! That’s my project for April.

In-between Landscaping

 

[Mblinko]

Almost 7 years, 70k overlanding miles later I am making time to to a detailed check on the running gear and refresh and repair as needed. Things I know need doing are the CVs and the ACSD.

The CVS are from RCV Performance in the USA. I don’t really know whether 70k tough miLes is good, bad or average but I’m rebuilding them using new cages and bearings as they have recently started clicking a bit when driving normally. When lockers are on they click badly. Stripped the drivers side down and found this with the spindle .....

There is a nasty step in the bearing surface halfway round and its burnished. I found what I thought was a long hair at the back but it turned out to made of metal !! Must be where it’s been running non-concentric and scuffed and scrubbed the metal. So new ones with bearings on order today.

I was pleasantly surprised that the ball was still relatively clean and the grease not too gooey.......