Sandringham 6x6

[Jelly_Sheffield]

You really don't mess about when you actually get your teeth into it!

Very impressive progress in only a few days.

 

[Farside]

Only replacements are priced at £18.95 +VAT from genuine but minimum order of 4.

They're not BSP nipples, are they?

The transfer box wasn't as quick. Hose pipe, funnel and slowly slowly. The digger chap down the road has a great pump which I thought, oo, I'll get a couple of those like he has. Made by a company called Samoa. Saw the price, north of £280, er, that'll be a no.

One of these... great for filling gearboxes and draining small engines

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074KQNL2Q

 

[sako243]

They're not BSP nipples, are they?

Put it this way the drain plug and fill plug are approximately the same size. The drain uses a 13/16ths socket to undo I think it was and the plug is substantially bigger than that. The fill is similar but a smaller socket, probably 11/16ths ish.

The plugs are about 1.5" in diameter.

One of these... great for filling gearboxes and draining small engines
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074KQNL2Q

I've had various versions (and price points) of those over the years and they've never lasted long particularly with EP90. The garden sprayers usually last a bit longer. I think a DIY one like @8ob has built in the past is in order. The Samoa ones Ben had were really good but then the price reflects that.

 

[sako243]

You really don't mess about when you actually get your teeth into it!

Very impressive progress in only a few days.

This it's just bolting up stuff that was previously unbolted so fairly quick. It was quicker to dismantle though... It's all the little bits and bobs that will take the time such as crimping new connectors onto the rear lights. Sorting out the interior. We've got about 2 weeks before we're due to be driving to the top end of the Highlands...

 

[addjunkie]

This it's just bolting up stuff that was previously unbolted so fairly quick. It was quicker to dismantle though... It's all the little bits and bobs that will take the time such as crimping new connectors onto the rear lights. Sorting out the interior. We've got about 2 weeks before we're due to be driving to the top end of the Highlands...

No pressure then two weeks will give you time for a full paint job and reupholster too!

 

[bletchmonster]

I can find you a filler cap if need be, I've got a couple of spare lt95's squirreled away.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

The digger chap down the road has a great pump which I thought, oo, I'll get a couple of those like he has. Made by a company called Samoa. Saw the price, north of £280, er, that'll be a no.

One of these... great for filling gearboxes and draining small engines
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074KQNL2Q

I've had various versions (and price points) of those over the years and they've never lasted long particularly with EP90. The garden sprayers usually last a bit longer. I think a DIY one like @8ob has built in the past is in order. The Samoa ones Ben had were really good but then the price reflects that.

I have a Cole-Palmer peristaltic (roller) pump for doing stuff like this, it's intended to be mounted to a flange mount motor, but currently I run it but chucking the spindle in a large drill on slow speed

Was maybe £20, absolutely bomb proof and largely unaffected by liquid viscosity.

Similarly for draining stuff I have a home made venturi that hooks up to the airline and screws into the ½" NPT vent hole on a 205l drum or 25l UN-approved solvent can, with a 2" NPT to hose tail to screw into the main opening of the container.

It will move between 50-75L/min, albeit might pull the drum in a bit sucking viscous fluids like EP90.

 

[sako243]

No pressure then two weeks will give you time for a full paint job and reupholster too!

The former possibly not - the latter maybe. Luckily there was a new set of seats included with the vehicle when I bought it so that should hopefully be a case of swapping them over.

I can find you a filler cap if need be, I've got a couple of spare lt95's squirreled away.

That would be greatly appreciated, equally I may be interested in squirreling away a spare one here, particularly if you have a RRC ratio one (which is what is in the 6x6), if you're amenable to parting with one.

 

[sako243]

At the crack of dawn, okay 8am, I set off towards ProFab Exhausts in Swansea. Uneventful despite a slight tail happy trailer, not a lot of wiggle room on a 16fter and quite tall plus the friend I pinched it off has a taller than standard tow hitch which means the triple axle sits slightly nose down on the L322.

Arrived and drew a few looks as I unloaded the 6x6 given it's obnoxiously loud exhaust. After a customer left with their freshly built exhaust dragging along the ground in a Honda Civic and a BMW X5 had a quick look at different tip options we put Sandy on the 4 poster and finalised a plan. Basically a Y piece with one bolted flange and a slip joint, flexi between them to accommodate a further tweak to the drivers downpipe that might be needed in future and to aid installation. Then lambda bung welded in after Y and a custom made silencer before dumping it at the floor in rot of the middle axle.

Returned "home" (read running errands for Mum since I had a big trailer attached) and then returned at 4.30 to collect it. James was just finishing up testing for leaks as I arrived.

Anyway shiny bits... Little bit of paint to touch up and he's used hangers that will be compatible with standard LR rubbers as I have a box of old good ones.





When I got in it to reverse it off the ramp I thought it had failed to start it was so quiet

.

See not much room on a 16ft trailer. Return journey was more pleasant with the vehicle shifted forward an inch.



And more importantly the obligatory noise. Entertaining trying to miss the old patio with very minimal brakes but I couldn't be bothered to move the trailer.

A lot quieter than it was so very happy so far. Not at all bad for £640 all in and a days turn around, particularly when he made the silencer to suit.

 

[sako243]

Oh and @fizzy is a bit peed off I was about 100 yards from his unit and he wasn't. He guessed I had a 6x6 on a trailer though

 

[fizzy]

Oh and @fizzy is a bit peed off I was about 100 yards from his unit and he wasn't. He guessed I had a 6x6 on a trailer though

Yes typical. Mobile Land Rover porn

 

[sako243]

Well today's focus was on sorting out the back end so the tray could go back on. Much crimping later and the rear lights were all tidied up and functioning.



Fuel gauge was also wired back in and 25l of fuel shows about a 1/4 tank so that's good.



Then petrol decided to escape whilst I was sorting out the brake with a broken nipple, stupid ebay piece of junk. First the paint was dissolving with petrol and then the rubber reducer just decided to reduce itself to being utterly useless.



So now need to sort out a cap for what's ultimately a 1.75" pipe into the tank. Or just take a 8mm spanner to undo the jubilee clamp...



And what a stupid bloody place for a bleed nipple (front axle), can only get a spanner on and this one is seized. I have managed to undo the pipe so may just try and cap it, remove it and see if I can free up the nipple on the bench.



Then the afternoon was less productive... Messing about seeing about mounting the flatbed back on. I'm going to have to shim it up a bit (10mm or so) as its touching the fuel pump (was meant to be on twist locks but don't have the time to sort those).



Then more messing about. What you can't see is the JCB behind

. I can drop it another 7cm with minimal faffery and without the roof rack it's 43cm taller than the 110 so not a huge amount taller. Probably similar to @FridgeFreezer's ambulance. The awning to ground is 2.6m as it stands currently.



Then sort out the alternator back feeding issue with a diode inline with the charge light.



And then a brain wave... Tdi filter housing is slightly too tight to fit in the cradle, but the JCB one...



Was made to fit, a 4l N/A diesel filter should probably flow enough air for the 4.6, physically the inlets and outlets are a lot beefier and surface area of the filter is significantly more than a Tdi one. An option to consider if I can find another housing. Bonnet scoop?

 

[sako243]

Well not a lot was achieved today between various things. I found the handbrake bracket did (just) about work with the PTO.



So a functioning handbrake tick. Then I loaded the 6x6 onto the trailer to take it down to CLH to get some steel and bolts sorted to lift the bed up 10mm. It was easier to take it down there rather than go down with a list and forget things.

I also made a start on the seat belt anchor straps to the chassis.



Then while putting it in the workshop the steering went a bit tight then freed up. Took a look, **** that's the drivers side wing wiring loom knackered then. I hadn't attached it yet but tucked it out the way, it must have shaken loose on the trailer and wrapped itself around the steering column.

 

[sako243]

Eventually I got back to this, this morning was spent looking after a pack of dogs (6 Labradors and a Trwchus) as Mum was away for the morning and she's been looking after two more in addition to her two. I spent the morning battling annoying software (I bought a cheap yellow display as its known, basically an ESP32 and 2.8" screen to attach to the ECU to provide some real-time stats, and importantly coolant temp). What was meant to be quick and dirty eventually got something compiling but was taking 20 minutes to recompile something simple in the Arduino IDE

. Gave up on that as its frankly atrocious and unworkable, tried out PlatformIO and after a morning battling stupid errors eventually got that compiling and significantly faster than Arduino so I can lash together a little supplementary dash.

Onto actual productive stuff...

Seat belt straps done. Not the easiest to weld with a silencer in the way but they're on there.



Little packer plates drilled and installed to lift up the front of the bed by 10mm.



A similar but much larger (100x10x1540mm) packer plate drilled and installed under the rear of the bed.

I forgot, then remembered how the bed got bolted down, basically just a little awkward. I picked up new hardware but then remembered the front had long bolts through the box section. Thankfully by jamming a chisel between the packers I was able to lift it just enough to knock the bolts in from underneath (seat belt straps conveniently got in the way) as well.



And we have some clearance to the pump (it is a little bigger than it looks).



I think I'll take a look at persuading a Tdi filter housing into the engine bay next as that's the only significant "unknown" left.

 

[sako243]

Keen to finish up the back end I got distracted. First off number plate with some self tappers, two of the holes lined up with the previous offset position and a drill quickly sorted the third.



Then some lights



Then when I should have been starting supper I got distracted again but sorted out a better fuel filler arrangement with a Series 3 pipe and a bit of the old reducer to pack it out. I'll try and find a better pipe in the future but this works for now. Temporary bracket out of aluminium that shouldn't be named...

 

[sako243]

This mornings goal was to have the brake cylinder with a broken bleed nipple swapped over before I had a visitor. That didn't happen but swapped a middle axle cylinder and one of the front ones which turned out to be leaking badly (I couldn't undo that bleed nipple in situ).

Then a moment of joy - the Tdi filter housing does fit.



What I tried I think was the end cap which is a few mm larger. So that's an air filter sorted and you'll also note a correctly installed inlet air temp sensor courtesy of my visitor @Bowie69 who I can't thank enough for spending a day of his holiday here, it was meant to be tuning but alas that didn't really happen...



There was a lot of oily smoke and all 8 spark plugs were oily. Remembering I'd had a pig of a job fitting the valley gasket we whipped off the plenum and found indications it wasn't seated correctly at the bottom. So plenty of RTV later and about an hour of the pair of us working the vehicle was back running. Slight oddity in that the charge light wasn't working and Pete made the same mistake I did and out feed and return fuel lines the wrong way around.

Hmm...



So summary is it idles nicely after Pete adjusted the idle bypass screw thingy ma bob, idle control valve is misbehaving, at idle the smoke clears up but the moment you rev it it starts again.

Checking oil level it seems to be burning it and across all 8 cylinders. All 8 are firing (verified by each exhaust port getting hot). When I compression checked prior to the heads being done the 7 that had functioning valves were all good.

There is almost no blowby out of the rocker cover which indicates the compression rings at least are good. It seems unlikely that all 8 oil control rings have gone but not implausible.

Currently up the list of possibilities are worn rocker and valve stem oil seals (which were replaced with decent ones when they were rebuilt). Tomorrow I'll see if I can check those as they can be done in situ without heads coming off. Otherwise it seems bottom end is the only option left.

.

It idles nicely, sounds nice and is quite responsive (were Pete's words) so it's annoying to say the least.

 

[Wildefalcon]

Very annoying.

 

[RWD3M]

Any news?

 

[sako243]

Ah sorry, we got slightly busy / distracted. Short(er) version I decided with all the extras and sundries needed for Sandy on top of sorting out the oiling it wasn't going to go to Scotland.

A friend has agreed to lend me a 300Tdi to go into the 110 as that had made a horrible metallic screeching noise when I last drove it. So I pulled the engine out then found a kaput clutch bearing. Ah that'll be it then. New clutch and bearing in, Mrs was happy as it was a 110 one not a 130 HD so much lighter. Put engine back in, started up 20s later rattle came back . Found the "oil slinger" on the back of the crank pulley had come off, so pulley off and new one pressed on. Loaded up and set off to Scotland on a Wednesday. Made it 60 miles to Beulah when my freshly fitted low coolant sensor triggered. Pulled over, coolant ******* out of heater hose past tight jubilee clip. That'll be the head gasket then .

Limped her back home, had a new gasket, took the head up to @GRW so that I could check for flatness. Less than 2 thou warp in one corner, sod it, new gasket, new head bolts and send it. Found out afterwards 4 thou is tolerance before LR say scrap the head (they don't suggest skimming but plenty do). Just over 2000 miles later and we're back home with only a minor weep from P gasket between water pump and block. Suspect the head gasket going and pressurising the coolant found and weak spots and those are notorious on 300s for being a bastwerd to seal.

Had a chat with @GRWs boss and going to pull the block and take it to them for checking and reconditioning. After the gasket saga I've decided to just get the engine 100% sorted.

Funnily enough Adam (boss) while we were away had a Merc V6 in with similar symptoms to the V8 (good compression but burning oil) cross hatching visible, 200k from new, one owner so known to have no work done to it. The oil rings had coaked up letting oil past so he's thinking the same thing has happened here. It was a "sight unseen / tested engine" when I got it and according to MOT history had 105k on it so we think it's unlikely to have had work done on it.

Busy for the next week or so but hopefully towards the end of next week I can find some time to pull the engine and strip it down and get it up to Hargreaves.

 

[sako243]

Some obligatory photos, shagged bearing and rear oil seal

Old engine going back in

Cause of all the kerfuffle with it.

New shelves welded up and pull out drawer made for the fridge

Kaput head gasket

Last track

Our last night wild camping on the north coast