Day: July 6, 2007

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November 8th, 2002 (Post #11)

November 8, 2002

Okay the very frustrating “bouncing lock” problem has gone away.

What did you do to fix it, you might ask?

This is complicated so try to stay with me. I took my son to skating last night when I got out of the truck, I hit the key fob with a confident “lock you sorry, @#$%%#” and it did! So I was thinking what have I changed?

Okay yesterday on the way home the sensor for fluid level in the expansion tank
blinked that I was low once again on coolant. I had determined last Saturday that the coolant measured 10 degrees farenheit on the “how cold can you go” antifreeze checker. That is not good enough for the climate that is coming with the Oklahoma winter so I must add more antifreeze. I stopped and got more antifreeze and added it. There is obviously a relation to the antifreeze level in the tank and it’s ability to withstand temperatures below 10 degrees farenheit and the bouncing lock problem.

Not many mechanics have the expertise to find such an obscure relationship. I now consider myself a member of the Rover mechanic elite. It’s either the fluid level/temperature tolerance OR it has been dry, as in no rain, for 4 days now. I’m pretty sure it’s one of those two things or that Rover uses antifreeze as electric locking fluid and I was just low. There is an outside chance it could be pixies or perhaps gremlins too.

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November 1st, 2002 (Post #9)

November 1, 2002
I am still hoping to see the sun soon. The “bouncing lock” problem is still there. I can lock the truck with the key and then activate the alarm, no problem. But if I hit the key fob the locks lock and then unlock.
I was reading on All Data Do It Yourself about the door locks and how they work. I have learned two things since I purchased this Land Rover. Mayotte‘s chief export is ylang-ylang, and Land Rover’s have notoriously poor ground connections. So in reading when I come across a reference to “ground” it’s a safe bet that is your problem. You should fix that first. If it doesn’t fix the problem, it’s probably a component at that point. So how to fix the ground? I have not identified the location of all the components of the locking system. So until I do I am probably on the two step procedure to lock my truck.

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October 21st, 2002 (Post #8)

October 21, 2002

After the rain and dreariness of Saturday gave way to sun and pleasant temperatures I declared Sunday as “Auto Maintenance Day” (echo reverb). I cleaned up the wife’s minivan and put some air in her low tire and an oil change. I also took the opportunity to change the Rover’s oil and check the fluids.

Oil change went off without any problems. The Rover was a pint low on transmission fluid. Bought a really cool fluid funnel and hose for that. But while I was under I noticed the tell-tale signs of another failing fitting on the power steering hoses. I have more of the red juice leaking under the steering box and several hoses are wet and dripping. The last time I saw this it was a split hose. When the Rover was just sitting there no major leak but when you turned the wheel, Niagara Falls. I buggered the fittings up pretty bad getting the offending hose off and had to get a new/used one from Rover Cannibal. My original plan was to remove the hose and have the fittings recrimped. JagGuy and someone else told me that was the way to go. But as it was really messed up getting another was the only option. After I butchered the fittings I attempted to have one made. This was a nightmare. In most cases this is the cheap and convienient way to get a new hose. You can also get the groovy braided lines which I am way keen on. Well the Britishness of the fittings left me with no option but to put an original Rover part back on. Braided hose disappointment.

I didn’t look too much further as my time and funds this month are limited (new carpet and tile). But probably tonight I will have RovErica turn the wheel as I watch the life blood of the power steering system leak out on to the driveway.

Clean up tip of the week (echo reverb)

I used some laundry detergent to clean up my oil spills after the oil change. Just spread some out and let it set for a little bit. Then with a broom brush it around. Sweep up the majority and wash the rest “harmlessly” down the gutter.

Sorry for the echo reverb it’s a new special effect and I am gonna use it until I wear it out.

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October 10th, 2002 (Post #7)

October 10, 2002
Well, leave it to Lucas to give you fits when you least expect it. I was at the Home Depot (no I don’t live there) last night and when I pressed the key fob to lock the doors I heard the locks lock, the single honk, the lights flashed and then I heard the lock, unlock. I said “What the…” and pressed it again. I got the double honk unlock sound but no lock sound. So I walked back over to the truck and pressed it again. Again it unlocked after it locked. It did this again today at lunch. You can engage the locks manually with the key, so I did. If you are not aware of it, your truck will unlock the locks if you press your key fob when one of the doors is open. Thus preventing you from locking your keys in the car. So I’m guessing one of the sensors for this is failing. But with the Seattle-like mist wet of the past three days I am guessing this is a “wet somewhere problem”. Where to look I don’t know.
More on this if I find the culprit.

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October 4th, 2002 (Post #6)


 October 4, 2002
One of my fog lamps has a broken bracket. I noticed it just siting in the cowling not attached. I cut it loose and will have to get a new bracket to hold it in the cowling. I am going to get new head lights too. The stock lamps that are there now are terrible. My Hella 500s are awesome and when you compare the great light they cast and the light from the head lamps there is much room for improvement. I may try to get my Germany connection to send me some Hella Vision Plus head lamps. They are usually quite a bit less than the catalog prices.

I had a great discussion with The Ditchfinder about brake fluid yesterday. He said it should be changed every two years. I have never in my life changed brake fluid in any car or truck. My dad had some great rules to life when he was alive. “If it works don’t fix it.”, is one I know many of you have heard. My brakes work, but I know my truck with 116k miles has never had fresh brake fluid. So I may have him come over for some Pernod and have him help me change the fluid. He claims it is a 20 minute two man job. We shall see.
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September 21-22nd, 2002 (Post #5)


 September 21-22, 2002

Time to swap the nasty old pads with the new. Not too many tools necessary for this project. Needle nose pliars, flat head screwdriver, wheel chock (two each), jack stand, crate (milk, metal, one each) jack (hydraulic, one each), assistant (female, young, one each). For the assistant I employed my handy-dandy super-bestest daughter RovErica (11 years). She knows just enough to fetch stuff if I tell her where it is. She will primarily fetch drinks for dear ole dad and turn the water on and off
between each wheel for this project.

Erica fetched the jack stand and the milk crate. The milk crate is an often under appreciated item when working in the wheel area of the Rangie. I sit on it so I don’t have to stoop. Got the jack stand under the truck and put the wheel chocks in place. I broke the lug nuts loose with the tire still down. I proceeded to jack the truck up and set the stand in place for safety purposes. With the wheel off I used the garden hose to knock some of the brake dust loose. Maybe a power washer would have been very usable right now. Use number three for a power washer. (#1 clean paint off house, #2 clean cars)

I noticed that there is not a pad wear sensor on the left front. So I will for go putting that on for that side. I will have to look again to make sure the wiring is not really there. I removed the cotter pins from the keeper shafts (names may vary). Pulled out shafts and inspected the pads. Yes quite worn. I took the cap off of the brake fluid reservoir. This is to allow the fluid in the cylinders to flow back up.
I checked this with a few before. I got two major responses, bleed fluid and push fluid back. I don’t like opening my brake system at all so I went with the push fluid back method.

I inserted the flat head screwdriver into a convienient place to push the pad away from the disk to make way for the new very much thicker pads. You have to becareful here. There are two cylinders and I was careful to press them back together a little at a time. I took out the old pads and inserted the new pads. I put the new keeper shafts and retainer coil springs back in and secured them with the new cotter pins. Simple. Wash, rinse, repeat.

The back pads are slightly different. They are held in place with a very large cotter pin instead of a keeper shaft like in front and the anti-rattle spring is different. The back took only 15 minutes to complete both sides. It took longer to jack up the vehicle.

I rate this job a 1 on the 5 point difficulty scale.
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