Okierover

July 6, 2007May 15, 2023

November 25th, 2003 (Post #36)

November 25, 2003

Ordered the parts
Wow two updates in two days. Well I decided to order the parts after all. I ordered the tie-rod ends and the oxygen sensors.

Oxygen sensors. I looked at the rangerovers.net site and could not get any hits on the parts or part numbers they recommended there. I attempted to email one of the people there and I got a bounce so I went out on my own. I ended up on OXYGENSENSORS.COM It is actually automedicsupply.com. After seeing prices greater than $150US for the part I found it here for $79.90. Part number was 250-23880 it’s an NTK and I chose the universal one. I bought two. The online order process was good.

Then I went in search of tie-rod ends. I used the brand that was listed on Rangerovers.net.
I looked for Lemforder parts on a Google search. The search lead to this site Auto Parts OEM.
I looked for my truck’s parts through a sort of confusing menu system. The jist of it is this, after each selection it grays out until you click the “Search” button. With this discovery I continued to refine the search. I found the parts and that you need two of each for a complete replacement.

left hand thread M3010-43959 for 31.09 each. That’s 25 dollars off the list price.
right hand thread M3010-50620 for 30.21 each. That’s 26 dollars off the list price.

Those prices compared with the discounted prices that were on the Rangerovers.net site.
Well I was “pleased as Punch” to put it mildly with those prices. Then I actually tried to order them. Well that didn’t seem to be as easy as it looked. I tried a couple of different ways to register and gave up and called their help line (800) 661-8335. The young man registered me right on the phone asking the same questions as the form. I then went back to the site and “logged in” and completed my order.

Epilogue
What is up with the Rangerovers.net site. Well it’s been there quite a while and the information is hard to keep up to date. I will send them an email and let them know what I found. It’s the least I can do for relying on the site for so long.

Could I have gotten the parts cheaper?
Probably. I am kicking myself for not ordering the Oxygen Sensors when I first saw them listed for twenty something dollars a couple of years ago. It is supposedly the same part as a Nissan part with a bit of modification. There is still some modification but it seems to me that everyone got wise to the cheap price and adjusted their stocks. If you find them cheaper don’t gloat, but do send me an email and let me know. I would like to still know if those parts can be found cheaper and where.

A very good friend of mine had a wise saying recently when we were discussing the price of things. He is a doctor and works a crazy 60 plus hours a week. He has plenty of money but is still frugal which is a pleasant change from many and reflects well on his upbringing. The saying is this, “Whenever you can trade time for money, it is a good trade.” We are getting on to our 40s now and time is the only thing I can’t get more of. If I had researched a while longer and looked around a good bit better I may have found a cheaper part. But as you see I didn’t spend that much time on this and I still beat the “Dealer” price by a margin I am pleased with.

The next installment will be the installation of these parts. I’ll let you know how it goes.

July 6, 2007May 15, 2023

November 24th, 2003 (Post #35)

November 24, 2003
Updates
I could have told you cold weather was coming. As you will see the list of repairs for the Big White Bus has only grown right here before Christmas and the weather was beautiful the last two weeks. But alas no money in the pocket of this hapless Rover owner for repairs.

Well lots of things have been going on lets get them listed. I have reported the Error 34 and it’s cause, I am sure, is the oxygen sensors. So I consulted the site Rangerovers.net and am going to buy the sensors fairly soon. I am going to try the NGK equivilent parts at the reduced cost. I’ll let you know how that goes.

I also have to have new tie-rod ends. Those are obviously getting critical due some noticable
variations in my steering. This is a less exciting repair but again very important. As I don’t wish
to pay for two alignments I will probably order a bushing set also. With the addition of installing my new springs and shocks this will make for a very interesting Saturday I am sure.

I have a catalytic converter with a nasty rattle also. I will probably wait to do this as I am not sure I can afford to put that much out all at once. This is not so critical and I can stand the noise for a bit more.

A new leak in the power steering hoses near the steering box is going to be yet another adventure. I have learned a lot from the last time and will be more careful this time. I hope they will be able to be recrimped and if not I will have a new set made. This is a tiring annoyance and I don’t want to do this project again.

This morning I noticed a bit of anti-freeze on the drive way on the driver’s side of the truck. I was running late and not dressed for auto maintenance this morning so that will also wait ’til later. I can’t think of any good reason for the leak over there so I am a bit concerned.

As you can see dear friends the Big White Bus is showing it’s age. We intended to take her on a trip this fall to Denver but with all these things I decided not to risk the long drive. Sad as she would have been a more comfortable alternative to our Taurus. I have been contemplating a big rebuild but I don’t have a third car so that will also have to wait. My laziness and my financial situation have crept up on me and it shows due to the list above.

July 6, 2007May 15, 2023

October 13th, 2003 (Post #34)

October 13, 2003
Error 34
I have received some excellent advice regarding my Error 34. My fuel economy was 13.7 on my last fill up and that is unacceptable! I will first try to clean my injectors with a chemical fuel additive. I will add the additive this week and clear the code after I fill up. It is time for an oil change anyway and I will do that this weekend. I checked out the link from Kevin in the
forums about getting my injectors cleaned instead of replacing them.

Cruzin Performance is the link and that looks really cool. A new set of injectors will cost around $600. Where as Cruzin Performance will clean each injector for around $15 plus shipping. I need to check turnaround times and get my carpool buddy to drive until they return, if I choose that route. I wish I could go up there and watch them do the work.

July 6, 2007May 15, 2023

September 26th, 2003 (Post #34)

September 26, 2003
CV Joint Woes
Well the knocking in the front of the Big White Bus had gotten to the point I was afraid to drive it. With the insistance of my buddy JagGuy I endeavored to persevere. [I miss Chief Dan George] Anyway I went to Rover Cannibal after seeing the prices of a new CV joint on the internet. They had a lovely one in the color I wanted too, just kidding.

So I got that and the premeasured tube of grease and the inside seal. I actually did not replace it but I have it just in case. I went over on Sunday afternoon. It was not as horrible an ordeal as I expected. JagGuy had done his when it exploded and described a nasty job. When they explode or come apart they leave lots of schrapnel all inside the housing. This schrapnel has to be removed and is not a pleasant job. So when he was being insistant that I change it, he was speaking from the experience of a lengthly procedure, and he and I wanted to avoid that.

I (and he) could not get over how easy it was to change this vital part. In our experience
with the countless cars we had owned before this would have been a good reason to get rid of the vehicle. But this thing was amazingly simple and functional all in the same design. These trucks are tough and easy to work on. That is something you don’t see in most vehicles. I have a write up for this but need some pictures which JagGuy is going to provide from his project. My camera died two shots in to the job, dead batteries. So look for it later next month. On the
Difficulty Scale I would rate this job a Level Three. A few tricks are important to know
but nothing the manual probably doesn’t say.

Error 34
I track my gas mileage with a Palm Pilot. So each fill up is lottery of how great or terrible
my gas mileage is. I average 14.9 miles per gallon most fill ups. This last two weeks it has risen to 15.9 mpg and even a 16.1 mpg. Well with all good things there is some bad. The Check Engine light illuminated and a quick check under the passenger seat of the OBD readout shows Error 34. As you are or are not aware that is Injector Bank A, Left Side, still no help with the description.

I do not know which side that is but I will find out soon. I don’t have any idea
what the message means either. I will be doing some investigating of the fuel system and how it works this week I guess. I’m guessing with the gas mileage going up the truck is running leaner than it should. I also have a tappet rattle when I accelerate hard which might be fuel starvation. But again these are guesses. More as I get it.

July 6, 2007May 15, 2023

August 26th, 2003 (Post #33)

August 26, 2003
As I mentioned some time ago I picked up an exhaust from Rover Cannibal and had intended on installing it. To do this you may remember I would need a lift which I learned later a friend of mine has and was willing to be present to operate it and assist me with the exhaust. Since then I had surgery on my arm to remove a six inch plate and 12 screws that over the years had begun to give me some pain in the elbow when I used wrenches and picked up grocery sacks. But it is gone and life is good. There seems to be a rattle in one of the mufflers but I can live with it I think.

Cupholder Update
The heat of August was not conducive to me turning wood in the garage so the cup hold project is on hold. I have the cupholder in the truck and it works great. I have determined some ways to adjust the holder with small changes and am now working on the cellular phone holder. I find my cellular phone in the holder more often than a drink and believe a phone holder would be a good addition. I hope to turn some cups this Saturday before the football game (Go Sooners!).

Fuel Filter Change
I also swapped my fuel filter this last week. I was hoping to fix a starting issue that leaves me holding the key a little longer than I should to start the truck. You are supposed to remove a fuse that supposedly “depressurizes” the fuel line but had no luck learning which one you pull. I couldn’t remember from last time. So with the advice I got from Paul Davis on our Tech Board I just changed it. I would say about a cup of fuel came out when I disconnected it. As I suggested to Michael73 on the board with that much fuel coming out and getting on me make sure you change the filter when your neighbor, that chain smokes and thinks it’s cool that you “Do your own work”, is away fishing or eating at the “All you can eat catfish” place down the street. You don’t want him to cause you to burst into flames while trapped under your truck. Imagine what it will cost to have it repainted! Maybe that’s just what happens in my neighborhood, anyway change your filter, it can’t hurt unless you bang your knuckles using the wrench.

July 6, 2007May 15, 2023

July 8th, 2003 (Post #32)

July 8, 2003
As I stated in my last entry I had a nasty tick, tick, tick sound coming from under the hood.
Well I finally snuck out of my housework on Sunday to look at it. In between a load of laundry
and a messy bathroom I ventured out the laundry room door into the garage and out to the truck. I was not spotted in my slippery move to investigate the ticky sound. I crawled under the truck dragging my pony tail in some lovely filth and oil to find that I was 2 missing nuts on my driver’s side exhaust. So I got two more and tightened it back up and the noise is no more. I checked the passenger side of the engine and there was one missing over there. So I replaced the missing nut over there too.

If I had not been so lazy I could have gotten that fixed much sooner. I was so happy with myself
that when a friend came down to borrow a wrench just as I was finishing I went four doors down and helped him replace his waterpump on his GM Suburban. It was pretty easy after we got the fan off. This is his second waterpump in two years. My neighbor next door replaced his second water pump in two years also this last month. What is it with GM vehicles and bad water pumps?

Technical note. The Ditchfinder recommended that I get copper nuts for the exhaust instead of steel. Apparently Volkswagon uses copper to secure their exhaust and the copper nuts do not rust or corode (as much?). I asked him where I would find such things as I have never seen them in my lifetime. He is convinced they are readily available and very low cost. I think I will keep an eye out for them.