Category: Mrs. OkieRover

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CAN IT GET ANY LOUDER IN HERE? (Post #284) 2/17/2012

I’ve reported a rattle coming from beneath the Range Rover before. This rattle seemed to get worse every time I drove her the past couple of weeks. We had what will qualify for “potential bad weather” early this week. Depending on the weather channel you watched we were either going to “all die from ice, freezing rain, and snow” OR “we would get a possible couple of inches of snow”. I chose to believe the latter and that’s exactly what we got.

To make sure I made it to AND from work that day I filled up the Range Rover with petrol on Sunday. Monday morning I drove her to work on the snow day that wasn’t. It started snowing before midnight on Sunday and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a snow day on Monday. The University of Oklahoma announced they were opening at 10:00am so there was a slight chance of work interruption.

The weather was no challenge until Tuesday gave us some lovely freezing fog for the morning drive in.

I couldn’t find video for this image of the freezing fog. This is basically a picture of downtown OKC. It is of the top 15 floors or so of the 50 story Devon Tower extending above frozen fog bank engulfing the city.

Back to the muffler…I planned to drive the Range Rover in on Monday. If the weather hit us unexpectedly as it is known to do here in the central plains, I was confident I could get home. By Monday at lunch the rattling had become mostly unbearable. And by the time I got the Range Rover headed back to the office after lunch it was down right critically bad. So when I got back to the office, I knelt down on the wet pavement and snapped this picture of the failed muffler.

She was cracked nearly completely in half. The outer skin was very thin and the inner skin was also failing. The flaps of light steel were vibrating constantly and was making at least 110 decibels in the cab. Mrs. OkieRover was not happy at having to ride in her on the Sunday when it was just loud at certain RPMs.

This had to be fixed. When work ended Monday I turned north to N.E. 50th and Lincoln Boulevard and stopped at Discount Muffler. They have been in this neighborhood for as long as I can remember. I told them the problem they had me pull her in and quoted me 157$(US) for a new muffler and to fix the broken hanger in the rear. I said, “Do it.”

Driving her home after that was like driving a different vehicle. Unbelievable how much quieter she was with a new muffler. I could even hear the ABS pump running.

I drove her on Tuesday as well for good measure. I even snapped this picture from the inside of Neptune’s Submarine Sandwiches on North Classen Boulevard (this is the only location left of the once proud chain).

Their bread is to die for. The ladies behind the counter were kidding me during my visit. Before I arrived one of them must have exclaimed, “He always gets the special.” And when I ordered, she turned to the other and said, “See, I told you.” They then asked if I always get the special. I said, “No, I don’t get the tuna fish, I can’t afford the calories from the mayonnaise.” The owner then stopped and said, “So do you want the mayo on your turkey sandwich?” Their mayo is actually salad dressing. Like the salad dressing you would get in an old style school cafeteria. It really works with their bread. I told him, “Oh yeah, I love that stuff.” They laughed. I added, “My double standards go both ways.”

The number of wrecks Tuesday morning was ridiculous. My morning commute was doubled to 55 minutes. Tuesday night I found myself sitting in the Grand Reading Room in the Bizzel Memorial Library at the University of Oklahoma, studying for my Leadership class. It is still my favorite room in the entire university.

Next up for the Range Rover is getting the windshield seal sorted out. I’d like to get floor mats and sound deaden-er installed. After that I can start sorting out a new sound system. I love the sound of the Range Rover humming down the highway…but I’d love to have some tunes too. Perhaps a Bluetooth unit so I can have some Reverend Horton Heat Radio from Pandora blasting as I roll down the lonesome highway.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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That’s not supposed to happen (Post #280) 1/4/2012

QUICK! Name three things you didn’t expect to happen when you got home today.
Was one of them “finding a puddle of brake fluid in your driveway?”
No?
Me neither.

This is what I came home to today.

You will remember in my last post that we had a brake rotor we thought was warped. On first inspection of it, I didn’t see anything like that but the evidence (sound and peddle surging) was there.

My son, Diet Mt. Drew, called today and asked to drive the Range Rover to lunch. He first asked, via text, if it was “safe” and “reliable” enough to drive. THE NERVE! He had to ask to drive my Range Rover because his Scion xB was in the shop. It was in the shop because he hit a curb in front of the Cleveland County Fairgrounds while traveling 40 MPH. Yes, a cell phone was involved. Yes he bent the lower “A” Frame, destroyed two rims…etc… but I digress.

In any event…he drove the Classic today. I did not expect the brake caliper to fail with him at the wheel, but apparently it did. He reported all this to his mother, the noted blogging mechanic in the family  “that he had severe braking issues” while driving her today.
Did anyone call me or notify me by text?

I’ve rebuilt that caliper at least once. So today I ordered a couple of re-manufactured brake calipers. They were half the price of new and free shipping, so I bought one for each side on the rear. No core return, so I can rebuild my old and tired ones again and have a spare….just in case Diet Mt. Drew drives to lunch again. (wink, wink)

If you remember the last major brake restore (I keep referring to these previous posts like you all are AVID readers) I swapped brake hoses and ground off all the rust (theoretically) and re-sprayed the brake calipers with some acid-etching primer. It was kind of silly because brake fluid is a paint solvent. But I felt obligated.

When I had them apart I noticed a lot of rust. Especially inside the caliper. I even took a picture of the rusty bleed screw, see below. The picture doesn’t show it very well but it was pitted with rust.

When I did that project, it was determined that I had a bad proportioning valve. I vaguely remember replacing it. But quite honestly if I hadn’t seen the picture labeled “Valve that failed” I wouldn’t have remember it.

It is likely that these old tattered calipers are past their prime. I’m a bit surprised with only 191,000 miles on them. (okay I’m not really all that surprised).

I’ll let you know how the replacements go and whether or not I’d recommend the company as a source for parts for your Range Rover.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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Happy New Year, Whoa! (Post #279) 1/2/2012

I say whoa because here in the middle states “whoa” is the command you give a horse to slow down or stop depending on the pull of the reigns. “Whoa” is also what goes through your head when you press on the brakes in your Range Rover and they surge like you have a warped brake disc.

I put those discs on just this summer. They haven’t had a thousand miles on them yet and that’s pretty disappointing. I’m going to remove them and have them machined down. Its a job I can’t get to right now as my garage is not yet reclaimed from all the stuff that didn’t make it into the garage sale after mom’s funeral.

I also need to adjust the upper rear lift gate. It has a nasty habit of popping open when the body flexes as when we go over the rail road tracks on Robinson street or over a water erosion formation out in the pasture. I think I can back it out just a bit and not try for such a tight fit.

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather on New Year’s Eve it was a very unseasonable 70F, we planned to go shooting. RovErica’s boyfriend is home on leave from serving in the U.S. Marine Corps water taxi service. In actuality, he serves aboard the USS Guardian. And from the picture you can surmise he’s stationed in Japan, as that is Mount Fujiyama in the background.

Our gracious host has some very nice weapons and we took full advantage of the fun provided by shooting some of the classic weapons of the greatest generation. We shot a Thompson, BAR, and some other toys that I brought.

RovErica is my only child who enjoys the shooting sports. She especially likes to shoot the M-1 Garand but she only shoots it a few times before she is done. I made her shoot it “one more time” so I could get some video. Before you beat up on me for being mean to her during the video she is tougher than she might look. And don’t worry Momma was there so I couldn’t be too mean to her without feeling her wrath.

Chris brought his little brother and together the put on a pretty good display of shooting for rookies. I was quoted at one point as saying to Chris, “You shoot pretty good for a squid.” He actually does shoot well and put on a display with the BAR by pushing the rubber target up the berm.

RovErica really likes shooting my .22 revolver. She asked me to leave it to her in my will. I’m pretty sure the other kids will give her all the guns. That might change if any of my grand kids like shooting with their PawPaw. We shall see.

We finished off the New Year’s Eve activities by having our friends the Fisher’s over. We do this nearly every year. Neither of us have to be out or driving we live just 3 houses away. They brought a new game this year. Name 5 is pretty fun. The gist of it was you draw a card and it has subjects on it and you have to name five of what ever the subject is.
Name five college sports teams.
Easy right? A couple we found fun were name five kinds of house plants. Being that we don’t have green thumbs we couldn’t come up with five. The other team can challenge your answers and if it is deemed not a acceptable answer you lose. On the house plants my wife answered Marijuana. Between Mrs. OkieRover and I we could name 6 people from our past that grew that in their home. Hell, my brother grew it in his closet at my mom and dad’s home when we were growing up. It was deem unacceptable and so we lost that round.

It seemed when the other team would get name five colors, we would get name five Ethiopian Nobel Prize candidates from the first half of the 20th century. Or they would get name five letters in the alphabet, and we would get name five Popes from the Middle Ages who weren’t born in Italy. It a pretty good time. We finished up with some Wii Archery, Bowling, and Fencing Speed Slicing. Good times.

As I watch Mrs. OkieRover put away the Christmas decorations and the Dallas Cowboys getting thumped by the New York Football Giants I wish you all a Happy New Year. Let’s have a really good one this year and let it be full of awesomeness.

As far as resolutions…eh, I have decided to get into better shape. My man boobs have grown to B cup size and that’s just not acceptable. The weight loss I have enjoyed has slipped around 15 pounds. I need to get it back off.
Name five exercises that will get you back into shape if you just do them.
Name five projects the Range Rover needs done so I can get her out on some four wheeling trips this Spring.

Thanks for reading, Happy New Year, and Happy Rovering.

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Happy Thanksgiving (Post #274) 11/24/2011

Happy Thanksgiving.
As we all take a break from our hectic lives and give thanks on this Thanksgiving I thought I’d share some things I’m thankful for….
…my loving wife MrsOkieRover.
…my three healthy children, DietMtDrew, RovErica, Leci-bug.
…my two healthy grand children.
…a good job and a comfortable living.
I am also thankful I am not
…a Lucas Electrical Engineer, its hot enough for me in Oklahoma.
…a Land Rover mechanic for a living, my life doesn’t make sense most of the time as it is.

I am most thankful for the men and women who have served in uniform and given everything so that I can live this life.

Thanks for reading, Happy Rovering and Happy Thanksgiving.

This is why I cook my turkey in the oven.

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The Perfect Wife (Post #225) 12/1/2010

I know I read this line somewhere but I can’t find the reference.

Its a rare thing and when you find it, you should grab it with both hands and hold on to it.

Maybe its a paraphrase of something I heard in my youth. I found some lyrics to a song by Outkast that come close. Some where around the 3:20 mark you’ll hear the prophetic lines…

So if you find one, I beg you, hold her tight
If you spot one, good sir, treat her right

Some of the comments on the video are funny.

Kinda old song, but I like it and i feel a lot of people need to hear it.  – dh2130, June 28, 2008

According to Wikipedia the album was released September 23, 2003.
Kinda old? 
That’s funny. But dh2130 is right, a lot of people do need to hear this.

You will encounter things your entire life that will hopefully fit in to this “hold on to it philosophy”. It could be a Camel Trophy vehicle, it could be a classic motorcycle, it could be a rare photograph or painting that really speaks to you. And it could be a lady.

I got the following text from my good friend JagGuy today…

So I’m laying in bed with my wife last night and she said to me the most wonderful thing,
“I think you should buy some more army trucks.”
I love my wife!!!!!

My best friend has been working on a new venture and he enjoys the work and turns out a product people really want. It would seem at first that his wife is happy with it and he should do more of it. How awesome is that?

My response to him was skeptical, mostly because I know his wife. In general I would say I “know” most people’s wives…

Is this after you gave her the Tiffany tennis bracelet?

It turns out I was close, this was actually in response to him selling another of his Bobbed Dueces. I’m pretty sure JagGuy is going to hold on to Mrs. JagGuy, as you can tell above, she’s a keeper.

But what if this was due to the fact that they both had a hobby they enjoyed….together? 

They may have a hobby they do together, I don’t know. But that quote got me thinking. Besides the obvious hobby couples share and usually both enjoy, only a few of my friends have hobbies their wives enjoy with them. A quick survey of my closest circle of friends produces only a few things some of the couples have in common. Kids, sports, grand kids, movies…kinda bleak.

I know my hobbies. Let’s see if any of them line up with Mrs. OkieRover…
Land Rovers?…not a hobby of my wife.
Living History?…again not a hobby of my wife.
Firearms?...nope.
Soccer?…not a chance.
Camping…not YET a hobby of my wife. I hope to change this in the coming year.

We both love to go on road trips.
We both love staying away from home.

Now all I have to do is combine road trip with staying away from home in a tent and BOOM we have a hobby together. I think I can add bird watching and swimming in the ocean to the package and sweeten the deal. Mrs. OkieRover doesn’t do cold weather.

See when you have a woman, like Mrs. OkieRover, you hold on to her. She has put up with a lot of my crap over the years. She has allowed me to have hobbies and spend time doing stuff I LIKE for 20 years. We played competitive softball for a few years together, but our bodies have not allowed softball since we gave it up to watch our kids play sports.

We are just a few short years from being what is known as “empty-nesters”. Our nest, which we have built over the last 20 plus years is going to be a few bodies short in just a few years. And until now, we haven’t thought much about it. But with only teenagers in the house the last few years we have been able to steal away a few trips. And we like it.

Our future is coming at us faster than a K5 Blazer without brakes on the Lion’s Back in Moab.

Now we are looking at have what might appear to be years and years of time to entertain ourselves. We have got to find something we both like to do…together… other than play backgammon. We need to find something to do away  from the house….together.

The obvious is travel.
Lots of couples travel together.
I have a Land Rover. Hey! you can travel in a Land Rover, I’ve seen it.
My wife has a … ummm, uh, a love for my company! Yeah! Well most of the time anyway.

My wife loves my cooking, for the most part.
I love the way she moves her mouth when she eats.
See we are perfect for each other! Perhaps we can enjoy cooking and eating in the wilderness together.

Cooking is a very popular activity in the off-roading magazines. It seems lots of foodies love off-roading. Expedition Exchange used to have the Iron Chef Showdown. Teams would compete by cooking a gourmet meal. We are not gourmet meal people but we both enjoy a nice steak and a baked potato. I know I’ll enjoy cooking us some nice dinners while we are camping.

Or perhaps we can get the grand kids and take them camping and fishing. Maybe we can throw in some board games and some swimming or surfing, maybe some star gazing and some bird watching and make a good time of it. I’m sure the grand kids will love it…at least they will until it begins to interrupt what ever hand held gaming system they will own and what ever cell phones are like in the future.

The possibilities are endless. Well, not endless per se. We just have to find something and try it. I’ll have to have patience as we work out what we like to do together and Mrs. OkieRover will have to adjust to not having a roof over her head and waking up in a hotel every morning.

I can’t wait to see what the future will be like. I hope it is filled with lots of mornings waking up in some remote place and spending lots of time together.

Like my quote above, I’m going to put her in the Range Rover and hold on to her with both hands. Wait, she usually fusses at me when I don’t drive with both hands. She always says something like, “I can’t believe you are driving with your knees and eating a cheeseburger.” Okay maybe I’ll hold her with just one hand, I’ll use the other to steer.

As the famous Geritol commercial from the 1970s says, “My wife, I think I’ll keep her.”
I wish I could have found that clip online…and you thought the internet had everything.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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Fluid Guidance (Post #224) 11/29/2010

As most of you are aware, your Range Rover has a power steering system. How are you aware? You are aware because of the puddle of power steering fluid you have under the front of your Range Rover. If you don’t have a leak in the power steering system, YOU WILL.

I have had one kind of leak or another in the power steering system since I purchased her in Summer of 2000. I have replaced a hose or two in the vain hope I was finding the problem. Eventually you give up mostly because your daily driver can’t go without having hoses up there. And what’s a little fluid leak if you can keep up with it with the occasional refilling of the reservoir.

Well eventually you will move into a new house and that leak staining the driveway will upset your spouse. Mrs. OkieRover asked me what that dark spot was under the Range Rover. I was embarrassed to tell her, “that was there when we bought the place. Damn that builder!” So was not amused at my quip.

This brings me to this round of restoration and my mission to fix ALL the leaks this time. I was sure I had a bad hose or failed hose. When you look at most of the hoses in this system you are likely to see some protective wrap. That wrap is all fine and good and I’m sure it has a good purpose. I’m not sure what the purpose is…but it is excellent at hiding the location of a leak.

I started the project by removing the power steering reservoir and the air filter assembly. They are in the way for the most part when you are trying to get to the hose connections. They are easy to remove and will make your life easier on this job.

You are going to remove four hoses. Two connect to the power steering pump. And two additional hoses that are connected to each other and labeled pump to box. Why they needed two hoses to connect to each other instead of just one hose is a question perhaps only an engineer could answer. But since they all died from liver failure from the booze they drank while designing this vehicle we may never know.

There are two low pressure hoses. They are low pressure because they are held in place by a hose clamp. If they had metal fittings on each ends you would know they were high pressure hoses.

I’m going to replace both of these hoses. The one with out any pressure fittings is just a rubber hose. Rubber hoses are prone to failure as you already know. Rubber hoses have been failing ever since they were put on the first cars in the 20th century. Land Rovers are no different.

This is a picture of the top of the power steering box. It shows where the hoses connect to the box.

It lower hose is the one I have a crack in. This crack was hidden by the protective wrap I talked about before. With the wrap in place the leaking fluid covered the entire hose and dripped from every separation. This made the entire area underneath wet with power steering fluid which contributed to the mystery of the leak. I have to note here that a pressure fitting on the side of the pump was also loose. I’m not sure how it got that way or if any fluid was leaking from it. But it was interesting to mention.

When the hose was in its installed relaxed position the crack was closed which led to weeping of fluid and not an active dripping. With the hose covered with protective material, it would not have dripped anyway.

So I got online and ordered one from Atlantic British. I also ordered a few other items but did not get to the free shipping special. I couldn’t justify buying 60$(US) more stuff to save 12$(US) in shipping.
On the list was…

  • dome light covers
  • tailgate handle finisher – lower
  • dust caps for the front axle
  • some seemingly hard to find bulbs
  • a pair of mud flaps
  • windshield seal
  • the bad power steering hose

There may have been one or two more items but I couldn’t remember them. When the get it all in I’ll reassemble the steering system and take the Range Rover down for a hot wash of the area that was formerly wet with power steering fluid and then another check for leaks. I’m confident I have found all the leaks but you can never really know for sure. When you have a British automobile you either have a leak or you are out of fluid. There is no in between.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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