Today I was able to get the 81000 mile oil change done. It was uneventful as always. I did have to get some oil and a filter from O’Reilly’s as I didn’t have enough. Got the Wix filter and another 4 quarts of Castrol 20w50.
As I was under the Disco I noticed that I’m loosing what can only be transfer case oil. This might explain the recent noise coming from that unit. So I guess next weekend I’ll be getting some additional synthetic transfer case oil and once again getting it filled up.
I also installed the new oxygen sensors. It was also an easy job. No major snags. You can read about that here.
And some additional good news…Janie got a 100% on her ACLS test this weekend. So a hard week of studying and cloistering herself in the bedroom and tying up my computer studying paid off. Good work dear.
No Oil Change for Jooooooo!!! (Post #92) 6/6/2008
On the way home Saturday night I passed a Discovery 1 on the side of the I-35 in Moore. I wanted to zip back and check it out see it I could help but I had to get my son to his engagement for the evening. My very understanding wife allowed me to zip back up the interstate and see if he was still there. He was, and I stopped and asked if I could help him out. He was from Texas and as his window stickers told me it was south Texas.
As I got there the wrecker he had called through his AAA membership was just finishing getting him up on wheels. He told me it over heated, as you know is common for Land Rovers. I didn’t argue with him. He asked me, “who does the work on your Rover,”
“Well, I do.” I confidently told him.
So I asked if I could give him a ride somewhere and when he declined I was off. About 4 miles down the road I figured out what he had just asked me. He wanted to know a shop in the area he could get his Rover confidently worked on. So in my pride and arrogance I missed an opportunity to direct him to Charlie Blankenship at Sports and Classics just 10 miles down the highway. Who knows where that wrecker took him for repairs.
So with that, whoever you are out there I hope you got back on the road and I apologize for misinterpreting your question and in doing so failed to offer you the help you needed.
Sunday, I settled in to the garage today for some easy time after my son’s basketball tournament. They won one, lost two. Not bad for a team whose first goal is everyone getting each player the same amount of playing time. He had a good weekend considering the rust he has built up due to his lack of playing time for the past year and some change.
So I set in to change the oil in the Discovery. I got the bonnet open, got the oil wrench out, I retrieved the oil drain pan and donned my rubber gloves. Then I discovered I didn’t have enough 20w50 to do the change and I didn’t have an oil filter on hand. That was disappointing. So I sat and debated about going to the store and picking up some oil and a filter and decided….I’d rather drink beer. So I had a few brews and a cigar and managed to get myself quite toasted.
So the oil change that wasn’t to be will have to be on another weekend. I did manage to cut out some air filter material and replace the air vents under the hood while I listened to KGOU and my friend’s Blues radio show. Hard Luck Jim does a great job mixing up (we used to call it spinning) a superb blues show every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
Well, thats all for now, thanks for reading and happy rovering.
October 11th, 2006 (Post #65)
October 11th, 2006
I’m working on the new webpage design. I hope to start converting the other
pages to the new format in the next few weeks.
Changed the oil in the Discovery II for the first time. Went with Castrol 10w40 and
a Wix Gold filter. It’s the brand I use on the Rangie and gonna stick with it. When
I got under the front end and noticed the placement I was disappointed. There is a
plastic shield under there. Most likely a cooling thing but it might be a stone shield.
I’ve got some feelers out on that. But there is a little access panel to get to the filter.
And I can’t see how you get the oil and filter out without getting oil on the shield.
When I went to take the filter off it is not on hand tight like on the Rangie. It
required an oil filter wrench and some serious turning.
a Wix Gold filter. It’s the brand I use on the Rangie and gonna stick with it. When
I got under the front end and noticed the placement I was disappointed. There is a
plastic shield under there. Most likely a cooling thing but it might be a stone shield.
I’ve got some feelers out on that. But there is a little access panel to get to the filter.
And I can’t see how you get the oil and filter out without getting oil on the shield.
When I went to take the filter off it is not on hand tight like on the Rangie. It
required an oil filter wrench and some serious turning.
I got it off and oil all over the bits under there. Again disappointing. I decided
that I was going to put that filter on hand tight and make it easier to remove later.
that I was going to put that filter on hand tight and make it easier to remove later.
I got all the oil in and when I was ready to drive I heard the access panel slide under
the Disco and I immediately remembered that I had forgotten to secure it. Good thing too.
Oil was coming out from around the filter like mad. Seems it needed the wrench tightening
I was unwilling to give.
the Disco and I immediately remembered that I had forgotten to secure it. Good thing too.
Oil was coming out from around the filter like mad. Seems it needed the wrench tightening
I was unwilling to give.
So changing the oil on the Disco is not going to be as easy as on the Rangie.
Time to start on the Rangie
I need to start working on the Rangie. As you have no doubt read below there is a huge
list of projects to get her ready for RovErica to drive. She started Driver’s Education this
past week. I’ll get some parts heading this way soon.
I need to start working on the Rangie. As you have no doubt read below there is a huge
list of projects to get her ready for RovErica to drive. She started Driver’s Education this
past week. I’ll get some parts heading this way soon.
November 9th, 2004 (Post #54)
November 9th, 2004
Head liner, oil change, noisy lifters, head gasket failure, leaking seal, console back in
The hur-rah for good weather seems to have been this weekend. It was perfect weather on Sunday so I took advantage to wrap up a few jobs.
Headliner
The head liner on the moon roof/sun roof cover came off today. I decided to close it before I got to work and it fell right off. I managed this summer to get it wet when I forgot to close the sun roof. As usual one of the very frequent rain showers broke out and got it really wet. That was it I guess and it decided to come off today. So I guess it’s time to revisit the liner project and try to match with the liner I replace sometime ago. Which means taking it all out AGAIN!
Lifters noisy, change oil
I have been noticing for a few thousand miles that I have a very noisy engine sound. I couldn’t decide whether it was an exhaust leak again or if a valve was sticking or if I was having some other engine related problem. It is time to change the oil and I have noticed since using the Castrol Extended Life oil sometime ago that the oil seems to fail a little faster than before. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find that flavor of oil any longer. Either they don’t stock it any more or Castrol quit making it. Either way the good ole fashioned Castrol 20w50 I use seems a little too thin at the end of it’s 3000 mile life in my engine. To kill one bird with two
stones I bought a bottle of Chevron TECHRON® Concentrate Fuel System Cleaner and put it in and I changed the oil.
The noise is, I am glad to say, no longer there. I’m not sure which of the solutions solved the problem. But my engine is nice and quiet again. Well relatively quiet.
Head gasket leak
As I have been reporting for I don’t know how many years the head gasket has been pushing fluid out of the system. In a desperate attempt to put off the obvious top end engine repair I tried some “horse pills” which sadly have failed to stem the tide. Good news is another engine is in the works. But it will be after Christmas before we get started. So I’m hoping I’ll make it through the winter like last with not too many problems. The price of coolant/antifreeze is too high to pour it on the ground like this.
Leaky seal
My swivel joint seal on the right side had a nice big blob of grease on it this weekend. So I will eventually have to replace it. I have the seal in the garage, but not the place to work on it right now. I’m not really looking foward to removing the CV joint again. But it will give me a chance to document in pictures the procedure again. This time hopefully everyone will heed my advice and replace EVERYTHING that could fail when you tear something down.
Console back in
I have the center console back in. It was more challenging getting it back in than it was to take out. I’m guessing they assemble it in two parts and attach the two pieces afterwards. I had to loosen the emergency brake bracket, pull the big screws and hold my mouth just right for an extended time to get it back in, in one piece.
But I have it all hooked back up and it looks great. I got a little to carried away with the dremel and had to correct with a couple of washers. Which made the window switch panel screws a close fit. I’ll write it up when I get the pictures off the camera tonight probably.
March 22nd, 2004 (Post #43)
March 22nd, 2004
Lots of little things
I tried to get to the little projects this weekend. Among them were:
Tailgate
The tailgate rust has been increasing. It is now rusting through the frame on the upper tail gate.
This is a common problem with Range Rovers. There are several approaches to fixing this but I haven’t decided which one to do. I will probably order a new tail gate and before it is installed have it rust protected so it doesn’t fail as quickly. The screws that hold the handle in place looked terrible and I replaced one of them with a stainless steel screw. The other would not come out due to the head failing and the phillips screwdriver would not turn the stripped head. So off it will need to come and drilled out or some other way used to remove it from the handle. The locking actuator has never worked correctly and will also need to be replaced. These are pricey little items so off to Rover Cannibal for that part. I’ll post more later.
Rearview Mirror Goodness
As posted in the forums I sent off for a replacement mirror. The options were limited so I chose a suitable one. There are these types available based on what you have now…
I had an OEM auto dimming with map lights. So if you look at the list there is no such thing available. I ordered the one with the map lights. This was my favorite feature of the mirror and I cannot do without them. So that is what I got and installed (finally) this weekend. I have driven about 2.5 months without a rearview mirror and I only miss it when the police are tailing me whilest I am attempting to recall my driver training and all the pertinent traffic laws of our state. Otherwise I’ve learned I don’t care what’s behind me.
I installed the mirror per the directions. This is an easy procedure. On the
Difficulty Scale it’s a 1. I made it a 1.5 with a couple of changes. The instructions call for you to run the wiring harness under the headliner and down the driver’s side front post to the wheel well. Hook on to a wire with the provided vampire connector and hook up ground. The harness has a 1 amp fuse built in. I made it more difficult by keeping the original harness by tucking it up under the headliner and saving the unnessary mirror hardware. You never know when you might aquire another OEM mirror. I used a Dremel with cutting wheel (always wear protective goggles) to cut the existing OEM wiring harness out of the plastic channel. Worked great, although it was more like melting the harness than cutting it.
I have only the lights to worry with and I wanted them to work when the engine was off. If you have the auto-dimming feature you do not want this “hot” when the engine is off. As the instructions say it will run your battery down. So I used my trusty volt-ohm meter to find a wire from the existing harness that had 12 volts while the key was turned off. This was easily done. You just put the black lead on the screw that holds the door open switch on to the frame, unplug a harness and start Easter egging for 12 volts. I found it on the first pin I looked at. So I applied the vampire connector and bolted the ground on to a ground post that was somewhat difficult to get to but otherwise a perfect ground. Viola, map lights. The instructions might be intimidating to someone not accustom to such technical details but don’t fret it.
Oil Change
Nothing really to report. I went back to regular Castrol 20w-50. I didnt’ see the “High Mileage”
oil on the shelf. No biggy on this job, add a Wix filter and your done. I took the old oil I had collected and took it to my local O’Reilly where I bought my filter and they have a collector in
the back. Eventually someone comes and picks it up for them. I don’t have a gravel driveway to pour it on so I take back to be recycled.
Carpets Cleaned
I asked in the forums if anyone knew where to get new carpet. I was worried about the expense but thought new carpet would be nice. I noticed some of my items in the back had gotten wet. The jug of coolant I carry around had knocked over and leaked about a half gallon on to the carpet and everything else back there. I pulled the carpet up and resolved to clean it. It was an easy remove with just a few plastic holders holding it in place. I though while I’m at it why don’t I just pull up the back seat carpet and clean it as well. If I screw it up I’m gonna replace it anyway so what the heck.
This carpet was easy to remove and soon I had the two on the way to the car wash. I put them up on the provided clamps and proceeded to hose them off. Worked great. The dirtiness of the rear seat carpet was disgusting. I believe at least twenty cans of coke had been spilled on it by
the previous owner. RovErica was extremely grossed out. Here’s the short and long of it.
The carpet is designed to get wet. I believe it is designed to be hosed off too. For the backing
on the rear seat carpet was a hardened material and took to being pressure wash quite nicely.
It was an easy job and I would recommend it for very dirty carpet. I am sufficiently happy
with the results that I will not be replacing my carpet any time soon, except maybe for some
three inch orange shag carpet if it comes back in style. The only warning would be
to keep the pressure wand away from the carpet. I will cut it and even cause a hole if used
too closely to the carpet. Work in strokes and rinse the soap out after you have decided it
is clean enough.
Coming up
My next project is to organize the back of the Rover. I have read some solutions to this and the
one I’m going to employ will be adding a rear shelf. I have entirely too much crap back there and
I am going to reduce the size of the tool box. With the creative use of some Coca-Cola trays I’m
going to put in a rear deck. I will post more as I start it. It will hide some items I’m worried
about displaying and offer a rear deck free of debris to put the groceries. If I engineer the legs
properly it could double as a table when camping!
I am purchasing one more set of dome lights for my Rover. This will make the 12th set of lamps I have bought. I am contemplating an LED solution that would not burn out, ever. As the project
comes along I’ll post more.
December 31st, 2003 (Post #39)
December 31, 2003
Missing, Oil Change, Awesome Truck, New Logo
The winter weather has been amazing and all is well with the world when in December, in Oklahoma, you can work on your vehicle without fear of frostbite. One pretty day found me cleaning and reattaching the air dam to the front of the Big White Bus. As usual when I do something “fun” or cosmetic to the truck, the engine wants attention and intermittent engine problems began for the last two weeks. One day all is well, runs great. Next day, 7 of 8 cylinders are working. It was getting very frustrating. I checked each boot and applied some di-electric
grease. It is actually silicone based lube. That way hopefully I will not break another ignition wire with a stuck boot. All of the ignition wires seemed plugged in properly and I found nothing out of the ordinary.
Started her up and she ran fine Sunday afternoon. I started her up on Monday to go to work and again she was missing.
So yesterday I bought a new set of plugs. Champion Truck Plug 4404. I am not recommending them or endorsing them yet. I don’t have any imperical data to share. Quite frankly it’s what the guy behind the counter recommended. They are reasonably priced at $2.49 each. His sales pitch was pretty good and he shared some customer comments along with the pitch so I said what the heck. I installed them that night. There is something about working on an engine when it is still warm, it took the edge off of the light wind blowing and 50 degree (F) evening as it was settling in.
So now the plugs are in and she seems to be running pretty good. Two plugs show some strange characteristics. I will show them to JagGuy New Year’s Eve before he has too many glasses of wine for an informed decision. Six were a gray color, which being that there were 6 that way I am guessing that they are fine. Number 2 was strangely black in a single spot and Number 8 was flat black. I’m guessing that Number 2 was busted and the spark is coming through the insolator instead of the proper path. But more on that if I confirm my hypothesis.
I bought some Castrol GTX High Mileage for this last oil change. My truck has 135,000 on the odometer and I consider that high mileage. The sales pitch says, “helps older cars feel young again”. I’m pretty sure my Rover has absolutely no “feelings” or she wouldn’t treat me the way she does. But I’m coming into my own “high mileage” period and that line spoke to me. Besides I drove my 1993 Ford Ranger 187,000 miles with Castrol and the woman that bought it from me, drove it another 20,000 and sold it to yet another person. As far as I know it is still running.
So I’m figuring that as long as I’m using Castrol how can I go wrong. Besides I got a free Washington Redskins sports jersey for buying the oil. All in all it’s probably a gimmick but I can always put the regular GTX in at the next change and I have a new shirt to wear.
I’ve been considering a dual battery setup. I have most of the parts and my good friend The Ditchfinder just finished his dual battery install and it has it’s benefits. Our good friend Alan Bates doubts the importance of a dual battery, but I promised him margaritas at my next trail ride powered by my second battery so he is all good with it now.
I had some great email with Ozzie at Ozzie’s Offroad this week. Alan sent me his site in a link in the forum. He has a great rig and I highly recommend you check out his site. If I hit the lottery I may have to get me one of those roof rack tents. They are expensive but they are really cool looking. Go check out his site.
I have to give props to my good friend Tom in Chicago for creating a new animated logo for the Rover Defender’s Rover Log. If you didn’t notice it when you came here go back to the main page and check it out. I’m gonna send him a nice beer gift soon.
Three references to drinking in this update. Can anyone tell it’s New Year’s Eve? I hope everyone has a safe new year and thanks for reading the log.