Category: tie rods

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Big Pile of Maintenance (Post #528) 3/6/2015

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Its time for the first round of maintenance for our trip to S.C.A.R.R. I got a box of goodies from Rovah Farm. They are a “new to me” supplier out of Arkansas. I have trouble getting parts out of New England this time if year. Something about weather… blah, blah, blah, winter… blah, blah, blah, cancelled flights, yada, yada, yada. Following Okierover standard procedure I managed to order something that was out-of-stock. Rovah Farm let me know and we agreed to wait for everything before shipping. Once everything was in it was a two day delivery, his door to mine. Excellent. We lucked out and just missed our last winter blast which would have probably delayed the order. Continue reading “Big Pile of Maintenance (Post #528) 3/6/2015”

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Time to Prepare for S.C.A.R.R. 2015 (Post #524) 2/16/2015

Doesn’t the Big White Bus look good all washed up parked in the drive. Well she looks better with a little mud on the tires and traipsing up and down the hills of Barnwell Offroad Park in East Texas. Yes, it’s close to that time of year again. Its time to prepare the Range Rover for the South Central Area Rover Rendezvous aka SCARR.

Once again there is lots to do. A short list…

  • Transmission Rebuild
  • Plugs, wires, and cap
  • Tie-rod ends
  • Oil Pan Gasket
  • Power Steering Leak

Its a short list but an expensive one. Getting the transmission done will be somewhere in the 2000$(US). I’ve known this was a problem for a while now. I’ve turned 220,000 miles and I think it’s time for a rebuild on the transmission. I have a plan for this. Continue reading “Time to Prepare for S.C.A.R.R. 2015 (Post #524) 2/16/2015”

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Gearing Up for SCARR, Part Three, Maintenance (Post #463) 3/13/2014

A big part of not breaking down on the trail or on the highway for that matter is maintenance. Most Americans neglect maintenance. It’s easy to forget about maintenance. You go out to the driveway you jump in you turn the key and you drive. Our Land Rovers become “magic boxes that take us places”. If you don’t see a light blinking nothing is wrong, right?

Well partly, nothing is wrong most of the time, but that doesn’t mean something isn’t GOING WRONG. Let us take tonight’s maintenance. Grease zerks needing grease. If you let these go dry you lose your drive train. Universal joints can fail and then you have large heavy objects spinning very quickly. JagGuy lost his Range Rover Classic due to a failed u-joint. The drive shaft went through the side of the transmission. You don’t want that. Thankfully I have a storm shelter drive bay in my garage now and that should make greasing an easier task and it did.
There’s more after the jump…

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February 18th, 2004 (Post #42)

February 18th, 2004

Tie Rod Ends Replaced
I spent my President’s Day holiday working on my Rover. Specifically I replaced the badly worn
tie rod ends. It was an adventure in difficult. The badly corroded ends were very difficult to
remove. I broke a tool and had to build a brace out of a 2×6 to complete the job.

I still have the power steering leak to find, the new rear view mirror to install, and the door locks
bouncing is due to a problem with the driver’s side actuator. These are not critical repairs as so far as I can continue to add steering fluid and the others I have learned to work around for now.

I did learn that Hibdon’s Tire Plus will not align my Rover. At least the one in Norman, anyway.
I had to employ the knowledgebase of JagGuy to find a shop that would so as to avoid the local
dealer at all costs. Kennedy Tire and Auto Repair took care of the alignment. They were nice to deal with and everyone was very friendly.

You can read about the Tie Rod adventure in my latest installment “The one where I fix the Tie Rod Ends”.

Now maybe I can get back on the Cup Holder project this Spring.

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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.

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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.

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