Category: transmission

Posted on

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…

Posted on

Fresh Gear Oil and CV One-Shot (Post #329) 4/15/2013

I mentioned a post or two ago that I thought I’d heard the tell-tale clicking of a CV joint when I made a turn out of the drive-way. I am pretty sure I don’t have a failing CV so it had to be time to add some more lubricant.

The CV is a funny item. It take tremendous pressure and transfers it to the hub which turns the tires. The fluid is kept in its place by a rubber pressure fitting seal there at the edge of the silver swivel ball. Slowly over time the grease slips past and needs replacement.

I first thought I’d check the state of the grease and decided to attempt to drain it. I first loosened the fill plug. It doesn’t help to drain it if you can’t refill it. Then I loosened drain plug. The drain plug is probably an 11mm plug. I don’t have an 11mm wrench so I carefully removed it with a 12mm.

The hole is really too close to the other parts in that area and will not drain in to the receptacle you place there. I started catching some of the fluid and it looked terrible. I guessing I have lost the axle seal and am getting contaminated fluid from the differential in the housing.


In any event, you can see that the fluid is quite terrible. I allow a bit to drain but as I was not sure how much was in there to start with I stopped draining and went to adding.

The parts suppliers have handy one-shot tubes of the grease ready to go. Just snip and add. I had sourced these at the same time as I did my springs and shocks.

The one trick I have found to putting this fluid in is to spin the wheels facing extreme outboard. So when you are filling the right side, spin the wheel to hard right. And reverse for the left. This opens up the innards and allows for the grease to easily slide into the hole.


Snip the end and roll from the far end to the open end as you hold the tube in place. Its a good idea to remove as much debris as you can from the opening area before loosing the fill plugs. It will minimize the dirt getting in while filling.

Do both sides and you have happy CV joints bathing in fresh grease.


I also thought I’d check the differentials while I was under there. So I drained them and filled them with fresh Castrol Hypoy C 85w140 gear oil. It takes two quarts to fill the differential. I had just enough to get one filled, but had to source more.

I ran down to O’reilly Auto Parts and got three more quarts. I always have this fluid on hand. You never know when you’ll need it.


The worst part of putting this fluid in the differentials is the odd angle and getting the fluid in the hole. I would recommend a pump as such. It is a terribly slow way to add fluid but it is virtually the only way not to make a giant mess of it.

That’s not my picture I borrowed it from the site. I got the gear oil added and took her out for a spin. You can really tell a difference. Well, I could anyway.

The condition of the differential oil confirmed my theory that I have at least one bad driveshaft seal on the front. The condition of the fluid coming out was terrible. This is a necessary maintenance item on any tick sheet.

Taking care of your drive shafts is synonymous with taking good care of your feet. If you can’t walk on your feet you can’t get anywhere. So take care of them and take care of your axle as well.

Transmission
I have been talking about the transmission needing a rebuild for quite some time. I think I will be getting that done in the next couple of weeks. I might be parting with the Honda Civic and the Range Rover will become my daily driver again. The current transmission has 196,000 miles on her and is need of some TLC.

She tends to slip when pulling loads and climbing hills after she is warmed up. I’m certain some of my gas mileage is being lost on this inefficiency and if I want to pull a small camper in the future it will need to be sorted out. I will look to upgrade the cooling of the fluid as well. The current system works fine but I think I’ll upgrade it when I get her worked on.

Air Conditioning
With summer fast approaching The AC will have to be sorted out. The compressor and pretty much everything else under there has to be replaced. I was able to grab an OEM compressor off the Range Rover in the breaker’s yard last year. I am hoping the garage I’m going to take her to will use that to put everything back together.

Not having AC is simply unacceptable in Oklahoma in the summer. With Mrs. OkieRover and I talking about the week we will attempt this task it is looking increasingly likely that it will be in the deep hot of summer. We don’t know any better I guess.

Well that’s about it for the weekend. If it were not for a unexpected trip to the grocery on Sunday I would have had a report on the NEW SHOCKS I would have installed. Instead I hooked up the broken fog lamp that I repaired.

As always, thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Posted on

195,000 miles (Post #316) 1/19/2013

195,000 That’s a lot.
Just 5,000 more miles and I’ve  reached TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND MILES (dramatic reverb) in a LAND ROVER! I know there are Land Rovers out there that have crossed that mile marker and are about to lap it. I’ve only had one other vehicle with anything close to that kind of mileage on her. That was my 1993 Ford Ranger pick-up truck. I sold her after 185,000 enjoyable miles.

That Ford Ranger still had the original clutch in it. In comparison the Range Rover still has her original transmission. But not for long. I need to have the transmission rebuilt. As I have mentioned before, the  transmission is slipping. I know I’ll improve on my gas mileage if I have a rebuilt transmission.

In addition to the transmission, I need to sort out the sound system and get a functioning air conditioning unit working. If I am to make the Range Rover a daily driver again that will need to happen.

The door handles will also need to be adjusted again. I can’t seem to get those working correctly. I may take her into a body shop and get their opinion about it. The left rear door is so far out of wack I can hear the air escaping like I have a window cracked open. That is disappointing.

After that the anti-lock brake system is out of range due to at least one bad wheel sensor. Those are ridiculously expensive in my opinion. But if I want the factory system to work correctly I’ll need to sort that out.

Springs and shocks are on their way. I ordered those last week. I’m hoping that won’t change the drive shaft angles too much. The springs will provide a 2 inch lift. I’m optimistic that will not affect the drive geometry too much.

The last thing is the buzzing sound I sometimes get. The guess is it is related to the brakes. More on this as I get closer to finding the part causing the sound. I think it is a relay that is failing. I hate electrical problems.

Out on the periphery is a problem with the headlight being too dim. I read something once upon a time about the wiring harness being inadequate. It may just be a set of Hella headlights that have reached the end of their life.

Well that is a basic list of the things I have to deal with as the clock turns 200,000.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Posted on

Leaky Transmission Cooling Hoses (Post #313) 1/15/2013

That figures. If this Range Rover ever stops “sweating out” it’s fluids I’ll probably freak out thinking that I may have run the particular unit dry. I have reported before that I need to overhaul the transmission. I certainly don’t need it to fail right now.

I’ve topped 195,000 miles now on this transmission. And while I think it gets me where I’m going just fine, I know it slips in 4th gear. I need to get some more hoses made. I think if I decide to disable the Range Rover for long enough to replace the hoses I’m going to give the John Deere dealer down on Highway 9 West a shot at making them.

They did me right on the last hose I bought and the young gentleman behind the counter said they could make just about any kind of hose. I’m actually kinda excited to see if they will make them for me. The amount of fluid I’m losing is not a lot so my motivation is not quite there.

I can get the Transmission Cooler Pipe Kit – 1993-1994 from Atlantic British for 169.95. So that’s my benchmark.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Posted on

Roof Rack Dilemma (Post #308) 12/16/2012

I was visiting the Atlantic British website (Did you know that have partnered with British Pacific?) yesterday looking for springs and shocks. I think I have that sorted out and am ready to purchase them. Bilstein shocks and Old Man Emu/ARB springs, medium duty. I may still look at TerraFirma equivalents but short of that I’ll go with this solution. This should give me a little lift and still be able to be loaded a bit. Heavy duty springs would stiffen the on highway ride too much. I won’t be using the Range Rover hard enough or often enough to require springs of that caliber.

So after I was scoping out the springs and shocks I got to thinking about stuff to ready the Range Rover for our Circumnavigation of the Great State of Oklahoma. I’ve been thinking about a vehicle wrap and other such silliness. Sponsors? Hey now that’s an idea.

A realistic concern is getting too far from a petrol station. The range on the fuel in the tank is just short of 250 miles. I am thinking perhaps I should plan to carry additional fuel in jerry-cans. And if you are going to do that, you need a roof rack. Seriously, trust me, that is sound logic.

I was also thinking how cool a roof rack would look on the Range Rover. We are going on an expedition, we need to look the part! Am I wrong? I don’t think so!


So I was looking through all the great posts on making your own roof rack at Expedition Portal. Guys have made some seriously awesome roof racks. I know I could made a roof rack. I’d need a welding unit, some grinding wheels, cutting wheels, a ruler, some angle magnet thingies, welding goggles, pipe benders, and some material. It would have to be metal so should I use round stock or square stock?

By the time I spent the money on the tools and stock I still wouldn’t have a roof rack. I could go to my mate JagGuy’s awesome shop and have the welder, bender, and goggles sorted out. A four pack of Boddington’s and perhaps a nice bottle of wine and I’d probably have the basic training needed. But I still wouldn’t have a roof rack.

I could just buy a roof rack. WHAT? You have to be insane. Why buy when you can make? Well, time mostly, that’s why.

I am still in school and next semester is a busy one. Also I’m thinking weight is a factor. So I’m thinking of buying.

$199.95 50″x50″ Roof Rack
$54.95 Roof Rack Gutter Mount
$29.03 FedEx Ground Home Delivery

For around 285$(US) I could have a functioning roof rack. Easy-peazy. No welding, no sourcing steel, no new tools. Hotsy-totsy! I bet you thought hotsy-totsy meant something else didn’t you?

Doesn’t that look great? That rack would look great on my Range Rover. I’ll still need to fabricate some jerry-can brackets. The price on-line was a bit too much for what I saw. The brackets are more expensive than the cans. That seems a bit silly.

If I hit the lottery tomorrow I could probably drop 3000$(US) on kitting out the Range Rover and would probably be short a few items. As it stands I’ll be out shipping and nearly 800$(US) for springs and new shocks. The price above for the roof rack plus 2-4 fuel 20 liter jerry-cans. With all this bolt on poser stuff I still haven’t addressed some serious issues.

  1. The air conditioning is still non-functional.
  2. The transmission still needs to be refurbished.
  3. The ABS system is still in fault.

The repair parts for that stuff will probably run up to 2000$(US). At the end however, I’ll be pretty confident I have a rig we can use at some events. Perhaps I’ll even be able to get Mrs. OkieRover to go camping with me. Wait…how much more money will I spend for that?

On this day there was a terrible tragedy in Connecticut  Remember it isn’t guns that kill kids, sick people kill kids. That sick bastard was going to commit a horrible crime. If he didn’t have a single firearm he’d have used a car or something else.

Say a prayer for the families that lost their children, say a prayer for the people who will deal with this for the rest of their lives.

And finally say a prayer for our country to come together in these difficult times.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Posted on

Transmission time (Post #266) 9/19/2011

It’s time to investigate getting the transmission overhauled. I’ve only had work done on the transmission once. That was a bad torque converter. I don’t believe it will be that “easy” this time. This time I believe its time for a told overhaul. The transmission has 190,000+ miles on it. I know I am experiencing slipping in fourth under load. I know the gas mileage has dropped off a lot too. I’m not sure how much the MPG is transmission and how much is perhaps another issue.

I intend to have the ye old transmission shoppe replace the “U” joints as well. They have to take them all down anyway so why not do that now and avoid this problem. I was thinking I could have some stronger “U” joints put in but I’m probably going to stick with OEM. I’d have to first trust that the transmission shoppe knows what upgraded “U” joints are best and/or they would have to trust me with buying the part and they installing it. Most shoppes don’t want any part of the “I’ll provide the parts.” mostly due to warranty issues. I don’t blame them.

I would like to have my work checked in regards to last year’s suspension changes. My poly bushing project may have not been properly done. I have some clunks and such from underneath that I do not think should be there. There is a sort of “off-road shoppe” on Porter Avenue that I have seen some 4×4 rigs loitering around. I am thinking about checking them out for this review.

View Larger Map

The building has an awesome art deco facade (façade). I hope the guys inside are just as awesome. Nothing disappoints me more than when I chose a shop to work on my Range Rover and people inside are pillocks. You’ve heard me rail on and on about how customer service is dead. I’ve been in too many shops that are now out of business where the guys inside complete douche bags. Is it any wonder they’ve had to fold up the tent? I’ll let you know if these guys pass my customer service muster.

And last, but definitely not least, I need a new exhaust. The last one did not survive the winter storms and Snowpocalypse of 2010. I’ve been driving around with the rattling noise of a bad muffler ever since. There might be some gas mileage issues in this as well. The last time I drove the old girl, I had an check engine light. Code 17. I don’t know why yet. THe good people over at Robison Service have that as…

Code 17 – Throttle potentiometer Usually indicates a bad throttle position sensor. Refer to test 17, continuity test procedure.

I have not confirmed this yet. And it didn’t pop up until after I ordered parts the last time. I ordered some of those plastic studs to put my door panels back on. This was in anticipation of fixing the door locks.

I also ordered a upper radiator hose to replace the one that sprung a leak. I also need to look into replacing the upper fill tubes plastic filler cap. Whoever thought that was a good idea needs to have their head examined. I think Expedition Exchange has a brass one to replace it. I’ll be looking in to that today as well.

Well this was a long and rambling post and for that I apologize. It’s more or less the next to-do list for me after we get done with the garage sale. Mrs. OkieRover is in the process of selling a lot of the stuff we got from my mother after her death. We also have a bunch of stuff from years and years of hoarding improper emotional attachment not properly getting rid of STUFF accumulating in the garage over the years.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

Proudly powered by WordPress