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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 rusting and lock not functioning
  • Replacement rearview mirror installed
  • Oil change
  • Carpets cleaned

    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…

  • Prism with map lights
  • Auto dimming
  • Auto dimming with compass and outside temp

    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.

    • Posted on

    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.

    Posted on

    February 10th, 2004 (Post #41)

    February 10th, 2004

    CV Joint repaired
    It is now a couple of weekends since the CV joint repair. Everything is hunky-dory. It was a major job and I rated it as such in my write up about it. “The one where I fix the CV joint”
    My confidence grows in my ability to tear this truck down and fix the problems that have come up. I would say now I have little doubt that I could work on most of the items on this truck. Leaving transmissions and engines to their respective experts. No need to learn something they have spent a life time learning. My wife was proud of me and justifiably so as I only damaged a small part of my hand and saved us a great deal of money doing the work myself. She is coming to realize that I like working on the truck it is rewarding. My wound is nearly completely healed and did not require any further medical care. I wrote this with quotes from “Star Wars”. It was fun to use them. It is amazing how many one liners in that movie apply to repairing a Rover.

    The tie rod ends as you will see if you read the latest article are in really bad shape. I should not have waited this long to fix them. I am really lucky they have not broken. Knock on wood, I will make it until Saturday when I will fix them. I attempted to fix them in the process but was not strong enough to do the work while they were still under the truck.

    Mirror update. I have my “replacement” mirror. The replacement for my mirror did not include the very handy map lights under the mirror. This is one of my most beloved features. So I sent it back for a prismatic style that has the map lights and does not auto-darken. Since I have never had an auto-darkening mirror I don’t feel I am missing anything. I would have liked to have the compass, temperature, map light model but felt it dishonest to get those upgrades when I didn’t have them before.

    The door lock issue is completely annoying now. I have it on good authority that my driver’s side door actuator is either failed or gummed up or rusted. Brett of Brett’s Import told me that was common. So I need to take the panels off and see what I can do with it. Saturday is going to be real busy at this point with so much to fix.

    Posted on

    January 20th, 2004 (Post #40)

    January 20th, 2004
    CV Joint Again!
    This week was a great week. We were on our way to visit the Orchid Society and I was nearing the Northern Transavaal Region in South Africa when the CV joint went bust on me again. It was a terrible bit of bad luck what with the wild animals running about and us with out our normal guide. The funny thing is I wasn’t trapsing around in the Transavaal at all. I was on Porter Street in Norman, Oklahoma. I would expect this thing to fail again if I were on the Transavaal ripping it up with my buds. But I’m just tooling along on paved streets. It seems the frustrations never end. By the time the year is over I’ll have a nearly new 1993 Range Rover sitting in the driveway. This is due to the fact I will have replaced nearly every part
    known to fail. Really, nearly everyone. So my New Year’s resolution to, “get out on the trail” imparted to me by Mark will be put off another month as I struggle to pay for this latest repair.

    I ordered a repair manual from an Ebay seller last night. It’s on CD. I worry about the legality of it, but in the end it’s cheaper than the printed version at about $100(US) less. I also bought a new Bayco Work light from O’Reilly’s so I should be able to see in my dark garage. Price was $20 plus tax. My good old fashioned “trouble light” as my dad used to call it, eats light bulbs, especially when it is cold outside. It is more “trouble” than “light” most of the time. JagGuy has one and I liked it when I used it at his shop last month.

    The CV Joint will arrive Friday and I guess I’ll tear it down Friday night in the garage. I ordered it from Motorcars, LTD. Ken was very pleasant to deal with. I believe the price at $189(US) was the best I could find on the internet. There was one place cheaper but they only sold wholesale
    to “Actual Repair Shops”. I didn’t feel like faking my way through that for thirty dollars, it just wasn’t worth the time. Thank you Motorcars for your support of our club and the great prices.

    Posted on

    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.

    Posted on

    December 15th, 2003 (Post #38)

    December 15, 2003
    O2 Sensors Solved
    O2 sensor problem is solved. I replaced the Left side (driver’s side O2 sensor) sensor and cleared the error 44 code with little or no effort. It was a snap. Really it was. Then as you should I replaced the right-side O2 sensor. After I was done the truck ran terribly. It missed, backfired, and stumbled and generally ran poorly. Eventually a code 45 showed up. What on earth could be the problem? Error 45 is the right side (passenger) sensor.

    Well it turned out I did a bit of wiring wrong and swapped a pair of wires. The truck was running extremely rich. The sensor was covered in carbon when I pulled it confirming this theory. And there it was a swapped set of wires. I am guessing that I swapped the pair in my haste to put heat shrink on the wire and dropped the pairs several times.

    I have some tips. I posted them in the forum but I will post them here also.

    Lesson one: Part A: Don’t settle for second rate stuff. If the slug type of crimps are what you need, wait and get them. If you need good heat shrink get it before the job and don’t settle for “what they had”.

    Lesson one: Part B: Get more than you need of the repair items. Don’t buy six crimps if you need six. Buy a full additional set. What if you wire it wrong? You only have enough to do the job once and seldom, in my experience, do you do it right the first time. My dad always took four nails up the ladder for a two nail job. I asked him once why he took 4 when you only used 2? He said, “What if you hit your thumb and drop your nails?” Of course this is the same man that broke off the eraser end of the pencil and threw it at me saying, “I don’t make mistakes.” So it’s better to be safe than sorry.

    Lesson two: Check your work. Once your done, check it again. I failed to do this. It was cold, I was cold, and I was in a hurry and it was getting dark.

    Lesson three: Don’t get in a hurry.

    Lesson four: Do your work in a hospitable environment when able (i.e. indoors with heat in the winter and a cool breeze in the summer.)

    So as I close this episode I have learned a good many things about my truck.

    Closed loop and open loop sensors. There is not really a lot to the oxygen sensors when you think about what they actually do. You can reset all the error codes with just disconnecting the battery.

    On the Difficulty Scale this project was a 1. Maybe a 1.5 considering the crimping and heat shrink.

    The next big project is a suspension overhall. I hope to replace my springs, shocks, tie-rod ends, and put a set of poly bushings on in one day. I have everything but the poly bushings but in a couple of weeks I should have them. I’m hoping for a couple of weeks after the new year is in to begin. Rogers has offered his lift and his garage for me to work on all this so I’m thinking of something nice to buy him. Any suggestions?

    If the camera has good batteries that day I’ll take lots of pictures.

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