With all the rain we had at SCARR 2015 the trails were muddy. But unlike Oklahoma’s red clay this soil took the water very well and drained away. That didn’t mean it came off any easier than Oklahoma red mud, but it was not as nasty when you were driving through it. We had quite a few creek crossings to add to the mud.
Arto and his well equipped Discovery 2.
We started the first day with a lecture from Arto Pullinen. Some of us (read that as NOT Mr. Fisher) learned some new hand signals that trail guides would be using.
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”
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”
After I took the Christmas lights off the house I moved the Range Rover into the shelter of the garage. It’s a little bit chilly out there and being out of the wind seemed like a good idea.
The first annoying problem I looked at was the problem opening the driver’s side door. As most of you Land Rover owners have experienced, the flappy-paddle-trapeze of opening a Range Rover Classic door is silly. Once it gets out of adjustment it’s pretty frustrating trying to get your doors open. To top it off my door especially doesn’t like to open when it is cold out.
The left rod in this picture is the rod you turn for adjustment.
I pulled the door card and looked for the outside handle’s adjustment rod. To adjust it you remove the keeper clip at the top and then turn the rod clockwise. I chose to turn it four revolutions. I hooked it back up and then tested it.
Worked just as I expected it to, perfectly. The inside handle needed adjustment too. For this rod you trace it from the handle to the end that attaches to the trapeze bits. It has a “Z” in the rod and a spring to keep it in place. On the end it has a 7mm nut. It’s not fun to find the end and get the wrench on it.
I gave it at least a full revolution. The inside handle now engages the release a little sooner. This is better than the last time when I got a bit carried away and couldn’t get the door open after adjusting it.
The second was getting the unlock lever back into it’s guide. I had removed this when I had trouble getting the door panel reattached to the door. The guide broke and I didn’t bother to reinstall it until today.
The broken guide I had glued broke again. I installed it anyway. I think it looks better than just the lever floating around in a hole in the door card.
When the door card was off I investigated the electric door actuators. Mine have become weak and cause the famous “bouncing lock problem“. Since those initial investigative blog posts I’ve learned the actuators weaken and don’t set the lock correctly and cause the lock and unlock issue. Replacing the actuators fixes the issue in some instances.
I then turned my attention to the center brake light. It has not worked for a while. I thought it was a burned out bulb. A few months ago I check it and the bulb was just bouncing around loose in the lamp fixture. So I swapped the bulb, still no light. I made the sure the bulb was making a good connection. I then traced the wires to the plug under the headliner. I found two plugs that did not match. I guess when I replaced the upper rear door frame they sent me a frame with the wrong plug on it.
I went out to my old frame, which I kept because it has good glass still in it. I had cut the old plug off. I guess in my haste to reinstall I didn’t swap the plug. Well long story short the plug is in a box somewhere and instead of digging through boxes for hours, I decided that I’d just splice the wires. Once completed, my center brake light now works again.
The last thing was the Range Rover letters on the tailgate are coming unglued. After I worked on the brake light they were all but coming off. In fact the A did come off.
I got some rubbing alcohol out and cleaned up the glue locations. I got some glue and decided to attempt to glue them back into place. If it fails again, I have another sticker I can replace them with.
So today I knocked out these little annoying things. Not a bad day if I say so myself. I wish I had time to work on the radio too but it will have to be another day.
It’s January. S.C.A.R.R. is in April. If you can make it to S.C.A.R.R. now is the time to plan for it. If you are from Oklahoma contact me, I’d like to get us in matching shirts and make a good club showing. I promise you will have a good time.
Thanks for reading, Happy New Year, and Happy Rovering.
I saw a thumbnail of my article that will be in Land Rovers Owners International. I’d post it up here but they are kinda funny about that sorta thing. The good folks over at LRO took my words (4500+) and Mr. Fisher’s pictures (50+) for the SCARR 2014 Event and paired them down for a short article (300 words and three pictures). Its on page 252.
It looks pretty good. The Big White Bus gets a good picture and I even managed to be in a picture with Bill Burke! I’ll say more when it actually comes out. I believe it is on the shelf already in England and will be on the shelves and mailboxes on our continent (North America) next month (June).
I can’t wait to have it in my hands and subsequently hanging on my wall.
My good friend JagGuy, who you may know from his site XM381.com or my frequent mentions of his genius when it comes to automotive knowledge, has an interesting hobby. He has a business where he bobs the venerable Duece and a Half’s that were so prevalent in the last century with our military. I drove one at the 1984 Combined Arms Exercise at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Continue reading “3 Ply Tires are for Sissies* (Post #489) 4/24/2014”
