PROBLEMS
ENCOUNTERED
Vehicle
- As the vehicle was received as a partial
rebuild, finding all the appropriate replacement nuts and bolts was a real
bother.
Engine
- Crankshaft was broken, I got a new one from
Diesel Dog
- Starter was dead - Got rebuilt
- I had to replace the timing chain because it
was very loose, but it was only evident when the whole lot was fitted - I
had to strip the front again to replace the chain.
- All glow plugs got burnt and 3 became trapped
in the heads due to excessive pre-heating and inferior quality plugs. I
managed to get them out after a battle. They where replaced with superior
ones.
- The plugs got burnt because the engine failed
to start after a short run period, I thought it was due to insuffecient
heating of the plugs. The actual reason was that the return line to the fuel
tank was blocked solid, after cleaning it was found to be too small anyhow,
so I drilled it full size.
- Building all the brackets for the PS pump, AC
pump and alternator.
Due to my unfamiliarity with the engine, I
installed the valve spring rotators on the wrong valves, also the valve stem
length was not checked - hey, I didn't know buggerall about rotators and
hydraulic lifters! Anyhow, this all led to serious cylinder head damage to both
heads after 15 000Km. Funny thing is I didn't notice a lack of power, only
the smoke was getting shocking. Afer inspection i found that 3 of the 8 exhaust
valves have virtually no valve seats to speak of.
R 4000 and a VERY nasty learning curve/experience later it is going
extremely well, very smooth and not a spot of smoke on cold start up or normal
driving.
Transmission
- Getting the gearbox to fit the engine, doing
endless calculations and measurements only to later pull it all out and fit
the original Chev 700R4 auto box. Fitting the Chev box took quite some doing
as it needed a custom adapter to suit the transfer box, this adapter turned
the transfer box clockwise so as to let the prop shaft clear the
right-offset valve body of the 700 box. New mountings and fittings for the
transfer box, difflock levers, oil cooler pipes, gear slsector cable had to
be made. The Exhaust silencer and underbody needed to be cut and sealed to
clear the hand brake drum. One huge mission all in all but worth every nasty
word.
Cooling
- Getting the radiator, coolers and air-con
radiator to fit.
- Getting a suitable cowling to fit -which I
removed later as it got bitten by the fan, made no difference as the fan is
very close to the radiator.
- Finding a suitable thermostat in the general
market. (Ford 3.0L Courier V6)
Fuel System
- I had problems with air getting into the
system at higher revs, the problem was later found to be the fuel pump which
was leaking and sucking air. I found a replacement at Midas.
- As mentioned in ENGINE above, the fuel tank
return was blocked and too small, it was drilled out.
Inlet / Exhaust System
- No problem except the modifications needed to
fit the 700R4 box.
Electrical System
Bodywork
- No problem - Clearance with the top air inlet
hat was so close that I dented the bonnet with one of the inlet hat bolts
being just too long on one occasion and the hose clamp on the inlet hose was
at the top of the hose when the bonnet was closed, this caused a nasty dent
in the bonnet from the inside.
Police Clearance
The vehicle was impounded by the police when we took it
for clearance 3 weeks prior to the Range Rover 30th, since the chassis number
plate was removed and re-fitted to have the front galvanized.
The vehicle spent 2 weeks in an extremely dangerous location (wrt thievery, body
damage, transmission damage etc)
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