Land Rover Update

General Land Rover preparations continue. I was having a lot of trouble with gauges this winter. My odometer quit working, the speedometer bounced all over the place and my temperature gauge quit after the engine rebuild. I sent them all to fellow in Vancouver to be fixed and now have them back. They look new and I'm so excited to get them back in the truck!

Also ordered all the parts for the second fuel tank. Many Series Land Rovers came with two tanks, one under each front seat. Mine, unfortunately did not and consequently I could only carry 45 L of fuel without resorting to Jerry Cans. As you may remember from my previous posts the truck is a bit of a gas guzzler so 45 L will only get you about 250 to 300 km. By installing a second tank under the driver's seat I will double my fuel capacity and range without sacrificing any stability by placing fuel up high in the vehicle. Combining the capacity of the two tanks with the jerry can mounted on the back and I will get maybe 650 km between fills. A bit more reasonable. I will be installing an externally filled gas tank as with the "standard" auxilliary fuel tank you have to remove the seat base to fill it.

Land Rovers were designed for English roads in the 1950's. The motorway system didn't exist yet and most roads were windy narrow affairs with stone walls on either side. Land Rover engineers, cogniscent of the type of use the truck would see and it's horsepower limitations, chose high gear ratios for the 4 speed transmission. The result is that at 90 km/hr the engine is spinning along at ~3200 rpm! This is both loud and causes a lot of engine wear. To ease the highway driving I have installed an overdrive which reduces the engine rpms for any gear by 18%. This allows me cruise at 90 km/hr at 2600 rpms and to split all the other gears to aid in getting up hills, effectively I have 16 forward and 4 reverse gears if you include the transfer case.

I was having some trouble with the syncromesh on the overdrive which allows you to shift in and out of gear without gnashing gears together. Nothing fatal but annoying and likely to reduce the units longevity. I sent it out to the manufacture and it has been inspected and reassembled. I should get it back in the next few days. Great piece of equipment and good support from the manufacturers.

Lastly, I managed to break an axle shaft getting groceries a week ago. Snapped while I pulled away from a stop sign. I know I said that Land Rovers are durable! The axle shaft was original so it was surprising it had made it this far. They have a tendency to become brittle after many years of use and it is the most common thing to break in the drivetrain. Thankfully with a part time four wheel drive setup you can put the truck in 4 wheel drive and get yourself home using just the front wheels. I have an extra set of half shafts and will be installing them next week. Good thing to break in town rather than in some inaccessible place.