Time marches on

Putting things back after taking them apart is just the reverse of taking them out which isn't very exciting so I will skip most of it, this time 

If you are interested take a look at the post https://landroverkaty.blogspot.com/2022/09/fault-finding-and-removals.html and consider doing it all backwards 

The only difference is of course that you are fitting new components and gaskets such as the one that separates the steel of the injector pump from the aluminium of the timing case 

New pulleys and tensioner inside the timing case, new crankshaft oil seal and then set everything in the position that you need for the timing to be correct (there is a pin that fits through the injector pump, a mark on the crankshaft pulley and a notch in the flywheel) and then reassemble the case, fit the crank pulley and the fan pulley (gicing it a hard whatck to ensure that it's on properly) and then the fan belt. Connect everything up again, Check the tappet / valve clearances because the rocker has been off and she's ready to be started.. so how did that go? 

Play the video :)

 

Fault Finding and Removals

Having found the mess inside the timing cover the next steps were to start removing parts to see what was the result, 

First off was the timing belt, cut through with a blade it was easy to spot the faulty part  which had been stripped and almost broken through

Then some more investigation under the rocker cover to see what damage there may be. On first look things are at least oily and together

But on checking them (one at a time to keep them in their original place) two were discovered to be not a straight as they should be . 

So two of them were added to the parts list I need for the rebuild. next step was to get the injector pump off and send that to a specialist to see if that was the root cause. First step detach the pipes to the injectors (which I put caps on to stop any dirt getting in)

Then detach the pipes from the back of the pump and remove them

 Which gives access to remove the electrical connection 

Then remove the fuel pipes going to the unit

And finally the three bolts at the front and the ones at the back as well 

And it's free

A bit of wrangling and it's out and ready to send to the specialist 

Bad Times

Per the last post where we  we had an awful time getting home from Tebay Services It was time to start the investigation 

After getting the fan out of the way it was a fairly easy process to remove the fan pulley (given everything was locked up there was no hassle stopping it moving. Simply put on a long bar and remove the nut

Then work all the way around the timing case and remove the bolts from the case and it simply pulls off with a sharp tug

What was shown was an absolute mess where the timing belt had almost fully disintegrated 

Whilst some of the teeth were still in place on the belt, others had been stripped off and had been transformed into all the fluff that you can see on the inside of the case in the picture above, and between the pulleys in the picture below 

The next job was to see if the injector pump was to blame (as was suspected because no fule was coming out of it) so with the belt cut a power bar was put on the nut at the end of the pump (bottom left) and an attempt was made to move it... It was solid! 

So it's got to come out to be sent off to a specialist.. That's going to be the next story 

24 Hours from Tebay

This is going to be a long post... 

This felt like the longest day, in fact the rescue and recovery took just over 24 hours, but the story starts well before this 

All went well on our drive to the lake district on holiday until we decided to stop at Tebay services which has an excellent farm shop attached so sells high quality products which we thought would be a great way to start our holiday. 

So we pulled off the M6 and into the services and the trouble started when Katy cut out as we were driving in on the approach road. She cut out... we were lucky to be able to coast into one of the first available parking spaces. I though we may have inadvertently run out of Diesel because the fuel gauge has been faulty, but we had filled up before setting out and the known range was a lot more than the 250 miles or so we had driven (it's about 350 on a tank full). 

To be on the safe side I went to the garage and got 10 litres at motorway prices (ouch!) and put that in, but she still would not fire up.

I had some spares, but wasn't sure so the next thing was to bring in an expert who could help me if one of those would be useful. 

The rest of this tale will be told through the medium of song and pictures (  Apologies to Burt Bacharach / Hal David / Gene Pitney for butchering the obvious song ... ) and at the end are a whole bunch of thank you's to the people who helped us along the way

Dearest Katy I had to write to say that I wasn't driving you back

Cause something happened to you while we were driving on hols

And you're not the same anymore

Oh we took 24 hours from Tebay

Ah only one hour away from our Hols 

We saw a welcoming sight and stopped to pick up some grub

And that is when it happened

As we pulled in outside of a services

You stopped your engine from running

I bought some Diesel to feed you but you still didn't start

Oh we took 24 hours from Tebay

Ah only one hour away from our Hols 

Lowes took us from Tebay to Lymm where we stayed

Via a stop on the M6 hard shoulder 

Oh we took 24 hours from Tebay

Ah only one hour away from our Hols 

Oh the breakdown truck stopped

And night time turned into day and we were still on our way

2 Hours sleep and the next truck

Picked us up and we went on

Via another stop for 4 hours at strensham

Oh we took 24 hours from Tebay

Ah only one hour away from our Hols 

I hate to do this to you

But you'll need some bits that are new

What can I do

We were so glad to be back home again

Now the pictures and some real information 

We stopped about 4:30 

Michael from Furness identified that our injector pump was not running at all despite having power and fuel delivered from the electric fuel pump. That's not a roadside fix so a recovery was going to be needed. Given we needed a larger than average lift, he called for a truck which was about an hour and a half away

It had got dark by the time that John from Lowe's turned up and took us onboard his truck (which we have to say was the nicest of the event so thanks for that Lowes).  

Soon we were off with a plan to meet another truck at Strensham services about 2:30 am. 

However A couple of hours into the journey disaster nearly struck for us all!

John had to deal with a front tyre blow out at speed on the M6 at just after midnight and it was only through his excellent driving and the lucky situation that the motorway was so empty that he was able to bring the truck (about 12 ton with us fully laden on board). it was the drivers front wheel so as the enormous bang happened we started drifting right before he managed to lose enough speed to get it back under control and back to the hard shoulder 

We had stopped on the side just between the off-slip and on-slip of Junction 21 and I can now say from personal experience that than goodness it was not one of those awful smart motorways because the way some people came past I do not think that they would have missed us if we had actually been in a carriageway and we would not have been able to drive along to a refuge area because the tyre was hanging right off the wheel according to John (who rightly was insisting we got out and stayed safely on the verge over the crash barrier

We stopped there for about 4 1/2 hours which was no fault of Lowes there was simply no mobile tyre service willing and able to come to us so Lowes had to dispatch another of their team (Matty) who got out of bed and came to our rescue. Along with John he bravely changed the wheel with live traffic running very fast and often very close where they failed to see the problem and pull out (I mean there were only 2 trucks with full sets of warning lights flashing reflecting off a brightly painted land Rover which is in desert not motorway camouflage hmmm...)

If you don't believe how visible it was try the "Disco Katy" video out ! 

They finally managed to get us back on the road and it was just a short ride to the Lymm truck stop at a bit over 5am where they unloaded us in the car park and loaded one van on the other to save one of them driving home. 

Of course all the plans had been abandoned at this point with no booked pick up time available so our plan was to get some sleep. We did manage to get a couple of hours before we were awoken with the news that we would be picked up again in an hour and off to Strensham as had been originally planned 

An hour later as planned, Barry from BRS  was our next transport I can't say a lot about that part of the journey because I know I kept nodding off ... 

At Strensham he said we needed to be parked in a spot where a truck could easily get to the front of us so we were left in the lorry park where we made quite a comical sight, and the number of trucks that tried lining up for that parking spot before seeing us was substantial, but no-one seemed to get annoyed with us (sorry about the quality of this picture)

Sadly due to a miscommunication our next savour (Nathan) wasn't called immediately, but after another few hours delay we were incredibly glad to see him and his truck who were to be the last on the relay. 

We finally arrived at Steve's workshop (which was our agreed drop off point) a little after 5:30 

As I said many thanks to all who helped us from Furness, Lowes, BRS and Caldicot, but most of all our thanks to John from Lowes because we even got a text the next day to see if we had got home safely ... Excellent service !

Getting into the Festival Spirit

Another excellent publication has featured our work - well to be honest they were given the opportunity on a plate as I wrote the words and took the pictures

The Landy is a free Land Rover magazine which is as good a reason as any to give it a plug.

So in the September 2018 issue on Page 8 you will find this article (Click the picture below for full sized image)

The event was so successful that we have been asked to organise another display and parade at the Usk Show .. watch this space

Welsh Festival of Land Rovers 2018

A wonderful display of Land Rovers were on display at the Royal Welsh Showground on the weekend of the 19th & 20th of March

This was the Welsh Festival of Land Rovers 2018, an event which I was proud to be one of the organisers of.

The idea originated last year and after some discussions with both the club and the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society it was agreed early this year that we (the South Wales Land Rover Club)  would organize and host an event as part of the Gŵyl Wanwyn Frenhinol Cymru / Royal Welsh Spring Festival.

Something like that does not happen overnight and it took a lot of work from the members of the SWLRC and it turned out to be a fantastic event.

Katy was there of course and we were proud to be parked next to "Lola" who was one of the original Land Rover owned 110 demonstrators for the duration of the event. Two definitely disreputable ladies (well if you consider occasional breakdowns to be disreputable!).

We were not the only specialist camping vehicle on show and there were many fine interpretations of what makes a good camper from a massive 6x6 vehicle that has been designed for an upcoming round the world tour, to this excellent camel styled Discovery conversion created by Richard of the SWLRC.

There were some strange vehicles on show and nothing looked more strange than this which is the Classic Land Rover magazine Marrakesh Express. It wasn't sporting a new style of roof tent (although nothing would seem more normal on such an already outlandish vehicle), that was the helter-skelter in the fairground behind us.

The main theme of the event was to show the variety of Land Rovers and how they had developed through the last 70 years since they were launched. We would have liked to have a 1948 vehicle, but had not been able to source one in time, but we were very happy to have this 1949 Series 1 which was the first Land Rover to be registered in Radnorshire and therefore a most appropriate vehicle to take place in our display.

There were other fine old vehicles on show as well. Here is Pete from SWLRC explaining the intricacies of the Series 1 engine to yet another interested visitor.

Not all the Land Rovers were old. There were some excellent rebuilds and conversions and not just for camping purposes. This one had had an engine replacement and was a superb sounding vehicle even when standing still as you can hear in this short video clip

Even when parked it was quite a superb looking vehicle as you can see with its twin exhaust setup showing. It came up in the pickup bed behind the truck cab

And at the heart of it the SWLRC stand which was visited by literally hundreds of visitors across the weekend.

The one aspect I am unable to share pictures of is the wonderful parade of land Rovers which took place on the Saturday afternoon. That's for the simple reason that I was the host and commentator for the event and therefore I was unable to take pictures or video.

The premise was to show the development of the vehicles through the last 70 years from the Series 1 shown above right up to a brand new Evoque 

The earliest production vehicle was Colin Pugh’s 1949 Series 1 which was the first land Rover to be sold in Radnorshire to the then Major ( Later Lord ) David Gibson Watt (note – a real war hero if you want to look him up https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1384646/Lord-Gibson-Watt.html). It has undergone a full, but sensitive restoration in recent years and really does look in good condition.  

With a 1951 and then 86” 1955 following it was easy to show the changes that came along even in these early years. 

Series 2’s were represented by a wonderful 2A pickup which had been a complete rebuild and a very rare 2A Shorland Northern Ireland Police border patrol. Having this at the show was a real highlight and was only possible because of the wonderful weather as its owner Clive Elliott explained “The vision out of it’s small bullet proof viewing port (it’s too small to call it a windscreen) is so bad in the wet it is not safe to drive in those conditions”. 

Amongst the Series 3’s we had Bryn Jones’ 1972, still used as a working vehicle and still with it’s original engine. Coiled Sprung models were led off by “Lola” - An original Land Rover demonstrator for the 110 and with a number of special conversions including Tony Johnson’s superb 6x6 vehicle designed for an upcoming world tour, and “Katy” one of only 48 Marshall’s 127 Ambulances made (see the Landy issue 17). 

Discovery and Freelander’s interspersed the Defenders and the parade was completed with a brand new Evoque which the local Land Rover dealer Likes of Hay on Wye which was complete with a 70th anniversary design.

Many thousands of people same to see the display and as with all such events the success would not have happened without a lot of hard work from the members of the SWLRC.

Suffice to say that this was a great success and one that we hope to be able to repeat in a future year - or maybe even something bigger and better :-)

Spitfires were still in the air

1948. Spitfires were still in the air and the Land Rover was launched on April the 30th in Amsterdam 

Picture from Land Rover media collections used under license

We re-created this post wartime theme on a SWLRC Road Run a few years ago with three stunning Womens Land Army girls.

for the doubters out there... The WLA lasted until its official disbandment on 21 October 1949

The Landy April 2018

Thanks to The Landy magazine for featuring our SWLRC and friends event in the April 2018 edition 

To read the whole issue (which is excellent value as it's free to download or pick up in Land Rover shops) click here  

 https://issuu.com/thelandy/docs/the_landy_april_18/38

Welsh Festival of Land Rovers

We are proud to be helping to arrange the inaugural Welsh Festival of Land Rovers hosted by the South Wales Land Rover club

The poster says it all ... click for a bigger version to print and share ...

Audio Killed the Radio Star

It's been quiet on here, but busy in the background because I have been working hard with friends from the South Wales Land Rover Club on preparation for the Welsh Festival Of Land Rovers

As part of that two of us  (Tom and myself) were invited to present a short interview on the DRIVETIME program hosted by Ian Edwards about Land Rovers on the GTFM local radio station.

It was fun,  Ian was an excellent host and had a good laugh at my use of visuals in the studio which if course did not come across on Radio. We were able to give the event a good plug which is what we were aiming for

If you want to listen to it just CLICK HERE to play the MP3 file 

Welsh Festival of Land Rovers

Here is an event which Land Rover Katy will be at and we are happy to support

If you would like to bring a vehicle please contact Marc and complete an entry form  

Worthy of a Prize :)

 "A work in progress they said, but a lovely expedition vehicle already and worthy of a prize"

Kind words from a real Land Rover expert. Frank Elson 

We were happy to feature in his write up and the picture gallery in Land Rover Monthly 

Proud as Punch - Kelmarsh 2017

You have to arrive before 8pm said the instructions for the Kelmarsh show and despite that being a real challenge to get there after work, we made it in time for the last of the sunshine, so here we are in the evening golden glow of the last hour of light 

The next day the dawn broke not so sunny but it was still a fine day as long as you avoided PC's Rhys and Huw who would give you any number of tickets as they buzzed around in their 'Mini Me'

The organisers tried hard to avoid fact that the the weather was getting windier, and even had a go at launching the Land Rover balloon. I'm sure it made it at least a foot off the ground, but was fun to watch all the same

Later on the sun did come out and the SWLRC stand looked excellent even if our awning was a little sad (it did cost £35.00 after all). We had quite a few visitors and it was really nice to meet Les and Jane from the 127 club and listen to all the excellent work they have done on their vehicle.

Events in the main ring tended to feature either mud, or shiny things like below and were vaiously watchable depending on the weather, but given the level of interest we had in Katy it was not that easy to get to watch things on the weekend days (Friday there were not so many people there)

Out of the arena one of our members was saved from disappointment by the Challenge South West team.  Thanks guys if you ever need a jump start in South Wales I am sure we will do our best to return the favour!

In my area of interest there were some lovely ambulance vehicles. 

Too many to show here, but in highlight 2 absolutely top notch camper conversions based on Pulse Land Rovers in the North Wales Land Rover club, and this pristine looking one (on the outside at least, it is also a camper)  

And in the stand next to us this cracking Locomotors - also a camper conversion with LPG conversion to feed the original V8 which is still in place

Finally we had a team photo at the front of Kelmarsh Hall

And then one just of Katy

Finally, finally we were incredibly honoured to be singled out by Frank Elson of the Land Rover Monthly Magazine for this wonderful certificate

As she is a work in progress I came home armed with a load of spares and even more ideas on how we should improve her so my To Do list is even longer

All in all a fun weekend was had by all of us and I am sure that we will make a return journey at some time future