Brown's clutch rebuild thread

[raywin]

I haven't driven it yet. Few more things to connect, oil to put in the gearboxes and then I shall give it a spin.

Hope it goes well and you have better weather than we have here.
I remember the days of rolling round under the car in freezing conditions with my finger tips numb.

 

[Brown]

Hope it goes well and you have better weather than we have here.
I remember the days of rolling round under the car in freezing conditions with my finger tips numb.

There's snow on the ground here. I'm just having another cup of coffee before I go out. Fortunately, most of the heavy lifting is done and not much more under the car work is needed. I've got to put the pipes on my home made transmission oil cooler, put the propshafts on and there are a couple more nuts I can think of. Then it's seats and mats and engine cover. I shall start it up before I put the props on and just give it a run stationary, to check that everything's going round and I can change gear. When I did the overdrive and transfer box, in my enthusiasm to get everything back together I put the transmission tunnel on, put the mats and seats in before I tried it. So I had to take it all to bits again to make the final adjustments.

 

[raywin]

There's snow on the ground here. I'm just having another cup of coffee before I go out. Fortunately, most of the heavy lifting is done and not much more under the car work is needed. I've got to put the pipes on my home made transmission oil cooler, put the propshafts on and there are a couple more nuts I can think of. Then it's seats and mats and engine cover. I shall start it up before I put the props on and just give it a run stationary, to check that everything's going round and I can change gear. When I did the overdrive and transfer box, in my enthusiasm to get everything back together I put the transmission tunnel on, put the mats and seats in before I tried it. So I had to take it all to bits again to make the final adjustments.

Well how did it go?
I'm running out of things to go to the pub and celebrate.

 

[Brown]

All back together. I tried it without the propshafts connected and after another bleed and adjust managed to get all the gears. Then I went up and down through the box again just to make sure. Now I've got the floor in, the seats in and the proshafts in, it's playing up and first and reverse are playing hard to get. I've been round the block a couple of times, but I'll adjust some more tomorrow and blow a bit more DOT 4 through with the pressure bleeder. It feels kind of soft still, as if there's some air in there somewhere. I think I've used all my fluid. Time for a trip to Halfords.

The good news is that all the peculiar noises are gone. No more groaning and moaning when the clutch is down.

 

[Al2O3]

All back together. I tried it without the propshafts connected and after another bleed and adjust managed to get all the gears. Then I went up and down through the box again just to make sure. Now I've got the floor in, the seats in and the proshafts in, it's playing up and first and reverse are playing hard to get. I've been round the block a couple of times, but I'll adjust some more tomorrow and blow a bit more DOT 4 through with the pressure bleeder. It feels kind of soft still, as if there's some air in there somewhere. I think I've used all my fluid. Time for a trip to Halfords.

The good news is that all the peculiar noises are gone. No more groaning and moaning when the clutch is down.

I pushed a lot of DOT 4 through mine and I'm still not 100% happy with it. Blaming the new gearbox oil at the moment
It's a little tricky when you've changed something like the clutch cos it can change the feel of the vehicle. Especially when you've had issue like yours. Sounds like you've still got a bit of air in there somewhere though.

 

[Brown]

I pushed a lot of DOT 4 through mine and I'm still not 100% happy with it. Blaming the new gearbox oil at the moment
It's a little tricky when you've changed something like the clutch cos it can change the feel of the vehicle. Especially when you've had issue like yours. Sounds like you've still got a bit of air in there somewhere though.

I'll just finish my coffee and clean my teeth and then I shall pop to Halfords and get a bit more brake and clutch fluid. I might get some anti-freeze as well. I lost a bit of coolant when I moved the water reservoir to get at the clutch cylinder. I topped it up with water to test run it but if the cold weather persists I want a full measure of anti freeze in there.

 

[Chalky.]

Well done mate, very impressive work especially so considering you're on the side of the road!

Its a brilliant feeling sorting things out and getting a good result, almost as much fun as owning a fender in the first place!

 

[Brown]

Right, been to Halfords and got a couple of bottles of DOT 4 and one of OAT antifreeze. I pressurised it all with my pressure bleeder and then pumped the pedal a few times with the bleed nipple open. The gears are easier to select now. Reverse is occasionally a little reluctant to go in; I sometimes have to declutch and try again. But reverse was always a bit like that. The clutch still feels lighter. I think also that as I change gear, pull off uphill and so on the friction surfaces are getting more of a polish to them so are less inclined to drag when the pedal is depressed. My experience with R380 gearboxes is that they're very reluctant to go into gear if there's any hint of torque getting through from the engine. Which is good in some ways because it makes it difficult to grind the gears. It's all so quiet now compared to the cold morning moans and groans I had before.

 

[Al2O3]

All things considered that sounds like a good result. Very satisfying given time of year and circumstances. Isn't it great when you fix something and there's an obvious difference, like a noise reduction.

 

[Brown]

Well, Christmas is the time of year when you need to be under a Land Rover in my view. A couple of years ago I did the transfer box and overdrive over Christmas, and when we had the Series Forward Control I remember doing quite a bit to that over Christmas. One year the clutch and a gearbox swap, another year the steering swivels, and so on. I also remember welding the chassis of a Triumph Herald in the snow at Christmas 1985 in an abortive attempt to make a kit car, with the spatter sizzling as it landed in the snow around me. The welding was OK, but the rest of the 'team' never quite got round to completing the roadster-style bodywork it was intended to have.

 

[Al2O3]

Well, Christmas is the time of year when you need to be under a Land Rover in my view. A couple of years ago I did the transfer box and overdrive over Christmas, and when we had the Series Forward Control I remember doing quite a bit to that over Christmas. One year the clutch and a gearbox swap, another year the steering swivels, and so on. I also remember welding the chassis of a Triumph Herald in the snow at Christmas 1985 in an abortive attempt to make a kit car, with the spatter sizzling as it landed in the snow around me. The welding was OK, but the rest of the 'team' never quite got round to completing the roadster-style bodywork it was intended to have.

Happy times.
I've been out all day at the sister inlaws (annual event under orders). Had 30 mins in the house and now I'm off out to visit more relations. I find Christmas is largely used to visit people, who are nice enough, but you'd rather be working on the Landy

 

[Brown]

Happy times.
I've been out all day at the sister inlaws (annual event under orders). Had 30 mins in the house and now I'm off out to visit more relations. I find Christmas is largely used to visit people, who are nice enough, but you'd rather be working on the Landy

I'm getting more and more like that as I get older. I remember in my 20s and 30s my social life was very important. Having friends determined so much - where I lived, what I did, what I spent my money on. My God, the thousands I've wasted eating out and going to pubs! Chasing women too. Nowadays I'd rather tinker with machinery. Indeed, I'm saving the money I used to spend on being sociable towards even more machinery. Fortunately my partner Xylia doesn't mind me being a recluse.

 

[Brown]

Right, given it a workout on a tip to Wales last night. As there was an opportunity to go fast on the motorways I'v noticed another thing that's different. Around mid 2016 a new kind of rattle developed. It occurred at speed and sounded like someone was shaking a handful of oversized washers on a long bolt. That's completely gone now. So that must have been something to do with the loose dual mass flywheel. I had thought it was a bodywork problem because it sounded loose and tinny, but maybe it was clutch related.

The gears got stiffer to change as I drove. It's as if it's gone out of adjustment. I'll put another couple of turns on the nuts on the rod on the master cylinder and see if that cures it. It feels like the usual R380 problem of the gears being reluctant to engage if there's any torque getting through.

 

[raywin]

Right, given it a workout on a tip to Wales last night. As there was an opportunity to go fast on the motorways I'v noticed another thing that's different. Around mid 2016 a new kind of rattle developed. It occurred at speed and sounded like someone was shaking a handful of oversized washers on a long bolt. That's completely gone now. So that must have been something to do with the loose dual mass flywheel. I had thought it was a bodywork problem because it sounded loose and tinny, but maybe it was clutch related.

The gears got stiffer to change as I drove. It's as if it's gone out of adjustment. I'll put another couple of turns on the nuts on the rod on the master cylinder and see if that cures it. It feels like the usual R380 problem of the gears being reluctant to engage if there's any torque getting through.

Maybe you have already seen this but there's a set up procedure.

http://www.defender2.net/gallery/albums/userpics/12383/10-04-20118-31-10AM.gif

 

[Brown]

I've taken the nuts on the clutch push rod out another couple of turns and the bite point is a bit higher with corresponding easier gear changes. Previously the bite point was right down at the bottom end of the pedal travel. I think I'm getting there. Thanks Raywin, but the measurements on my Land Rover very rarely correspond to standard! Almost everything needs a bit of fettling to fit.

In other news, I had a problem last night when I tried to start it. Turned the key to the 'start' position and nothing happened. In the past this has been cured by wiggling the small 'exciter' wire where it joins the starter motor. I did this a few times and still nothing. Then I took the instrument cluster off and wiggled the wires that join on to the back of the ignition switch. Still nothing. Then I tried it one more time and it started as normal. I must have a poor connection somewhere.

 

[Al2O3]

In other news, I had a problem last night when I tried to start it. Turned the key to the 'start' position and nothing happened. In the past this has been cured by wiggling the small 'exciter' wire where it joins the starter motor. I did this a few times and still nothing. Then I took the instrument cluster off and wiggled the wires that join on to the back of the ignition switch. Still nothing. Then I tried it one more time and it started as normal. I must have a poor connection somewhere.

Could you have disturbed an earth when taking the gearbox off?

 

[raywin]

Could you have disturbed an earth when taking the gearbox off?

Sounds well worth checking.
Last year when I had starting problems I took the earth off the chassis and the gearbox, wire brushed the hell out of them then put them back and dabbed waxoil over them to try and stop the water and muck getting in.

 

[Brown]

The earths I'm reasonably happy with. There's a big one on the gearbox, a big one that used to go to the transfer case but I've now put it on the overdrive. There are three little ones that go on the driver's side of the transfer case and a big one from the engine to the body. Yes, they're all back on and there was bright metal showing on the ring terminals. Plus the battery terminals are all nice and clean. I think it's something either on the starter or inside the instrument cluster.

There's a tree down on our lane in Wales. Not a terribly big one but enough to impede progress:

 

[Brown]

Alternatively, I wonder if it's the live terminal on the starter, the one which takes the wires from the alternator and the battery. The battery was a bit flat on Wednesday night and I needed the booster to get it going. Or that could be because I had forgotten to turn my inverter off.

I shall wash the car and hose the underside before doing anything else. I'm absolutely caked in mud after driving around in Wales yesterday. Without going off tarmac at all. Many of the minor roads are now watercourses after the recent rain and those that aren't are slick with mud and manure.

 

[Al2O3]

That tree looks like fun