Ingles Tico
New Member
- Posts
- 8
- Location
- Costa Rica
Hi Landy Lovers,
A funny story. You know the one where the problem vanishes, when the Landy gets near a mechanic?
Ever seen the opposite?
I have a 58 Series 2 that’s a regular drive, but only short distances. 5 miles each way type of thing. A few days ago I set off up the steep hill I live on (1.5 miles long with about 1,000 ft gain). I always drive up steadily in 1st. Well the gear box whine got surprisingly loud & at the top it was reluctant to get into second.
My fantastic gearbox has never given the slightest problem in 12+ years, so I head back home, switch vehicles & call my trustee mechanic. He says “bring it over”! It’s 11 miles away & the best gear I could find was low box & 4th. So I plod over to see him at about 15 mph max. He lives at high altitude (in coffee country) so it’s steep uphill virtually all the way (As an aside, “Land Rover” brand coffee is grown right here around San Ramon, Costa Rica).
I’m praying the gear box holds together, but it’s kind & runs smooth & quiet all the way.
Well the mechanic gets in & typically the moment he drives, he finds all the gears & is looking at me as if I’m completely insane. He drives a bit downhill from his house going through every gear without difficulty.
Well it’s time to go back & he lines up to reverse uphill into a driveway to turn around on the narrow road.
Bloody hell, I thought the gear box had exploded on him! It never went backwards again, but did it make a din? That Landy wasn’t going anywhere, at least backwards it wasn’t. He had to tow me backwards back up the hill with one of his Landies, to get to his workshop. He has lots of Landies (& nothing else).
What happened? I don’t know yet, because the gear box is coming out today. The look on his face when the gear box “let go” was spectacular. All he had to say was “Malo” (bad, in Spanish). My Spanish is awful, but I managed to get the message across “see, I told you something was wrong with the gear box”!
If interested, I’ll write another chapter once the busted bits are removed & replaced. We have literally hundreds of Series Land Rovers around here. They were bought by Coffee farmers in the 60’s & 70’s.
It’s sometimes called a “Land Rover country”.
Good used spares are everywhere from Landies, that met their end, plus the local spares guy does a roaring trade having so many Landies to care for. Some of them are Family Heirlooms in the third generation of ownership, having been bought by Grandpa brand new! All working vehicles too, not showroom specials.
He’ll have my Landy rolling again in no time,
Cheers, Ingles Tico.
A funny story. You know the one where the problem vanishes, when the Landy gets near a mechanic?
Ever seen the opposite?
I have a 58 Series 2 that’s a regular drive, but only short distances. 5 miles each way type of thing. A few days ago I set off up the steep hill I live on (1.5 miles long with about 1,000 ft gain). I always drive up steadily in 1st. Well the gear box whine got surprisingly loud & at the top it was reluctant to get into second.
My fantastic gearbox has never given the slightest problem in 12+ years, so I head back home, switch vehicles & call my trustee mechanic. He says “bring it over”! It’s 11 miles away & the best gear I could find was low box & 4th. So I plod over to see him at about 15 mph max. He lives at high altitude (in coffee country) so it’s steep uphill virtually all the way (As an aside, “Land Rover” brand coffee is grown right here around San Ramon, Costa Rica).
I’m praying the gear box holds together, but it’s kind & runs smooth & quiet all the way.
Well the mechanic gets in & typically the moment he drives, he finds all the gears & is looking at me as if I’m completely insane. He drives a bit downhill from his house going through every gear without difficulty.
Well it’s time to go back & he lines up to reverse uphill into a driveway to turn around on the narrow road.
Bloody hell, I thought the gear box had exploded on him! It never went backwards again, but did it make a din? That Landy wasn’t going anywhere, at least backwards it wasn’t. He had to tow me backwards back up the hill with one of his Landies, to get to his workshop. He has lots of Landies (& nothing else).
What happened? I don’t know yet, because the gear box is coming out today. The look on his face when the gear box “let go” was spectacular. All he had to say was “Malo” (bad, in Spanish). My Spanish is awful, but I managed to get the message across “see, I told you something was wrong with the gear box”!
If interested, I’ll write another chapter once the busted bits are removed & replaced. We have literally hundreds of Series Land Rovers around here. They were bought by Coffee farmers in the 60’s & 70’s.
It’s sometimes called a “Land Rover country”.
Good used spares are everywhere from Landies, that met their end, plus the local spares guy does a roaring trade having so many Landies to care for. Some of them are Family Heirlooms in the third generation of ownership, having been bought by Grandpa brand new! All working vehicles too, not showroom specials.
He’ll have my Landy rolling again in no time,
Cheers, Ingles Tico.
