Please be kind to me!

Well, I've had my 1978 88" 2 1/4 petrol Series 3 for about 16 months now and have only recently had time to commence to attend to the many oil leaks, hub seals, brakes, and general maintenence etc. Only done 900 miles in it so it's not really been an issue for me. Until now, as I've never done any vehicle maintenance at all before. I've managed to change all oils, adjust brakes and now want to start on the other items. These are the 1st of many requests for help to come I think!
1 - The sump gasket needs renewing, but the sump seems to be 'clamped' in place with various pieces of strip metal - not as I expected or as shown on the parts manual - is this usual? Maybe a modification? If I take this all off will a standard gasket still fit?
2 - There seems to be a loudish knocking from the engine towards the lower front end - not really noticed it before. Maybe it's always been there. Engine pulls well enough. How noisy is normal ? (As I don't have anybody local to me here in France to advise.)
3 - The brake bleed nipples won't loosen (after wd40). Any 'tricks' to help?
4 - Is the engine breather on top of the rocker cover screwed on? I can't seem to budge it. The manual just says remove it - not how to.
That's enough for now!

the sump has strenghtning plates on the edge of it where the bolts go through.

dunno without hearing or seeing it


try some heat on them

it might have a small screw holding it

I have freed up blead nipples with a plumbers gas lamp, you need a thin flame tho and dont heat the whole thing to much, try concentrate the heat around the nipple but not the nipple itself. i have also used a drill with a socket on the end and the clutch set low so it copies an air gun and uses a light hammer action to rattle the nipple loose. But in the end it may just break, then its drill it out. Last time i took the assembly off rather than risk breaking it, more work but better than dealing with drilling it out. with it off you can heat and remove more easily.

I haven't priced the series ones up but new cylinders were that cheap for my 90 I dint even bother trying to free the nipples off.

They are only about £5 a pice

And if you knock the price of a seal kit off that it looks even better.

The gasket has to mate with the bottom of the crankcase which should be standard even if the fastenings aren't thoguh I think I have seen these metal stiffening strips instead of individual washers before.

The knock could be anything from a main bearing (big trouble) to the fan coming loose (30 seconds with a spanner) - is it a heavy thump or a light rattle?

As has been said, whilst you can sometimes free bleed nipples it isn't worth spending long trying. When I tried it (on a Lotus Europa!) I had a 50% success rate using a combination of heating and drilling out. With landy parts being so cheap I don't think I'd even bother trying.

The breather cap has a little bolt in it, crossways, which is easy to remove then the cap pulls off.

Welcome to the world of Land Rovers. Get yourself a decent set of spanners, a BIG hammer and a large pot of Swarfega and you'll have no end of fun!!

fook me another echo!! can we not get something done about the acoustics in this place

Thanks for the advice guys - I've got new bleed nipples on order along with other stuff. Methinks the knock might well be a bearing, but I'm hoping to get a visit from the 'font of all knowledge' in the not too distant future, so will see what sort of a wreck, (or not), I have then.

Changed the sump gasket this afternoon - no leaks so far!!!!!
Feeling a little more confident now. Lots more to do!