Series 3 Recently purchased a Series III and have some questions

Hi All,

I purchased a 1983 SWB Series III recently (2.25 NA Diesel) and after having thoroughly inspected it and carried out a few initial fixes/adjustments, I have some questions which I should be very grateful if any of you could assist with:-

1. The gearstick hits the lower crash padding when the transmission is shifted into reverse (see first picture). The same doesn't happen when first gear is engaged. Is this normal or is the selector fork out of adjustment?
2. I have purchased a new lower seal for the rear door but am unsure of how to fit it (see second picture). Very grateful if someone could give me some pointers
3. The wheels are aftermarket modular 7JJx16 and the current tyres are tubeless 205R16. Will I be able to fit Avon Rangemasters in 7.5x16 or are the rims too wide?

Many thanks in advance!

Welcome.
Is that gearstick straight? Mine has a 45 degree bend at the bottom end like this.

+1 on gear stick.
Look at 235/85 R16 as these fit on the modular rim. Plenty of choice. The 7.50R16 may fit, ask the tyre place.
Google that strip, its a bit fiddley and someone has posted about it before.

Thanks very much both! The picture of the gear stick is a bit deceiving. It is cranked near the 'ball' and looks the same as the one in Adrian's post.

Welcome to Series 3 ownership! I have a 1974 Series 3 and the gear lever touches the dashboard when I select reverse, as yours does. I am not sure if this is 'normal' but I have lived with it for nearly three years and I have not had any issues with the gear selection or gearbox in general. Leave well alone??? I actually think my gearl lever has a double crank, i.e. two bends in it. Is this an early Series 3 spec, or even Series 2a?

I would take the floor up and check selectors if all look ok take stick off and increase the bend.
Check closely where the stick joins the ball as they are known to snap and it may have been re welded in slightly wrong position.
New gear sticks are cheap.

The stick on mine is certainly further forwards in reverse than it is in 1st and 3rd (so I think that is normal), but doesn't quite touch the dash. I've got a radio fitted below the dash, and the lever moves around it. I don't know if the PO was very careful about where it placed it, or he was just very lucky!
And if you find how the seal fits, please let me know. I bought one, but decided it was incompatible with the metal strip, and decided the strip would better withstand use and abuse when loading stuff. I don't recall any significant water coming in under the back door before, so I thought I'd just leave it off for now.

Thanks again for the helpful replies.

I don't think I will be able to resist the urge to take off the tunnel cover and check the selectors. Will take a few pictures when I get around to it.

I do have one more question about the rear silencer. The one that came with the Landy was badly corroded and I purchased a replacement from Bearmach (Part No. BR 1112). The new part looks slightly different to the old one but identical to the drawing in the parts manual (picture attached). Does anyone know if the new part is correct or for an earlier model?

They seem to come in both "varieties". The main thing is that it clears the rear tyre. You will be replacing it in 3 years so there will soon be an opportunity to try the other type!

Green88 said:

I actually think my gearl lever has a double crank, i.e. two bends in it. Is this an early Series 3 spec, or even Series 2a?

Click to expand...

The below are from the Series 3 Parts Manual - I think yours may be from a IIA or earlier.

There isn't really a lot to check with the selectors, they're not adjustable. Depending on the stick there is a plastic ring that should be on the end which, if missing, would cause the stick to move further than normal

But at least of you remove the stick, you could bend it another inch or so, without risking damaging the selector mechanism...

Selector clamp bolts can come loose and the shaft can rotate a fraction also if you read the manual it advises setting shaft position of selector fork at its mid position as the indent in shaft does allow the fork to move a little wnen bolt slack.
At the end of a days trialling my stick came out of the selector groove ,managed to get it back in through the 4wd side plate , when I got home reverse rod had swivelled allowing end of stick to escape..My own fault had recently rebuilt the gear box.

If you are going to bend the shaft I think you will need some heat, a lot probably , I had one snap off at the base just in normal use

I had a complete selector extension box snap off once, had to drive 45 miles home with a screwdriver for a gearstick after taking un the tunnel floor!

A new gearstick is very cheap few to select from on ebay from £15.50
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gear-Sti...367637?hash=item4b8c4c7315:g:Hm8AAOSw60VgHW4S

I don't seem to be able to get the tunnel cover up on my Lightweight without removing the heater, which is a pain. Any thoughts?

Thanks again all, will check the selector clamp bolts.

One more question - is it unreasonable to expect more than 40 mph out the 2.25 Diesel (120k miles and no overdrive)? Mine doesn't sound very happy doing anything over 35 mph.

They are noisy but you should get more than that. You should be able to cruise at 45 - 50 mph in relative comfort.