D2 chassis replacement

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14 bolts : 7 pairs : ranging from the suspiciously easy, to the three-days-of-swearing variety.

As previously mentioned, the water trap designed by LR meant that the front-most bolts were totally immovable, so by a combination of heat, flame, and dremel I removed the rubber bushes, thereby allowing the body to be lifted up over what was left of the bolt head

The bulkhead bolts weren’t too bad – once the engine was out of the bay and I could get a suitable socket in to hold the top while attacking the nut underneath. It might be worth taking the time to cut the bolt as close to the nut as possible first – rusty threads take a lot of effort!

Front outrigger bolts were surprisingly easy – lift the cap and undo.

Front seat bolts were the easiest of the lot. Rear seat mounts were second.

The rear sill mounts! Now these were a b*st*rd! The steps were rusted to oblivion and have been scrapped, and the extension piece that holds the steps on was solid. Not much shape left to the top of the bolt, and next to impossible to get anything on to it anyway. Having taken the grinder to the extension piece and gotten the step out of the way, I eventually resorted to grinding off a section of the outrigger in order to be able to remove the body, and then dealt with the remaining section with the body off.


The rear crossmember bolts were ok – worth noting that these are upside down.

And so to lifting the body. 2 problems. Height. And Width.

It was easy enough to raise each corner of the body slightly and insert wooden blocks between the chassis and the body in order to check that it was free all round, and that all hoses, wires, pipes etc were disconnected. Then it was a question of raising the back and the front alternately until sufficient clearance was given for the wheels to roll under the body work. Quite a bit higher than it first looked! Blocking it up using the mounting points was straightforward… BUT…. In order to roll the chassis out, it was necessary to have the supports outside the line of the vehicle. So four stacks of breeze block with timber on top and scaffolding poles under the front and rear seat mounts, remove the blocks under the mounts….and get it out!

Once the chassis was clear I built another stack of blocks under the rear floor, and added extra 4x2 lengths of timber under the body – it might be a wee while before I was ready to lower it again. No elf and safety worries here…just kids and such!!

Hallelujah – surely things must get easier from here onwards!
:eek:
 

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I paid a company to replace mine with a Richards chassis a few years back but I don't think the rubbers got replaced - I'm trying to weigh up whether it would actually make a noticeable difference to the ride quality, it's a bit rumbly as is - this with new engine & gearbox mounts, and full suspension bush replacements 2 years back.
 
Right then. It’s amazing how much easier things get without having the body in the way! There was now room to wield long bars, to get the grinder in close, to use a hammer without getting eyes full of rust!

So I transferred the front axle and all of its gubbins over to the new chassis. No real dramas – everything that needed loosening had already been taken care of, and things mostly fitted where they should. I had previously drilled out the mountings for the radius arm bolts – Sheilder had obviously drilled them to size, but by galvanising the whole caboodle had made the holes a little tight. Gentle application of the relevant drill bit….and liberal application of white grease….and a whole lot of torque. Sorted!

New shocks, new damper, new arb and links – and a little bit of adjustment to one of the holes for the steering box. 3 out of 4 seems to be pretty good going for Sheilder!

Rear end – cut the nuts off the chassis mounts for the Watts linkage, and cut the arb links. Transferred the axle, new bolts for the watts, new arb links, but this time I kept the old arb even tho’ it is the ACE type and ACE is long gone. At nearly £200 for a replacement I reckon I can live with it for now. New shocks – one of the captive nuts ran away……

Fuel lines and rear loom transferred, and bingo… a rolling chassis. Just the old one to dispose of now – after cutting off the three exhaust hangers that I needed;

A fairly simple matter to position and attach the gearbox and even mating the engine with it wasn’t too bad. A lot easier than trying to work under the body, that’s for sure!

Slight issue with the crossmembers. Sheilder use silly little threaded plugs that break free as soon as they see a bolt approaching but I was able to get ordinary nylock nuts in place and hold them long enough to tighten them up – at least as far as the crossmember under the transfer box is concerned. There is the bigger issue of the bar not lining up at the front end of the gearbox…..but that is for another day (ie once I manage to get the whole damn thing up on a ramp!)

Got one of the boys at the garage to weld the old exhaust hangers onto carefully sized plates of 2mm steel, and then riveted these to the chassis…on the right side this time. Fitted existing front section and new middle and rear sections of exhaust. Finally managed to get sufficient purchase to undo the drain plug on the gear box, refilled transfer box, gear box and engine, refitted handbrake and both props – new donut on the rear, new bolts and nuts for the other three connections. Oh, and changed the tensioner while refitting steering pump. I think that was just about everything, now just need to refit the body.
 

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Right then. It’s amazing how much easier things get without having the body in the way! There was now room to wield long bars, to get the grinder in close, to use a hammer without getting eyes full of rust!

So I transferred the front axle and all of its gubbins over to the new chassis. No real dramas – everything that needed loosening had already been taken care of, and things mostly fitted where they should. I had previously drilled out the mountings for the radius arm bolts – Sheilder had obviously drilled them to size, but by galvanising the whole caboodle had made the holes a little tight. Gentle application of the relevant drill bit….and liberal application of white grease….and a whole lot of torque. Sorted!

New shocks, new damper, new arb and links – and a little bit of adjustment to one of the holes for the steering box. 3 out of 4 seems to be pretty good going for Sheilder!

Rear end – cut the nuts off the chassis mounts for the Watts linkage, and cut the arb links. Transferred the axle, new bolts for the watts, new arb links, but this time I kept the old arb even tho’ it is the ACE type and ACE is long gone. At nearly £200 for a replacement I reckon I can live with it for now. New shocks – one of the captive nuts ran away……

Fuel lines and rear loom transferred, and bingo… a rolling chassis. Just the old one to dispose of now – after cutting off the three exhaust hangers that I needed;

A fairly simple matter to position and attach the gearbox and even mating the engine with it wasn’t too bad. A lot easier than trying to work under the body, that’s for sure!

Slight issue with the crossmembers. Sheilder use silly little threaded plugs that break free as soon as they see a bolt approaching but I was able to get ordinary nylock nuts in place and hold them long enough to tighten them up – at least as far as the crossmember under the transfer box is concerned. There is the bigger issue of the bar not lining up at the front end of the gearbox…..but that is for another day (ie once I manage to get the whole damn thing up on a ramp!)

Got one of the boys at the garage to weld the old exhaust hangers onto carefully sized plates of 2mm steel, and then riveted these to the chassis…on the right side this time. Fitted existing front section and new middle and rear sections of exhaust. Finally managed to get sufficient purchase to undo the drain plug on the gear box, refilled transfer box, gear box and engine, refitted handbrake and both props – new donut on the rear, new bolts and nuts for the other three connections. Oh, and changed the tensioner while refitting steering pump. I think that was just about everything, now just need to refit the body.


Loving the progress..

Prolly will have to do something like this to my GS at some point!

Proper inspiration! :)
 
...now just need to refit the body.
Out with the extra blocks and timbers, and up with the front end scaff pole to the point where the engine would fit under. Gently, slowly, agonisingly rolled the chassis back under, constantly running round to make sure nothing snagged. Of course, it wasn’t quite on the right line, but the first target was to get it all the way back and having achieved that, to then get the body to a more comfortable height before adjusting the line. Bit by bit I lowered the supports until the body was about 4” above the chassis. I then inserted 2 lengths of 4x2 between the chassis and the rear floor, and attached the engine crane to the front end. That way I was able to slightly swing the front of the body into line and lower it fully onto the chassis. With the front end almost in line the rear was about 3” out. A couple of hard jerks on the rear corner and the body slid across the timbers until just about right. Jacked up the rear end again and removed the timber, lowering it back down onto the chassis. So now I had the body on….and none of the mounts actually lined up, but all were within a few mils of where I needed them to be. Boy did I bask in a ray of sunshine as I surveyed my handiwork….. until….suddenly….on checking the offside bulkhead mount…..I found…..that when lowering the body, I had forgotten all about the steering column! Disaster!!!! There it is…merrily pointing down at 45 degrees, trapped under the engine!
And that is where I am at just now……:(
 

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...now just need to refit the body.
Out with the extra blocks and timbers, and up with the front end scaff pole to the point where the engine would fit under. Gently, slowly, agonisingly rolled the chassis back under, constantly running round to make sure nothing snagged. Of course, it wasn’t quite on the right line, but the first target was to get it all the way back and having achieved that, to then get the body to a more comfortable height before adjusting the line. Bit by bit I lowered the supports until the body was about 4” above the chassis. I then inserted 2 lengths of 4x2 between the chassis and the rear floor, and attached the engine crane to the front end. That way I was able to slightly swing the front of the body into line and lower it fully onto the chassis. With the front end almost in line the rear was about 3” out. A couple of hard jerks on the rear corner and the body slid across the timbers until just about right. Jacked up the rear end again and removed the timber, lowering it back down onto the chassis. So now I had the body on….and none of the mounts actually lined up, but all were within a few mils of where I needed them to be. Boy did I bask in a ray of sunshine as I surveyed my handiwork….. until….suddenly….on checking the offside bulkhead mount…..I found…..that when lowering the body, I had forgotten all about the steering column! Disaster!!!! There it is…merrily pointing down at 45 degrees, trapped under the engine!
And that is where I am at just now……:(

Blast the steering slide joint/UJ with plenty of penetrating oil, undo the bolt and remove the UJ/steering shaft.

Obviously I've never found myself in your present predicament with it there so can't really guarantee it will work, but I reckon it's worth a shot.

All the best and please keep the pictures coming.
 
Blast the steering slide joint/UJ with plenty of penetrating oil, undo the bolt and remove the UJ/steering shaft..
That's the current plan but of course no space to get a socket on the bolt, and 10mm spanners don't give much purchase...but will persevere. Soak, coffee, soak, coffee, swear a lot, will hopefully do it.
Alternative seems to be to remove the engine mounting and swing the damn thing up.
:rolleyes:
 
Would love to do this at some point, really love the idea of a complete rebuild, nice to see it being done to a D2.
 
Great to see you sorting this out properly - well worth IMHO.

Shame you can't get #1 special tool in there to shift that shaft :D

Keep up the good work :)
 
U-bloody-reka!!!! Got the bolt to shift....prised the shaft off the top joint, repositioned, banged it back in place, fitted the intermediate section, and steering-r-us!
Back to twisting the body back into shape, and a bit of wiring, plumbing and brake sorting as I go. Happy day!!
:D
 
Well it will come as no surprise to followers of this thread - and others regarding a certain S-shaped chassis maker - that 10 of the 14 mounts line up...but there may be an issue or 4 with the outrigger ones. Now I know that plenty of people have failed the MOT due to rusty outriggers, and/or rusty chassis in the region of the outriggers....but I have never heard of anyone failing because the outrigger mounts weren't actually attached?????:eek::eek:
10 out of 14 ain't bad...eh?
:D:D
 
That’s a real shame, after all your good work.

How close are they “big hammer time”:eek:.
As for mounts missing don’t know, MOT tester might look under “tap tap” and realize chassis is solid and stop looking.
But maybe you will get some vibration or drumming when driving. Also not sure how much outriggers hold door pillars in stable position?

Anyway great work so far. 1 solid disco now:)

J
 
Well it will come as no surprise to followers of this thread - and others regarding a certain S-shaped chassis maker - that 10 of the 14 mounts line up...but there may be an issue or 4 with the outrigger ones. Now I know that plenty of people have failed the MOT due to rusty outriggers, and/or rusty chassis in the region of the outriggers....but I have never heard of anyone failing because the outrigger mounts weren't actually attached?????:eek::eek:
10 out of 14 ain't bad...eh?
:D:D

My OCD germs have OCD and would probably never have a full night of sleep again if it was me and I had to proceed without those 4 guys in place....
With the multiple complaints of some aspects of these replacement chassis not lining up popping up on a couple of forums, you'd have thought the message would have gotten through by now.

Scope of work: Remanufacture a replacement chassis for a land rover discovery using a stock one as a template - what could possibly go wrong?:rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
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