Hello Phil in BC and Mudders,
I was expecting a lot of flak from Mudders with my thread, as Crushers is not at all lacking in knowledge and experience on LandCruisers and thus i assumed he was a popular one here; so your comments are far from unappreciated. Do keep in mind a lot of his work on my car is magic, as well i likely would not have my car at all without his work (he sourced and imported it too).
Do you have a troopie yourself? I really like some of your comments, for example the jealousy bit: i am jealous of my own troopie, it is that good. No logic there, but just to make a point. In terms of crooks, Crushers has dissed my mechanics' shop (Pro-Active Automotive in Calgary) on Mud, but in eleven years of dealing with them they have not once set a foot wrong. Crushers says they are overpriced. I am unable to agree: if their shop rates are higher than one likes, fine, however if they do the job right the first time, that is money saved, since the job doesn't need to be done again; to do so is painfully expensive. When dealing with one's daily driver, it is even more expensive when work already paid for needs to be done again, especially so when one's job depends on that daily driver. I speak from experience here, with my troopie as well as my old 61.
I just found out that the fuel lines were not all connected properly. Two weeks ago, as i said in previous posts, we switched the lines to the two fuel filters (one from each tank), such that now the gauge, fuel tank switch, and the tank from which the fuel is drawn all match. But that highlighted other issues: i drained the rear tank since then (by driving until it was empty), and filled only the front tank. The rear of the car was covered in diesel mist, a less-than-ideal situation, so i did not want to fill the rear tank. And at the same time i found that the fuel consumption was even more horrendous than usual. As in disgustingly and unacceptably poor. After two or three fuelings of the front tank (about 35 litres at a time, for a 90 litre reservoir), the rear tank's cap was leaking fuel (!!!!): it was full to brimming. Which told me that the fuel lines were crossed up, such that when on one tank, the return fuel went to the other tank. In other words, the front tank got drained real fast, like, and the rear was getting filled. To the top of the filler neck. Jesus H. Christ on a bicycle.
That's sorted now, or so i hope. I took my Dutch friend on some visits (show them furriners the sights!), and had to borrow my mechanic's car, as the brakes faded to near oblivion. I had the flexible brake lines switched (months and months ago, when i initially got the car, so this is not Crushers' work) to the braided stainless type, since i figured they'd be much more able to take a beating from rocks and sticks and what-not when wheeling, plus they do not expand as much, thus providing better brake feel (i am not a mechanic, but that made sense to me). The rear axle's flexible line sprang a serious leak, as it is a very short line; the axle flex was more than it could take, causing a break in the line and a leak of brake fluid. I must say i was a little tense driving 300km (to my mechanic's shop) with VERY soft brakes. No tailgating, i can assure you. A little lesson for me there.
Next week, we attack the fuel tanks (as well as an engine oil leak). As it is my daily driver i am doing the shakedown drives every day; it has been years since i am working towards extended drives and travels, and the shakedowns are going to take me a while yet: i do not want to go far without proper preparation, and the troopie must be right. What crap i must sort out and deal with yet is part of the deal: find the issues now, instead of when i will be in the middle of nowhere.
