Builds My LC 80 thread.

[Dave 2000]

Update on the oil pressure warning. The oil pressure is fine as confirmed by use of a master gauge. I have just fitted a new oil pressure switch and set the pressure warning to sound at anything less than 20psi when hot and at idle.

As an aside I have changed the wiring around on the solar panel setup, now the two panels are wired back in parallel, the series setup not suitable to my use of the 80, I have also made the parallel wiring different in that I can connect or disconnect the two panels individually by using a couple of switches, this allows me to optimise the position of the car and roaming panel for best exposure.


Thanks for reading and following.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

So today with warm weather I took the 80 for a run and got her nice and hot, no more false oil pressure triggering, so that can be put to bed.

The new PEDDERS heavy duty trailing arms arrived with the bushes fitted incorrectly, the supplier contacted them and they are accepting a warranty claim, but there are no more in the suppliers stock! So waiting on a delivery date.

More on this: Rear trailing arm bush orientation?


Tomorrow is Friday the 13th and I don't go out on that day/date, so I will finish and fit/test the new solar panel wiring install.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

So what am I doing during the Coronavirus outbreak?

First off I have run out of spares, the inspection stations are closed and I am waiting on parts for the 80 that were sent wrongly assembled by the manufacturer for Pedders and purchased from a distributor in Spain.

So to kill time I have made some modifications the camping storage modules. The drawer and fridge modules have now swapped places. I had reversed the cooling fan for the fridge to allow a 'chimney' to run up the centre of the upper module which is for clothes storage, the heat from the fridge outlet was passed through the chimney and warmed my clothes for wearing in the morning........bless. I had to do this as I had made a bad decision on the original install. So the fridge module has been moved to the left and a new air intake has been cut in and of course the exhaust opening has been moved a little to centre up with the chimney. The top module has a metal 1" square leg at each corner protruding through the bottom, the idea is the 'wardrobe' sits on top of the fridge and drawer module and the protruding legs tie the three modules together tightly.

Back to the fridge, with the fan changed I do not expect any lower temperatures as the fridge has worked perfectly since I purchased it second hand about seven or eight years ago. What I am doing is getting quicker cooling, the compressor and fan not running as long and hence less draw on the batteries, so I guess you could call it optimising the fridge action? Something which was always a pain was the fridge power supply, the fridge is on a slide and the cable often got caught and trapped at the rear of the slide. The protective conduit has taken a beating over time so I addressed this by putting a new connector from the fridge to the side of the module, then a plug comes from behind the jack panel. So the panel is opened and the module plugged in, a small cut out allows the jack and tool bag cover to go back on so the cabling is very neat and tidy regardless if the fridge is in use or not. When the fridge is slid out the cable runs freely under the slide, now at no time can it be trapped at the rear of the slide and the cabinet when the fridge slide returns to it's resting position. The cabling from the power distribution panel will be extended across the rear of the tailgate area.

I collected a piece of ply from my carpenter friend so I can close up the holes that were originally cut out and recover with felt. The movement of the fridge also means the centre modules will need modifying as one of the solar panels lives under it, so more mods to be done there.

These are things that I have wanted to do for ages but work time commitments meant it was more often than not 'something I need to get around to do' jobs. Now with the Spanish lockdown in full swing I need to do something as the cabin fever is building up already!

Thanks for reading and following,

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Tada! I can confirm the off roading/camping modules are as finished as they can be, just some matt black paint needed to cover the bare wood inside the modules.

Followers will recall I had a carpenter friend build the modules for me but it was me that made the decisions as to what goes were and the positioning of shelves etc. Despite having very clear ideas in my head which the carpenter interpreted and understood, I still ended up with a setup I was not happy with because you need to test your setup in real time under real circumstances. I had the modules built in stages thinking this was the correct way to do it and this had advantages and disadvantages. The advantage side was as the modules were completed I covered all exposed areas in a grey/black mix felt which was fine, that is until after using the setup for awhile you find you need to move/modify that module and you end up with an area not covered in felt, easy to cover right....well yes if you kept some spare felt, or you can purchase more of the same colour/shade. Unfortunately this felt or speaker cabinet carpet as some call it is like wallpaper, unless it comes off the same roll there is often some shade difference. So try and purchase as much felt as you think you may need and then by at least a couple of extra square metres. I used a contact adhesive spray and it costs a sodding fortune here and difficult to find, and even more so as I found myself virtually begging for it as hardware stores are only supposed to be selling emergency items during the lockdown! It does not go far on absorbent materials like wood, so when buying your adhesive, purchase way more than you think you need, I found I was lucky if I got a decent layer of adhesive over a square metre from a 250ml can, the reason is you need to spray it on the wood, let it go off and then give it another coat, and then of course the felt has to have a coat as well.

The other thing when designing your modules is to consider the amount of gear you carry, and space for more. I know that sounds obvious but I found other 'odds and ends' that are good to carry. I already carry things like a spare starter and alternator, a set of wheel bearings, a spare CV (Birf), so their weight needs to be at the lower end of your storage set up to help with the centre of gravity, in particular when you have a roof rack with a tent etc. I found despite having the modules all built I continued to move 'stuff' around until I had used the setup a few times, and you will buy other gear, whether it be a different type of camping chair, or even a piece of recovery equipment so build in some space where possible.

I think I can say that my setup is now not only complete, but also organised in the most logical way......well for the time being.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update:

Today @ 275,491 Miles:

Replaced the sunroof controls that were removed to fit the CB bulkhead connector that is used when the roof rack is fitted with ariel.
Fitted RAM mount for mapping tablet (thanks Steve and Dawn).
Greased both propshafts.
Greased all four steering joints.

Thanks for reading/following.

Regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Just a quick update.

Still waiting for Pedders to replace the HD rear trailing arms that were delivered incorrectly assembled.....

I have fitted small locking plates on the cabinet that the second solar panel sits under, one on either side, a couple of butterfly nuts make it a two second job to release the solar panel and slide it out, this is the one that has the long lead so can be used to 'track' the sun if need be. The wooden shelf that slides out that the fridge is fixed to also received the same butterfly nuts and plates to keep it in place.

While I was at it I did the same with the front solar panel, today I stripped it off of the runners on the roof rack and greased the sliders up, I then drilled the rack to fit the same locking plates, TBH they are a little bit of an afterthought, I had a div pull in front of me earlier in the year and the rack slid out to the internal stop brake. So that cannot happen again, there is actually a bonus to be had here, with the panel pulled out and the plates lowered into the position used to keep the panel closed under the rack, it prevents the rack working it's way towards the closed position, the power cable is the coiled type that plugs into the roof, so the coil wants to retract and bring the panel with it now that cannot happen, so two birds and one stone etc.

The overhaul kit for the steering pump has arrived, it got a dose of brake fluid about three years ago, and has just started leaking again, when I get a couple of hours free I will pull it out and rebuild it, update as and when.

EDIT:

Just remembered, years ago I went through the crust on a dry river in my Discovery, and then found out there was water running underneath the crust eroding it as my car slowly sank. I had a winch but nothing to hook onto, the family that were nearby never had a vehicle strong enough to pull out a fully loaded Discovery so, out came the shovel, I had been savvy and bought one of those small compact shovels, it fitted right across the inside of the single piece rear door, with such a short it was absolutely f*cking useless at digging the Discovery out, eventually I was pulled out my another 4x4.

Anyway the moral of the story is get a long handled shovel, and by hook or by crook get the damn thing in or on your vehicle, I have finally managed to get mine on the side of the roof rack, I could not get the small spade head with the long handle, so had to buy a short handled spade and a long handle on it's own, anyway it goes towards the build, better to be at least semi prepared. The long handle is ideal for digging sand out from under your high centred rig.

Thanks for following.

Regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update:

Today I took the 80 for a run on some rough local tracks to check out the installation/position of my hybrid RAM/PLUMBER/PLASTIC mapping tablet holder. Yeh I know sound horrible but seriously it's not that bad.

For a short while I used a Panasonic Tough Book laptop for mapping, it is tough but a bit of a handful when off road. And I could not find a mount to hold it that did not require me to give up an arm, a leg and my daughter!

I decided to go for a tablet with a windscreen mount (dual suckers etc), and to be fair it was pretty good but, it was a little to far away for me to see clearly, and I had to keep swapping glasses etc. Way back I was given a RAM mount base and ratchet adaptor by a couple of friends, but as is the way with these things it sits in the cupboard for a year until you do something with it. Trying to purchase the correct pipework and so forth can be fraught with the usual problems of ordering/waiting for delivery and then find the part you want is two inches too short or whatever, you really need to mount it and use the car and then alter it here and there to get it right.

So yesterday I got to work, I used the RAM base and the ratchet adaptor and then made up the arm out of copper pipe, having access to various connectors with all different angles and then solder when your happy seemed to be the way to go. The plastic ratchet with the four arms and post to grip the actual tablet was taken from the screen suckers and fitted perfectly in the end of the copper tube, a small screw keeps it in place. Once I was happy it was close enough to see and did not interfere with gear changes, dashboard switches, view, is not in the way of the passenger etc I soldered it up, rubbed it down and used a metal primer and then used 'Hardcore' black paint, left it in the annexe overnight to dry.

This morning I fitted it to the car and clamped the tablet in place, and headed for the tracks. It really is rock solid, it can be removed or installed in around ten seconds and worked just find, with two of the switch blanks used for USB charge sockets the install is neat and tidy. I have yet to use the 80 off road in anger but don't envisage any problems.

Another of those 'I must get around to sorting that' jobs ticked off the list.

Thanks for reading and following.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

I noticed your oil changed from your normal oil to your current oil... different hot viscosity causing low pressure at idle? Maybe change oil again and see if that makes a difference?

Very possible!

Today as we are allowed out now I went on a 45 minute wander around the mountains, it is hotter than of late and I just drove around in low range around 10/15 MPH? The car is loaded to the gunnels with everything I have that may or may not be needed on an expedition, the roof rack was fully loaded and was the water storage and a full fuel tank. If the opportunity arises I will be out on a trail at the drop of a hat!

I pulled up for a sandwich etc and let the engine idle over, and sure enough the oil light started flickering and and the buzzer followed suit! I drove straight home and tested with the mechanic's gauge, sure enough the oil pressure is down around 7 psi lower when stinking hot at idle with the synthetic 'blend' when compared to the basic mineral version!

For the record my oil pressure is around 18/19 psi at idle with synthetic and 25/26 with the mineral offering, stock the minimum is 4.3 so hardly an engine wear issue.

I went to the spares shop and we chatted about the Repsol change of specification, he has been trying to get hold of the original mineral version but no joy. I looked at the spec of oil branded Total 10/40, this too is labelled 'synthetic blend'. I have used it on occasions in the past if Repsol was not available but not in my engine. If you go with the numbers it is a slightly lower spec but classed for Mercedes and VW.

So back home and today @ 275,892 I drained out the Repsol and replaced with the 9...ish litres Total 10/40 and took her for a drive, typically the weather has cooled but there thus far is no sign of the the oil light flickering despite some steep climbs and being left to idle and get hot.

Something I did notice though, my oil went darker quicker with the synthetic blend than it usually does with the mineral. This is purely a guess but I think the synthetic has a better cleansing action hence the oil had cleaned the engine more thoroughly than the mineral? It is a little hard to justify that comment because I tend to 'rinse' the engine with a synthetic before putting in the mineral so the jury is still out on that one?

With the weight of the mineral and the two synthetic blends of oil both advertised as 10/40 and so far the Total brand seems to hold better at high temperatures, this IMO means that the tolerances to classify an oil must be pretty loose?

And for the record, in around a 1000 miles I have drained, refilled, drained, refilled and also used four new oil filters.

I will reserve on the final conclusion for the present and see how it goes but assuming no further issues then @Lumpskie gets the gold star!

Many thanks for reading.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Well another run this morning, not particularly hot but again fully loaded and again no issues, I will keep and eye on it.

Something of note to keep for the grey matter, the Millard brand of oil filter I have been recently using does seem to have a very good anti drain assembly, I recently found a Bosch unit I had used was found to be empty.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update:

Today @276,065 I decided to fit the modified dog bones I purchased to improve the handbrake on the 80. In my head I did a pretty much full on brake overhaul about three years ago, to my surprise it was December 2015! The odometer showing back then 241,500, so I have covered 34,565 miles to date.

I had purchased the dog bones well over a year ago and just have not had the time to get them fitted, and when I did have the time I could not find them! So with the temps building here now I put the car on stands last night and removed the wheels. Then this morning around 7.00am I was out there pulling a caliper and disc, this revealed a lovely oily mess all over the hand brake shoes and mechanism!

So I have just ordered the seals and they should be with me sometime this week. With my work van off the road it meant putting the 80 back together so that just puts some extra salt in the wounds.

Of note I see a broken exhaust mount under the floor of the (RHD) drivers floor, I had felt the vibes a couple of days ago so guessed that is what it was, I have a couple of spares in the workshop so will sort that when I do the rear brakes.

Second note the rear brake pads have a 4+ mm on them so not bad for 34,565 miles, they are the Mintex brand and were part of the brake kit with slotted and dimpled brake discs which are still in great shape, so pads will be replaced with some decent ones when the oil seals arrives.

Thanks for keeping up, stay safe.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update:

The rear axle shaft seals have arrived from Euro 4x4, ordered Sunday online and they were here Tuesday morning, not the cheapest 4x4 supplier but certainly very very efficient.

Today I have ordered new brake pads, I specifically ordered Brembo but sometimes if the supplier does not have them they will send me Bosch, either way, as long as they perform as good as the Mintex I will be replacing, they have been great,

I have of course ordered new hand brake shoes, I have a new hold down kit in the workshop, as an asides the van parts have been found and that should be done next week as well.....mental crossing of fingers.

The Pedders trailing arms issue seems to be coming to a conclusion, threatening legal action against the agent seems to have brought some fruition, get back to you on that.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update on the Pedders trailing arm debacle.

After threatening legal action against their agent and emailing Pedders direct I got a response from both. The agent offered to replace the arms with another set.....which also had the bushes incorrectly installed. The agent Dream Fontanilles in Spain have really dragged their heels on this, staffing issues and saying that the covid-19 virus had affected them, it was odd that they were still trading but were doing jack s*** to help me until the warning of legal action was threatened.........guys it should not be like that!

To be fair the general manager of Pedders has stepped in to placate the situation and seems to have sorted things out, so looking forward to his solution.

Unfortunately it seems that there are numerous sets of wrongly constructed trailing arms in stock in various agents, so it is possible some may have already been been sold and fitted on vehicles?

I will give an update as an when.

Thanks for reading.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update on the handbrake shoe/oil seal replacement.

Stripped out one side of the rear axle to find the seal on that side was seeping as well as the first side I checked, hence the reason for purchasing two was a good call.

Then a glance at the shoes for the handbrake and I see I have been sent the wrong ones, they are the right style/shape but completely worng size. The annoying part is the shop rang me during the week and asked me to remove the disc and give them the handbrake drum internal size, so stripped off the caliper and disc and gave him the measurements and the fecking shoes still turned up wrong!

So I have stripped the bearings out of the hub and cleaned them up, and will re-grease, then fit a new seal and reassemble the hub and half shaft, at least I will have done something this weekend!

It would not be so bad if my work van was on the road to save being forced to put the 80 back together!

EDIT:

30/05/2020 LEFT rear wheel hub and bearings stripped and cleaned. Bearings all good (Koyo) so repacked put back in hub. Hub seal renewed, as was the half shaft seal. Waiting on correct size brake shoes to complete left side. Brembo rear pads fitted as the same time.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update time 26/07/2020 @ 277,158 miles.

Yeh I know look at the date of my last post. I eventually got the van running and caught up with some work and with the 80 parts all here I put it all back together so.

Both sides:

Removed half shafts.

Stripped hubs and bearings, cleaned bearings and re-greased and refitted to hubs, new rear seals were fitted, note the rear seals and front are different, you can get by fitting fronts to the rear, something I have done before, but not rear to front.

New handbrake shoes were fitted (Bosch) along with new Brembo brake pads although the Mintex I put in there four and half years ago and despite 34,500 + miles they still had plenty to go. As the 80 is fussy how the handbrake is set up I am ultra careful on this, and put it all back from memory, I had tried fitting the modified shoe strut but it was too long making it virtually impossible to get the disc on despite all adjusters slackened off. So I fitted a couple of new OE versions. I spent time getting the handbrake right and it paid dividends with over four years of excellent service from it. During the install of the brake shoes I noted the return springs were different colours, and back in the gray matter I seemed to remember researching this as the springs were the same length and wire thickness. So with no further info I fitted them the same way as I took them off.

The hubs were refitted and bearing running clearance set.

New seals were fitted in the axle tubes and the half shafts were refitted and torque up.

Whilst flicking through the FSM I note an error on the diagram of the handbrakes, it showed the hold down pins transposed? I know the idea of the cranked pin is to clear the lever on the brake shoe, but the diagram shows it wrong. So curious if my 'on automatic' install had been done correctly I pulled one side down and checked it and all good, I will pull the other side down later in the week the weather here so ridiculously hot ATM!

With everything back together it all works fine, I will change the axle oil later in the week.

Thanks for following.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update 29/07/2020 @277,386

Eventually I found the time today to pull the other side of the brakes down to check I had the pins in the right place, going by reaction of other forums this error in the FSM seems to have gone unnoticed for years! Anyway that is that out of the way, I do need to fit the new HD rear lower trailing arms.

Also today I drained and refilled the rear axle with 75/90 GL4 oil, the oil that came out was not too bad but it was more black than honey coloured when it went in.

Whilst in there the rear axle breather was extended to run up into the cavity that the jack is stored in.

Thanks for following.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

A few weeks back I noticed one morning the NL battery monitor showed the aux battery was lower in charge than the starter battery. After starting the motor the charge came back up but I decided to keep a closer eye on it. Sure enough a couple of weeks later the same issue, and the aux battery took longer to accept the charge from the alternator. I did not need the 80 for a few days so plugged in the solar panel that sits under the roof rack and left it to do it's thing. The charge controller can be set using an app on my cell phone to tell the charge controller to charge the battery a little higher. This worked and the battery has held out for awhile, alas a couple of days ago it died. Those that follow this thread will recall I use the Blue Seas relay to connect the batteries? With the relay clicked in I have been using the car a couple of days around town on the one battery. I use dual purpose marine batteries bearing in mind I camp and have a fridge, despite living in a coastal town with a fishing harbour none of the marine suppliers had the batteries in stock with a size to suit the 80.

So, two new batteries have been ordered and should be here this PM...fingers crossed. My work van sprung a leak over the weekend on a bypass tube, so that is VOR, it's a good job the 80 is so versatile.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update. The batteries that arrived were the wrong ones, just single terminals. So they went back and I ordered two from the UK, it is ridiculous that I can order these two very heavy batteries and get them shipped to Spain for around 170.00 euros cheaper! By coincidence when they arrived I find they are more or less identical to those that had to come off. So the day before yesterday (12/09/2020) @ 277,682 miles I fitted the two new batteries. Before fitting the pair of them were put on a 2 amp charge each overnight and left standing for 24 hours to allow me to do an accurate voltage test, they were both identical down to the tenth, so on they went.

I had to reset the float voltage of the solar controller as it was a little on the high side for the new batteries, and the Blue Seas detected the higher voltage and disconnected the starter battery. So all is good with the 80 sitting out front with the roof rack solar panel pulled out and keeping the new batteries at an indicated float of 13.6 volts. This setting is about as close you can get without overcharging the batteries in my particular install.

Other than that all is well with the 80, thanks for following.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update:

07/10/2020 @ 277,977 miles. Fitted two new lower axle control arms from Pedders. Some may recall when they arrived the void bushes were not fitted correctly? After some discussion new bushes were sent with one or two gifts and I pressed them in. The ones that were fitted incorrectly actually came out without damage, when I get five minutes I will check they are the same size as the upper control arms and if so they will eventually get fitted, the present ones look OK for the time being.

One thing that I had to cater for was the roof rack with the tent, sand ladders, spare wheel and Hi lift jack that were up there. Ride height showed the 80 was down at the rear by three centimetres, the front just the one centimetre, new front springs were fitted around eighteen months ago and the majority of the load is over the rear wheels. If the arms were fitted with this load the voids would be tensioned incorrectly i.e. not in a neutral position when the load is removed. I think this is the reason some fit rear bushes/arms and do not allow for the load or simply jack up one side and fit and then lower, the result is the void orientation is wrong and the bushes tear out after a short period of time

Taking measurements from an earlier post I made when carrying some bags of cement for someone I used them to jack the body up to mimic the 80 when it is not loaded but with a full tank of fuel. This allowed the arms to be fitted and the bolts torque up with the bushes now in the correct position. I note that both rear bump stops have seen better days so will order a couple of those, I have drowned them with penetrating oil as the bolts don't look great and am hoping to get them out without them breaking.

I knew I needed to replace one of the exhaust mounts which was torn under the drivers side (RHD) floor, I had spares of the exhaust mounts so have replaced that as well.

Not a lot of miles getting done with the Covid lockdown so will use the downtime to prepare 'her' for the yearly inspection due towards the end of this month.

Many thanks for keeping up.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update:

08/10/2020 @ 277,977 Miles

With the 80 is still on the ramps today as work is generally quiet with the Covid virus, I am taking advantage while I can. Today I changed both the manual gearbox oil and transfer box oil, I used a good quality grade SAE 90 GL4 mono grade oil. I am pleased to say the old oil came out as clean as it went in, I cannot remember when it was last changed, looking at past history here on MUD it is showing I changed it in Sept 2016 @ 252. 361 miles which is four years and around 25,000 miles ago? I am sure I have changed it since then and may have forgot to log it? Having moved house a couple of times during that time period it is possibly right as time flies here for sure, while the plugs were out I checked the extended breathers in the engine bay were clear, so that is another job ticked off the list.

I cannot remember if I did the update of the power distribution panel or not? The long and the short of it was the modification allowed me to switch in the two solar panels individually. The panel that slides out from under the roof rack is obviously horizontal and works OK, but to ensure my batteries get all the charging they need I have a second that plugs into the back bumper. This is a 'roaming' panel, so can be placed four or five metres away from the car. So I can switch off the charge from the rack panel and move the roaming panel to get the best exposure to the sun by observing the ammeter, once done I can switch in the second panel to add whatever charge it has to offer, when out camping I move the panel every couple of hours to make sure I am getting the maximum output. To be honest one panel easily keep the batteries happy, but I am a backup for your back kind of person and cannot do without a fridge for any amount of time. The panels are wired in parallel as opposed to 'in series' to suit my circumstances and install.

Many thanks for following.

regards

Dave

 

[Dave 2000]

Update 17/10/2020 @ 277,977 Miles

As you can see the mileage has not changed, the update is to say today the two new rear bump stops have arrived and been fitted, these are the small rectangular ones bolted to the chassis by two 12 mm bolts. Removing these bolts if they are rusty means they are likely to fail, fortunately above the area where the bolts are is a large hole in the chassis rail, use this with a flexible tube to spray release oil and leave overnight, really flood the area as it will genuinely help later on. It still took time and patience to get them out two days later without snapping the bolts but eventually all four came out intact and the new ones fitted, and before refitting the bolts were dipped in chain grease.

Whilst not much of an update I thought I would this use opportunity to say how important it is to shop around for prices. I inquired with a well known European supplier and see they have original bump stops in stock, the cost of one of these parts plus shipping and taxes would have put each of them at around 90 euros which is around $100.00!!

This outlet did not have any pattern parts in stock so I inquired about pattern parts in the UK, I managed to purchase two with vat and delivery from the UK to Spain for 35 euros about $40.00 for the pair saving about $160.00!!

In the European suppliers favour was that they are selling OE parts and I get this but, we are not just talking about parts that do not warrant that kind of price, but they are rarely put to use, and will not compromise the vehicles safety or reliability if they fail.

Given that these are very old vehicles now and many owners would like to keep them, inflated prices are not going to help us keep these old 80's alive.

So, in a nutshell unless it is critical component shop around!!!!

regards

Dave