Alberta Land Rover Enthusiasts Club Forum
General => Technical Discussions => Topic started by: Red90 on March 09, 2015, 01:48 PM
I figured I would copy my build thread over here. ;D In anticipation of spring and working on it again one day....
This truck came up on the BC forums. I've always had a soft spot for Lightweights, and it was quite a steal, so I could not pass it up.... My crazy mind is considering using it to replace the 90 after we find a 110. So if you have lusted after my 90 and want to give me lots of money, speak up...
We will see if I can learn to love the old and slow tech. I might be a bit too spoiled with the 90.... If not, I'll do a few things to it and sell it on.
The truck was a Saudi police vehicle at one point. No rust, very straight. Everything in great shape.
- Recently rebuilt engine with ACR cam and Turner performance head. Also has an ACR SU carb, but a Zenith is installed ATM.
- KAM rear electric locker and shafts with Ashcroft R&Ps. Truetrac front.
- Roverdrive
- Rocky mountain parabolics.
Also came with 3 crates of parts.
April 10: Speedo cable changed out. Barrels of fun with the overdrive. Unbelievably the speedo is accurate. Cleaned up a bit of wiring as well. Tackled the wash/wipe. Wash motor was seized, but it is designed to come apart. A little clean of debris and it works like new. Wipers were not parking and it was just a loose connector.
April 14: Adding an onboard charge. NOCO GENMini1, https://www.geniuschargers.com/GENMini1 This is their 4 Amp, marine charger. These ones are waterproof, unlike the grey automotive ones you may normally see. I've had the 10 Amp version on the 90 for a couple of years after killing a couple of other brands.
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/100_3306_w580_h436.jpg)
April 27: Floor mats. These are made from truck bed mat ala Princess Auto. I have similar stuff in the 90, but this seems nicer as it has a very grippy surface.
http://www.princessauto.com/pal/en/Accessories/4-x-6-ft-x-5-8-in-Truck-Bed-Mat/8350175.p
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/100_3339_w436_h580.jpg)
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/100_3341_w436_h580.jpg)
April 30: Replace the crappy 1.5", 8000 rpm tach with a 2", 6000 rpm VDO tach as well as re-doing all of the wiring for it. Much nicer.
May 1: Swapped out the distributor. It was not the cause of the mystery noise or the bouncy tach....
But it was broken. The post on the secondary spring was broken off. Amazing that this thing was not pinging like crazy as it would have been advancing way early. And now we know that they are setup with 42 degrees maximum advance... The 21 degree stamp is the maximum distributor advance, which is half of the timing advance.
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/100_3342_w580_h436.jpg)
Distributor shows a build date of week 13, 1976, so was probably the original.
May 6: Seat supports. Two pieces 3"x1"x1/8" 6063 aluminum channel riveted together.
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/100_3345_w580_h436.jpg)
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/100_3347_w436_h580.jpg)
May 21: Defender mirror adapters done. I could not find countersunk UNF bolts locally and waited forever for some to come in...
All bolts are 1/4" UNF in case anyone is wondering.... The hinge bolt spacing is 2" and the mirror bolt spacing 60 mm (~2-3/8"). Yes, metric spacing, imperial bolts. Yay, Land Rover.... Anyway, a 1/4" piece of stainless plate drilled at 60 mm and countersunk on the lower hole. The 2" spaced hole is tapped for 1/4" UNF. Bolt the adapter to the mirror with a countersunk bolt and then through bolt the door to the mirror/adapter with the hinge sandwiched.
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/100_3375_w580_h436.jpg)
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/100_3376_w580_h436.jpg)
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/100_3379_w436_h580.jpg)
June 20: Went over it today in preparation for tomorrow. I've been waiting for the rain to stop to get it out for a good drive. Filled it up. Got 18 l/100 km (13 mpg) with a lot of short drives around town.
Looks like the front diff pinion is the only real leak... Found the toe at around 1" in..... The steering is a lot better with that fixed. It is still a bit heavy even with the wheels off the ground. Will need to track that down.
My only real complaint is the brakes require more pedal effort than I like especially when driving around Calgary with the insane drivers. I'm not sure if that is normal or if something is not quite right. I might need to try out Claus' truck tomorrow to get a comparison.
June 24: Pulled the alternator today. The brushes were stuck and I suspect that was the problem. The rectifier was muddy as well. The good news it the brush assembly comes off easily with the alternator in place, so I'll know what to try first next time.
June 27: I needed to replace the ball joint at the steering box drop arm, so checked out the relay. It is good. It was mostly full of oil and is tight and smooth. I will need to look further down the line for the stiff bit.
What I did find is the drop arm is a spline off on the steering box and the longitudinal tie rod is as short as possible to make up for it. In addition the steering wheel was put on a 1/4 turn from center to get everything else close to lined up..... Unfortunately I had no luck persuading the drop arm off. I think the box needs to come out or the manifolds off.
July 3: Hottest day of the year and I take it to work. No cooling fan.... I get home deciding to put on the mechanical fan as the truck is just not happy with electrics. I pull off the fan to put it away and as I turn it over water pours out. Apparently it was installed upside down.... Drain it out and it seems fine now.
July 28: Adding an auxiliary relay and fuse panel. I used a Cooper Bussmann 15300 series panel. http://www.cooperindustries.com/content/public/en/bussmann/transportation/products/power_distribution/power_distribution_modules/series_15300_rtmr.html (http://www.cooperindustries.com/content/public/en/bussmann/transportation/products/power_distribution/power_distribution_modules/series_15300_rtmr.html) This panel has space for 5 relays and 10 fuses. I was needing a couple of relays for the EFI system, so I thought I would get this in first. The block is waterproof (IP66) so can sit happily in the engine bay. I've moved all of the aftermarket stuff to it, which cleans up a lot of wiring (aftermarket heater, rad cooling fan, diff lock).
It is mounted on a aluminum plate which is spaced off of the bulkhead. The idea is this gives me a location to mount all of the EFI crap without adding more holes to the bulkhead and provides an easy common ground for the instruments.
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/photo-2_w580_h435.jpg)
August 9: Weighed it today. 3800 lbs with both tanks full, my regular gear for a day trip and myself. There is no way the 2650 lbs is complete. That must be stripped for lifting.
August 26: Installed a cubby box. Tuffy 12.5" Stereo Console. I had not planned on installing tunes, but SWMBO said it must be so.... There is nowhere to keep anything in the cab, so I needed something. This one is massive and crazy heavily built. A bit tall for my liking, but pushing it over against the passenger seat seems to give enough room. I threw in an old stereo I had laying around and picked up a deal on a pair of used marine pod speakers. I also added a couple of 12V outlets, a volt meter and a USB outlet. All marine style with sealed plugs and sealed internals.
The whole thing is bolted to the center panel, so comes out in a few minutes if you need access and would be easy to change back to a seat. I also attached a bit of 2" angle to the open space to give a little tray next to the seat.
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/IMG_0756_w580_h435.jpg)
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/IMG_0757_w580_h435.jpg)
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/plugs_w580_h410.jpg)
September 3: Last project of the year.... The PO did a nice job installing a Mobile Climate Control 12-0205 24,700 btu, 295 cfm heater in the passenger footwell. It puts out a lot of heat, but there was no ducting, so the defrost was gone and little air made it to the driver. I built a discharge box with a bunch of adjustable vents and ducted in the defrost.
Before.
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/IMG_0773_w580_h435.jpg)
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/photo%201_w580_h435.jpg)
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/albums/land-rovers/Lightweight/photo%202_small.jpg)
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/photo%203_w580_h435.jpg)
Also...somewhere over the summer I installed a CB antenna and redid most of the wiring on the right side of the engine bay to the winch and battery. Will grab a photo when I get it back home.
Added a different fan controller, a DcControls dual relay controller: http://www.dccontrol.com/relay_controllers.htm Waterproof, OE quality design. The old flex-a-lite one did not like the water. Changed the original heater switch to act as a fan cutoff and included the DcControlls indicator light to show when the fan is running.
Very enjoyable reading, and great to see the evolution of your Lightweight.
Can I ask where you purchased the cooper bussman unit please, I'm hoping to find this in Canada if possible to avoid the hassles of brokerage and other fees.
I think I bought from Waytek. I looked at all of the options and choose whatever is the lowest overall cost. You need to figure out all of the terminals, seals, plugs, etc... to get the whole price. Most places have minimum order quantities so it is complicated. There is a place in the states that does a kit bit I think shipping was high. Waytek is the best I've seen for automotive wiring products.
I do have a bunch of spare terminals, seals and plugs that I'll sell at cost of anyone likes. It will avoid order large minimums.
Thanks very much for your prompt and helpful reply. I will certainly give Waytek a try. I'd certainly be interested in the terminals/seals, etc. unless you can advise about whether standard ones will do, like those sold at Princess Auto (have just bought a ton of wiring /fuse and terminal related stuff from them)? If you want to pm me, that would be great. Thanks
The terminal are specific to Bussman as far as I know. The seals are the same as Weatherpak. You need a Weatherpak type crimper.
Thanks for the heads up. Having looked at the info. on the Waytek site it looks a bit more complicated (but very professional) than I'd first thought. I don't have the necessary crimper tools, or terminals for this, and the relays I've got aren't compatible. I'll have a think about whether to go this route as I get further along with my rebuild. It might be an upgrade I leave 'till I know more about rewiring my S2.
This was the place that sold a kit with all the bits: http://www.dirtboundoffroad.com/aux-relay-fuse-panel.html IIRC, shipping was a bit pricey or perhaps they did not have stock at the time. I'm not 100% sure.
For anyone else interested, here is the manufacture's page:
http://www.cooperindustries.com/content/public/en/bussmann/transportation/products/power_distribution/power_distribution_modules/series_15300_rtmr.html
To answer the terminal question, they use Delphi Packard Metri-Pack® 280 Series terminals and Delphi cable seals (same as Weatherpak).
The model I used was 15303-2-2-4 which has a bus for the fuse input (normally to feed power to all the fuses) and the relay coil (normally to ground all the coils). Total cost was $98 USD plus $18 shipping plus tax and duty but included a lot of extra seals and terminals, probably enough for three installations.
There is also a larger version that would probably be good for doing a complete vehicle:
http://www.cooperindustries.com/content/public/en/bussmann/transportation/products/power_distribution/power_distribution_modules/series_15400_rfrmrear-fedfuserelaymodule.html
Finally got the truck back home. Started a few projects of parts that I picked up over the winter.
First one. Swap out the winch hook. https://www.warn.com/truck/accessories/premium_winch_hook.shtml
Next add OJOP battery quick connect terminals. http://www.ojopsweden.se/sc.php?meny_id=19&id=2&klickid=2
That's a slick idea ;-)
I had mentioned a sticky starter solenoid last year, so I decided to modernize it for improved reliability with a waterproof contactor. Albright SW80P. http://www.albrightinternational.com/files/downloads/catalogues/SW80P.pdf Picture shows the solenoid on the left and the contactor on the right. Went straight in with zero modifications.
A few things today. Powerspark HE electronic distributor, coil and wires. http://www.simonbbc.com/bundle_deals/high_energy_distributor/land_rover_45d_high_energy_distributor_dlb198_ignition_coil_8mm_ht_leads Just for more reliability. Seems to run the same.
(http://www.red90.ca/photos/cache/land-rovers/Lightweight/IMG_1220_w580_h435.jpg)
Installed GME GX300 water-resistant CB. From Aussyland, but run the same 40 channels as here at the same wattage. Come with a cover as well when not in use. Looks like their is a new version out now with a more modern look.
http://www.chsmith.com.au/Products/GME-GX300-CB-Radio.html
And lastly, I replaced the stock, single speed wash/wipe switch with a Cole Hersee electronic switch. It has variable intermittent, and wipe with wash as well as two speed. Not using the two speed as the wiper in the truck is not the two speed version. Fits right in the stock location.
http://www.colehersee.com/home/item/cat/114/75600-02/
I like the wiper switch....intermittent.....mmmmmmmm
Quote from: binch on June 05, 2015, 03:26 PM
I like the wiper switch....intermittent.....mmmmmmmm
Does your Defender not have intermittent wipe? I wonder if that came out at a later date. Mine has it.
No, mine has "on/off", "slow" and "not much faster" for settings. You can use the washer for a pulse. Nothings too good for a squaddie ;-)
I wonder what switch you are using?
Looks to me from the parts catalog it came out with the Defender introduction in 1991.
You need:
Switch, PRC7370
Delay unit AMR2341
These are meant to be connected with a loom PRC8295, which is NLA, unfortunately. Perhaps you can grab a used one........seeing as you are in the right place.
I've marked up the later wiring schematic. Green highlighted wires exist, purple are new. The one wire (the low speed) is re-routed to the relay. NLG (Brown/light green trace) in the original truck.
If I understand it correctly:
WG - Intermittent switch output signal
G - Switched +12V
LGB - Wash pump
YLG/NLG - Low speed wipe
RLG - High speed wipe
ULG - Wiper motor park
** Updated 2018... Autosparks makes the harness. https://www.autosparks.co.uk/lr480-land-rover-defender-90-110-intermittent-wiper-wiring-harne.html
How do you like the power spark ign? I've had good luck with Petronix so I haven't really looked at other options for a long time.
I didn't even know there was a power spark option for the 2.25?
Usually when I get intermittent wipers on a Series Land Rover it's because of a short or ground fault lol.
Quote from: Matt H on June 08, 2015, 11:45 PM
How do you like the power spark ign? I've had good luck with Petronix so I haven't really looked at other options for a long time.
Seems to work fine. Did not notice any difference from the points ignition.
Quote from: Matt H on June 08, 2015, 11:45 PM
Usually when I get intermittent wipers on a Series Land Rover it's because of a short or ground fault lol.
I mostly got it for the wipe with wash. Not much money and plug and play.
Today's project... Going over the brakes hoping to be a little safer...
What I found. Two wheels had bad hub seals and oily brakes. Fortunately I have the parts in the bins that came with the truck. Changed the hub seals, put in new shoes and tossed in new cylinder seals. I also found all of the leading shoe springs in wrong. The manual could do with a better picture.
Installed SS braided flex lines as they was a set in the stuff that came with the truck.
Installed a new booster (servo) as it did not seem to be doing much.
And the result.... Better, but still not great.
Brakes have improved with use. The new shoes needed a bit of wear to match the drums.
Hi. I re-read this and bookmarked a couple of things, thanks.
Jim