A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a BHPian asking me if I'd sold the Land Rover because:
- I hadn't posted any updates
- He saw a green Discovery in Bangalore and suspected it was mine
This also was not the first time I had answered question to that tune. The answer?
No. Not by a long shot. The Land Rover is with me and I intend to love it for a while.
But it really has not been easy. In fact the Land Rover has been a labour of love, often disappointing and sometimes frustrating. Especially since I am not a Jeeper or a machine-crazy enthusiast.
I'm simply the Yeti®, no more.
Here's the story:
Leading upto the restore a lot of things had been changed on the Land Rover. Before the bodywork, here is a small list of things (off the top of my head)
- New Clutch (turns out that wasn't really a problem)
- Gearbox rebuild
- New Alternator
- new Air conditioning system (Sanden compressor, the works)
- Filters (oil/air etc)
- New hoses. All hoses. Radiator, intercooler, etc.
- New waterpump
One good thing was that everything replaced, was replaced because of failure (meaning, the replacement was never preventive). But you must understand my frustration, the Land Rover had failed at least 15 times since I had it.
Plus there was a niggling problem that I had tried to address often. The Landy was overheating. I had tried everything (notice the new rubber hoses, air filters and waterpump changes)
And yet, it wasn't quite there.
During and after the bodywork I had ordered more things from the UK
- All lights (signals, headlamp beams)
- Mud flaps
- Windscreen finishers, beadings all external rubber
- Wheels from Santhosh, as described in the previous post
- Little Land Rover original centrecaps for the wheels. A stunning detail.
- new brake shoes, clamps and more.
After the body had been completely restored, I even went as far as recreating the original 1993 graphics (the Land Rover Logo, Discovery with the mountain, TDI and more)
And yet. I had a beautiful shiny Land Rover. Was everything OK? No.
- Brake leaking and failing (new brake cylinder set)
- SQUEAL. SQUEAL SQUEAL SQUEAL!!
basically after the brake shoes were replaced, the Landy would squeal like a bus/truck everytime I touched the brake.
Land Rover forums taught me that it was a case of resonance frequencies between the discs and shoes and a particular resonant audible frequency.
Damping might help, changing shoes to original LR parts might help. (I had been opting for cheaper alternative parts from the UK, Britpart and Allmakes etc)
After some time, we sorted the SQUEAL - damping and replacement of rear shoes. Things were looking better.
Then the clutch would fail every now and then.
Basically the clutch would work fine. But on a long drive the oil would drop in level and the clutch would tend to get less effective. I had started carrying oils in the back and had now become a half-baked land rover recovery expert.
Put Dot3 oil in clutch reservoir.
PUMP PUMP PUMP. Ah, the "feeling" has returned to clutch.
Explain to people why left thigh was more muscular than right.
This was not part of the plan! The plan was to enjoy the romance of a Land Rover. This was turning into a liability.
SELL IT my family would urge me.
You don't even have the time to do this anymore. besides, the Land Rover never works when you want it to.
Add to that my greatest woe. The constant overheating.
But I had gotten this far. This car was almost restored. Come on, Akbar and I were almost there.
Weren't we?
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Note: Please don't offer me advice on the problems. Please wait for the next update. Trust me, I've found my way around inside the engine compartment of a Land Rover.