flyingwil
Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
LOL... that's because I think I have turned like maybe 2 bolts on the Rovers... Its a learning project for Dusty, and I think he is getting a lot out of it.
RRC Build ... Roverzilla
- Thread starter flyingwil
- Start date
LOL... that's because I think I have turned like maybe 2 bolts on the Rovers... Its a learning project for Dusty, and I think he is getting a lot out of it.
Dave Bennett
Adventurist
So, you're the "executive observer" then? :sombrero:
flyingwil
Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
I guess you could say that... LOL
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
Woah, I guess I missed the part about a TDI swap. Wow.
Just a note: You should wear MUCH better protection than that when grinding. I used to get stuff in my eyes all the time like that. Now I wear either a full face shield, or goggles that seal to the face. But most of the time I wear the face shield. It's much safer when a disk explodes, or the one time I had the grinder kick up and into my face, the full face shield saved me. This is all especially important working in close quarters like that.
Just a note: You should wear MUCH better protection than that when grinding. I used to get stuff in my eyes all the time like that. Now I wear either a full face shield, or goggles that seal to the face. But most of the time I wear the face shield. It's much safer when a disk explodes, or the one time I had the grinder kick up and into my face, the full face shield saved me. This is all especially important working in close quarters like that.
Last edited:
flyingwil
Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
Graham Kept the 300tdi, we started off just by starting to repair the '87 from the collision, and are now swamping into the '89.
I guess my first post wasn't too clear... We have the '87 that was involled in a front end collision, and my wife and I decided that it good for her brother to learn general mechanics by repairing it. So we went and got him the '90 RRC, to steal the hood, and front clip off of it. A few days after we got the '90, we saw Graham was selling the '89 Chasis and Body and decided to do the jump. And thats how we got to where we are now.
So we decided to make a Franken-Rover, and we played the name to make Roverzilla. End goal is to have the 3.9l with the LT230 and ZF Auto in it. Since we got it with the lift, rack, bumpers, and sliders, after tires and the swap we should be pretty close to good to go on the mechanical issues. We will be taking the best of the three parts for interior parts, and hoping to have a decent rig at the end.
Dude you need to eat some weaties to control those grinders:sombrero:
flyingwil
Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
Frame is set to go, engine mounts installed, and we are awaiting the motor mounts (the rubber parts) to arrive in the mean time.
With the frame clean, FlyingWen got to some exterior cosmetics in painting the bumpers, and sliders. I filled in the holes that were drilled for the tow bar, and some other random holes on the rear swingout, and she went to painting.
We tossed around ideas on what to do about the D-pilar vinyl on the RRC, and we decided to peel the vinyl off and coat it in bed-liner rather than mess with all the other issues. Looks pretty good, but we'll see how it handles the dust.
With the frame clean, FlyingWen got to some exterior cosmetics in painting the bumpers, and sliders. I filled in the holes that were drilled for the tow bar, and some other random holes on the rear swingout, and she went to painting.
We tossed around ideas on what to do about the D-pilar vinyl on the RRC, and we decided to peel the vinyl off and coat it in bed-liner rather than mess with all the other issues. Looks pretty good, but we'll see how it handles the dust.
flyingwil
Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
Well the engine slid in sometime earlier this week. However we came across a slight snag, in the LT230 t-case. The case broke on the case, and we're back to sticking with the BW Tcase in the meantime.
It is definitely serving its purpose, and I am confident that he is learning a lot.
Yup, that is to come.
flyingwil
Supporting Sponsor - Sierra Expeditions
Update
Just a quick update. The engine swap went well, and we put in the 3.9 and this past weekend got the ZF and T-case is finally mated up behind the 3.9. This has been one heck of a learning experience for Dusty, and FlyingWen too. So at least this project is well worth it just for that.
We cheated and used an engine hoist to mate the transmission, skipping the transmission jack all together.
(this pic makes me want that Tdi)
Wrenchin'
Next comes electrical harnesses and drive shafts.
Just a quick update. The engine swap went well, and we put in the 3.9 and this past weekend got the ZF and T-case is finally mated up behind the 3.9. This has been one heck of a learning experience for Dusty, and FlyingWen too. So at least this project is well worth it just for that.
We cheated and used an engine hoist to mate the transmission, skipping the transmission jack all together.
(this pic makes me want that Tdi)
Wrenchin'
Next comes electrical harnesses and drive shafts.
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
We cheated and used an engine hoist to mate the transmission, skipping the transmission jack all together.
I only read this this morning. Funny you should mention that, because I was thinking something like this myself as I was struggling with the transmission jack last night!
Snagger
Explorer
The Borg Warner unit was introduced on late RRCs and continued to be used on the P38.
The viscous coupling in the BW transfer box is permanently engaged, giving full time 4wd. It merely acts as a limited slip diff. The BW unit is gear driven, making it quieter and cooler running than the LT230. The BW unit also tends not to give any problems with main shaft spline wear on the gear box, which is a well known LT230 issue.
LT230s continued to be used on Discoverys (1 and II) and on the current Defender because of their price to the factory and because of the cost of maintenance (a new non-genuine viscous unit for the BW transfer box costs over £300 in the UK, never mind abroad).
The LT230 has a couple of advantages in being available in lower ranges for Defenders (1.4:1 and 1.6:1), and in being able to accept GKN or Rover drive overdrives in 1.4 format. It also has the relatively minor feature of allowing safety inspection brake tests to be conducted on a single pair of wheel rollers with the diff open, while such testing could damage the viscous coupling of the BW unit (requiring a Tapley test), and the fact that a cautious drive home with the diff lock engaged after shearing a half shaft is not going to harm the transfer box, while doing the same with a BW unit could damage the viscous coupling because of the continuous shear force.
BW units don't get retro-fitted to Defenders because of their price and because they would leave the final gearing far too high. Few people fit them to Discoverys because most discovery owners are not enthusiasts and have no idea about the BW unit or the fact that it could be transplanted. I have only ever heard of people retro fitting LT230s to late RRCs if they have a faulty BW unit and have cheap access to an LT230 and the car isn't cherished.
The rest of the BW unit is very robust, and while the chains can eventually stretch a little, I still have very little backlash in my RRC after 170,000 miles, with the original diffs and transmission still working well. I can't imagine an R380 or LT77 main shaft surviving 170,000 miles on an LT230.
For what it's worth, the Discovery II had the standard "Q gear" (quiet gears, with finer teeth) and a 1.22:1 ratio similar to the earlier RRCs and the Discovery 1. The first year or so had the selector linkage to the diff lock omitted because LR thought that the electronic traction control would eliminate the need for the locking diff, but they soon found otherwise and refit the selector linkages on subsequent years. It wasn't uncommon for UK owners who used their early Discovery IIs off road to retro fit the linkages to their otherwise fully equipped LT230s.