Series 3 owner! and a few questions

W

weatherm

Adventurer
Ok guys if you all have been following my rants in the for sale section. I bit the bullet and had one HELL of a drive back from Atlanta. I about died a few times w/ a near fatal one by a redneck (he ran a red light) and my knuckles stayed white for at least 5 hours from running the gauntlet. My buddy took it right down the center of ATL sat afternoon ( he has a 110 and is more comfortable in it than I am.. I volun-told him to do it and he gladly accepted). He was scared after we pulled off for the first of many vehicle checks his hands were shaking. I took over the wheel and was petrified for about two hours. I kept drifting into the center of the road b/c its right hand drive. I still have problems but am getting more comfortable. The trans was really hard for me to get used to.. especially 2nd. I got that dialed down now though pretty good. Well like 5 vehicle stops back now from the 250+ mile ride and it performed flawlessly. VERY minimal drip-age. I got under the ride today to tighten bolts up and what not. I believe that has helped some.

Anyways a few questions for you guru's out there:

1. rear diff pinion is leaking a few drops but not bad. How difficult is this to repair and what is required. I have the owners manual but doesn't say whats required.. bearing press etc... need a heads up.

2. trans works fine but when I put it in OD (Fairley) it whines a pretty high pitch and is "geary" the other gears are "geary" but not like the OD. Is this normal and I have noticed 75w-90 oil is required so I was going to do a fluid change and where is the best place to get the oil in the US?? best recommended oil etc... amsoil is pricey :)

3. Got a slight sag for the vehicle...leans to the left noticably... leaf springs looks a little rusted .... should I just buy another shim or two to fix this or is it supposed to be like this?? to compensate for the driver (RHD)?

4. I think thats it for now:) a good forum suggestion for repairs?

pics soon to come!
 
James86004

James86004

Expedition Leader
If you think a RHD Series III is hard, you outta drive a IIA, which has no synchro on 1st and 2nd. You just have to tell yourself, if Queen Elizabeth can drive one, so can I.
weatherm said:
Anyways a few questions for you guru's out there:

1. rear diff pinion is leaking a few drops but not bad. How difficult is this to repair and what is required. I have the owners manual but doesn't say whats required.. bearing press etc... need a heads up.
Click to expand...

It is easy. Undo the driveshaft, pull the pinion flange, pull the seal and replace it.

2. trans works fine but when I put it in OD (Fairley) it whines a pretty high pitch and is "geary" the other gears are "geary" but not like the OD. Is this normal and I have noticed 75w-90 oil is required so I was going to do a fluid change and where is the best place to get the oil in the US?? best recommended oil etc... amsoil is pricey :)
Click to expand...
Fairey overdrives are "whiney", some more than others. The gear oil is available most anywhere, although the transmission and overdrive should use GL-4, rather than the commonly available GL-5. 5 has an additive that is bad for the synchros.

3. Got a slight sag for the vehicle...leans to the left noticably... leaf springs looks a little rusted .... should I just buy another shim or two to fix this or is it supposed to be like this?? to compensate for the driver (RHD)?
Click to expand...

It is to compensate for the driver. The springs are something you can spend a lot of time worrying about. Drive it a while before doing anything.

4. I think thats it for now:) a good forum suggestion for repairs?

pics soon to come!
Click to expand...

I find the Series II club forum out of Britain is very helpful. http://www.series2club.co.uk/forum/index.php

The only real differences between a SII and an SIII are the transmission and the dashboard.
 
Antichrist

Antichrist

Expedition Leader
James pretty much answered all your questions.
Pinion seal - I have new double lip seals + nylock nuts for $20.
Gear oil - It's nearly impossible to find GL4 (most is GL4/GL5) anymore. The only one I've found is Sta-Lube.
The Fairey OD has a very small oil capacity. Keep a very clsoe eye on the oil level.
Springs - does it lean to the left while you're in it? I wouldn't worry about it for now though. As long as you don't have any broken leaves you should be fine for a while.

Why was the drive so scary? Is the steering bad, or the brakes?

Just went and looked at your thread in the for sale section. You're lucky I didn't see the thread when you posted it. ;)
 
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evilfij

evilfij

Explorer
As far as the pinion seal, remove the breather on the axle case and make sure it is clean (it should rattle when shaken). If it was plugged, clean it out and top up the axle and you may have fixed your pinion seal with little to no work.
 
Antichrist

Antichrist

Expedition Leader
evilfij said:
As far as the pinion seal, remove the breather on the axle case and make sure it is clean (it should rattle when shaken). If it was plugged, clean it out and top up the axle and you may have fixed your pinion seal with little to no work.
Click to expand...
Good point. Those ball bearings tend to get rusty and covered in crud.
 
W

weatherm

Adventurer
Ok guys awesome. Well I appreciate the info.

I did the 1st round of the restore today... cleaned up the interior lubed stuff, greased stuff, ... eyeballed the rig just to get more familiar... tightened stuff, got the doors shutting smoothly.. I did clean off and blow out the breathers ( I will see if this fixes it .. if not then its $20).. sea foamed it and man its running better for sure.

As soon as I find some GL-4 its going in.. I found some GL-4/ GL-5 but I want just GL-4... what autoparts stores carry it?? does it matter? I tried napa but thats a no go.

I apparciate all the answers.. I will have more questions :) I have that CD for the vehicle but I hate looking at computer screen.. I need to order the book.


once I changed out the gear boxs' fluids its time for the accessories :)

leaning issue.. it leans when I'm not in it... I'm a 150 so my skinny tail doesn't do much for the weight distribution :) but does help for sure.
 
evilfij

evilfij

Explorer
Tractor Supply Company used to carry five gallon pales of 80w90 GL4. I still have mine and use it for the transmission and T-case in my SII.

Most of the newer GL4/GL5 stuff is "yellow metal" compliant. Lots of info on this subject as most people are in the same boat. Do a google search for which ones are ok. You can find the SIII "green bible" inexpensively online, much less than the SIIa two volume version, although I would buy both as the SIIa one is more detailed. Also, the parts book helps a lot too.

PS I am still concerned as to why it is scary to drive. While steering is not lotus precise, it is not bad when everything is in good shape. Check all the ball joints and make sure the box is properly adjusted and both it and the steering relay are filled with 90wt. Next on the list is to jack up all the wheels and shake them to see if you have a loose wheel bearing or swivel pin assembly (remind me to tell the story of the 109 that only had 1 1/2 bolts holding on the steering arm and bottom swivel pin).

PPS a little lucas oil stabilizer in the OD I have heard quiets it down. I never tried it as I fit a PTO winch instead of an OD on my series.
 
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W

weatherm

Adventurer
I'm headed to tractor supply today to check.

Driving it isn't that bad now. I think it just takes alot of getting used to for sure. Being on the right hand side of the road. I feel more comfortable now after a few hours of driving.

Filling the steering column with fluid.. I found the box to do it but what about the front wheel hubs??? How would I fill those... would the fluid perculate down there from the box or ??? The Schematics help some but not alot
 
Antichrist

Antichrist

Expedition Leader
Depending on the year, I can't remember what you have, they went with grease in the SIII hubs. They removed the little button head filler plug for gear oil. You can continue to use gear oil though.
Rotate the wheel so you have the wheel stud, that's exactly in line with a hub bolt, at the 6 o'clock position. The hub bolt hole that is then at the 12 o'clock position is drilled through to the bearing cavity and you can add gear 1/3 pint oil there. However, you only need to do that when it's been disassembled. Otherwise it's supplied by the diff or swivel housing gear oil.
 
kd_walmsley

kd_walmsley

Observer
larrynsr

larrynsr

New member
Antichrist said:
Depending on the year, I can't remember what you have, they went with grease in the SIII hubs. They removed the little button head filler plug for gear oil. You can continue to use gear oil though.
Rotate the wheel so you have the wheel stud, that's exactly in line with a hub bolt, at the 6 o'clock position. The hub bolt hole that is then at the 12 o'clock position is drilled through to the bearing cavity and you can add gear 1/3 pint oil there. However, you only need to do that when it's been disassembled. Otherwise it's supplied by the diff or swivel housing gear oil.
Click to expand...

I looked at the front hubs of my IIa and they do in fact have the little plugs on the hub for the oil fill. What confuses me is that I looked in my Haynes Land Rover manual and they don't say anything about using oil, but they used grease to repack the bearings. is there a way I can find out? It would make my life so easier if the front wheels bearings were lubed with oil instead of grease.:wings: Thanks.
 
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