1960 SII 109 Teardown

[DrRangelove]

Hi Andy, thats exactly what I did. Its documented in my rebuild thread but the pics are no longer there (photobucket wonkers!).
Its pretty straightforward if you have a good vice, hose clamps, zip ties and a big pair of cojones!
(Scariest bit is compressing the spring and cutting the zip ties)

[DrRangelove]

Andy

I didn't rebuild mine, I don't think there is much that can go wrong on the inside. I chose to fill mine with One Shot Grease through a grease nipple where the fill bolt was. It hasn't leaked out so far and my Relay turns nice and easy. I would recommend against taking it apart because from DrRangeLove's photos it looks like a hell of a job to get that spring back in.

Just my thoughts.

In theory its easy but its a finnickity job - i had to recompress the spring a dozen times before i got it right as the spring wants to bulge and bow when you add tension. The first time i tried to get it back in the relay the spring was compressed but bowed and i ended up busting the washers as i cranked it back in the housing - i attribute this more to my impatience and brute stupidity though. A pro such as Andy probably wouldn’t make this mistake!
If anyone decides to go down this route, make sure you wear a good full face shield. Goggles alone are not enough...
Im glad i rebuilt it with new tufnol bushes, seals and filled with EP90 (used gasket maker also to be extra safe) - it steers beautifully now and doesnt leak. Someone in the past had done the bearing grease method and the internals of the relay were rusting. The tufnol bushes were also pretty worn out, i guess due to insufficient lubrication. One shot might be better than bearing grease though...

[oldgravy]

My plan was (is) to just get a new one. Even if I didn't have to cut the old one out of the frame, I anticipated the surfaces inside we're going to be too pitted to be salvageable. Now, with the housing still in the frame I have no choice. But hey, at least I don't have to worry about disassembly!

Mr. Anachronist, my engine and gearbox are in the frame still and I need to buy an engine stand off of Craigslist. Otherwise, I am good to pull it out!

[The_Anachronist]

Ok Gravy, just let me know when you want to use it!

[oldgravy]

The disassembly of the LR is almost complete. I'm so close I can taste it! The only thing that remains attached to the frame is the rear axle housing and leaf springs. Everything else is detached and in the basement or on an engine stand.

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Some problems remain, however. I can't get one of the hubs off of the brake drum. The screw you see is the best one I have left after mangling the others to get them out. I've tried pounding on it with a block of wood and a 4lb hammer but no go. I may have to see if I can make a poor man's shop press by putting it underneath a bottle jack and trying to lift my pickup.

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I have a stubborn bearing to remove. Judging by the amount of mileage this old truck likely did I'm sure I'll want to replace it, but I don't want to pry the sh*t out of the thing lest I do some permanent damage.

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Also I don't know why the brake backing plates were painted yellow. They just were.

Oh, and if you've followed this thread at all you'll not be surprised to learn that only one of the bolts for the backing plate on the right rear was finger tight -- the rest were loose (wobbly) enough to undo by hand.

The keen-eyed among you will see a bunch of shiny stuff on the shop rag in this photo. That's metal from inside the axle casing. Also, when I drained the diff there were a few 'chunks' that came out. Not encouraging for the diff, but we'll get to that later.

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So that's where we are. Close, but no cigar -- yet.

[red90]

That spindle with the stuck bearing is toast anyway with so many deep gouges, so I would just replace it. To remove the drum, you need to put a normal hex head bolt into the threaded hole and push it off.

[oldgravy]

Thanks for both tips, @red90!

[oldgravy]

As it turns out, the thread pattern is weird. Some Google Fu suggested the threads on the drum were 5/16UNC, but that's not the case. Took one of my drum screws in to Alder Auto and the very helpful gentleman couldn't match the threads with his testers to anything -- not even whitworth.

Anyone know what S2 brake drums will take in the hub removal hole?

[red90]

3/8" BSW (coarse whitworth) originally. Newer drums on Defenders are 8 mm, so if a new drum was used, it could be that.

I assume you have the adjusters backed off?

[oldgravy]

You shouldn't assume anything given my intellect.

However in this case the drum / hub are both off the backing plate and on my work bench with the pads in a bucket for disposal. So, I think the drum and hub are just rusted together. Everything else is off.

Thanks for the thread pattern. I'll have to see if I can find a bolt to match!

[oldgravy]

Managed to get the rear axle off after some judicious application of the Land Rover Universal Part Removal Tool -- the u-bolts were not coming off no matter how many bad words I used. I even got creative with some of the bad words and it didn't work so I just rationalized that the bolts were non-reusable components anyway. Right?

The rear leaf springs were odd, of course. It seemed that one was shorter than the other, or maybe it was just collapsed slightly. The rear shackles were not at the same angle. In fact, there was a substantial difference between the two. Not worried about it, as I don't intend to keep the springs. They'll go to one of my in-laws for blade making.

I have to decide what to do with the rear axle. Readers might be kind enough to recall that the rear diff had chunks coming out with the EP90 when I drained it, and a bunch of silvery metal flakes in the bottom of the axle casing. Then, the bottom of the axle casing has had the pin holes elongated, somehow. Is this normal for LRs?

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I know Land Rovers often have oval-shaped holes for bolts but surely this can't be right. Right?

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[mepham55]

That looks like the rear springs were loose and shifting a lot! I have a good rear axle case for a 109 if you’d like to replace that one.

Matt

[oldgravy]

Thanks Matt, might have to take you up on that some day. I'll have to take a look at the diff and see what shape it's in.

The pins on the leaf springs look fine. Maybe they're replacements? But there's no elongation on the leaves, so... I dunno, it looks to me like someone took a die grinder to it to make it fit and align properly.

[oldgravy]

Well, that's it, folks. Four years after I started pulling this thing apart, it's finally down to a bare frame -- or as bare as it's going to get!

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During that time I've had a(nother) baby, moved house, moved the land rover, and picked up and dropped a few hobbies along the way. You know how it is.

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The axles are stripped of their major components, though the diffs are still inside. I'll get to those inevitably.

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I'm going to post a short "lessons learned" topic in a few days I hope, but for now... job done!

[oldgravy]

Well, I think I need some advice.

I have my rear axle up on the cart for cleaning and to take a look at the rear diff. However, I wonder if I am wasting my time; the axle casing has locator holes for the studs on the leaf springs and mine are... not round.

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That seems suboptimal. The axle housing is dinged up (and maybe repaired) and knowing that chunks already came out with the EP90 I wonder if it's even worth my time cleaning it up.