Changing track rod ends

Some pics of me having to use increasingly larger tools to get the old track rods off... See below for my best tips on how to change these.

Here's few tips on how to change track rod ends. For those who don't know what a track rod is, its a long bar that helps to keep your front typres aligned when turning. Firstly, this is a really easy task. The biggest difficulty we had changing them is to get the old ones out. Using a universal ball joint separator a crowbar and a lot of sweat & tears will get the old ones off.

The biggest trick to doing this is to precisely measure the length of your track rod and ends. THe track rod ends screw out of the ends of the track rod. Also, this can be a very difficult task if the ends are firmly in place. Years of rust and mud can make them difficult to remove. Here's my handy hint to getting these off easily..

1. A lot of WD40

2. Heat. Even using a cigarette lighter a few times will help the metal expand and contract a few times.

3. Wedge a screw driver into the track rod grooves. It was only after using a lot of WD40 did we notice there are two grooves than run down the side of the track rod at the ends. Getting a flat screw driver into these slots can help.

After this its easy. Screw back in the new track rods (you can get these off ebay). Again make sure the length is perfect otherwise you will lose wheel alignment. Counting the turns of the track rod ends or measuring the length with a tape measure will do.

The guys from Pit Start were a great help. We would not have been able to complete the task without their advice. Check their website http://www.pitstartgarage.com/.

The difference in driving the car was immediatly. Much lighter and more responsive. If your stearing is dodgy check your track rods. It may be a quick win.

New Fuel Tank

Some photo's in no particular order.

Ally painting the rear cross member.

Ally draining the old tank.

The old tank. This is its good side. The liquid on the top it Q20. That's me trying to take off the fuel line connector. More difficult to remove screws...

Me. Lesson - shave before working with grease and dirt. It just ends up all over your face.

The new tank with the old fuel line connector. I finally got the screws out (see previous photo)

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After owning our Landy for a few weeks we noticed the fuel consumption was a bit high. That and the giant puddle of diesel under the car each time we stopped made us think the tank might be leaking. So here's my step by step guide to change a land rover fuel tank...

First off buy a new tank. Ebay shops seem to be the best place to get them. Nice and easy delivered to your door. Its worth buying all the seals, pipes other parts around the tank that you think may need replacing. You can be sure that if your tank has rusted so badly that it needs replacing other things around the tank will need replacing too.

We booked ourselves into pitstart self service in London. They have a fantastic setup with all the tools you could need and more. I highly recommend them. Check their website pitstartgarage.com. This place is essential for any overland preparation.

Extras we bought for the task were spare nuts & bolts, rust treatment products and jerry cans.

We turned up to Pit Start early on Saturday morning expecting the job to take a few hours. We ended up taking more hours than I care to mention. The Haynes manual always makes these jobs sound so much easier and shorter than they actually are. There are always complications.

We had to remove our rear step and tow hitch. This took a few hours. There is something about 18 year old bolts that make them difficult to remove. In the end I had to cut them off with a hacksaw. An angle grinder was a bit of a fire hazard around our tank.

Removing the pipes and electrics from the tank also takes ages. The angles are difficult to work with. The clamps had completely rusted over the fuel pipes. These had to also be cut off.

It turns out our tank had rusted through the join (tank is constructed in two halves) and through the bottom of the tank! The only thing holding the tank in place was the tank guard.

With the tank removed we cleaned the chassis and general underside of the rear chassis. It turns out there was a few kilo's of mud stuck to everything. Mud is great at holding moisture and helping rust penetrate the metal.

After wire brushing and cleaning the chassis with solvent we sprayed it with pre-primer. As a rust treatment we used POR-15. This is supposed to be the definitive rust treatment primer. Two coats of this and a chassis paint coat on top completed the rust treatment.

Finally the new tank was put in place. Another easier said than done task. Although the replacement part was a good fit getting it in place with the tank guard and reconnecting everything again was another time consuming task.

Land Rover's bolt on bolt off simplicity still stacks up, it just takes a long time to get the bolts off!