Bits that broke

ihana.com - big trip - the landy - bits that broke

The landy is driven hard over the worst roads you can imagine, everything from deep river crossings to hammering across corrugated, dusty tracks in the baking heat. Some things are going to break. Hopefully, thanks to 'regular' preventative maintenance, not too many! Things that were fixed or replaced as routine maintenance are listed here.

Punctures: first 40,000 kms with Michelin XZL tyres - 0 punctures, current replacement BFGoodrich Mud Terrain tyres have had 17 punctures. 3 have been from bits of metal, the rest from dirt getting inside the tyre and wearing a hole in the tube.

Current problems

(mainly not fixed due to unavailability of parts and/or motivation)

part nature of fault broken since notes
coleman cooker pump and burner don't work properly 3/2003 pain in the arse...now using MSR cooker
grease nipple disappeared 3/2003 fell out of rearmost universal joint
military light switch contacts wore out then snapped off knob trying to open it 12/2002 broke just when we needed lights on 24hrs - caused problems with cops - still works more or less
gearbox reverse gear pops out if lever not held in place 08/2002 getting worse, lets keep going forwards
handbrake shoes worn out after being full of mud and jammed on in Canaima 08/2002 wooden chock works fine so far
windscreen washers no water comes out 09/2001

rarely a problem, blocked somewhere

Problems fixed

part nature of fault broke when age of part where broke notes
fuel tank leaking 7/2003 12 yrs peru leaking on the last day of the trip - welded up in Lima
hazard light switch stuck then broke when hit with a stick...err... 2/2003 12 yrs argentina got a new one brought over to peru
water pump bearing failed 5/2003 12 yrs peru been a bit wobbly for last six months, had a spare one that fit after a bit of modification
exhaust rear silencer internal rattle 3/2003 3 - 12 yrs argentina cut off and straight pipe welded on in Bolivia
cubby box wouldn't open after being attacked by a screwdriver wielding thief 3/2003 2 yrs argentina sawed the bent bit off and had it welded over the border in Chile
speedo cable broke 3/2003 3 yrs chile easily replaced with a spare one
exhaust mid mount snapped again 12/2002 3 months uruguay fixed in Pucon, Chile
military light switch contacts wore out then snapped off knob trying to open it 12/2002 12 yrs paraguay broke just when we needed lights on 24hrs - caused problems with cops, still works more or less
brake lights pedal switch stopped working 12/2002 12 yrs paraguay replaced with one from an Argentinian car in Mendoza
cab electric fan stopped oscillating after a year of sterling service 12/2002 12 months brazil replacement found in the zona libre on the Paraguay border
rear shocks shaft snapped, others leaking 10/2002 5 months brazil shock past its best in Venezuela, too much bouncing made it snap. Replaced with free Black Diamond (thanks to Claudio in S.Paulo) shocks after OME wouldn't give us a new set under warranty.
exhaust mid mount snapped and rattled a lot 9/2002 2 - 12 yrs brazil nicely welded up for a few reals
hot spots cracked a bit 8/2002 2 - 12 yrs guyana cracked so replaced while the head is off
tappet slider bent due to timing belt breaking 8/2002 2 - 12 yrs guyana caused by timing belt break
valves bent due to timing belt breaking 8/2002 2 - 12 yrs guyana caused by timing belt break
push rods bent due to timing belt breaking 8/2002 2 - 12 yrs guyana caused by timing belt break
timing belt snapped 50kms from civilisation 8/2002 2 yrs guyana snapped without warning while cruising along
short front driveshaft snapped while stuck in quicksand 8/2002 2 - 12 yrs guyana got one for high price in Guyana
wing mirrors both cracked by trees in the jungle 8/2002 9 months guyana still usable
air horn degenerated until became mute 8/2002 1 yr venezuela replaced with 2 loud normal horns
long front driveshaft snapped while stuck in the jungle 7/2002 2 - 12 yrs venezuela another one sent from england and fitted in Venezuela
2nd battery most of the liquid inside has disappeared despite it being 'sealed for life' and guaranteed for 4 years 6/2002 1 yr venezuela replaced in Venezuela
rear door lock wont lock properly, certainly due to dust inside 4/2002 12 yrs colombia thankfully we've got the big padlock on the back door.
transfer box oil seal half a litre of oil leaking out every 1000kms 3/2002 2 - 12 yrs panama replaced input shaft seal in Venezuela - unfortunately needed to change the idler shaft seal too - fixed it in Argentina
clutch pedal spring snapped 3/2002 12 yrs panama bought another in the nearest car parts shop
handbrake cable snapped at lever end of cable 2/2002 2 - 12 yrs costa rica made do with rocks under the wheels until got a spare from a crashed discovery in Panama.
Sony mini disc stereo constant dust ingestion not good for the reading or the loading mechanisms 2/2002 3 yrs nicaragua gradually started to think some MDs were blank then needed a good whack to eject them. Finally died in Costa Rica leaving just the radio working. New one bought in Panama and another in Venezuela!
shock absorbers front right and rear left Old Man Emu shocks leaked lots of oil and became totally ineffective 1/2002 11 months honduras gradually got worse and dangerous to drive, esp. on steep off road descents. New set delivered to Panama and fitted in Colombia.
exhaust end pipe eventually snapped off after a disagreement with a tree 1/2002 2 - 12 yrs honduras a bit of wire round the silencer seems to have done the trick. welded properly in Venezuela
radiator lower 5mm compressed by chassis mounts due to landy smacking into mud holes, caused fluid loss 1/2002 2 - 12 yrs honduras / costa rica stopped leaking initially after losing 2 header tankfuls of fluid. Started leaking spontaneously in Costa Rica necessitating some stop-leak fluid. Fine since then.
rear speaker mounts mounting bolts snapped, then tried rivets which snapped, then more bolts which held until the whole bracket snapped due to vibrations on rough roads 1/2002 1 yr honduras mounting brackets finally replaced with hefty steel bar months later in Venezuela
cab electric fan motor died after working hard in the heat of Mexico 12/2001 6 months belize found an even bigger and better one.
fuel injector injector nozzle cover cracked probably due to high temperatures 8/2001 2 - 12 yrs baja, mexico very slow and noisy progress to nearest town for repair with big black clouds of smoke pouring out.

grey text signifies non landy part