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