Gryphonn
Well-Known Member
Drinking Alcohol is not good for your faculties. I should know by now NOT to work on vehicles when you're having a cold beer on a hot day... I'm 45 bloody years old for Christ's sake!!
We bought ourselves a 1984 series 60 Landcruiser station wagon two days ago. I initially thought I was buying a bit of a lemon. After all, it only cost me $2500 Australian, still registered. I figured there must be something 'wrong' with it. Maybe dead hubs or something...or a bad engine or transfer case. But no, so far I haven't found anything seriously wrong with it.
There is some rust around the edge of the roof (expected in one of these vehicles).
The battery housing is corroded as to be expected.
There is a leak from the brass washers on the power steering pump...easy to fix.
There was shitload of oil and greasy shit on the (Australian) drivers side, but I think most of it is from the steering pump and maybe from the reservoir. I took it to a carwash and steam cleaned it (that's how I found the washer leaks), and besides that oil, the rest of the motor is clean (considering it is at least 22 years old [1987 build motor in it]).
There are no leaks apparent in the gearbox, transfer case, or either diff. The front steering knuckles are all good. It has a new master and slave cylinder. The tyres are big mud/sand tyres on Sunraysia rims. It's got the obligatory towbar, plus aluminium bull/roo bar and side steps.
The front hubs and most of the drivetrain were rebuilt 18 months ago, so all in all it's not bad.
The interior needs some TLC of course, and I will cut all the cancer out tomorrow.
Anyway, on to the stupidity.
I bought all the replacement filters and 10 litres of Diesel oil today. Now, it's been 27 years since I last changed the oil in a 4.2 litre diesel engine...
I had a 9 litre bucket....and later, a two litre ice cream bucket.
Now, I don't know about the rest of you people who do your own maintenance, but it seems that nearly every time I do an oil change, I drop the sump plug in the bloody bucket...damnshitfuckbumpoobottom...
That's OK though. I've resigned myself to the fact that oil changes for me result in a minor degree of mess...I'm a backyard mechanic, not a NASCAR engineer. ANY mechanical work I do do has a mess factor that is a mathematical algorithm of complexity x time x random factors including Blood Alcohol level. IF I was smart enough to just work stoned like I usually am, I'd be fine. But noooo, I have to have a beer when I work on vehicles. It's a tradition in Australia, and I don't want to break with tradition.
So, I drain the oil. I walk away from the vehicle and have a few more billies...as you do (and another beer). About a half hour later I get back to the vehicle (hereafter to be called Jimmy for reasons that may or may not be explained). UNDER the vehicle is a lot of nasty black runny slush. Oh, I didn't tell you that the oil looks like it was put in in 1987 too. Then I get this vague recollection that a 4.2 litre diesel engine usually takes about ten litres of oil from empty...that's when Ph03nix found me the ice cream container...
OK, I can clean that up. I then took the old filter off, being carefull to put the now less full bucket under the general area of the oil filter. No worries, all off.
I then decided that another beer was in order and wandered off again for a while...more billlies of course.
I come back to Jimmy and the neighbour decides to be neighbourly for the first time and I get distracted. Her kids are hanging too close to the opil and such and I'm being nice and all...
So I climb under and put the new oil filter on. Brilliant. Done. Next, put the new oil in.
I climb up on top with my flash new bulk flow funnel and proceed to pour ten litres of oil into the engine. After about 8 litres I thought, quite smartly, that I should check the level...
...At about the same time, a little voice in my head said, "maybe you should screw the sump plug back on too dumbass".
I now have about 9 litres of nasty, black crap all over the concrete in the garage...time to buy some degreaser and hydrochloric acid methinks.
I DID NOT SPELL CHECK THIS POST!
We bought ourselves a 1984 series 60 Landcruiser station wagon two days ago. I initially thought I was buying a bit of a lemon. After all, it only cost me $2500 Australian, still registered. I figured there must be something 'wrong' with it. Maybe dead hubs or something...or a bad engine or transfer case. But no, so far I haven't found anything seriously wrong with it.
There is some rust around the edge of the roof (expected in one of these vehicles).
The battery housing is corroded as to be expected.
There is a leak from the brass washers on the power steering pump...easy to fix.
There was shitload of oil and greasy shit on the (Australian) drivers side, but I think most of it is from the steering pump and maybe from the reservoir. I took it to a carwash and steam cleaned it (that's how I found the washer leaks), and besides that oil, the rest of the motor is clean (considering it is at least 22 years old [1987 build motor in it]).
There are no leaks apparent in the gearbox, transfer case, or either diff. The front steering knuckles are all good. It has a new master and slave cylinder. The tyres are big mud/sand tyres on Sunraysia rims. It's got the obligatory towbar, plus aluminium bull/roo bar and side steps.
The front hubs and most of the drivetrain were rebuilt 18 months ago, so all in all it's not bad.
The interior needs some TLC of course, and I will cut all the cancer out tomorrow.
Anyway, on to the stupidity.
I bought all the replacement filters and 10 litres of Diesel oil today. Now, it's been 27 years since I last changed the oil in a 4.2 litre diesel engine...
I had a 9 litre bucket....and later, a two litre ice cream bucket.
Now, I don't know about the rest of you people who do your own maintenance, but it seems that nearly every time I do an oil change, I drop the sump plug in the bloody bucket...damnshitfuckbumpoobottom...
That's OK though. I've resigned myself to the fact that oil changes for me result in a minor degree of mess...I'm a backyard mechanic, not a NASCAR engineer. ANY mechanical work I do do has a mess factor that is a mathematical algorithm of complexity x time x random factors including Blood Alcohol level. IF I was smart enough to just work stoned like I usually am, I'd be fine. But noooo, I have to have a beer when I work on vehicles. It's a tradition in Australia, and I don't want to break with tradition.
So, I drain the oil. I walk away from the vehicle and have a few more billies...as you do (and another beer). About a half hour later I get back to the vehicle (hereafter to be called Jimmy for reasons that may or may not be explained). UNDER the vehicle is a lot of nasty black runny slush. Oh, I didn't tell you that the oil looks like it was put in in 1987 too. Then I get this vague recollection that a 4.2 litre diesel engine usually takes about ten litres of oil from empty...that's when Ph03nix found me the ice cream container...
OK, I can clean that up. I then took the old filter off, being carefull to put the now less full bucket under the general area of the oil filter. No worries, all off.
I then decided that another beer was in order and wandered off again for a while...more billlies of course.
I come back to Jimmy and the neighbour decides to be neighbourly for the first time and I get distracted. Her kids are hanging too close to the opil and such and I'm being nice and all...
So I climb under and put the new oil filter on. Brilliant. Done. Next, put the new oil in.
I climb up on top with my flash new bulk flow funnel and proceed to pour ten litres of oil into the engine. After about 8 litres I thought, quite smartly, that I should check the level...
...At about the same time, a little voice in my head said, "maybe you should screw the sump plug back on too dumbass".
I now have about 9 litres of nasty, black crap all over the concrete in the garage...time to buy some degreaser and hydrochloric acid methinks.
I DID NOT SPELL CHECK THIS POST!
