Well after an eventful trip to Vancouver Island I have all my major service issues sorted out (mostly, it is a Land Rover after all ).

Brakes sort out, New Terra Firma Tie rod and Drag links, cleared most of the goop in my PVC oil separator with carb cleaner and I repaired the crack in windshield cowl.

So I went for a 7 hour shake down drive along East Harrison lake, in BC. Forgetting what a gong show that is on a hot weekend, but get well off the main helped a lot.

A bit of info about the lake from Wikipedia

Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres (95 mi²) in area.

It is about 60 km (37 mi) in length and at its widest almost 9 km (5.6 mi) across.

And very cold - even in 30 deg temps.



Looking south towards Harrison





Disco, ran beautifully on my idea of good road.





The road ahead, at the same spot

Some more shots of the lake




The folks in the truck below were setting up for some archery work
















Lunch stop - at around 2:30 pm


The Disco ran well traction control popping on when required A solid steep longish downhill gave the hill descent a solid workout. So braking and modular worked well.

Bit of heat rise on long slow uphills - on the main up to 203ish from the normal 188-190. I need to check my transmission levels, but as soon as the clutch on the fan kicked in, after 2 to 3 minutes, down to 188 -186. And rapid cool down after topping out too. I figure this is mostly lower rpm, and too high a gear.

But I might have some air in there still.

But no coolant loss and a 15 degree rise, in those conditions is not a big deal.

 

Looks like a fantastic trip

 

Yeah, not a bad idea to pull her down into 3rd on long grades. Automatic transmission's hate lugging down, especially for long periods of time. And those temps can bring your overall coolant temps up some.

Looks like a great way to shake down a rover. That's just some awesome sights out there.

Brian.

 

Another great trip. I'm jealous of your nature and roads leading to it.

 

I have not driven an automatic off road in a long time 10+ years - I need to get in habit of using sport mode and the shifter more when I am off road. There is a nice quiet country road with a steep twisty section I can play on to figure it out. Thanks for the suggestion.

Harrison is a nice drive on a week day or in the fall but just crazy on hot weekends, but if you get well clear of the main it is pretty quiet. A good place for a shakedown as there may not be cell service but, you can walk back down and get a lift to where you can call out, if there is an issue.

One day I will even get the springs and shocks I have in the garage put on the truck

 

How long have they been in the garage...mine arrived today...just want to know what the standard wait time for installing would be...lol.

Yeah, when l took my week long course at Allison Transmission...they talked extensively about lugging and the need to get the torque convertor moving. When the trans is lugging, you're asking for power at low rpm's, and during this action, the torque convertor is building excessive heat...and it has a hard time dispersing it...since the rpm's are low and pump pressure relies on rpm's to move fluid through the cooler/transmission. Now, when you're rolling down the highway at 1700 rpm's...the vehicle is basically rolling along and the trans is not being asked to do much...so no heat build up.

Another thing they mentioned was, running the trans a bit low on fluid, maybe a half quart (but this is a 19 quart system). Over filling a trans, even by a half quart can reduces it's ability to transfer heat. So, more is not better...when it comes to an automatic trans.

Brian.

 

Not long I was gifted them in April this year, time and dry weather was the issue - I have scheduled a full day. I had the left rear out but the new Terrafirma would not go in just about an inch too long and I did not want to pull the caliper A spring compressor will get past that without any worry it is parry small amount to compress.

 

"Now, when you're rolling down the highway at 2700 rpm's"

Fixed that for you!!

 

Yeah, that would be a rover rpm, correct. Was basically talking generally in my example...modern vehicles with overdrive...should have been more specific. My 01 runs at about 2700 rpm at 70 mph, unless dropping off a cliff...then the rpm's drop drastically. And yes, driving it off a cliff has crossed my mind...lol.

Brian.