Wrapped up operation Dutch Boy! Have been working on replacing all of the lower end gaskets to slow down oil leaks. During the process I figured I might as well do the thermostat mod and add a digital temp gauge as well.

I had had a slight heart attack when I went to prime the oil and it started puking oil from below. I thought all was for not and I really screwed something up. Thanks be to God! I forgot to reinstall the oil line back into the oil filter neck. I got that on and no more leaks!

went for a short drive and it stays at 183-185. I got air still in it as I get temporary waterfall sound, but I will go through the process of bleeding over the next couple of days.

thanks to everyone who has written about their experiences on here as they have been a total help.

 

Yes that thermo mod has worked great for me for years. Lotsa benefit.

 

I encountered an unusual problem that took me a month to figure out, and maybe it will help someone else. I installed a new distributor a few years back, cheap unbranded one from ebay (with Lucas vac advance) but appeared solid enough and worked fine. After replacing the valley pan, I couldn't start the truck, and everything seemed fine, spark, fuel, etc. I just discovered that the rotor can be turned to any angle by hand! Due to a slipping joint at the bottom of the upper shaft that holds the rotor (I'm not talking about the centrifugal advance here). Must have knocked it out of alignment during my last repair and it was WAY off. I didn't work on the distributor, so I didn't think to check this for a while. So if you're at wits end, you may want to check your static timing even if you didn't disturb the distributor!

 

Clarkson’s bumpers are not cracked.

 

Was this on a DI? The DII doesn't have a distributor.

 

woo no sway bars and suspension still isn't maxed out

 

Cool! What tire size are you running and how much lift?

 

Back at the sand pit.

Coolant temps now 190-210 that’s off-roading with the AC on and trying to climb obstacles multiple times the highest it got was 210°

 

285/75/16 and suspension is an old and tired 3" OME lift. Excited for the +3" adjustable terrafirma shocks to arrive on thursday. I really wanted to go with some Fox shocks but I don't put very many miles on my Disco and a lot of them are off-road. However I don't travel at speeds that will cause the shocks to fade so I couldn't justify the extra cost to run the Fox 2.0s or the external reservoir ones.

 

Yewwww!!!!!


Not the greatest photo but more to come