What 20.000 km in Africa did to our car, Maintenance on the Road // EP. 60

[@jonbarlow3542]

Personally I didnt know anything about mechanical repairs until I bought a Landrover defender td5, I did have history with land rovers; a close friend had series 1,2 & 3 and way back in the late 70's, early eighties, pre-dif-locks, land rovers just got to places that the other brands didn't, due to the land rovers ability to keep its wheels on the ground, yes suspension articulation/flex! We rescued land cruisers and nissans, I actually had an early nissan, it was tough and powerful but wasn't at all capable off road, gearing wasn't low enough & the suspension (all standard)lacked flex! The landrovers however always broke something, and all three series were always perpetually being worked on! With the advent of diff-locks the Landrover lost its edge! Right from day one I was under the defender fixing it, it had all sorts of wiring issues and that never goes, the new part is defective, crappy little things like the indicator switches etc, if you find yourself in this predictament buy several because you will need them. I had the gearbox fixed; apparently you cant pull a tailor in fith gear, and the gear box after repairs always leaked oil. I later had a subaru forest that did the same trailer work without the breakage! It got to a point where I couldn't trust the Defender in remote scenarios/situations that I just didn't go! Reliability is something I value when it comes to four wheel drives so I drive a cruiser, I just do the basic maintenance! Yes there are a plethora of great third party parts for landies, you need a whole lot of passion and $ and at the end of the day a cruiser or Nissan or mazda or isszu are all far more reliable and potentially more capable 4x4's oh yes the defender looks good! I can be grateful to my defender for exposing me to mechanical repairs, now I do all my own, thank you landrover! Sell the fricken thing (landy) whilst the market is strong and buy Japanese, add all the after market goodies and realize an investment in fun and adventure!

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Jon thanks for sharing your story around Land Rovers! It great to hear others experiences. We love our Defender, and I share a common thing with you, I got exposed to car repairs by the Defender but I still like it. We’re lucky with the car it never let us down in 10 years and 140k km. Even pulling heavy trailers in 5th gear 😅 I drive 80 % of the time in 5 gear 🙈 I dreamed of having a Defender as a kid and I made it come true, this is why I will not sell this car. Nevertheless for the money i bought the Defender, converted and maintained it over 10 years I would not be able to buy a Land Cruiser in Europe… I’m used to work on my cars, I normally drive cars that are not worth more then 1500€. If you can repair small things yourself you can drive those cars only for the money you spent in fuel, there is no value to be lost 😅 therefore doing here and there a bit of work at the Defender is my normal 🤷‍♂️ And I still think “it’s not an adventure until something goes wrong” 😂 And there is one huge bonus to driving a Defender when you travel. The Land Rover Community is incredible. We met so many people that we now call friends through the Land Rover connection. This is priceless

[@lafras1973]

And this is why landrover missed the point by several hundred miles with the new Defender. This is what overlanding is all about.... fixing a vehicle with real tools not a laptop

[@Thebluelandy]

I couldn't agree more, they just built another SUV not a utilitarian Car.... I'm glad I didn't need a nanocom yet to troubleshoot the engine, cause we didn't bring one. They are just too expensive

[@lafras1973]

@@Thebluelandy are you still in Namibia

[@Thebluelandy]

@@lafras1973 sadly not anymore 😫

[@lafras1973]

@@Thebluelandy enjoy your trip...will follow on KZbin

[@sarahdell4042]

Unfortunately you cannot make a vehicle like the old Defenders anymore. Safety & emission standards. I love the older Defenders, they will always have a soft spot in my heart. The fact they are all worth so much these days kills the essence of them. Not to mention they rust so badly!!!

[@buffalolizard]

Good work Kai!!! This is real overlanding in case anyone is wondering! Your Landy is the perfect repairable machine.

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you 😊 Yeah luckily maintenance pays off for us

[@buffalolizard]

The fact that you can personally repair your vehicle with rudimentary tools, techniques, new parts and precise craftsmanship attests to your capability. Btw, excellent videography too. Keep it up! It makes me feel like my experience in repairing Dodge, Jeep, Chevy and Ford would cross over to Land Rover…after watching your video. Thank you!

[@Thebluelandy]

I’m sure if you have worked on those you could take care of a Landy with ease

[@WilfredWalker-dq6rp]

I'm very envious of your mechanical abilities Kai !

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Wilfred, it's all about practice. ,😉

[@maestroross5248]

after all love your vidos but that bearing wont go for long you have to press the grizzz tru

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey! Thank you for your concern! 45.000km and going 🤟

[@roblynch9219]

for the axle nuts, you can replace the Td5 single nut with the prior dual stub axle Nuts and washers, the torque spec is much less and easy to do with hand tools... plus you can easy reuse them. nuts (4 needed per axle) FFRC8700, washers FTC5281 (2 per axle) and FFTC3179 (lock washer, 2 needed per axle). Remove the inner spacer since you will not need that. torque spec on the stub Axle is ~40nm but... I tighten till there is no play with the inner nut add the middle washer, then outer nut is tight... the inner washer is folded over to front and back to lock the nuts together...

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you for the info, that is a common modification I guess. But I always question why did Land Rover changed to the new design. I believe with the higher pre load the bearings can withstand higher forces. But might wear faster? Not sure. I believe I have a kit for one wheel in the car to do the change to the older setting just to be sure.

[@grahameroberts8109]

Informative bush mechanic work. I heard a new word ‘disattach’. I guess that’s local dialect for ‘detach’. Good job! 👍🏻🙏🦘

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you, I’m not claiming my English is perfect. Maybe my brain made it up 😂

[@grahameroberts8109]

@@Thebluelandy I like it.

[@waughthogwaugh3078]

@@Thebluelandy Good response.

[@grahames9228]

You are very competent mechanically, but I guess you need to be when undertaking a world trip such as yours. Very handy having that pit to park the Landy over to work on it in a degree of comfort.

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you Graham, it's a lot of practice, but I believe with enough patience everyone can get a good mechanic. Yeah it's really handy to fix stuff yourself. You don't need to relay on the workmanship of some of the mechanics out there. And it saves a ton of money. I still dream of living in a place where I can have my own pit. Maybe one day in the future 😅

[@mjallenuk]

Such a rewarding long list of jobs done! One bit of advice. Don't pour any of the fuel from the old filter into the new. You're just putting dirty side previously filtered fuel into the clean side of the new filter. It's something I used to do a long time ago till I was advised against it with a demonstration involving a coffee filter! Love the friendly cat!

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey thanks for the advice, I kinda knew it was not the best idea, normally I dump it in the tank an Prime the filter with the fuel pump. I was lazy to Prime for 15 min 😅 Oh yeah it was great to work with tiko around 🐈

[@mjallenuk]

@@Thebluelandy Yeah Ive done way worse but if you get a little rough running throw a bottle of injector cleaner in and fingers crossed 👍

[@Badfinger7761]

Super job Kai. Bluelandy is good for another 20,000km. 👍

[@Thebluelandy]

Thanks I hope we make it further then 20k 😅

[@Badfinger7761]

@@Thebluelandy Hopefully - but those African roads are rough!!

[@Thebluelandy]

We will soon leave Africa behind 😉

[@johnallen3555]

if you use a thin cutting disk to put a cut thru the old bearing outershell, it makes for a better drift for installing the new bearings (dosn't get stuck in the hole), The cut allows for diameter change without a compression fit I cut at least one of each and keep all all old bearing shells ( inner and outer) as part of the toolkit for task

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey John, thanks for the hint, I never thought about it but I’ll do it the next time I do the job

[@bilki100]

Sehr schönes Workshop Video. Bin auch schon gespannt auf die heiße Dusche 🙂

[@Thebluelandy]

Danke, ja aber das muss leider noch min 4 Wochen warten da wir Grade nicht am Auto sind,😉

[@bilki100]

@@Thebluelandy Jo, ich habs gelesen

[@mk109siii9]

If you have to do wheel bearings again, removing the seal from the inside of the stub axle will allow the wheel bearing to be lubricated by the oil in the diff. This will keep the seals more supple and less likely to leak, as well as prevent the grease becoming 'dry'. Doing the same to the front, and allowing the oil to flow all the way though to the swivel housings, means that the CV joints are better lubricated, and the swivel seal is less likely to leak, as it stays a lot more supple. In the mean time, you can just add oil to the swivels to help with lubrication. Also if you can get the H/D flanges with the screw on nut instead of the rubber cap, you will reduce the risk of getting water or dust through a cracked or lost cap into the axle, which will wear out the spline and get into the bearing. The screw on caps for those are the same diameter as the wheel bearing nut, so you already have the socket. When travelling in remote areas being able to replace pressed bushes with poly bushes makes life easier - I only recommend the Super-Pro ones, which have a lifetime warranty. I have had one fail after a long while, but the Brit-Part ones will fail in a very short time.

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey, If I get it right you recommend to remove the oil seal between drive shaft and axle. This is exactly the opposite of what I got told. In my experience, it’s a problem if that seal is leaking, cause too much oil in the bearings washes out the grease and let’s the bearings run dry. You can catch a faulty seal when you get oil stains on the rims. I had exactly this happening in Germany before we set of, that’s why I replaced those seals before we set off. I’m glad if this trick works for you, for me that’s too much of a gamble. I decided in purpose against HD drive flanges, cause I want the drive flange to go wrong before anything else breaks. A drive flange is easy to replace, a cheap and small spare part. And the flange is the same for all 4 tires. I don’t want a drive shaft to break cause I would need to carry 4 to be sure that I have the right one with me… Sadly we need to go with what we get in the country. I would not fit Britpart if I can get something else.🤷

[@richardmoore7381]

@@Thebluelandy I was chatting to the owner of Britpart this morning - I often bump into him when he is back in the UK - we grew up in the same street; he has built an impressive business from scratch - he also owns Allmakes. With the Defender long out of production Britpart are often the only source of parts 😐

[@georgemobbs4413]

ENJOYED WATCHING YOU. NEVER STOP LEARNING WITH A LAND ROVER , LIKE TD 5 AS THEY HAVE PROVED RELIABLE IF MAINTAINED ALL THE BEST TO BOTH OF YOU

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you so much George! We love our TD5 and I would never exchange it for something else. I learned a lot owning it which I'm grateful for.

[@defendermodsandtravels]

Firstly I loved your workshop with a view. You were lucky to find it. You seem to carry a lot more tools and spares than most overlanders. I am in much the same situation. I have done 25k km in Africa and the Defender has taken a beating but is still going. My next trip is to the Americas lasting 2 years. I am taking the vehicle home to UK for its renovation. Engine out, heavy duty clutch, uprated suspension,, you name it. I'll take 6 months and then good to go again. Good video.

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey, yeah we were lucky to get invited. I don’t feel like we carry a lot of spares, I have always a complete service kit, wheel bearings, locknuts, bearings for alternator and belt drive, belt, and some bits and pieces that I know they are not in the best shape but are too good to replace them now (e.g. a door handle). I recommend the Koni shocks they handled Africa without any problem they are still great after over 100k km 👌 We put in a valeo clutch and fly wheel before the trip and had no issues, and the paddle is not too hard. When I’m back I’ll do all bushings and all ball joints… good to do they take a lot of beating.

[@defendermodsandtravels]

@@Thebluelandy If you're carrying stub axles that's a lot of spares. My Valeo clutch failed in Namibia (but there were mitigating circumstances). The spare I had with me was a standard AP clutch plate (part worn) which looked very flimsy but it has done the job. When I get home I'll install a heavy duty clutch as a wise precaution. Thanks for the tip about Joni shocks.

[@Thebluelandy]

Ah no we bought all the parts I needed in Windhoek. You can get everything you need in Namibia or SA. It’s way harder here in South America, a guy wanted me to pay 130$ for a pair rear break pats. I’m driving on a 6 groove belt cause I can’t find the one with 7 grooves here…

[@defendermodsandtravels]

@@Thebluelandy I am told that you should make contact with Land Rover Owners Clubs where they'll offer a lot of help and support. Your YT channel should help

[@Thebluelandy]

Thanks we’ll when needed

[@damianorizzi1621]

Grande Kai, semplicemente strepitoso. Il tuo self control e la tua straordinaria manualità fanno fanno onore ad un mezzo che ha fatto la storia delle esplorazioni. Sì, è vero, il Land può rompersi più di una giapponese, ma alla fine, è sempre il cuore che comanda e nessun altro mezzo può toccare certe corde dell'animo umano... Buona strada a voi e a tutti i Defender!

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words! Glad to hear that you enjoy the videos!

[@mattluszczak8095]

Try a half inch for caliper bolts next time. Might be a tighter fit. Possibly less wear/ slippage

[@Thebluelandy]

Need to see if I have a 1/2” in my toolbox, I don't think so. Thanks for the advice

[@petermenzies1714]

Hi Kai, you can fit the wheel bearings without the spacer in the pre-TD5 style by settling the bearings then taking up any slack with the greasy hand and slippy socket method ie no pre-load also = no play. Which works just fine. If you also get some pre-TD5 double lock nuts & tab washer it allows take up of any wear in wheel bearings, many do this with the TD5 ‘s. Also a ground centre punch or modified broken drill can be used to drive out and un-stake the stake nuts. Appreciate needs must when you are remote and admire your can do approach, when the a good opportunity arises, much much better than doing it roadside. Love your videos.

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Peter, thanks for the hint. I know you could use the same method like in the 300tdi. But I was not sure if the 300tdi uses the same hubs and bearings. I believe I would even have some of the stag nuts somewhere. I might do that in future. So far I just hope it’s the last time doing wheel bearings on this trip 😅 I just think I’ll most likely do a better job (having the workshop handbook) than any mechanic on the road side 😂 Thank you and I hope we can continue to deliver more videos you’ll enjoy!

[@stevestott1514]

Great repair video . Thanks for taking the time to show that over landing is also keeping your rig tuned up as you travel . Not just sunrise’s and wild animals and beautiful scenery and spectacular sunsets . Thanks again for sharing your wonderful journey with us your over landing friends . Cheers from Steve Stott in Sutherlin Oregon U.S.A. :) :) 🌍🍻😁👍🏼

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you Steve, yeah I think this is an important part of Overlanding to not fix something when you have a breakdown. Do maintenance and even a Land Rover can be reliable 😅

[@stevestott1514]

@@Thebluelandy …😁

[@davegreenwood1663]

Kai Such a good mechanic.

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you so much Dave

[@nawiribrahim]

2 thumbs up. Love the fixablility of Landy. So similar to a Discovery I and Defenders 110 and 130 I had.

[@Thebluelandy]

Yeah it can be a nightmare to work on a modern car, there is always one screw you can not get too.... The Landy is really easy to work on. Even if you just park on the street. Gotta love that

[@gavinwhindus2932]

Fascinating video, I wish I had your mechanical skills, very impressive!! Well done!!

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you, I got those skills by making lots of mistakes. The Landy is easy to work on so just give it a go. And if you don't feel comfortable ask someone with more experience to look over your shoulder

[@12kerryman]

Hopefully you guys are good for another 20,

[@Thebluelandy]

Fingers crossed! But I aim for more then 20k 😂

[@johnaraujo5748]

Gostei muito do vídeo, sempre que puder mostrar vídeo sobre mecânica eu agradeço.abraço John

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey John, thanks for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed it

[@nicholastoo858]

I think a thick layer of ceramic coating will help protect the paint from rocks. Were you a mech or something previously? How did you learn to fix the rover?.

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Nicholas, im not sure if ceramic coating is the right way, normally you want something that’s not brittle like tar or rubber so the stones don’t chip off the paint. I have a good product in Germany but I was always too lazy to do the hole unside of the car. You learn little by little, most repairs are easy, normally you only swap parts. The tricky thing is to know what is wrong (rubble shooting) especially in new cars. The rovers at pretty straightforward. And if you don't feel comfortable ask someone to look over your shoulder. KZbin helps as well 😉

[@verslemonde6208]

Ha ha, Kabel mit den Zähnen Abisolieren mache ich auch😂 schönes Video und eine tolle Reise! Ist das ein Druckspeicher, was man bei 24:08 auf der linken Seite unten sieht?

[@Thebluelandy]

Hallo, vielen Dank 😊 Ja, das ist ein 1,5L Drucklufttank. Ich weiß nicht ob der Preis den Effekt rechtfertigt. Größer wäre auf jeden Fall besser.

[@verslemonde6208]

@@Thebluelandy Danke und gute Reise weiterhin

[@noelwhittle7922]

get the correct seal for the front diff while you are there. in case you have problems with the one you installed.

[@Thebluelandy]

Good point, need to check if I have the the part number of the last purchase to not buy the wrong one again,😅

[@MariusHoogendam]

Hello Kai, if you would cut the old race of the bearing open (once) with an angle grinder you can use it ever better to hit the new race in all the way. The cut will make the race a tiny bit smaller so you can get it out again and it will not stick solid like the new race will. Keep the landy rolling.

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey, thank you that's a really good hint. I'll do that on my next swap of bearings and then keep it in the toolbox

[@Gerbyq]

Weird how rusty it is. I'd spray some lanolin type of stuff. Nice job on maintaining though

[@Thebluelandy]

It's from all the gravel roads, the small rocks hit the frame an the paint chips off. You can not do much against it, it's like sandblasting the frame. The problem is that we went right after to the Namiban coast where the air, the roads and beaches are full of salt. it took only one day and everything was red... 😫 We did some treatment in Cape Town but I'll need to fix up the frame one day when we are back. I'll probably get it galvanized.

[@livingworkingoutsidebox]

One of the great things on traveling like you do, one becomes skilled in general maintenance and repairs that was once done by almost everyone's dads. Do you find yourself getting into a grove as you work? Where the time flys by and at the end you get a great sense of accomplishment. 😊💪🛠⚙👍 14:01 🐈 Gruss aus Florida. 🌊🏖🤙🐬🏄‍♂️🏄‍♀️🌞

[@Thebluelandy]

Haha, it's a little different, my dad can't wait that I'm back, he misses his personal mechanic.even if he is a trained mechanic himself. Yeah but I like it in general to repair stuff rather than throw it away and buy new. I do it with car clothes phones.... Yeah you definitely get into a flow and time starts to fly

[@livingworkingoutsidebox]

@@Thebluelandy Roger that.

[@goku.lc80]

Great mechanical skills Kai. I need to find a way improve mine before I got on my trip to Alaska and South America. How did you learn in your case? Thanks

[@Thebluelandy]

Thank you, I started with 10 to disassemble everything I could get into my hands. It took me another 10 year to master the reassembling 😅 But, the repairs are actually not that difficult. Start with easy jobs like do brake pads, oil changes, watch a KZbin video before and take your time, don't hurry. And you will have you first repairs done in no time. I'm sure you can do it!

[@joshuawilmot9747]

How was the bf Goodrich tyres over africa. I had a set and after 20000 kilometers they were badly chipped and full of cracks.

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey Joshua, we’re really happy with them we have now roughly 80k km on them and they are still in an ok shape. We drove on volcanos and sharp coral islands which costs a lot of tire life, but they still do their job. In mud they are not the best, but everywhere else we were quite happy

[@mattluszczak8095]

Did you grease propshafts?

[@Thebluelandy]

Yes minimum every 10k km and after water/muddy sections I did as well to push out dirt

[@KTM-d7d]

come to malawi

[@Thebluelandy]

Hey we’ve been in Malawi check out episode 44 to 46 😉

[@Schla-Gulp]

Also Tag 1 war aber eine ganz schön schmierige Angelegenheit. Ich finde es bemerkenswert wie du nur mit dem nötigsten Werkzeug so viel reparieren kannst. Kann das sein das du das schon häufig gemacht hast ? Und habe ich am Abend von Tag 1 da kurz "Fettes Brot" gehört ? 😂

[@Thebluelandy]

Ja, Radlager genau so wie Swivel sind imner eine rießen Sauerei. Aber muss halt sein. Naja ich denke ich hab schon recht viel Werkzeug dabei und hier und da konnte ich mich ja auch auf der Farm bedienen. Aber das Werkzeug ist auch speziell aus Erfahrung gewählt, musste trotzdem im Iran und in Namibia ein zwei Schlüssel kaufen. Ja ich schraube seit Jahren an all meinen Autos, Werkstatt war mir immer zu teuer deswegen mach ich es in der Regel selbst. Nur richtig komplizierte Sachen lass ich machen, zb wenn ich das Spezial Werkzeug nicht habe… oder Sachen nicht auf bekomme. Ja da lief unter anderem auch Fettes Brot 😂

[@berealistic]

Toyota landcruiser only way to go

[@Thebluelandy]

Come on man “be realistic” the money that I save by buying a Defender over a Land Cruiser is enough to travel the world with two persons for two years and maintain the Car 😅

[@andrewbaker7854]

Another Toyobore