Lenny keeps rolling along

While Lenny was still rolling yesterday manoeuvers including traffic lights and roundabouts became complicated by the clutch breaking. I had to drive about 20 miles around Nottingham and Mansfield to get home without stopping. We managed it but upset a few people when I slowed right down and put the hazards on as we approached red lights etc, particularly since I also had to stop them overtaking and filling in the nice gap I had built up.

I have'nt changed a Disco clutch before but I know from kierans that the gearbox is very heavy and unlike in a 90 there is little access from above. I am thinking that lifting the engine out would be easier - anyone any comments/advice?

The cause of the problem is unknown until I get at the clutch but I suspect that the fork has broken. I have heard that these are a weak point anyone know where you can get a strong one from ?

read this

http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=6719

its has the procedure to change and

"The operating fork has a bad habit of wearing where it pivots on the ball inside the bell housing. It's not only wise to replace this relatively cheap item (£15), but to reinforce it as well. Welding a washer, or plate on top of the dome of the new one is a good idea. I chose the plate method, and the metal is now more than twice as thick as it was"

or just buy a ready made one

Completed the clutch change yesterday It took a bit longer than excpected but I've never done a job on Lenny yet that didn't. Went for the engine out option which I am sure was easier. The only tricky bits were the top bellhousing nut and the starter motor (which didn't actually need removing), Also the engine didn't have to come out completely - just slide forward into the space left by the radiator. Plenty of room then.

The problem was the clutch fork - the pivot had pushed all the way through. I think this is quite common so have used a heavy duty replacement with a plate welded over the back for extra support. Also the thrust bearing had separated from the plastic bit which I think may have accounted for a tinkling noise I have had for a while. Sadly the old clutch itself was near perfect but I took a deep breath and threw it away - as Kieran says for what they cost.... Easy for him as a student money has no meaning

I did chiken out of the crankshaft oilseal change I had planned as to do this I think the engine would have to come out completly to get enough torque on the flywheel bolts . Also the seal I got from Paddocks seemed different to the one we put in Kierans - no white plastic outer bit. I could see me getting the engine on the floor, where there is not much spare space and not being able to get it back in until next weekend. With the engine lift urgently needed elsewhere it was getting too difficult. So I'll probably have to do it again in the summer if the small leak becomes a big one.

I just need to replace the rear diff now and then Lenny will be ready for the Mac.

Did I mention why we were in Nottingham when the clutch broke? Looking for a new gearbox for Marcs Frontera which fell apart on the return from our trip to Wales at Christmas. We had to get his through the service bay first which meant that Lenny was further back in the queue. No need to hurry as it turned out since as soon as we got that back on the road he hurt his knee playing hockey and couldn't drive it anyway!!

Keith Johnson wrote:

[ discussing Marc's Frontera ] No need to hurry as it turned out since as soon as we got that back on the road he hurt his knee playing hockey and couldn't drive it anyway!!

Are the Johnsons in some kind of trouble with The Mob? You seem to attract a lot of knee injuries; Manda, Kieran and now Marc ...

Quote :

Are the Johnsons in some kind of trouble with The Mob? You seem to attract a lot of knee injuries; Manda, Kieran and now Marc ...

I think its the hockey club they belong (ed) to (except Manda) as we have several more injured knees at the moment !

Lenny's Rolling along again !

After putting up a fight with flat tyre and then flat battery, he's finally made it back home tonight !

MAC 4x4 Challenge here we come !

Blimey, all that time to return from Calais. You must have had problems. September was 16 weeks ago!!!

Lenny's still putting up a fight I just don't think he wants to do the MAC !

He will, but I'm not so sure about your lad's ambulance. Anybody wanna borrow a Rangie?

Is your Rangie Back on the road yet ?
The MOT is booked for the ambulance next week so who knows ?

the ambulance is cming along well, tis booked in monday
im more worried about getting the software on this vinyl cutter to work properly !!!

It'll be ready by this coming weekend, you know you're welcome.

Having finally got to the bottom of this latest problem it seems the pressure plate has split in two after 70 miles !

I've heard people complain about Paddocks before but until now I have found them knowledgeable and helpful and their prices are nearly always the best - even though we understand that it is not always the top quality stuff.

All that said I am unlikely to ever use them again. You will no doubt have seen this thread following the demise of my clutch fork a few weeks ago. As I had to replace that I thought it best to replace the whole clutch - I didn’t want to take the engine out too many times and it is inconvenient at the roadside. I therefore bought a new heavy duty clutch kit from Paddocks and a reinforced fork from elsewhere. Irritatingly the old clutch unit looked OK I don't think it was all that old but I replaced it anyway.

All went OK until last weekend when we went to Derbyshire for sledging as the weather prevented any other outside activity like ambulance rebuilding etc. This was a round trip of about 60 miles all on tarmac nothing stressful at all. The following day Kieran tried to move Lenny on the drive and couldn't get it into gear. The clutch would not disengage fully. Poo!! So I took the engine out again, all looked well but I took out the fork and release bearing and refitted them and everything looked good so put the engine back in. Still no better !! Engine out again for the third time. This time I took the new clutch pressure plat off to find it broken .....
[img][url=https://servimg.com/view/11836165/76]


Disappointing but at least I knew the problem. Since Kieran wanted me to get his new V8 fired up he offered to go to Paddocks to get a replacement. Top cut a long and sad story short they accused him of mistreating it, even that he had driven in the snow (a very wicked thing to do in a 4x4) and obviously it was his fault it had broken. They refused to talk to me on the phone even though he explained he was only the messenger and it was not his clutch or vehicle. End result they begrudgingly gave me my money back but refused to supply a replacement even if I paid for it as I would only be likely to break it and want yet another replacement.

I cannot believe that any company can call this customer service particularly since all they were going to do was send it back to Britpart for a refund. They even said they had had a few break like that from other people driving in the snow so that proved it was my fault.

Needless to say I have now bought a better brand from a supplier who knows what customer service is and I will never buy anything else from Paddock. Their MD, and Britparts, will also be getting a letter saying exactly why I will not be adding to the thousands of pounds we have spent with them over the years.

Sorry this has been a bit of a rant but I do feel better now - so I'm off to put the engine back in and get ready for the Mac....

A lot of Dutch buy from Paddocks also. rarely hear any complaints. As for Britpart that's another story. We are almost weekly advised not to use clutch brake or any other part that needs to be safe. To many of this parts fail. Mostly Paddocks can also deliver Oem parts, they are much better

paddocks... what can i say, humilation in front of 20 people, down right rudness, i tell you what he was lucky not to get a black eye,

he said " i dont want to supply you with another clutch" i said "come again "
he said "my boss wouldnt want to supply you with another clutch "
so i said ok lets speak to your boss then, and the boss was pretty much silent all the way though, if this is how they treat their customer who to be honest ( i have the recepts to prve it ) have spent thousands with them then screw them, no letter of complaint from me, just a lost customer

Get your point. Find it very stupid to handle a complaint like this. i am merely surpised cause they have a good name here. maybe because we don't visit the shop?
But keep in mind never use britpart on essential parts, that much i know

Rather than driving in snow, I suspect the clutches just can't cope with the sudden change in temperature - but as we've had so much snow, it's been blinking difficult not to drive in it!

I've had issues with Paddocks - wrong parts, things being the wrong size and just poor quality stuff. When I ordered the deCarbon shocks they decided to open the box and only send half the order, and then didn't want to offer me a refund on delivery (They had dispatched the items for next day delivery, after all, just 4 days late).

I work in Customer Service and you just don't treat your customers like that no matter what the problem is or even if you think they have caused the problem themselves.

The day that we it went to Chatsworth the air temperature was above freezing even if it had snowed earlier on and the driving was on the road

My daily car doesn't come with a set of instructions that says do not use or keep in temperatures of less than 5 deg C, do not get wet and do not use in the snow (its not good to drive in snow mind)


a confused car owner here !

off course its totaly rubbish. Who ever heard of a 4x4 that is not allowed to drive in snow?
They are actually advertising jeep as a good car for snowy conditions at the moment over here.
Every time it snows the whole landy community is in heaven, finally fun.
On all our fora i haven't heard of any breakdown because of snow ( cold is something else).
In this case paddocks really sucks

Despite the best attentions from Paddocks we finished the MAC with Lenny in one piece. The only problem we had was that on the next to last stage I knocked the exhause off at the manifold. There wasn't enough time between that and the final stage to refit it so we roared to the finish line.

So all ended well I don't think that we came very high up the leader board and certainly didn't win any prizes - but we had a great weekend. Did only about 300 miles from the start to finish line but just about all of them were off-road miles with 10 hours of them on Saturday alone.

If you've been following my clutch problems, I wrote to the Managing Directors of both Paddock and Britpart. I had an excellent response from Britpart and spent about half an hour with him on Friday before the start. He was as disappointed as me about Paddocks and had already spoken to them but with little response - I have heard nothing from them as you might expect.

I'm hoping to catch up on some sleep now and waiting for Mrs DD to forgive me for leaving the inner tent in the garage - I'm sure the tent would have been just as cold with it ......

Good one ... night night.

Well We just got the result and joint 22nd (out of 78 vehicles) seems quite a result for someone who can't read a map and is not very observant and had spent half the weekend freezing after Mr DD thought that the tent didn't need a liner or groundsheet

It didn't, he brought his hot water bottle with him ... YOU!