Just realised it’s been a long while since I updated this thread…

I bought a brand new transfer box from Duckworths Land Rover and fitted that which completely cured the bearing whine.

Since then we’ve had a few months of trouble free service. I noticed that the ride from the rear was slightly harsh so I ordered new rear shock absorbers. When parked for a few days the rear would drop slightly too so I thought I’d change the rear air bags whilst doing the shocks.

On Monday I had the wheels refurbished to make them silver as I’d finally had enough of looking at the black wheels. Whilst the wheels were off I decided I’d replace the rear shock absorbers and air bags. Whilst the rear was jacked up, I heard a pop from the front followed by a loud hiss and you could see the car deflating so I’ve had to order new front shock absorbers and bags from Island 4x4.

Seeing as it’ll be on new shocks all around and new tyres all around by the end of tomorrow it should hopefully drive really well!

The tyres I’ve fitted are the Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Seaons. They are LR homologated and have the PNCS (Pirelli Noise Cancellation System) in them. On my Dads L322 they made a huge difference to the road noise so hopefully they’ll do the same on mine!

And here’s a before and after showing how it arrived in January and how it looks now :) It looks like a different car.

Hopefully the new parts will arrive tomorrow and then we can have her back on the road for the weekend.

David.

The silver wheels look so much better on her. Good job.

Shiny bits arrived earlier today so after another couple of hours in the workshop, the SC is finished 😀

The worst bit of the whole job was the shock absorber mounting bolts. They were seized solid to the hub. Freeing them off took longer then the actual job of changing the struts did.

Both of the original struts were dated December 2006 so were definitely the originals to the car.

There’s a chunk of metal on the top of the strut that acts as a damper according to the workshop manual. On the drivers side strut it was seized so once the strut was off I cut the air bag open so I could grip the strut with a pair of molegrips. I noticed that the drivers side airbag had a big puddle of oil in it… The outside of the bag was totally dry though, you’d never know it had burst.

When you press the shock absorber it just collapsed. I noticed recently that it seemed a bit harsh on a couple of bumps, this is probably why.

I cut the passengers side one open and it was dry. This was the one that burst. As you’d only ever change them in pairs, I’m glad it did now as it means the drivers side is now right.

The car is now back together, I’ve checked all the unions on the air bags with soapy water and they seem air tight but I’ve left the car in the workshop with the suspension on it’s highest setting and the battery disconnected over night to make sure it stays level. If it does, then I’d call it another job jobbed 😁