Feeling the Maverick love? Still here. MOT Fail.

[Father Ted]

Yay

And much safer than removing the bias valve.

[eddyramrod]

Well done! Isn't it a great feeling when you do something technical, and it works!

[dollywobbler]

Thanks folks. Might have to lob some pads in the front and see if the calipers are working properly. Still pulls to the left, though oddly the right brake seems to get quite warm, suggesting that one might be binding. Just went for a drive and got it stuck in the snow! 4x4s may be good, but even they draw the line and huge drifts it seems. Gets very twitchy on snow with the LSD! Thankfully a push from the wife and some manual traction control got us unstuck...

 

Oh, and I had to nip into a garage and borrow a torque wrench because I'm an idiot and forgot to torque the nuts after lowering it to the ground. I'm even more of an idiot than you think because I did the same with the BX first thing!

[dollywobbler]

In places, it was up to my knee. Which is why my shoes filled up with snow. Front tyres are brand new all-terrains of some cheapo brand. Fairly worn (but well legal) all-terrains of another type on the back. We were the first vehicle to attempt this section - which kind of tells you that perhaps it isn't such a good idea! A bit more momentum and I might have got through, but we'd already decided to turn back anyway. The place I'd spotted to turn was just the other side of the drift...

 

EDIT - here's a (piss poor) pic taken just after I got out of the drift. As you can see, the snow has no depth at all here. Very annoyed with myself for leaving the camera at home...

[dollywobbler]

And here's one my wife took from the shallow side. Gawd knows why I'm trying to steer into the deep bit, but it's a moot point given that I wasn't actually moving anywhere!

[dollywobbler]

Aye. More bravery required!

 

By the way, your Avatar is absolutely stunning. I love that 'light writing' effect.

[dollywobbler]

So, while the rear brakes were sorted, the fronts were the next problem. I had a quick look at the pads while the wheel was off for a new tyre to be fitted, but that only revealed that the outer pad had plenty of meat on it. The inner pad?

 

Not so good then! Odd that it only started grinding in the last few miles though - I'm bloody glad I gave up trying to get to Derbyshire with brakes in this state! Sure enough, the disc is also mullered and the caliper has some very seized pistons in it. New discs and pads are on order and I'm seeking a second-hand caliper to stop the costs getting silly.

 

On with the oil and filter change then, seeing as the oil looked like that found in a neglected diesel. T'was black I tells ya. No problem getting the oil out, but the filter is not exactly handily placed.

 

That blue, out-of-focus blob is the filter. No access from above, no access from below. There is a handy inspection panel in the inner wheelarch, but I still couldn't really get two hands on the thing. I finally managed to get my wrench on it and discovered (thankfully if worryingly!) that it wasn't very tight at all. Not surprising really given the shit-poor access. I guess this is a legacy of the engine actually originating in the distinctly non-4x4 Nissan 200SX?

 

New filter fitted and then it was on to spark plugs. Only it wasn't as I'd been sent the wrong ones. That job's on hold then.

 

On with the coolant change then. A handy tap on the bottom of the rad had the old coolant out but my outdoor tap was frozen solid, so I could only attempt to flush things out with a bottle of water. Not ideal! I successfully burped all the air out by squeezing various hoses - result is that the heater seems to be much hotter now. Excellent.

 

And that's all for now. Awaiting new brake components and spark plugs and hoping it doesn't snow...

 

Total budget (including purchase) is now likely to go beyond my £800 original desire, but then I was planning on spending £800 just to buy something, and there's a fair chance anything else would have needed work. I'm quite glad it's forced me to check the thing over. Found some minor corrosion hidden by the access panel so have sprayed some anti-corrosion wax in there.

 

Other jobs still to do are drain and refill the diffs and maybe even check the gearbox level.

[dollywobbler]

Sliding calipers are a stupid idea. They use pins to move back and forth, 'cleverly' meaning you only need half as many pistons as one piston now manages to push both pads against the disc (though the Maveranno has twin pots on the front calipers, both the same side). The pins were so seized that it took about 10 minutes of walloping with a hammer before the worst one came out. The caliper on the other side proved how it should be - the pins move in and out with the least pressure.

 

Finding replacement pins has been tricky, especially as I needed the boots that go with them. I didn't really want to spend £30 on a seal kit when I only required two boots. However, Bigg Red has come up trumps and they're on the way. I've had to order two calipers on Ebay as well (£67 each delivered, remanufactured items) as the pistons in both were seized and corroded. What a lot of brake fail.

 

 

New pads and discs were in order too. I fitted the new discs yesterday, in readiness for the new calipers. Having done all I could do, I packed away my tools and it was while moving the trolley jack that my back went 'twang!' The second caliper has arrived today and frustratingly, I'm in no fit shape to fit it. It's beautifully sunny as well. Bother.

 

After all this work though, the thing should stop beautifully!

[eddyramrod]

At least you have the parts for when you do feel up to it. Best of luck with your back, a feeling I know only too well...

[Rod/b]

You might know about this lot already, but if you don't, bookmark www.brakeparts.co.uk. I used them quite a lot when I was back in the UK and their online shop is good.

 

They generally do all the little odds and sods too - for a caliper guide kit, for example, select the vehicle, select the caliper, and then click on "associated" to scroll through the list of bleed nipples, seals, pistons and other bits.

[dollywobbler]

Yup. They missed out as they didn't have the caliper in stock, but the 'associated' bits thing is very good. The only place I found that catalogued the sliders and boots as a kit.

[dieselnutjob]

You might know about this lot already, but if you don't, bookmark http://www.brakeparts.co.uk. I used them quite a lot when I was back in the UK and their online shop is good.

 

They generally do all the little odds and sods too - for a caliper guide kit, for example, select the vehicle, select the caliper, and then click on "associated" to scroll through the list of bleed nipples, seals, pistons and other bits.

 

Thanks for that site. They seem to have parts for rebuilding 604 brakes at almost reasonable prices.

[dollywobbler]

Despite some issues with supplied components not being what they were meant to be, I've managed to get the brakes sorted! Waiting for the pads/discs to bed in before I really try to see how well it stops, but at least it doesn't pull dramatically to the left when braking now.

 

Engine's not 100%, so will investigate that when I get a chance. It seems reluctant to rev and full throttle gives a definite hesitant feeling.

 

My back hasn't thanked me for this morning's labours though! Now need to let it recover before tackling some green lanes next weekend.

[Volksy]

It seems reluctant to rev and full throttle gives a definite hesitant feeling.

 

Our D21 is the same, could potentially be the gauze filter on the inlet side of the pump.

[dollywobbler]

I've spent most of the day resting my back. It's been utterly boring but several hours of this meant I was actually able to walk around the house without pain. So, the obvious thing to do was go for a drive.

 

I headed off to the Nant-y-Moch area just over the A44 from where we live. It's a bit special and is where I took shots of the Rangie last year. Here's a similar pose.

 

 

I somehow managed to find the only bit of sunshine in West Wales! It quickly disappeared. I know a good little lane (there are several here) that wasn't too challenging, and as my back felt ok, I decided it was time to have a proper play in low box.

 

 

It's very capable but the ride is much firmer than the Range Rover was, and it struggled in one place that the Rangie just ambled up without issue. This first experiment would suggest that axle articulation beats limited slip diff. A bit of momentum got me through the tricky section. I'd entirely forgotten about the fording spots on this route though.

 

 

Icy! There were some horrible bangs as lumps of ice were introduced to the underside but she got through it. Overall, I'm very pleased and am looking forward to a return to these lanes next week, when we'll tackle some of the more challenging sections (as part of a group, which is far more sensible than a solo mission!).

[Skizzer]

Solo laning, in the depths of winter, with a bad back? Respect Dee-Dubya!

 

There aren't really any green lanes in my corner of Wales, which is the main reason my old Land Rover got such little use. Maybe I'll come up your way some time, although currently I only have the non-shite (but surprisingly not bad off road) Yeti to get muddy in.

[dollywobbler]

I'd certainly urge caution before undertaking any solo laning! If it goes wrong, you're shafted. Simple as.

 

Lots of laning around here, and some good Pay and Play sites as well. Quite rocky around here though, so the Yeti would probably struggle for ground clearance. My 2CV struggled when I took that laning.

[Skizzer]

My 2CV struggled when I took that laning

 

That sounds like a good story! (Heads for Search box in case it's already been told...)

 

You're right that rocks are the Yeti's problem - ground clearance isn't great, though better than the soft roader average, and tyres are quite low profile. One of the party squeezed a tyre off the rim of his when I went out with some Briskoda forum people, though a team effort got it back on again eventually. Just underlines your point about the perils of venturing out solo.

 

Trouble is, now you've got me wanting to scratch the G-Wagen itch I've had for about 20 years. I'll shut up now and give you your thread back

[dollywobbler]

Not sure I did a thread on that exploit, but here's a pic!

 

I stupidly went solo on that as well, reasoning that if anything looked too challenging, I'd just turn around and head back. I did make it to the end of that lane with very little trouble, but the chassis did scrape a few boulders, and given that there's no sump protection, I've stayed off the lanes in it since.

[Skizzer]

Excellent! (In a 'don't try this at home' sort of way.)

[dollywobbler]

Second fill-up today - £80 worth - which means I can do a brim-to-brim mpg check. It's coming in at 22mpg, which isn't bad considering that tank's had to cope with brake issues, snow issues, lots of tinkering and me and my heavy foot. I'll see if I can get that figure higher, though having done a lot of checking on t'interweb, I suspect 24mpg would be about all I can expect.

[eddyramrod]

now you've got me wanting to scratch the G-Wagen itch I've had for about 20 years.

 

Well it's your money.... I've driven a G, specifically this one:

...and, on-road at least, it's... how can I be kind here? ... vile and actively hostile. But, there are plenty of masochists in this world...

[dollywobbler]

A proper green laning session today. Some really challenging stuff that I thought the Maverick would struggle with. It didn't. Not sure what impressed me more though - the fact that the Maverick is really rather good, or the Range Rover L322 on road tyres that was behind me!

 

Here's the Rangie getting some air. Kudos to the owner!

 

Overall, the Maverick was fine, though I did get chucked around a lot more than I did in the Range Rover. Probably still more comfortable than a Series Landy though.

 

Feeling very pleased. All that work was worth it! Seems like a lot of fun for comfortably less than a grand, and it's a useful wagon too.

[dollywobbler]

Undid my furious mid-week cleaning efforts today.

 

Picked a really rocky lane today and boy did it make me realise just how incredible the Range Rover was! The Maverick got through with very little problem, but the Rangie is far better at smoothing out the bumps.

 

I think an anti-roll bar link is a bit upset with all this harsh treatment though. They're a bit of a weak point, but I understand you can protect them with big washers when fitting new ones. Getting a clonk at times. Good fun though!

 

The general driving experience is pretty joyous too. It feels really tight in a way that a neglected Range Rover just doesn't. The driver's sun visor fell off the other day (it had been bodged) and because you sit quite low, I really need to get that replaced, just in case we get another sunny day this year. There's still a whiff of something burning, though as it only does it when the engine's under serious load (ie giving it the beans uphill) I'm wondering if it's where I spilt a bit of oil when refilling. I really, REALLY must get around to buying a proper pouring jug. Or be more careful...

 

It's not all roses out on the road. The ride is a bit jiggly, as you'd expect for a shortie. Can't say it's any worse than my LR 90 was. It's also reminding me that I'm not a fan of 4x4s with no centre diff. I don't like how it becomes all stiff when you're on firm lanes. I have to be in low box because I need the slow-speed control, but you can't be in low box without having all four wheels engaged. At least the auto-locking hubs seem to be behaving. There's also an annoying rattle that I think is either a heat shield come loose or knackered baffles in the silencer. Can't quite place it. I still need to replace the fluid in the gearbox, transfer box and front differential as well. That's awaiting another pay day!

[garethj]

Were these Mavericks or Terranos available as 7 seaters? I’ve seen the LWB ones but dunno if they’ve got 7 seats or not

[peter9000uk]

Were these Mavericks or Terranos available as 7 seaters? I’ve seen the LWB ones but dunno if they’ve got 7 seats or not

 

Yes they were

[garethj]

Thanks, is that even for LWB ones as old and rubbish as DW's?

[dollywobbler]

Aye. Even as old a shite as mine! Mine is actually a five seater - there are five belts - but I really wouldn't want to be in the middle, with an arse on each rear seat section.

[dollywobbler]

Second tank of fuel. 20.3mpg. Oh dear. An entire day (plus a bit) of low-speed laning is partially to blame for that I think, as is enjoying maximum power after changing the fuel filter...

[Father Ted]

Its the time of year Ian, and the diesel isnt as good as it used to be. C8 was getting 39mpg last summer, this tank 29mpg.

shite