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Jack Messenger (Jackm)
| | Posted on Thursday, October 31, 2002 - 09:09 pm: | 
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Serious metal fatigue has appeared in both front bulkheads of my 1995 300Tdi automatic. There are factory fitted strengthening plates welded on the inside of the footwells.
The fatigue cracks were along some of the weld lines, and on the LHS, there were some 5 or 6 splits in the underneath firewall. Half the weld plate had to be cut out on the LHS and a larger stonger plate has been welded back.
The repairer's advice is that if it happens again, the engine will have to be removed, and the body lifted off the chassis.
Hence my concern as to whether the vehicle is capable of ever going off road again, and returning in one piece.
In the 98,000 Km travelled, some 25-30,000 Km
would have been off the bitumen still on official roads, and with less than 2,000 Km on station tracks. There have only ever been a driver and one passenger, and no trailers. not what you would caal extreme off road work.
In their Technical Bulletin No 0049 (could be 0019), Landrover offer their explanation. They refer to ".....this problem will be confined to vehicles which have been used extensively under arduous off road maximum gross weight conditions".
" ...... Fatigue cracks (developed) in the front bulkhead as a result of extreme conditions of use".
".....To search for this damage, check the lower bulkhead area from the underside of the vehicle. Look for evidence of cracking, particularly in the areas adjacent to the point where the body mounting brackets attach to the bulkhead".
Has anyone had this problem? It surely cannot be a unique Australian Landrover problem.
Jackm in Australia. |
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