Dino's Early Years

When we bought Dino from Richard and Camilla, neither of us had a clue whether we were doing the right thing. We had only decided a couple of months previously that we wanted to go on a driving adventure, but we both knew that to make sure this dream was not just another passing dream - we had to buy a car. The hard cash commitment we made that day ensured that the trip took place, but we were both full of uncertainties about whether Dino was the right vehicle for our dreams.

At the time we knew very little about overland vehicles, but having seen Dino we bought into the dream. He was older than we were looking for and with more miles on the clock than we hoped, and had just returned from a arduous trip to South Africa. But he was the right make and model, and he looked to the part, so parting with the cash was easier than we had thought. We wanted to be overlanders!

We definitely over paid, but with the hindsight that is now available to us, neither of us would not go back and change things. In the 3 years that we owned Dino before the trip many things had to be changed and upgraded, mainly because a lot of the previous work that had been carried out on him was done 'on the cheap' and although fit for purpose at the time, had not lasted beyond his trip to Africa. A brief summary of the work we did before we set off:

1. Replaced Roof Rack
2. Replaced 'bendy' bumper with original winch bumper
3. Replaced leaking and smelly roof tent with new.
4. Upgraded the suspension with double springs and anti roll bars - bringing the weight limit up to 3.5 tonnes
5. Replaced and rewired dual battery set up
6. Replaced internal electricity wiring
7. Added water tank and shower
8. New spot lights and bull bar
9. Replaced external leaking boxes with army surplus boxes
10. New starter motor
11. New UJs and exhaust
12. Refurbished gearbox
13. News wheels and tyres

With all this work done we were ready to go. Although we were still nervous, every expert who examined Dino told us the chassis and the engine were in fantastic condition and we should be in great shape for our trip.

Dino's First Road Service

We didn't realise it at the time, but even as we set off Dino had his first minor issue, a slow puncture to one of his tyres. These had only done about 500 miles and at first we were worried that we had been sold a dud, but when we finally took it to a garage, in Romania, we found a large nail embedded in the tyre. Incredibly the tyre had only needed topping up once on the 3000 miles until there. The tyres we had bought we BFG A/Ts and and show very little sign of wear so far. We have had two other slow punctures, both caused by nail like objects, and each time we have had plenty of time to make the change.

Also whilst we were in Romania we, or at least Dave, gave Dino his first service. Not much was found out of shape, but the power steering and fan belts were changed to something newer and the air filter was replaced. We had brought one of these large air filters with us, as a spare, and luckily Paul, our host in Romania, had another, but this still meant we would have to find more of these on the trip. For some reason Dino leaks oil into the air filter, and so one of our ongoing maintenance tasks is to clean the air filter every 500 miles or so, before the oil spoils the filter.

 

 

Next Stop Iran

Although we carried out a service in Romania, there was no need to change the oil, so 3000 miles later, in Tabriz, we also got Dino' s oil changed, by a garage owner who also owned a Defender! To change the oil and put on a new filter (with Arabic lettering!) we were charged a grand total of £2. Wow.

Since then, we have driven another another 9000 miles, which we estimate 5000 of which were off road, whether it was sand, gravel, river crossings, rubble strewn mountain passes and even a wooden suspension bridge! To make matters worse, most of this driving was at an altitude of over 2000m, with our highest pass coming in at 4700m. And in all this time Dino was never in the garage for a anything other than a quick weld to our water tank.

Although we tried to do some maintenance ourselves, including greasing the prop shaft, cleaning the air filter and checking levels, we always felt our skill levels we not enough in case of a major emergency. Luckily the only bit of work we needed to carry out was to change the horn fuse, twice. We think this is probably form over work!

After Romania, the next qualified Land Rover garage that we were aware of was in Islamabad, Pakistan, and during the whole time in between (12000 miles) we had our fingers crossed to make it there, the promised land. I don't think we were the only people who were astonished that we made it there without major incident, and so it was with much relief we arrived into Islamabad, on Eid, ready for Dino to have a full body service!

The garage in Islamabad did an amazing job, although they did string us along for a week, with the work always being ready "tomorrow", but in the end we were more than happy. The total cost (including picking up and dropping off the car) was just over £200, most of which was for the expensive parts that they need to import. The list of concerns we had were:

• Dino felt underpowered ever since living over 4000m
• A combination of black and white smoke every time we went over 2500m
• We thought we might have 3 separate oil leaks - all of them minute
• The passenger door could not be opened from the inside, and the drivers was almost in the same state
• Neither doors would close without a massive slam
• Squealing noise on full steering lock
• Brake warning light on constantly
• Spare wheel carrier showing the wear of carrying two bikes

And the list of work we were billed for was:

• Oil flushed and changed (apparently the oil was in a bad way - we had been bad people!)
• New oil, air and fuel filters
• Anti freeze top up
• Transfer box removed and leak fix
• Diff removed and leak fixed
• 2 O rings replaced
• 2 UJ's replaced
• Turbo pipe refitted
• Power steering belt refitted
• Spare wheel carrier fixed
• Shorting fixed - brake light now works properly
• Door fixed

Although the list seems long when it is written down, we never felt we had a serious problem, but when Dino returned it was like driving a new car. His power was back, and just in time, ready for the crazy world of Indian overtaking.

All in all we are soooo glad we brought Dino from Richard and Camilla, and we hope he continues to churn out the miles for us for many more years to come.

 

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