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3rd Rejuvenation of our LandCruiser FJ60 - 1982
in Miri/Sarawak/East Malaysia from 2/6/2017 - 5/3/2017 + follow-up from 7/18/2018 - 9/22/2018
 
1st Rejuvenation at the same place from 6/15/2006 - 8/26/2006
      (more pages from Malaysia and Borneo see at the bottom)
2nd Rejuvenation at the same place from 7/30/2012 - 10/4/2012
 
Previously
Ukraine Part 3 from Russia border at Hlukiv to Odessa for shipping to Bintulu/Sarawak/Malaysia Nov. 11th to Dec. 5th, 2016
       the visit of Myanmar without car from 12/26/2016 to 1/22/2017:
       Part 1: Yangon (Rangoon) – 'Golden Rock' of Kyaiktiyo
        Part 2: Bago (Pegu) – Shwenyaung at Inle Lake
        Part 3: Nyaungshwe at Inle Lake Mandalay and Goteik viaduct
        Part 4: Mandalay Bagan Yangon (Rangoon)
afterwards:
Borneo-Sulawesi-Molukken-West Papua trip Part 1: Borneo (and 11 continuations August 2017-Mai 2018)
Continuation 2018 of the 3rd Rejuvenation 2017 of our LandCruiser FJ60/1982 in Miri/Sarawak/East Malaysia from 7/16/2018 see below!
 
Transfer to Chile/South America Part 1 San Antonio/Santiago to Los Lagos in Los Ríos 12/24/2018 to 1/27/2019
 
 
Sarawak Map
 
 
 Map of Southeast Asia
Malaysia
Sarawak
 
latest picture: August 14, 2017
  • click a picture to see details

 
3rd "Rejuvenation" of our LandCruiser in Miri/Sarawak in East Malaysia

All good things come in threes! It was in October 2016 in Gorno-Altaysk in Russia when we decided to offer our already 34 years old LandCruiser another intensive overhaul. It was clear for us that it would take place at the same workshop as the previous two in 2006 and 2012 - in Miri/Sarawak on the island of Borneo in East Malaysia. We knew that there we will be in good hands, that we will have a fair chance to still find spare parts, that it is financially feasible and that we can count again on the reliable work and a relaxed relationship with Mr. Lance Lau, the boss of the Yung Lee Auto & Painting Workshop. He has our complete trust.

One week after the arrival of our LandCruiser in its 29th container from Odessa/Ukraine in the port city of Bintulu, we drove the 125 miles [200km] to Miri to his workshop. Everything was familiar! We fixed the date for the start of the overhaul for Monday, February 6th, 2017:
 
 
 
 
 
 
501  A happy moment at the port of Bintulu
in Sarawak in East Malaysia: After 56 days at
sea, our LandCruiser arrived on January 26th,
2017, safely and sound in its 29th container
from Odessa in the Ukraine
502  We make a break on our 125 miles
[200km] drive from Bintulu to Miri at Tusan
Cliff – about 25 miles [40km] south of Miri.
Liliana is enjoying the ocean view
503  The first encounter with boss
 Mr. Lance Lau at his workshop
"Yung Lee" since the second rejuvenation
of our LandCruiser in 2012. Emil depicts
 roughly some mechanical problems
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
504  Prior to its rejuvenation our Land-
Cruiser was blessed with a "Lion Dance"
– a Chinese New Year's tradition (1/28→
±2/15/2017), which is meant to evict bad
or evil spirits. If this isn't a good omen!
505  The roof rack is unloaded. It
is quite an amount of stuff that has
to be carried up to the workshop attic,
where we are offered to store it
506  "Dormitory", 69 in. [175cm]
long and 61 in. [154cm] wide,
kitchen and pantry are emptied.
The stuff is shelved in our apartment
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
507  The first step is done: Our Land
Cruiser is stripped of all the things that
made it previously look special. At
first glance rust doesn't seem too bad
508  Transmission and transfer
are dismantled. Emil is verifying
the parts of which some need
to be replaced due to wear
509  Amirul, "our" mechanic (in the
reddish T-shirt) is reassembling the gear-
box together with an aide. We hope that
the "singing" sound will now be eliminated
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
510  Before reinstalling the gear box,
"our" mechanic Amirul is checking
the flywheel which had to be ground
511  Even after five years Emil is still
remembered at Tung Fang – one of
the two major LandCruiser genuine
part shops – where he is now
again a regular customer
512  2/24/2017: An unusual gift for Emil's
"half-a-milestone" 75th birthday: Paul, a
4x4 fan from Kuching, found a used car-
buretor as ours is overheating (bubbles)
and uses too much gasoline (9-9.4 mpg)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
513  Preventive we let also check
the front axle. It shows that it is
still in good condition.
We only replace the bearings
514  The rear axles are and will remain our
”sore spot“. The last two, donated by the
”Land Cruiser Club - Southern Africa“ to-
gether with the axle case, were installed on
2/13/2015 (see ”Repair in Cape Town“)
515  Liliana is examining the new
radiator placed into the old frame!
Its cleaning in Osh/Kyrgyzstan in
June 2016 did not solve the
overheating problem
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
516  The mechanical work is actually
completed. These are the parts which
we replaced, partly preventive: Clutch
disk and pressure plate, carburetor,
compressor for tire inflating, front and
rear axles with bearings, seals etc.,
gearbox and transfer parts.
Material costs approx. US$1250
517  During a small 1 mile [2km]
test drive without windows, signals and
side mirrors, things seemed to run smoothly
518  The result of clearing out our
belongings: A small collection of gifts
from people we met along the road,
surprising us again and again. They
are from six different countries:
Saudi-Arabia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine,
Russia, Taiwan and Sri Lanka
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
519  The left one of the two broken front
pillars is the most rusty. Both need a rein-
forcement. The damage started along the
Silk Road, first in Turkmenistan and later
in Tajikistan and peaked in Russia's Altai
region where it was welded temporarily
in Gorno Altaysk. Due to our load and
its weight on the top it is very fragile
520  This was the result of an incident on
a ferry ride in the Cape Verde Islands from
Praia/Santiago to Tarrafal/São Nicolau: A
huge unfixed wooden case smashed into
our LandCruiser during rough sea. Although
it was ”fixed“ later at Mindelo/São Vicente
at the cost of the shipping company, rust
started popping up everywhere
521  ”Our“ panel beater is at work:
The rear of the car is nearly done
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
522  Puttying is now being done. Our
LandCruiser gets more and more a
checkered pattern
523  While the welder is busy repairing
the broken pillars, Emil discusses further
details with Linpang, the administrative
employee and translater of Mr. Lance Lau,
boss of Yung Lee workshop
524  Having watched daily the progress
of our LandCruiser's rejuvenation at
Yung Lee workshop of Mr. Lau, time
has come to document once our
presence with a picture
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
525  The first layer of grey undercoat
is going to be sprayed
526  Two grey eminences: The one soon
will get blue, the other will remain grey!
527  Our LandCruiser in the spray booth.
It becomes now its last sky-blue paint
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
528  It is its fourth "Sunday's best" on
our epic journey! The first one was in
Dubai, after we escaped our first robbery
attempt on July 15th, 1996, in Macedonia
with car damages (second assault was on
July 31st, 2015, in Malawi). The second
and third paint took place 2006 and 2012
during the "rejuvenations"
529  The polisher is at work to make
our LandCruiser even more shiny
530  Discussion about our roof rack, what
and where it needs still to be welded
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
531  Second hand headlight as
replacement and the old original
from 1982, which lately was
producing only a dim light
532  Let's go the whole hog!
The interior door trims have
also been replaced
533  Fixing our country band showing
186 countries since October 18th, 1984.
It is our third band. The first was made
in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, the
second in Réunion in the Indian Ocean
and the third now here in Miri in
Sarawak in East Malaysia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
534   Precious memory: The collection of
some of our indispensable maps on our more
than 32 years long journey around the world
through all the continents. We still need maps
despite of the nowadays also indispensable
GPS
535   Foreign license plates that our Land
Cruiser received during our world journey:
Paraguay (K-107236), Anguilla (A 9047),
Trinidad & Tobago (V 419), Grenada (V 1)
(= 1st visitor), Samoa (18864), US Virgin Is.
(TBX 002) and Cape Verde (ST-96-PJ). But
we had to carry them in 6 more countries,
which we had to return while leaving:
Saint Lucia (D-873), Taiwan (U 41219),
American Samoa (8889), Mauritius (VIS 169)
as well as the Arabic written plates
in Egypt and Libya
536   A colored collection of travel
guides which helped us to explore
the beauties of our world
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
537   Our LandCruiser ends up at an exhaust repair shop. It gets at the rear a new tube that rusted through on two spots
538   The new exhaust pipe is bended
according to our sample.
Time: 1 hour. Costs: US$65
539   The old and the newly
made exhaust pipe
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
540   Not really Emil's favorite job: Reloading
the roof rack. Positive is that due to our
rigorous tidying out we gained more space
541   Two happy faces after completing
successfully the 3rd rejuvenation of our
LandCruiser: Mr. Lance Lau, boss of
Yung Lee Workshop in Miri in Sarawak/
East Malaysia and Emil
542   Farewell picture with the crew of
Yung Lee Workshop in Miri. The boss,
Mr. Lance Lau (to the left of Emil)
ensured once again qualitative work
and a relaxed atmosphere
 
Continuation (5/27/2018):
 
9 months and almost 5'500 miles [10'500km] later we come back again to Sarawak from Indonesia. As the compression decreased relatively
massive at one piston, we decide to do an overhaul of the cylinderhead (replacement of valves and its seats), as its mileage amounts now to more
than 93'000 miles in 4'900 driving hours since the 1st Rejuvenation back in mid-2006, what matches about 1 billion movements. That involved
time, because some spare parts had to be ordered in Japan. The spare parts for the overhaul – which ended up eventually in a complete engine
reconditioning – cost about US$ 1'766 and the labor US$ 1'272 (totally ~ US$ 3'038). We contributed with some spare parts from our "stock",
which are not included in the aforementioned amount. We hope now to continue quietly for the next few years.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
543   For the 5th time back at “our” work-
shop Yung Lee in Miri! First contact with
workshop boss Mr. 'Teng' Lance Lau and his
translator Libang since the 3rd rejuvenation
of our LandCruiser at the begin of 2017.
Emil outlines shortly the problems
544   Our LandCruiser at an exhaust
repair shop in Miri: This time it also
the muffler’s turn, while in 2017
only the tube was replaced
545   Emil is ordering the required spare
parts for a cylinder head overhaul at the local
Toyota dealer, being not anymore available in
Malaysia. We know from Toyota Switzerland
that they are still on stock at TMC in Japan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
546   Ready to begin with the planned
cylinder head overhaul: The hood is removed;
the mechanic starts with dismantling
547   The engine is out – for the first time
since the 1st Rejuvenation back in 2006.
Nothing suspicious is visible despite the
93'103 miles [149'834km] driven
during 4'908 driving hours
548   Nothing special can be discovered at
the valves of combustor #5 (second from
right), although the compression showed
there only 85 psi [6 Bar]. All parts received
from Japan are being replaced (valves/
seats/springs/accessories)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
549  The search goes on and the engine
block gets disassembled. If we're going
to do it, we do it right! Thus we decide that
we are not only replacing the piston rings
but also the crankshaft bearings
550  Piston 5 shows that its oil scraper
ring is jammed, which seems to be the
reason of the decreased compression
551  The delivered connecting rod
bearings show small blisters, probably
a sign of old age or a manufacturing flaw.
For now we give them back
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
552  Emil is standing for the umpteenth
time in front of the Tung Fang spare parts
shop in Miri/Sarawak. The newly delivered
connecting rod bearings are now OK
553  The grinding machine is getting
arranged that the crankshaft can be honed
554  The crankshaft that by now turned
during 474'902 miles [764'280km]
= 21'263 hours about 4 billion times
without having been touched once
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
555  8/24/2018: The cylinder grinding
factory returns the machined engine block
together with honed parts like the crankshaft
556  8/27/2018: After a careful cleaning
the crankshaft bearing half-shells are set in
557  8/28/2018: The crankshaft sits
again at its allocated place
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
558  8/29/2018: The pistons are cleaned,
the rings and connecting rod bearings
are in place
559  8/30/2018: The pistons are now back
where they belong. The cylinder head is
also ready to be mounted
560  9/3/2018: The "heart" of our
36-years old LandCruiser
looks pretty neat again!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
561  9/4/2018: But already something new appears again: The oil pump is damaged.
On to new spare part search!
562  9/5/2018: No more oil pump in
Malaysia for the 2F engine,
therefore it had to be ground
563  9/10/2018: After further Malaysian
holidays the engine can now be
installed again after 55 days (!)
once seen from the other side
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
564  9/11/2018: After nearly two months
the engine is back on its predetermined
location. Next day it gets started and .....
565  ..... the manifold is "leaking like a
sieve", thus taking again out and bring it
back to the grinding workshop .....
566  ..... that is able to fix the job only
until 9/19/2018 due to new holidays
 
 
 
 
 
 
567  The manifold got grinded and welded
now it should fit on the engine block
568  Our LandCruiser is ready for
the first test drive after 68 days
hopefully our patience was worth it!
569  The "3rd rejuvenation 2017/18" has come
to a successful end. We bid farewell to boss
Mr. Lance Lau and his crew of the "Yung Lee"
workshop in Miri. Once again Mr. Lau took
good care for a smooth and relaxed atmosphere
 
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