 | Home > Puma (Tdci) > Puma breather pipes - help and advice needed |
 
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| Gasket Member Since: 30 May 2020 Location: Manchester Posts: 629  |
Hi folks.
I’m the next couple of weeks I need to take the cab floor out of my 2010 Puma 90 to do a couple of jobs. While it’s up on the axle stands, this is also an ideal time to address the breather pipes. Now, when I had my chassis galvanised - I went over the vehicle with a fine tooth comb to make sure the reassembly had been done correctly (I farmed out the chassis work as I didn’t have space). There were a few minor things which I’ve sorted - taking it back to factory spec. The only real clanger that the workshop made was the breathers - they cut them and didn’t replace them with new, this is the axle and transfer box breathers - which are now far too short and obviously don’t end in the shepherds crook bend in the engine bay. I haven’t checked the fuel tank breather yet. So, I’m going to sort it and do the job right. Which to me means either exactly back to factory spec or 100% better than factory spec. I have a few options: 1) fit genuine parts - easy but really quite expensive (I’d be looking at over £80 and the factory approach wasn’t perfect anyway. 2) fit a nugget stuff manifold, and join it to the ‘short’ breathers I have (that’s how their kit is intended to be fitted - so this should be easy too. 3) fit a full Glynn Lewis kit - including their tapped unions into the axle casings - the most difficult approach as I really don’t want to tap a complete axle casing due to the risk of Swarf getting into the casing. 4) a combination approach. Could I first check a few things: can anyone confirm if I’m right in thinking that a puma has three breather pipes all entering the engine bay and terminating in the same place - one each for the front axle, rear axle and transfer box? I also believe that the fourth breather pipe for the fuel tank is just stuffed by LR into the chassis rail and that the gearbox breather is a short thing attached to the MT82 which links the casing to the bellhousing. I have read the thread by GloucesterNige and watched his videos on the MT82 breather and how it’s basically a “leave it alone” approach due to the concern that removing the plug could release part of the internal shift rails. I like the Gwynn Lewis kit at the axle and transfer box ends, but the rest of the system is just standard push fit manifolds with some blanking plugs. So I’m leaning towards this approach: 1) buy a Nugget Stuff 4-port manifold from Brendan: https://www.4x4overlander.com/product/nugg...gI_ufD_BwE yes, it’s an extravagance but it’s a lovely solution and has exactly the right number of breathers for a Puma (ie no gearbox one as you leave it alone) 2) buy a Gwynn Lewis breather kit - using his screw in axle and transfer box connectors as well as the well thought out pipe/P-clips/cable toes. I just wouldn’t use his manifold. Here I’d have to be brave and tap the axles using grease and magnets to avoid swarf. 3) run a new fuel tank breather (if it’s accessible without removing the tank - can anyone confirm?) or if not accessible then connect to the factory one as per the nugget stuff instructions. 4) having checked the MT82 breather, connect the pipes from the front and rear axles, the transfer box and the fuel tank to the nugget stuff manifold. Does this sound sensible? This to me would be a better than factory approach. If it does I’ll be begging someone on the forum to whatsapp me a video showing the factory routing of all the breathers so I can duplicate this. Any advice would be very welcome. If this was an older vehicle or more of a project car, I’d just be using cheap pushfit pipe and connectors but it’s a bit of a treasure so I’m sticking to OEM or better. Thanks very much. |
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7th Jul 2022 2:41am |
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| Linds Hanson Member Since: 16 Jan 2021 Location: Cornwall Posts: 434 
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Nothing special about the Land Rover pipes just nylon pipe infact you can by quick release couplers to connect to your existing cut pipework
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7th Jul 2022 10:33am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 16857 
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You can easily make your own hook ends by heating standard pipe.
Everything about the LR breather system is firmly in the "minimum cost and barely adequate" classification. It will do the job if your vehicle lives a boring life. If it doesn't, as a minimum fit robust threaded unions on the axles and run all the breather pipes to suitable high points (which should be above the maximum expected immersion depth). The MT82 breather can be extended using the horrible push-fit fitting if you are (wisely) uneasy about removing the threaded fitting, but you only need to do this if you anticipate that you may sit for a period with the gearbox submerged. This is unlikely in non-extreme use (remember that this means you will have water up to tunnel level in the cab, which is unlikely unless on Camel Trophy-like activities). The tank breather varies with model year and wheelbase but is a shockingly bad design on almost all, early ones simply "breathe" to atmosphere behind the RNS wheel. It is advisable to replace or extend this to somewhere dry and protected, preferably outside the habitable space (on my 110 DC it now terminates behind the RNS light unit inside the rear tub). If you intend to take your vehicle into extreme situations consider also roll-over valves on the breathers to prevent loss of fluid if the vehicle is the wrong way up (the fuel tank breather should already have one), and consider when placing the outlets of your breathers whether they could be submerged if the vehicle is inverted. I imagine that it is unlikely that you anticipate this kind of extremity for your Defender. |
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7th Jul 2022 3:12pm |
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| Gasket Member Since: 30 May 2020 Location: Manchester Posts: 629 |
thank you both very much.
Blackwolf - I certainly won't be doing anything extreme at all. Occasional, work related off roading and then lots of road use. My rule with modifying the 90 is that I am happy to fix the factory shortcomings, but I don't need to make it any more capable (OEM+). To this end the clutch, input shaft, rustproofing, rear halfshafts have been improved as per Defender2 advice, but there are no dress-up mods or tuning parts fitted. In this case its a garage cock-up that triggers a sensible upgrade. Lovely, so the axle and transfer box fittings from Gwynn Lewis and some nice lengths of hose to replace the factory parts leading to a hand bend hook in the engine bay. Nice set of cheap but functional upgrades there - now I know the pipe can be bent I think I'll simply replicate the factory terminations in the engine bay, using the original clips except I'll will run them to better-than-factory connectors to the casings (plus bringing the fuel tank breather along for the ride) |
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7th Jul 2022 5:57pm |
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| spudfan Member Since: 10 Sep 2007 Location: Co Donegal Posts: 4473 
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I extended the fuel breather on our 2008 Puma along the chassis rail and up to the bulkhead. 1982 88" 2.25 diesel
1992 110 200tdi csw -Zikali 2008 110 2.4 tdci csw-Zulu 2011 110 2.4 tdci csw-Masai |
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9th Jul 2022 3:18pm |
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| Devon-Rover Member Since: 22 Jan 2015 Location: South Devon Posts: 906 
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IMO you are on a similar track like I was.
Something to improve on what is there yet not too far removed and extra (maybe unnecessary) work For the day to day and the odd infrequent foray I feel the standard push in axle breathers are fine. The pipe is simple 6mm Nylon pneumatic hose. the fittings are those common to it too, A eBay search will throw some light on the range. Of course it's worth checking with the manifold that you plan to use to see what hose size they use. For instance the ARB one uses 8mm hose. I extended the breathers up to the engine bay to the manifold, simple using straight connectors to the existing pipes. F Axle R Axle T box Fuel tank. And I too shyed away from the gearbox as didn't fancy the risk as I was unlikely to go that deep. should of been a simple bolt in / out then I would of done it. Also can be found on Fb, Ytube, Insta & Twitter @4WDSouthwest |
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9th Jul 2022 5:05pm |
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