DiscoDancer

I am driving around Europe and the middle east in my Discovery (mk1) and I've had BFG AT 235/70/16 tyres on. These have been brilliant for the first 30k miles. However shortly after this I experienced first a (repairable) puncture, then an injured sidewall resulting in a huge bulge and finally another puncture resulting in a cooked tyre - these problems appearing in the tyres fitted to the rear axle, which had about 1/3 of the original tread left. I am so impressed with the BFGs though - I've put them through all kinds of hell, speed on terrible roads, sharp rocks and they came through (albeit with fairly pulverised tread patterns and a number of minor sidewall slashes) (the brackets holding the body to the chassis are cracking, but the tyres survived...). So - I want to replace these tyres with more of the same. The front tyres are still good (I have been rotating the tyres during this period, but right now I have two good tyres on the front with about 50% tread left). I think the rear tyres have taken the worst beating because of the weight - I have about 1800kg on the rear axle, which is both about the load limit for the axle and the limit for the tyres (load range C). So I'm trying to decide if I should put load range D tyres on instead. These are a slightly different size (245/70/16) which gives 705 rather than 715 revolutions per mile, so 1.5% different approx. So to the questions: - is a D range tyre going to last longer - did I start seeing problems with my C range rear tyres because they were close to the weight limit and I was pushing them hard? - anyone know how the construction of the D range tyre differs? - and most importantly - I am going to experience problems - either by having a mix of C and D range or by having a mix of sizes front and rear. I suppose as the front are part worn already, they are actually smaller than spec and so this could exacerbate any size-related problems. I realise I will get wind-up quicker in 4x4 mode, but would it have any effects when the centre diff is unlocked?

I am trying to work out how to temporarily fix a damaged rear shock absorber. I have a '96 discovery 300tdi. I have fitted Bilstein F4 (f4-b46-0254-h0) shocks on the rear which i believe are the correct type. I have been driving the car around Europe like this for more than 6 months without issue. About two months ago I added extra weight to the car, so the rear axle is now on the limit for the discovery rear axle (approx 1800kg). I have new standard springs and also air-helpers inside the springs. The problem is that the rod part of the shock on the driver's side has come out of the upper mounting. When I received the shocks new, they were a single unit, so I didn't realise it was possible for them to come apart at this point - but it turns out the top of the rod has a screw thread on it, and it screws into a socket on the bottom of the upper mounting (the ring type for discovery). The screw thread appears to be fine on the piston rod, but close inspection of the upper mounting seems to show that the thread there has been partially stripped away. When you do it up, there is a bit of play, although you can do it up very tight. However it pops out again after a short drive on uneven road surfaces. Ideally I would get a new shock, but there are two problems with this: first I am in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and second I am concerned that, if the problem is over-extension of the shock, causing the piston to be ripped from the mounting, the same problem may just occur again. The car has been put through some fairly rough driving recently, travelling on dirt roads through some of Poland and Hungary. So the questions I would like answered are: - has the happened to anyone before? - does it indicate some other problem with the suspension? - is it possible to over-extend a shock absorber - the suspension is not raised or otherwise modified - standard springs, air helpers and lots of weight, but just within axle maximum. - I am planning to fix this problem for now by welding the mounting onto the piston, is this likely to cause something else to break (like shock-to-car mounting)? (There is enough clearance on the piston rod when fully compressed to allow it to be welded.) - what would be the implications of removing the shock and driving without it until I can get a new one. Would the air helpers in the spring help with damping? Many thanks!