Darren

Certainly will.

The answer to that one is no. I've just bought one off of ebay and it just has two spade connectors - one for power and one for earth. If you wanted to run it as a two speed fan then you'd need to wire a big resistor in to the circuit (much like the heater fan) but I must admit that I can't see the point. It just needs to come on when the water gets too hot and go off when it's cool enough again.

Hmm, I've got a similar problem with mine - the bite point is very near the top of the pedal travel. However, I've just discovered that the bite point gets progressively even higher the longer the vehicle is driven until it reaches the point where the clutch starts slipping. I discovered this by accident on Friday after a run of 15 miles or so, as I usually do shorter journeys day to day. Mines going in to be looked at tomorrow but the initial suspect is the master cylinder.

Rub on the shocks? Can't see how that would happen. I had that size tyre on my old D1 for over five years (BFG Trac Edge) and never had any problems. I did have to trim a small amount off of the rear wheel arches - not a full Camel cut, but a bit off the lip on the bottom edge - and adjust the steering stops very slightly. This was on standard height (HD rear) suspension. Personally, I think that size is an excellent compromise for a D1, particularly if you don't want to lift the suspension.

How my 110 looked when I bought it last September and how it looks now. There are many more changes on the inside too, as I've replaced virtually all of the dashboard that had been 'customised' by a previous owner

Have a look here

LR now make a harness that does exactly that. It's tedious to have to dismantle the dash to do it, but replacing the spider is just a case of unplugging it and plugging in the bypass harness.

It's a bit of a lottery, I'm afriad. In theory, all of the early ones should have it, after a couple of years a bean counter decided he could save a few beans by omitting it but when the facelift model arrived the CDL was offered as an optional extra (due to customer demand). However, in the early stages they couldn't actually fulfill any orders as they didn't have the parts. It became more available a year or so into facelift production but it's really hit and miss whether those without the option specified still have the appropriate spigot - presumably as LR were using up stocks of parts that they had. So, in short, the answer is yes, take a torch There are quite a few people in the DOC who have some nicely modded DII's, although you'll have to pay to join to get the full benefit. You could also do a lot worse than have a look at the Discoparts website. It's obviously commercial, but they have a nice range of good quality DII bolt-on goodies (including CDL retrofit kits). Other than that, Discoweb can be quite inspriational (albeit US based).

Oh, and yes, the ES was available with a manual box but they don't seem that common. I guess most of those who bought them new saw having to change gear as something that happens to poorer people The auto box really is excellent though, particularly if the engine has been tuned with a decent remap.

I would say buy the latest your cash will stretch to as they generally come with more goodies and have had all of the niggling things sorted that were discovered by the volunteer testers who bought the earlier ones. On the whole, I'd say a centre diff-lock is a very worthwhile feature if you're planning on any significant off-roading. The traction control is good, but ultimately it relies on a wheel to be already slipping before coming into play. A centre diff-lock can prevent the wheel slipping in the first place in many conditions and when both are used together, a DII becomes almost unstoppable. Also, if a centre diff-lock is retrofitted properly, it makes it possible to disable the TC altogether, which can be handy is certain circumstances. Finding one that already has a centre difflock seems to be quite tricky but what you really want is one that at least has the spigot on the transfer box, as an actuator (either mechanical or electric) can be retrofitted. It can be retrofitted to those without the appropriate spigot too, but it just costs more.

Really? I know that the 300 auto version got the ECU first, as it was a handy way of increasing the power, but I thought that by the later model years (97/98?) they all had it in order to meet emissions regs?

The very early Camel Discos actually used 7.00 x 16 tyres and, yes, the Disco steel rim would have been too wide. LR were undoubtedly keen to keep the vehicle as close to standard as practical - particularly on the drivetrian/suspension front - so wouldn't have wanted to fit a 2 inch lift and 235/85's or similar.

A camel cut refers to the need to trim the rear edge of the rear wheel arches as these are the closest bits to the tyres and are first things that get crunched when oversize tyres are fitted. In its' simiplest form, it's a diagonal cut from the point on the arch where it meets the horizonal body crease down to about 2 inches back from the original lower corner. There are different versions, however, depending generally on what size tyre is to be fitted and how much effort is put into making it look neat. The name comes from the Camel Trophy Discoverys, which were the first to be modified in this way to accomodate the 7.00 x 16 tyres they were fitted with (the early ones, anyway).

Actually, only later 300's have an ECU. 200's and early 300's were entirely mechanical.

Without wishing to teach any grandmothers to suck eggs, it's worth bearing in mind that an illuminated ABS light is an MoT failure so you'll need to consider the relative dates of your next Mot and service.

For the sort of trip you're planning, you really shouldn't need anything more than a full service, assuming no outstanding problems. For the longer term, there are some things that I would consider as preventative maintence if you're inclined to do them. These include replacing the turbo hoses, the coolant hoses, the fuel lift pump and the expansion tank. These are items that tend to wear out with age and, assuming all of these things are the originals, then it would be prudent at that sort of mileage. The original black expansion tank is known to develop a split along its' horizontal seam and, in fact, has been replaced with a translucent version that is supposed to overcome this. I'd also be tempted to swap out the immobiliser spider unit for the bypass harness that LR introduced, as they also seem to fail with age and can leave you stuck if you don't know how to diagnose the problem.

One of the common reasons for this is that one of the ABS sensors isn't seated in its' housing properly, which messes up the gap and hence the reading. However, it can also be brought on by worn wheel bearings, which have a similar effect. We had this recently on my wifes' DII, where they would come on occasionally but with increasing frequency until they wouldn't go out at all. Replaced a wheel bearing (one of the rears in this case) and all has been well since. As the others have said though, it's really necessary to get it plugged in to some diagnostic equipment to narrow down the actual cause.

It's worth checking the condition before spending cash on parts though. Quite often, they fail because a bit of grit or similar has become trapped in the fold of the bag and worn a hole through. It doesn't necessarily follow that the same will have happened to the other side, though. It's a bit like suggesting that both tyres on an axle should be replaced because you've got a punction in one. What follows from this, of course, is that it's advisable to raise the suspension every now and again and give the bags a clean - particularly if the vehicle is never, or very rarely, used in this mode.

You're almost certainly correct to say that the air spring is 'clapped'. Pump it up to the maximum off-road height and spray it with soapy water to see if you can spot the leak - usually where the bag folds over itself as it gets lower.

I believe that gold engines are factory reconditioned units (known as Goldseal).

Not sure where you're based but I can highly recommend TD5 Alive up in Grimsby. Having had my wifes' Disco re-mapped by him I can say that he really knows his stuff. There are also many very impressed customers of his in the Discovery Owners Club. TD5 Alive

This is all very encouraging and makes me feel much better about mine now. I do think they look good

I had the Discoparts ones on my D1. Excellent kit, very strong, although a bit of a pain to fit

The step came from First Four Off-Road (near the bottom of this page). It's not Land Rover specific, so needed a bit of creative hole drilling and a couple of rivnuts to actually attach it, but it works pretty well. It's main advantage is in not cracking knees when leaning into the back, which I always seemed to do with anything 'fixed' Unlike the pictures on the First Four site, I installed it so that it didn't protrude below the bottom face of the rear crossmember, as that just seemed to be asking for trouble when off road.

Me too. I had roof lights on the front of my old Discovery for over five years but only actually needed them a handful of times - mostly on a trip to Norway where we came across lots of unlit tunnels. They always looked cool on the Camel Trophy videos but in general day to day use serve very little purpose. Rear work lights, on the other hand, I find to be very useful.