Def90

Hi All, My Disco has been experiencing a bit of a wobble for a while. Wondered whether this might be the Watts linkage or play in the anti roll bars. As there was no "clunk" or noticable wear in the bushes I took the easy option and I have fitted a new set of shocks all round (Terrafirma) but whilst doing this had a crawl under the car and noticed the rear ACE actuator is covered in soil from the years the old girl has been on the road and this soil looked damp (to a lesser extent, so was the soil on the rear axle). I cleaned it all off, but can't see any split in the gaiter or any noticeable weeping from the ACE actuator itself. I haven't had the opportunity to fully road test the Disco since fitting the new shocks, so this may have done the trick, but if Paranoia prevails and I need to look at the ACE system, does anyone have any experiences of fault with the ACE system on the disco, should I need to replace the rear actuator, what sort of costs am I looking at and is this a DIY job, or will I need to get the system bleed using test book? Any Thought appreciated Cheers

Nope - won't be going When will they have a worthwhile show in the South West of England - so frustrating always having to travel to the South East or North - even Gaydon is now in question!

Wait for the new defender in 2013

I had something similiar on mine. changed the shocks twice, it helped but didn't stop the wobble/bounce. I eventually had the air suspension reclaibrated and this seemed to do the trick

Thanks for the empathy guys, I actually posted this originally in the defender forum, but the moderator moved the post to the International forum area for some reason - Fully support the moderation process, but seems strange as it is a direct technical question related to a TD5 defender and about London, so I would have thought my best bet for an answer would be the Defender forum. Still trying to research the issue - I can find lots of people whinging and lots of general chit chat, but I haven't as yet found any sensible suggestions. I phoned a couple of the LEZ fitters and as mentioned, they haven't fitted anything to a defender. So I'm starting to pull my hair out and fear the worst for the old Truck

Hi, Those lovely folk at the Transport for London have sent me a letter to tell me that the old truck will be non compliant within the LEZ next year and that I should either sell it or have a filter fitted. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of the filters?, who might fit them, what they cost, whether I could purchase and fit one myself etc Any info would be very gratefully recieved Cheers

Thanks for the info. I have had a good "diagnostic" session with the compressor (really several cups of tea, locked in the shed) and have come the following conclusions: I can adjust the pressure switch via the hysteresis spring adjustment, this lowers or raises the point at which the compressor cuts out/in. This has worked well, so I have been able to bring the compressor back into tolerance (ie: it no longer pressurises into the red zone before tripping). This has equally proven to me that the pressure switch is working ok, as it will cut out correctly however I set the threshold. So with the pressure switch ruled out and the ability for the compressor to cut out correctly, the issue seems to be with the ability of the compressor to restart. With use and tinkering, I have got it to the point where roughly once in every ten attempts, the compressor will splutter to life, the other nine goes the fuse trips and the compressor stops. So after numerous web searches (still can’t believe there is so little info out there about compressors) I have come to the conclusion that the capacitor is failing or has failed. From what I have read, once the compressor has pressure in it, it obviously takes more "umph" to get it going again. This draws really heavy "wattage" and causing the onboard fuse to trip. The capacitor provides the extra "umph" for when the compressor needs to restart. So having checked everything else and the fuse obviously works ok, I have come to this conclusion, partly by a process of elimination and partly due to extensive searching of the web for snippets of info. So I will pay a visit to the local machine mart and see if it's cheaper to by a new compressor or a capacitor and see if this does the trick - I'll report back what I find Cheers and thanks for the help

I'm after some advise and having looked at the forum there is no obvious spot for this post, so thought I would try the trusty Defender forum. Having read with interest all the posts on this forum, I'm looking to waxoyl my 110. So have invested in a second hand air compressor (Airmaster 8/35). The problem: I can switch it on and it will start to charge, if I press the air during charging, I get air through to the tools. The trouble I'm having is that when I switch it on and it starts to charge up, but keeps charging, the pressure needle going well into the red section of the dial, before what looks like the electrical overload fuse trips and shuts the motor off. There is no sign that the pressure switch is activating. I can use the air in the system, but I would expect the system to kick in again once the pressure drops below a certain level. To get the system to work again, I have to reset the 5amp fuse switch. Then the whole process starts again. Thinking it may be a gummed up pressure switch I have stripped and cleaned most component that I can dis-assemble, this said, the pressure switch looked new with no build up of gunk on it at all. So my question: Is there an adjustment for the pressure switch, so that I can lower the cut off pressure, so not overloading the system or do people reckon the pressure switch is stuck and there might be a way to clean it or do I need to buy a new pressure switch (Not prefferred) I'd be interested in any idea's as the web seems very light on any air compressor advise, i couldn't even find a manual (PDF) to down load Cheers

Thanks Guys, With the bank holidays in the uk, I haven't got around to updating the forum. I checked and rechecked all the bushes, torque settings and whether there was any signs of damage to the chassis, I then spoke to the shock manufacturer and a number of suppliers. The conclusion seems to be that this is a "Solihull oddity", so I have thrown in the towel and fitted a set of gas shocks. These are the same diameter as the standard LR Shocks and fit ok, all be it very close to the leading edge of the chassis spring mount. So I didn't get to the bottom of the issue, but as I need the truck back on the road, had to do something. Thanks again for all the advise, it is always nice to know you arn't going MAD !!

Thanks Western I measured the terrafirma shocks (bit of tape wrapped around it) and they are slightly larger diameter, hence the rubbing. However, when I refit the orginal shocks, whilst they don't rub, they are very very close, the renewal of the bushes having pushed the axle further forward. AS far as i can figure the only thing that would move the axle back or forward would be the radius arm, so having had this rebushed (x3) and refitted these, the axle footing should be directly under the turret apature. Yet with either the terrafirma of the orginal shock in place, there is a noticable slant - the axle is ahead of the turret causing the shock to slope backwards. Do you know if this is normal? Any suggestions on aligning the axle and the turret? Cheers

Over the bank holidays I thought I'd tackle the long awaited task of fitting some new shocks to my 110. The rear went without issue. At the front, I removed the turret, spring/spring ring and shocks. When refitting I choose to fit Terrafirma turret, turret ring, and shocks. All went together ok, but I noticed the front edge of the shock was rubbing on the spring mount/turret edge. Thinking through the possible options I checked the radius arm bushes, these were ok, but showing signs of wear, so have had these replaced. Refitting the shocks again, the new bushes actually push the axle forward, so making the alignment of the shock and the rubbing on the leading edge of the turret/turret ring worse. If I stand back and look at the shock, it shows a real slant between the top turret mount and the axle footing - Is this correct, or a solihull oddity? - I would have expected the shock alignment to be almost vertical. As I didn't check before taking the orginal assembly apart, I refitted the orginal shock and turret, whilst less pronannouced, the same alignment issue exists. My question is - is this normal, is there anything else I can check/adjust to improve the alignment I should mention that the vehicle has never been involved in a crash and is running standard springs (no lift) Any advise would be very welcome

Thanks for all the suggestion and recommendations Guys, Thought I'd report back. Jacked the truck up as recommend and set about adjusting the steering box. The locking nut had obviously not been shifted since the factor and was well and truely stuck. Not least of all the EGR unit was in the way, so I couldn't easily get good access to the locking nut. Eventually gave into to brut force and got a breaker bar and socket onto the locking nut, after a bit of effort, this shifted it. Having lost all referance to the orginal alignment (due to the use of the socket) I then worked the locking nut and the hex bolt so that they moved more freely in the box, to aid final adjustment. I found it very easy to tighted the hex bolt so far that it started to fall below the level of the locking bolt - I felt this was to far. Also, turning the steering wheel lock to lock, I can't say I felt any tight spots. With this level of adjust and no obvious sign of the correct setting I thought I'd approach the adjustment a different way. So I slackened off the hex bolt until there was play once again in the steering wheel. I then repeatedly made small adjustments until the play in the steering wheel seemed to be taken up. I then locked off the lock nut. After a brief road test this seems to have done the trick, steering is very positive again - Only problem is, that having taken the slack out of the steering, My steering wheel is now off centre by a quarter turn, so this is another job for another weekend !. Thanks again for all your help

Thanks Guys, So does that mean my diagnosis is correct, it is the steering box adjustment - No other obvious suspects to check before I try this? I'll give it a go at the weekend and let you all know how it goes Cheers

With the MOT coming up on my truck, I'm after some advise regard play in my steering. About a year ago I bought a TD5 110, whilst it has had a hard life, it drove fine - Steering spot on and very shape. After a particularly engaging offroad session with the AWDC at SLab common I managed to make funny animal shapes out of my Track rods. So I have replaced the track rods with Heavy Duty sumo bars (inc track rod ends), replaced the drag link bracket, Steering damper & the drop arm ball joint. All went together ok and I have been driving the truck since. However, ever since putting it all back together I have found that the steering seems vague, there seems to be travel in the steering wheel before I feel any restistance/reaction at the wheels. The Tracking is ok (1230mm track rod centre to track rod centre - with 2 degress toe out, when putting it all back together I didn't notice any play in the steering box or leak from the seals. Before I start to take it all apart again, to check settings, is there any "usual suspects" I should be checking? I have been told you can adjust the steering box to take up the slack in the steering, is this something just for old series vehicles or can this be done on a TD5 - Can anyone offer advise on making this adjustment? Any advise would be appreciate, as I have this weekend to look at it before the MOT !