ThreeSheds

Sorry for the long delay - the suspension went very well and allows the unit to be wheeled around very much more easily

Well... I never did get it back into the barn so after it sat under a tarp for a year I finally decided that getting it back on the road was not going to happen (I was on some heart meds at the time which made me feel tired all the time) and so I sold it to an enthusiastic young man who promised me he wouldn't break it but would bring it back into daily use. He even said he would retain it's patina (although the rubber chicken would go) Scroll forwards six months and: I have come off the meds (the doc doesn't know yet - it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission eh?) and suddenly I feel ten years younger. I have inherited a Disco TD5 from my brother-in-law, who died suddenly a couple of months ago. The disco is a 53 reg, of 'ES' type with (I think) the 'premium' package (it appears to have a diff-lock, fat roof bars, heated screen and shiny side step things) and, as a bonus, it came with a SORN, no MoT, slipping auto trans, and The Three Amigos.. Oh, and it is currently located 320 miles away. I am going to arrange for it to be transported here (from the Lake District to Aberdeenshire - at a cost of about £450) and see if I can sort the problems, after which I may be tempted to do some 'mild' off-roading style mods. First to go will be those side step things! On the positive side there is not too much corrosion, the engine appears to be good, it has a newish steering box and battery and a few other things, and the interior (black leather heated seats) is in decent nick except for the headlining. Oh and it also comes with a Lynx diagnostic thingy. Never used one of those before (never had much in the way of electronics on cars before ) so am hoping it will be easy to get going with my laptop , and will tell me all about my three amigos... So - what do you reckon?: Is the Disco 2 an ok base for a mild off-road vehicle? If I were to try some gentle trialing, would the combination of diff-lock and TC be considered cheating? I will post some photos of the new toy after this weekend when I go and get it started ready for Shipley to move it. I will also start a new topic for it when I start to work on it TTFN Roger

Too late now - I'm not buying another Next thing I am doing is to fit 'suspension' to mine... My yard is composed of pretty nasty concrete with lots of cracks and pot-holes and (even with no tools in the cabinet) it's very difficult to move around. So I am going to put the wheels on rubber isolation bushes which I hope will give just enough 'give' to ease the passage over the rough concrete. I'll report back in a few days hoe it goes...

Well, I finally decided to go for the Halfords Pro offer (three cabinets for £250) even though I really fancied the Halfords 'Industrial' range but not at those prices = the rolling cabinet is £300 alone! Anyway - I procrastinated so long the the 'Pro' offer ended and I missed it, but it was replaced with an 'Industrial' offer - the roller drawers and top unit for £300 combined. So I went for that and I got them last night - so below is what I think of them: 1st impression: Flippin eck it's big! The bottom unit alone is 50kg! That's about 115lbs in old money. so to the boxes themselves - they are bigger than I expected and much heavier. Very solidly made with lovely drawer sliding (on bearing runners) action. the drawers are self latching so that you can move the wheeled unit around without them sliding open all the time and additionally the drawers in the top unit won't open unless the lid is up. The top unit is about 35kg and so can be carried using the side handles if there are no tools in it so that bit will reside on the bench I think. The quoted limits are IMHO, very impressive, with 35kg per drawer and max all up weight of 320kg for the chest (top) and 360kg for the cabinet (base) with contents. Additionally, the base unit can carry 320kg on it's top surface (the all-up weight of the top unit), although it is probably sensible to put some plywood on there as a load spreader before dumping a couple of diffs on it! Overall I am very pleased with the cabinets - they appear strong and well made and, during the offer at least, are reasonably good value. I will try to attach some photos and a video below...

I recently bought a US Pro 'affordable' rolling cabinet and it is SO flimsy that I daren't put my hammers in it, so I found this post while looking for advice for a replacement... It seems from earlier posts here, that the Halfords range (pro or industrial) are sound so I will go and have a look at them. Just thought I would mention my experience with the US Pro (Affordable). By the way - I have a set of long impact sockets from US Pro bought about 6 years ago that are fabulous... Roger

A few pics of what four Scottish winters can do - the use a LOT (pun intended) of salt up here...

Well, I will take some photos when it is back in the barn.. The landlord doesn't like the idea of me working out in the farmyard, so back to the barn it is. One of the problems with working in the barn is that the only place where there is enough light is by the door, so I wouldn't be able to get other things in and out... However there is a bright side in that I have been offered more space in other outbuildings in which to put the other stuff from the barn The task list is something like this: Front axle (diff and hubs) (refurbish) Rear axle (diff only) (refurbish) Transfer box rear output bearing and seal (replace) (I think the front is ok - from memory) Steering box (replace with recon) heater/blower unit (replace with spare that I liberated from my old Disco - the heater was the only thing that worked well on that ) Camshaft/followers, valley gasket (replace) Heads and valves (refurbish) Sort out mystery missfire (possible 14CUX replacement) Anyway - I am hoping to get it in the barn tonight and maybe even up on axle stands - so I might be able to take some pics then. TTFN Roger

Four and a half years ago I moved to Scotland. My Range Rover Classic (pickup) did sterling service on the move, towing my trailer back and forth six times from Leeds to Blairgowrie with huge loads both in the trailer and on the back of the pickup. We did six round trips in 8 days, with all loading and unloading being done by me alone... It was EPIC! Since that time the RRC has been used less for fun (it's intended use) and more for a winter backup vehicle - we get some good winters up here (the tracks in the foreground are from the RRC): And it kept on passing it's MoT, and starting when required - sometimes having gone months without attention, until.. Finally... I decided it was now too far gone and was used to little to warrant several hundred pounds a year on road tax and insurance (last year it only did 360 miles!) and so I sorned it and evicted it from the barn to the yard where it now lives under a tarp: But that was a mistake... In the yard it's forlorn outline catches my eye every time I go out and it keeps calling softly to me - so I have decided to start a rebuild! For a start I am going to sort out the axles (about 45deg play in the propshaft is a bit much I think), then the engine (camshaft etc, I think that the bottom end will be ok) and if those jobs don't 'see me out' I'll start on the bodywork. I have in mind what I call a Mega Moke - sort of a Mini Moke on steroids. It is my intent to become active here again (it was a great forum a few years ago - I hope it still is) to match my new found interest in the car. Nothing is going to happen quickly - I have a comfortable life with several time consuming hobbies, and I find as I get older I have developed infinite patience and I tend to think about something for a week or five before starting it - in fact I suspect that I will not live to see the end of this (hence the 'see me out' comment above) but hopefully now and then I can post something that will help or entertain others. The most enjoyable part of any build (buying some new tools) has already started and so my next post will probably be a review of the Dewalt rattle gun that is winging it's way to me right now. (Excuse for purchase - my arms and hands are no longer strong enough for tight nuts). Well - that's all for now folks. TTFN Roger

200w is a big iron - I used a gas one though, and I always use 'real solder' which melts at a lower temp than the new stuff.

I soldered a rear one once - not really a problem but made me sweat a bit... There was an internet guide I found but I can't see it now.

Mines a manual but agree with Dave about power drop-off. I try to keep the revs between 2k and 3k most of the time. Also - remember when Top Gear put some old cars on a rolling road?, there is a chance that anything up to half of your car's original power will have escaped over the years so you may well struggle to pull a couple of tons with brick aerodynamics up a hill anyway...

The following are just my opinions, as if I was looking at it with a thought to buying. I think that generally though, adding bits on the deal would help it to sell but not necessarily recoup their cost. Cheapest poss. Having the MoT is important, but you cannot predict the usage of whoever buys it. Personally I would put a reasonably modern set on, but many people would want originality Having a new tilt will make it easier to sell, but I don't think you would recoup the cost. I would probably only buy one with a reasonable tilt though... I would want the option of fitting them myself. I would imagine that selling the spares individually would get more money. Having the spares lumped in with the car would probably not swing the deal one way or the other for me.

fair point

While there are no legal problems that I know of with a side exhaust, and it looks good, sounds great and keeps it well out of the way when offroading; I am going to change mine back to a rear exit once I get a round tuit. The reason is simple - as mentioned above it can be rather antisocial: 1. In summer time in traffic I have to think all the time about it and be careful not to smoke out other cars, but sometimes in traffic I can't help it 2. It can really upset dogs (and I love dogs) 3. (Worst of all) It is just at face height for a baby in a pram... In the picturesque village of Dunkeld last year I was crawling in traffic on a tight road with parked cars next to a 3ft wide pavement, and a gap came so I accelerated away and as I did I heard the squeal of a distressed mum as I blasted her baby with fumes. I was really upset and vowed then to change it back to a rear exhaust... In my case it was LPG fumes - imagine how bad it would have been if it had been a 'performance tuned' diesel! (You know - the ones that produce a cloud of black smoke when they open the throttle...) Don't get me wrong - I am not 'anti' side exhaust, they are just not for me and I wish I had thought of the above before I modified it. Roger

I've got petrol in my blood and absolutely LOVE V8s; but for a camper, even I would say that diesel is the way to go...

Please be very careful if you do this - it is VERY easy to fire the pistons out too far (especially if they are sticky but then 'give') and if anything soft gets in the way (like fingers) they WILL be crushed. All other points above I agree with. I briefly thought of wheel-bearings, but they would get warm on a long run - this sounds like the brake is sticking (causing drag and heat) but then freeing off after a while. As above, sliding pins would be my favourite. By the way - nice checking/analysis in the original post

To add a little to Bowie69's reply - try to get someone who knows Discos to have a look at it - there are some mid 90s Discos out there that are rust free, but they are rare (I have seen one in the last 10 years), and rust repairs are expensive/difficult/time consuming. If it is anything less than a "good one", then someone who knows what they are doing should be able to walk up to it and poke holes in it (or point out where it has been repaired) within 2 minutes, so it's not a big ask. Mechanically, if it has been regularly serviced then there is little to go wrong, the 300tdi engines have a reputation for longevity, and autos are easier on the rest of the transmission than a manual (Check the colour/smell of the auto transmission fluid though). Generally, all the problems you might expect from a 13 year old car can be expected from a Disco of that era, but with extra rust. Hope this helps Roger

Don't want to teach my grandmother to suck eggs, but in most cases, melted wiring means a short circuit. This short circuit can be due to either wiring or component failure. From your words - the phrases that shout at me are: " I also fitted new <name unimportant> glow plugs " and " I'm getting no preheat light " .... It is possible that one or more of your new glow-plugs has an internal short - get yourself a cheap multi-meter (less than £10 and it will be an investment) and check each one. There is no need to remove them, just check from the terminal to earth with the wire disconnected. They should be a few ohms (less than ten but not zero) . While it is unusual for them to fail in this way, there could have been a production fault perhaps so worth a check. Fitting new plugs means that you disturbed the wiring to them - this wiring takes a lot of juice and I have several times seen the insulation on it in poor condition. I think that I would begin looking for the fault by tracing/checking all of the glow-plug wiring. Of course it is possible that your earlier smoking problems have cause these wires some damage too, and that they were ok before that, so bear that in mind. I hope the above suggestions help some. I know that when you are not used to electrics they can seem daunting, but keep asking questions and you will soon pick it up. Roger

I have a similar 'feeling' about my RRC pickup, but I put it down to this: When unloaded my rear suspension is rather too 'unloaded' and gives a jiggly ride - when loaded it all smooths out and that (in my case) is a double whammy since it feels like I am going faster (because it's smoother), and also I tend to drive faster (use more throttle) since it is smoother. However, I can think of no mechanical or physical reason why a loaded vehicle would go faster (all other things being equal) than an unloaded one, and probably about half a dozen reasons why it would go slower...

There are times when the naughty word eliminator should be switched off perhaps...

Sick person I'm not that keen on! How can people do that sort of thing...

While this is true (and especially so for transmitters) , if you have a modern car radio (not DAB) and live in an area of reasonable signal strength you might be surprised what you can 'get away with' : I recently wanted to fit a 2m (amateur radio) antenna to my old 316i and decided to use the existing body mount at the centre-rear of the roof, and then place a small shop-bought antenna for the normal radio on the wing. Half way through the job I had completed the 2m part but had not yet fitted the wing mounted one, and I had to nip out. I was driving along listening to Radio 2 for several miles before I realised that I had cut the coax for the original aerial under the roof-lining and so my stereo was receiving quite happily on about 9ft of coax running up and under the metal roof, and not connected to any sort of aerial at all! Having seen secondjeremy's suggestion of mounting one 'internally' on the bulkhead, I think that this sounds like an excellent idea - if you get one that is the right sort of length to terminate just under the canvas I suspect that it would work really rather well. Radio waves 'get through holes' quite well as long as they are big enough (which is why mobile phones work indoors - the signal comes through the window and bounces around inside), and a normal FM radio signal of about 100MHz should get through windows and the canvas roof ok. Electrically heated windows don't pass radio easily, but I suspect that this would not be a problem in your case? One more thing though - if you do mount an antenna internally then you should probably put something on top of it to prevent it taking your eye out at some time in the future... HTH Roger

The trouble is that the actual antenna part needs to be isolated (insulated) from the earth/bodywork - if you can do that then it would be fine. The easiest way to get a 'stealthy' antenna would be (as mentioned above) to arrange for a bit of wire to run under the canvas and preferably away from metal structures. If you cut the antenna off a normal shop-bought one to leave just the coax and plug, you can run that up to some metallic roof-structure and then connect the outer braid to that (as an earth) and extend the inner out under the canvas but keep it insulated from the bodywork. Normal electrical wire will do, but better (if your coax is long enough) would be to strip the coax back and just have the exposed core (still insulated though) as the antenna. Anything that conducts will work as an antenna, the main thing is that it is insulated from the vehicle earth and as far as possible in clear space away from any earthed conductors. HTH Roger

Good point Michael - I should have thought of that! In my case the only safety is the master switch with a big red cover that needs to be lifted before switching on and some Dymo that says "WARNING ONLY USE COMPRESSOR WHILE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY" (actually that fell off but since I am the only one that ever goes in the car I think I am safe I did actually test it while driving along, but since mine is a manual trans it was no problem, and I don't think it would be even if it cut in unexpectedly... Roger

Not finished my air installation yet, but just thought I'd mention that if you have Megajolt and you still have the 14CUX and air bypass valve active, then you can fool it into idling at 1500 rpm while the compressor is running by halving the number of flyback pulses into the ECU. All it takes is a relay triggered by the compressor clutch circuit, which switches from the normal 'four diodes and a zener' to a 'two diodes and a zener' circuit. It works pretty well - when I switch on the compressor the load momentarily drops the tickover, but then the ABV kicks in and the revs rise and all is fine. Switching off the compressor sees normal tickover gently restored as the ABV closes in a series of steps. Now for perfection I just need to delay the compressor clutch for a second or so until after the revs have risen Roger