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My 300tdi clocked up 150,000 miles last week and to celebrate its developed a new creak when I release the clutch pedal . Not a sound when I depress the pedal but each time I release it there is a sort of creaking groan. I am hoping there is something to lubricate to stop it. Any ideas would be gratefully recieved. |As amatter of interest the clutch was replaced three years or 25,000 miles ago so I am pretty certain it should still be okay. Jules

Its well worth getting rid of the carpet underlay in the back and replacing it with a thick rubber mat. I got one last year off a guy in kent I think I found it on ebay. It cost about £70 but is well worth it and it is labrador proof to boot. I will try to find the details for you. Jules

Went out to walk the dog this morning and for the first time ever my Disco wouldn't start and I had a horrible feeling it was going to be an immobilser fault as the engine would not turn over. Checked on the forum for similar problems and came across a thread by BogBuster from 2005 " The Difinitive Alarm Spider Post." On the first page was a discription of exactly what my 300tdi was suffering , a fault in the starter circuit. Armed with a multi meter, emery cloth and some switch cleaner it took less than 5 minutes to rectify the fault. A dry joint on the thin lead to the starter motor. Thanks for a simple no nonsense thread. Jules

Very happy with my Cooper ATR's. Excellent on road and plenty of off road capability for green laning Jules

Mine was a sod to try to get out . I was convinced it was going to sheer off .In the end I went for a short drive to heat the whole thing up a bit and the plug came out quite easily. Jules

Best way to remove it is to re-engage normal high range and to reverse for about 50 yards on a hard surface. I have always done this regardless of whether the warning light is on or not ever time I have used the diff locks and never had a problem. As recommended by an old friend who used to work for Landrover. Jules

I had a set of Cooper ATR's (235/70 16 ) put on my Disco 1 about 18 months ago and have been very pleased. Excellent manners on road including the odd motorway trip and enough grip for greenlaning in a standard Disco. Definate improvement over the odds and sods that I used for the first year I owned it. Jules

Thanks for your quick reply I knew there must be some info on it somewhere Jules

Has anyone out there had to change the front output shaft seal. Mine is leaking on the drive !!! I can find plenty of info on the rear one but nothing on the front one. I can't imagine its too bad a job but it would nice to know what to expect. Jules

A siily thing, but if your doing it on the drive or the public road its well worth putting a cheap disposible plastic sheat under the hub as you would be suprised how much crappy oil comes out ||| It saves loads of time cleaning up afterwards. Jules

A nice easy job for the weekend . If you follow the link from the technical archive and download the relevent manual you will find it much clearer than the Haynes manual. Jules

It did include a bit of other welding aswell but was about £100 less than several other places round here quoted !!!!

I can recommmend Berwick garage near Lewes 01323 870598 they made a very neat job of my new floor, about £400 including the new part for the whole job. Richard is the owner , very Landrover friendly. Jules

Its getting to the point where I am going to have to repair the seat base in my 300 tdi as the material is almost worn right through. I have found a new foam base on the Exmoor trim site but they don't list a replacement cover. Does anyone know of a good replacement supplier ? The fabric is grey with blue flecks , a bit like seagulls, if you have one loitering at the back of the garage. Jules

I found some Cooper ATR' s for about £70 each last year on the web. They are excellent on road and cope very well greenlaning. Not as extreme as some but a good compromise. Jules

Best thing to replace the radiator plug with is a very well engineered item from x-eng.co .uk in Horsham. Jules

Good luck with your speakers Mikey. I have similar problem with the n/s door speaker (only got two doors) which has a habit of going on and off when you hit a pothole, and there of plenty of those around here at the moment !!!!! I have checked and cleaned all the connections but it still has a habit of going off. Then it will be fine for a while. My usual method is to give the dashboard a clout just above the radio and with a bit of luck it comes back on . I have tried replacing the radio connectors without luck and have decided either there is a problem in the unit itself (unlikely) and to buy a new one or to rewire the speakers when I have a free day . The joy of a Disco ! Jules

Thanks again for the advice. I fitted the X-eng temperature sensor over the weekend and no longer leave puddles of coolant on the drive! An excellent modification and a very straight forward installation. Jules

Thanks for all the advice. The X eng one looks a really neat bit of kit and they are only 20 miles up the road . Thanks again Jules

About 18 months ago I replaced the viscous fan on my 1996 300tdi with a Pacet electric one. All went well apart from fitting the capilary thermostat into the top hose which continued to weep a bit despite several efforts to seal it up. Finally a bit of silicone and a big screw driver on the jubilee clip solved the problem. Its now decided to leak again and rather than fiddle with the thing again I am considering fitting an electric version into the top hose which is made by Pacet for about £60 . Has anyone else come up with a good way of solving this problem ? The other thing I was wondering was whether its possible to fit an electic sensor into the top of the thermostat housing. The plug unscrews to reveal what looks like a 3/4 inch thread and would be a much neater solution. Is this an option and if so does anyone know the suitable part number ? Jules

A helpful neighbour made me a device for refitting the locking strip in the rubber seal out of a 6 inch piece wire coat hanger ! Just bend a diamond shape thats big enough to fit the seal through and then twist a handle out of the remainder. Coupled with washing up liquid it worked like a dream. In fact it has taken me longer to type this than refit the seal !!!!!!! Jules

Having started this discussion off I decided to bite the bullet and put 20 litres in and give it a go. Hardly a scientific test but this is what I found. Quite a notceable increse in engine noise, which even my wife commented on without any prompting from me. A deffinate loss of power, a bit like putting the egr back on, I was dropping down a gear to go up hills where it usually pulls without a problem. The fuel guage definately went down quicker than usual.I am not a high mileage user but do a similar mileage most weeks and know roughly how much fuel I use. I refilled it with normal BP diesel and after about 10 miles the engine was definately back to its usual volume and its power delivery was back to normal. Whether the stuff I used was a dodgy batch or not I have no idea but certainly won't be trying it again. For the record my 300 tdi has done 137,000 miles and runs on semi synthetic oil. I have onlyjust serviced it but am going to change the fuel filter again just to be on the safe side. Jules

It would appear that this bio diesel could well present more problems than its worth. After reading through a few of the other forum articles it would appear to be a bit of a lottery as to whether it works well or not. I certainly don't relish the thought bunging up the fuel filter on a regular basis just for the sake of trying to save a few quid. Its a bit of a shame though as I've just seen that a garage a t Lewes has now put its prices up to 113.9/litre so you can bet your life the others round here will soon follow the trend.

It would appear that this cheaper fuel could end up costing a bit more in the long run if it starts eating the rubber components. As I am not a mileage user I think I will stick to old fashioned fuel for the moment especially as I want to keep the Disco going for a good few years yet. Jules

Sorry I should have been a bit clearer. The diesel is a 50/50 blend of standard fossil diesel and bio fuel, I would imagine from the advertising poster its probably rape seed oil. According to the guy behind the counter they are selling it as fast as they can get it delivered. Jules