Thys

Rockey, I made one of hard cardboard, with 10º divisions, will post a photo later today, it worked fine, but will obviously deterioate over time, but how many heads do you plan to do, not three times in a row as I did, but again the angular guage survived 9 torque sessions.

Hi Rocky, Some will remember my 300 Tdi head gasket/cylinder head saga. I had the head skimmed, the valve seats re-faced to have the correct stand down, and the head pressure tested, got the head back, passed the pressure test, replaced the head gasket, and on start up, three valves touched the pistons, off comes the head, increase the stand down, as it was on the absolute end of the allowable value. Re-installed the head, after two days, all the symptoms are back. Off with the head again, bought a new head, and end of my problems. Moral of this story, make sure the head is pressure tested as pre-scribed by LR, make sure the stand down of the valves are well within the max and min values, warped block, vary rare, unless the engine was really boiled, but then the rings would possibly be damaged as well. I went and replaced all the coolant hoses and clamps, the thermostat, belts, pulley bearings, and installed an additional temperature gauge to measure the head's temperature, I really do not trust LR's temperature gauge, it is a switching gauge, not analogue. Good luck.

Thanks guys, now I know my Discovery operates as should be.

When I took delivery of my Disco from the previous owner I noted that the fuel gauge stays live, even when removing the key and locking the vehicle. A leak current test on the main circuits indicated no current flow when the vehicle is off. What I also discovered is that the lighter inside the vehicle is only operative when the ignition switch is in the Aux position (first click). Other owners of the same year and model has the fuel gauge working with ignition "On" only, and the lighter always on line. What is the correct status of these two items?

Also can the fan be removed easily without the belt being attached ? Any help would be appreciated, thanks Zeph, On my 300 Tdi the viscous fan is loosened by using a no 32 flat open end spanner (very flat), by tapping the spanner clock-wise (diesels's fan has left-hand thread). A tap on a bolt head, before loosening the bolt some times also does the trick. Good luck with the loosening process (pain).

My 300 Tdi Auto, no EGR, no cat: Best open road: 32 mpg Average opern road: 30 mpg City peak hour traffic @ 6km per trip: 21 mpg

To add to Mark's comment, I did two things wrong: 1. Bought a Britpart water pump, and after three months the pump screeched like a pig! 2. Did not replace the P-gasket and now a leak..... I would also recommend removing the viscous fan. As a precaution I cut a piece of chip board that fits on the face of the radiator, and I use that board whenever I work on the front of the engine. Radiators are very expensive here in South Africa.

This may sound stupid from my side, but are the glow plugs wired up, one tends to forget the power supply wire to no 4 glow plug, as it tends to disappear behind the head when disconnected, or is it only the mechanical diesel pump systems that has glow plugs? Second basic test, "hot wire" the cut off solenoid directly from the battery.

Thanks, thats a great site. Has anyone joined the Internet Land Rover Club?

I checked my Discovery's VIN Number, using the legend as given in a previous post. The 9th digit of mine is the letter :"T". It is a 1996 model, but the coding given uses a different letter for 1996. what else is the meaning of the 9th letter "T" in the VIN Number?

Good morning Gary, No my Discovery's two rear jump seats do not have covers, I presume they are intended for occasional use only, and folded away, out of harms way. I hope you can find the covers you are looking for. I was told that in South Africa, they are available, but quite expensive (R 7 500.00????) Thys

The first owner of my Discovery had these covers fitted as part of the purchase agreement, by Stratstone Mayfair. The front ones are one piece, the rears are a total of four sections, one for each seat section, and one for each upright section, the covers can be removed and re-installed without the schlep op hooks etc. These covers are 12 years old, and still in perfect condition.

I am sure that you will find the filter media at any supplier of commercial Air Conditioning/Heating equipment, and for that matter cut-offs as well.

Hi Disco Al, I note the "LPG". Can you give us some info on the conversion please? On a new post, otherwise we may be labeled as hi-jackers...... Thanks, Thys

Thanks BogMonster. I must admit my Disco 300's headlights has a better lumination than my 2002 VW Jetta IV.

I note on some of the photos posted on the "Show us your Disco", some Disco I's have smaller headlights than for instance my 300 Tdi. Did the 200 Tdi have the smaller headlights, or was it the earlier models?

Ok, here's mine while camping in Pilansberg Game Reserve, and a day trip down Lekgalemetse

Dean, My Discovery 300 Tdi had a metallic clapping noise, also speed related, checked tappets, all pulleys, removed the timing belt cover to check for something catching, found none, eventually the source was the steel cupped disk on the back of the serpentine belt crank shaft pulley. It was slightly out-of-round, and touched the timming belt cover lip, but only when rotating at idling speed and higher. I eventually removed the dished cap, but installed a propper dust seal in the timing belt cover, and no more tapping noises on my Tdi..... :

Nope, no broken legs or head.....see the photos of the camp site. Traveled 879 km (546 miles), used 85,16 liters (18.73 UK gal) of standard diesel at a cost of R847.18c (@ +/- R15/£1 = £56.48). This gave me a fuel consumption of 9,69 liters/100km (29.15 mpg). Did a lot of steep climbing, and slow driving with the auotobox running between 2nd and 3rd (90 km (56 miles), rest was open road ave speed of 110 km/h (68.35 mph). You will see that we are currently paying R9.90/liter of diesel, average, as the filling stations can alter their diesel prices, but not less than the government rate. As from midnight tomorrow the diesel price will jump to R 10.61/liter (£3.21/UK gallon) for standard diesel.

Tomorrow will be the test of tests. I am going away for a camping weekend, and will travel approximately 1000km total. This should indicate the success of my repairs, I am confident that all will go well, but cannot help to feel a little tense. Will report back on Sunday evening. Thys

Good morning and welcome to the Forum Chris, This Forum is a bottomless pit of information, and fun. Browse the Technical Archive section for starters. Enjoy! Thys

Les, I received one set of stickers at the end of February 2008. They look great on my Discovery.

I have the Little black Box EMS IV, and all the hoses were replaced, plus with the aid of the great cable ties, kept all the hoses away from contact with any component. When checking the expansion tank level, I also push the level switch down, to check if the alarm sounds.

Well, after 4 weeks of blood sweat and tears, with a new head, new water pipes, clamps, water pump, thermostat, pulley bearings, cam belt cover and dust seal, re-conditioned and modified radiator (the internal bypass was removed to force all the coolant through the full coolant path inside the core), she now runs quieter, more economical, less smokey.....Pure LR enjoyment. Thanks to all who gave advice and support during these past 4 weeks. It is highly appreciated. Thys

Yes Jim, I had to, but the beauty of asking on this forum, are the answers. One learns more on the Forum, than any publication, as the majority of info are based on actual experience.