henrycrabbe

Hi Joe, Does the vibration happen when accelerating, breaking or just coasting? I had a bust coupling in my rear prop that vibrated at about that speed but only when under power. Cheers, Steve.

I also found that after lifting my 300Tdi, it started eating rear prop donuts. Sorted it now with a 200Tdi prop, flange and spacer. How big do want to go on tyres? I have a 1" lift over standard and run 265/75R16 mud terrains, if you go much bigger on tyres you'll have to seriously hack bodywork about even with a 3" lift and you will loose a load of steering lock too. Steve.

Cheers guys, In answer to your questions: When the light comes on, it stays on. It will only go out when the ignition is turned off and back on again! There is no reaction on the fuel gauge when the light comes on, it doesn't jump or anything It doesn't have to be hard cornering or acceleration for it to come on, in fact one time I remember driving VERY gently to try and prevent it but I failed. I'll have a look at the sender connections next I think. Steve.

Hi, Just as the title says ^^^ On my '96 300tdi, the bright yellow "Low Fuel Level" warning light on the fuel gauge is coming on at odd times. It's ok in the daytime because you can ignore it, but at night its damn bright and VERY distracting! It comes on mostly when the gauge reads half full or about a quarter full (dunno above that, I can't afford that much diesel in one go ). Otherwise the gauge itself seems to behave correctly. Has anyone any idea where this light takes its feed from and/or how to fix it without just taking the bulb out? Cheers, Steve.

Fair enough, but can't you swap the SD1 LT77 bellhousing and input gear onto a Landrover 'box??? Steve.

Blimey, I'd say Why didn't you just go for an SD1 manual box, some actually had LT77's Steve.

Hi guys, well I've pretty much decided on LT77 shorty with a standard series V8 adapter, that way it could be put back to a 4 pot/Tdi etc if I put the gearbox in the right place. I gotta sort the chassis first though, oh and before that I've got to level & pave the driveway I'm going to use so it could be a while I'm sure it'll appear as a project on the members vehicles section when the time comes Cheers, Steve.

I know someone in Chesterfield that good for welding disco bits... ...for future reference Steve.

That's the whole point isn't it Alex, what flavour V8 are you running in your lightweight??? .

Mmmmm, very nice, but that is just the concept vehicle that's been kicking around for a few months now. HOWEVER - The current Freelander production line at Halewood is being modified as we speak to make the production version of this very car I expect the production model will loose the fancy rear seating and full length console for a more conventional arrangement, and hopefully have a bit more glass to look out of. We'll wait and see... .

If I remember right, the clutch slave cylinders are on opposite sides, otherwise its a straight swap. What gets in the way? only thing I can think is the exhaust ???

Likewise, I've not had a rear anti-roll bar on my 300TDi for the last 3 MOT's (at 2 different stations) with no problems - other than rusty sills etc etc etc Steve.

Hi Wellsy, As said, mainly rust. Other stuff can be fixed but rust can spell the end for a Disco. Main bits to check are: Inside front wings Sills both sides Boot floor Rear wheel arches on 5-door models Check under carpets in the boot and front footwells for dampness. Chassis tend to be quite good AFAIK, worst place will be the rear body mounts probably. Steve.

I read about something similar recently, One problem you can get with steel wheels is that the center hole is not exactly in the middle or is too big for the cone type adapter on a normal balancing rig. Sometimes you can only balance them properly with a proper 5-stud adapter to center the wheel properly. I know when I had my 265/75R16 Cooper STT muds balanced, the four main alloys were fine and balanced up no problem, but the garage couldn't do the spare because the standard disco steel wheel I had had too big a center hole for their balancing machine! Steve.

Thanks for your input guys I'm gonna leave the final choice until I've got it stripped down and I'll see what comes along at the time. Before that I got to repair the rear half of the chassis with a new bit, but thats another story and probably won't happen too quickly Cheers, Steve.

your messing with my head now I was all set on 5 gears and a choice of LT230 ratios to give me some sensible cruising speed without the engine revving its nuts off and/or me destroying the low range crawling ability. Hmmmm. I need to do the gearbox x-member anyway, the current one is toast. Thanks again, I'm off to lay in a darkened room.... Steve.

Hi, Mine did that a while back, hit a severe pothole at about 30mph and all of a sudden the hazards were flashing and nothing I could do would turn 'em off. I had to stop the car, turn the ignition off and lock it with the fob before they stopped. Mine might have been something to do with the crash sensor or the alarm, but it hasn't happened again since. Might be bad solder joints on the spider module I suppose? Steve.

Hmmm, well that narrows my thinking... I think the LT95 is out of the running, as was said they are getting rare and the 101 short version even rarer. I currently have a 2a half-synchro box in the car, but it's not in good shape (jumps out of third and 2nd is pot luck!) and my missus would never master double de-clutching anyway, so it has to come out and I might as well drop a 5-speed in its place. Looks like the LT77 shorty with V8 adapter is the way to go then, but I'd still be interested to know if the P38 V8 bellhousing idea would work? I think I'll contact Ascrofts and ask them. Cheers guys, Steve.

Hi Guys, I need your help. I'm just trying to get my head around what gearbox to use in my Series 2a 88 when I drop a V8 in it. As far as I know, I have the following choices: Series 4 speed with adapter ring for the V8 LT77 Short (2.5) bellhousing with adapter ring for the V8 LT77 with SD1 V8 bellhousing LT95 4 speed with 101 style short V8 bellhousing R380 with Rangerover P38 V8 bellhousing Now I'm not concerned about using permanent four wheel drive (I have a stage 1 V8 front axle if I need it) so no problem with the LT230 or LT95. I'd like full synchro with either 5 speed or 4+ overdrive that can take the power & torque of the V8 reliably. The thing that concerns me is the overall length and fitting it into an 88 without resorting to a radically short rear prop, and yes I do want to keep the set-back series front grille! Can anyone shed any light on their experiences with any of these combinations? I'm not even sure if the R380+P38 bit is possible, but looking at pictures of the P38 transmission (on ebay etc) it seems to have a really short bellhousing that will go straight on the V8. So will this bellhousing swap onto a Defender/Disco transmission? Your thoughts would be appreciated... Cheers, Steve.

My money would be on the clutch release arm. This happened to my 300Tdi, pressed the clutch pedal one day and it felt as you described but did just release the clutch, next time I pressed it the cluch wouldn't disengage. I thought it was hydraulic seals that had gone but fitting new cylinders made no difference. Took it to a specialist who split the gearbox and found the centre pivot of the clutch release arm had worn completely through! I didn't loose out too much as they also found my clutch was down to the rivets and needed doing anyway (130000 Miles).

Boro... The steering issues are related to the track rod that links the left and right wheels together. On any series axle (inc. V8) the track rod is at the front and doen't interfere with anything. The coiler axles (90, RR etc.) have the same link at the back and because this track rod now has to miss the diff nose and propshaft, it is mounted lower down and sits right where the leaf springs would be! This can be overcome, usually by fitting parabolic springs and longer shackles but there is still very little room between the top of the leaf springs and the bottom of the diff nose for the track rod. HTH.

Simple - Fit a lift kit... Doesn't really solve the problem, but you don't have to think about it for a few more months S.

Hi, I have a combination on my 300tdi that I chose myself: Front Springs - Britpart DA4201 200lb Rear Springs - Britpart DA4203 220lb +2" ProComp dampers all round For the full explaination see THIS DIFFLOCK THREAD but to summarise, I found that some kits use springs that are way too heavy duty and are very stiff so give you better rideheight but less articulation. The 220lb rears are 430mm long (free length before fitting) and only just stiffer than standard (207lb/in IIRC). Mine is nice and flexy especially with the rear roll bar removed. I'd have gone for OME if I'd had more cash, but doing it my way, the springs were about £55 a pair and the dampers were £28 each. That was nearly two years ago mind! Cheers, Steve H.

Thanks guys, plenty of food for thought there. I think I'll stick with the LT95/101 bellhousing then, I think I've found a source for one Does anyone know what the differences are between the Rangerover LT95 and 101 version (apart from the bellhousing) 'cos a Rangie one would be cheaper to source and the 101 bellhousing will swap straight on to it. I'm wondering about the gear & transfer selector positions etc... Cheers.