Big_John

Legally I don't think there is a requirement - not in the UK anyway. I guess it depends on the sort of driving you're doing, if it's minor road work not too far from home then maybe not, I wouldn't risk it on the motorway though, far too much hassle if you get caught out. Depends how much of an inconvenience it would be, I'd have thought there's less chance of a chunky LR tyre getting a flat than a normal car tyre, but obviously not impossible. I've never tried the inflator gunk so can't comment on that, would be interested to know if it's any good though. John

Hi Helen, and welcome. A 1993 would be a 200tdi, a pretty solid and reliable engine. MPG will vary quite a bit as you say, you should get somewhere between 25 to 30mpg, but will depend on the sort of driving you're doing. Have a look at this thread for some real-world figures. John

Says in the manual to bleed after changing the fuel filter. Are you getting air from the filter or nothing at all? Maybe there is something wrong with the filter housing itself - blocked bleed screw housing? Has it ever worked or have you never tried? Guess you'd have to remove the filter and the screw and see if there is anything blocking it.

Thanks guys, oil it is then. Anyone got a view on the service intervals - should I stick with the mileages even though I'm only doing 4k a year or go on time intervals?

Thanks chaps. I'm looking at a pair of second hand ones, so looks like the angle grinder may come in to play...

Morning all, I'm looking at some genuine forged JATE rings (what does that stand for btw?) for the front of the 90. They are 84mm between the jaws - the same as the width of the chassis, only trouble is I've got a steering guard fitted as well. Will I be able to force them the extra 4mm or so over the steering guard or will they snap or worse be more prone to snapping under strain when I need them? Thanks, John

Hi all, Did my first full (ish) service on the 90 the other week (300Tdi), quite satisfying, but a couple of questions... My mileage is going to be pretty low, around 4k miles/year. I'm planning on 2 oil & filter changes a year, but what about the rest of the items - should I stick with the mileage intervals given or convert them into months - 1k miles = 1 month? When I came to doing the swivel oils it was really slow to drain - really thick, the manual says it will be slow unless fully warmed up, which it wasn't, so I didn't think much of it apart from the really dark grey colour which seemed odd. Eventually I had to give up before they'd fully drained and refill with oil as I'd run out of time. Only now do I take proper notice of the little stickers on the windscreen which say it's had one-shot grease installed - how did I miss them for the last 4 months?? So, what I have is swivel housings with the proper oil drain and fill holes, retro-fitted with one-shot grease, and now half (maybe more than half) filled with oil!! What do you think I should do now? Will they be fine like that? Haven't noticed any problems so far. Is the one-shot better than oil? I guess it's less likely to leak, so should I drain and re-fill with grease, or is oil better 'cos that's how it was designed in the first place? John btw, I've written a little Excel service record spreadsheet if anyone's interested, lists all of the items and has the part no.s & intervals on it, so you put in the date done and it tells you when eash item is next due. Needs a little cleaning up, and should be fairly easy to convert to use miles instead of dates. If anyone wants a copy I'll tidy it up and post it.

Won't the standard Disco/RR two-part hydrolic bottle jack do? Works ok on my 2" lifted 90 with 265 muds. Much smaller and lighter than a trolly or tractor jack for wheel changes. Like this one on Ebay

I picked up a genuine LR bottle jack from a Disco/Range Rover on Ebay the other week. It's slightly better than your average bottle jack as it's got a 2-part hydrolic rather than the traditional 1-part hydrolic/screw combination. This means that when your chunky tyre is flat there is more travel (rather than just more height) in the jack to give you the space to get an inflated spare back on. it's also got a little 'saddle' welded on the top of it to make it a bit more stable under the axle. That's how I justify the inflated cost to myself anyway!!

300Tdi 90, 265 muds - 24mpg, with 205 road tyres - 24mpg also (so put the muds back on after a couple of tanks). That's pretty much all short runs on tight country lanes. Last tank was BP ultimate, got just over 25mpg, not quite enough to make the extra cost worthwhile, but trying another tankfull just in case!

A repair kit like this you mean: http://www.pegasusparts.co.uk/ourshop_9007...1-STC-2847.html Don't know if they're any good, never used 'em....

I changed the oil in mine the other weekend, made the world of difference! It was no way near as bad as yours sounds - just a bit crunchy when changing, but replacing the brown water-like fluid that came out has sorted it right out. The drain plug was stupid tight and access is pretty limited so couldn't get a big breaker bar on. Ended up using my large adjustable spanner and jacking the end of it 'till it budged - after checking 4 times I was turning it the right way! Only had it a few months so I have no idea when it was last done, although it does have a pretty good service history (which I'm now a bit suspect of!). Good luck, let us know. John

Thanks guys, I'll start with the damper as that looks the easiest, give the panhard rod bushes a wobble, and have a look at the swivels to see how much I need to take apart to check the pre-load.

Hi all, Hopefully someone can confirm my diagnosis, I'm getting occasional wobble in the steering when travelling at speed (60+) and hitting a bump. First noticed it a few weeks ago on the motorway - wobbling a bit longer than expected, was a bit odd but nothing too worrying. Today however it continued and didn't stop until I slowed down to 30ish. All's fine at lower speeds and it's fine at higher speeds unless i hit a bump or pot-hole (plenty of them around!). I've had a prod about this evening and all seems ok apart from the steering damper which seemed to have slack in the bushes and the outer part rotated easily around the inner part (oh and the steering box leak...keep toping that up though). I turned it round a few times and it seemed to tighten up a bit - might have been imagining it! Haven't managed to road test yet. So is it likely to be the damper? Looks like it's been fiddled with recently as there was copper grease on the bolt, but didn't look like it had been replaced though. Will it go spectacularly or just die slowly until I get the chance to change it (I'm assuming it should be pretty straightforward to change)? Thoughts appreciated, thanks, John

Excellent, thanks Darren

He's got a point, assuming that the new model is available in such countries and they're not still buying the more field-maintainable 300Tdi's - do you know gemsbok? (no internet connection snobbery intended - you're obviously connected!). Maybe there is a nice little earner in you getting friendly with your local LR dealer and selling the paper manuals over here fleabay?!?

Going OT for a moment Darren....I like the look of your folding rear step (I assume that's that the shiny bit is), where'd you get it? Have you got a pic of it folded down? Thanks, John

I think Southern Africa was a bit further than Jon was planning to go for the 1/2 day. 4x4adventures.co.uk might be a bit more local....

Thanks, hadn't really thought about it like that! Was attracted by the price - but maybe I should go for something a bit more up to date. Thanks for your help, John

Hi All, Just seen this on Ebay, a disco alarm, part No. STC7601. It says it's incomplete (no instructions) not sure if that means only the instructions are missing or if there is anything else missing. Anyway, anyone got any idea if I would be able to fit it to my 300Tdi 90? Obviously I'd have to make some wiring up but I'm not bothered about that. Thoughts anyone? Anyone got the instructions I could copy? Cheers, John ps. posted this in the Disco & Defender forums, couldn't decide which was best and thought there might not be much cross-reading - apologies if that's bad form!

Hi All, Just seen this on Ebay, a disco alarm, part No. STC7601. It says it's incomplete (no instructions) not sure if that means only the instructions are missing or if there is anything else missing. Anyway, anyone got any idea if I would be able to fit it to my 300Tdi 90? Obviously I'd have to make some wiring up but I'm not bothered about that. Thoughts anyone? Anyone got the instructions I could copy? Cheers, John ps. posted this in the Disco & Defender forums, couldn't decide which was best and thought there might not be much cross-reading - apologies if that's bad form!

I've got the same problem, bought the truck last year already with 2" lift and big mud tyres - wasn't especially looking for either, but it was the best one I could find. It's fine for me (I'm 6'5") but the wife and kids have trouble mounting the beast! I'm erring towards fold downs - I think they will come out lower so more practical and shouldn't rob the width too much when folded. Clearance would be reduced a bit, but to be honest I'm looking at minor greenlaning and the occasional pay & play, so not a major problem (I don't think), and they wouldn't be as bad as the adjustable tow-hitch that's already fitted anyway!

There is quite a thread on this here somewhere, have a quick search through. In nutshell, if the seats are original and there were never seatbelts then no, they're not required. If the seats have been fitted later then they might need belts, '93 sounds like it should have had belts from new but that's just a guess. If belts were originally fitted and they've been removed then they are needed I think. If you're carrying children - those that need a booster seat by law (aged under 12yrs or less than 135cm tall - check those, could be a bit wrong) then they're not allowed in sideways facing seats at all - belts or no. If you are fitting belts then they should be lap only, for some reason normal shoulder belts aren't recommended for sideways seats 'cos they don't work properly or something. HTH John

Just to throw something else into the pot on this...I've seen something similar a couple of times in cars when they have over-heated. It seems to run fine, but as soon as you dip the clutch (on approach to a roundabout changing gear for example) it just cuts out, let the clutch out and it jump starts into life again. The 20 min wait on your way home may have been enough to let it cool down? Just a thought. John

Ok, thanks, sounds like what I've got will be fine...something to add to the list of jobs for Sunday morning.