thebiglad

Have you tried reversing to get out of diff-lock?

I'm going to be having a look at a mates Disco TDi 300 auto tomorrow (1997) because it has a lighting fault. No rear side lights, no front side lights, no dashboard lights. Brake lights work, reverse lights work, headlights main and dip all work. I checked the engine bay fuses, but that's all up to now. My plan is to check the cabin fuses, but then I'm not sure where to check. Any and all ideas welcome. Cheers Dave

Assuming yours is a manual gearbox non-EDC car, then I would go for a K&N as you have no MAF on that vehicle to get damaged and you will get good airflow to go with pump tweaks.

Do you mean it's a full LR franchised dealer selling new LR's - or is it a "Land Rover specialist"? There is a world of difference between the two.

The most common reasons for the gearbox going into 'Limp home' - fixed 3rd gear are: 1. Low voltage to EATS (gearbox ECU) often caused by a dying main battery; 2. A faulty XYZ switch. Both of these should show up on any proper diagnostic.

Ditto - also check the tie-rod bushes and their mounting on the rear axle - these mountings can and do rust. One gave way on our old TDi 200, that made for a moment of excitement I can tell you !!!!

Another common cause of clunks on a TDi is the rear "A"-frame and it's ball-joint. The joint wears and starts to clonk when going over rough ground or when coming on and off the throttle. Cheap part but a bit of a bûgger to do. Planning to rebuild the A frame on my wife's car next week - weather permitting.

That is an R380 box, the OP has a LT77 box so the reverse light switch is on the top of the box, accessed easiest from under the centre console. You will probably need a new switch.

It'll be the clutch fork pierced by it's pivot, within the bell housing. Make sure when you replace it you install a new HD one. About £12 plus a new release bearing (makes the clutch lovely and light again) £8 plus new slipper pads and plastic clip total, £2.

By far the easiest way to disable the ABS facility of your Disco braking system is to unplug the electrical connector on top of the ABS modulator on the passenger side of the engine bay. No error lights, no loss of braking power and it's easy to access.

Hi Les, that looks like a beautiful result you achieved there, I'd be as proud as Punch if my TDi engines looked like that. Very well done. So, now that you've got the hang of it....................................................................

If they are a good price I would be 'grabbing' them quickly as AT²'s are a great tyre. Re the size, they should be ok but you might need to adjust the steering stops a tad to stop them catching. I would fit them and see - only takes 5 mins to do the adjustment IF you have to.

OK Mikey, we're all ears - what was it?

Actually I think you're right - there I go again, exagerating

Have you had the fuel sedimenter apart? This is something that is supposed to be regularly service but due to it's location it is rarely looked at. It'll cost you nothing but 15mins to try and it could solve you bad running problems - if it doesn't at least you eliminated it from the equation. The fuel sedimenter is a filter sized housing located on the chassis off-side, just in front of the rear wheel on the inside of the chassis main rail. You will need an 11mm ring spanner to undo the fixing bolt which is in the middle of the top plate. Undo this bolt completely and the bowl should just come away. However sometimes they are stuck on their rubber seals so a gentle tap with a rubber mallet or similar will ease. Once open you'll probably find inside the bowl all sorts of interesting jelly-like pondlife!!! Clean it all out and reinstall the bowl. Start the engine and run on a high tickover until she is running clean again - usually just a couple of mins. Having taken the sedimenter out of the equation and if she's still running roughly I would replace the fuel filter, replace the air filter (both cheap to buy from Paddocks)remove the intercooler and clean with white spirit or petrol, at the same time check the insides of the rubber turbo hoses for internal delamination, errrrrrrr can't think of anything else just right now Good luck Dave

I would have thought that if you can get to nearer the £500 end of this ballpark you would be doing well. She's done a fair few miles and she's currently a non-runner, so at for example £400, you'd be about right. Now, moving onto TD5 !!! You'll almost certainly find they use more fuel - I do - but they are VERY nice. I currently have three Discos and the one I use all the time is the TD5 'cos she is just so comfy and smooth. Much more refined than both TDi200 & 300. You'll have to pay quite a chunk to get a good 'un though.

Gulp !!! The D2 is on quite big tyres isn't it? Are they 235/80/16's

Hi Todd, Can't agree with your final statement at all. If you look in the book of almost any car you will see more pressure is required in the rear tyres, even though your logic relating to Disco's seems fine, the recommended pressures are (depending on tyre size and weight loaded) 26 in the front and 36 in the rear.

38psi on the front is high I would say, try more like 32psi

I don't understand why you don't use rivets, I've tried other solutions but have gone back to rivets as I feel they work best - so you have to drill them out next time, so what?

Another vote for swivel bearings/worn or preload incorrect.

Sounds to me like a problem with the xyz switch of the gearbox. It's not recognising that you are in Park so the switch is inhibiting the starting cirtcuit.

Get another mechanic he's talking absolute tosh !!! If the chrome nut covers are spinning take them off and get direct access to the nuts. We've all heard bullshît stories from mechanics but this one takes the biscuit !!!!!

I fabricated wooden brackets that locate in the jump seats and onto them I have a pair of hifi bookshelf speakers, the sound is not too bad at all - cost? Nowt !!!

Both our TDi 300's have their fans taken off, permanently !! They heat up quickly, both heater and engine-wise and run without any overheating issues whatsoever. If yours is taking too long to heat up, try changing the thermostat - made a big difference on Mrs TBL's car.