tricky

hi having sold my N reg TDi I am looking to buy a newer discovery TD5 , can anybody tell me what the difference is in the upgraded models 52 onwards ? I know that the lights front and rear were changed but are there any mechanical changes or interior changes , is it worth spending out the extra to get an upgraded model ? is there anything i should look out for ? thanks for any help

on my disco the earth lead from the battery negative terminal isnt braided , it goes down to the wing then onto the block , i have looked at the briaded one by the starter motor and it does look ok but i will try putting another lead from the battery to the block to see if that sorts it .

hi thanks for your reply, i have heard a lot about bad earth connections , does anybody know how many earth connections there are from the engine to the bodywork , also which one or ones would you suggest i change first to make a difference . " stageonesimmo " suggested sealing the starter , not sure what this means , could somebody explain a bit more please . thanks for all your help with this

I can not work out why it runs perfect all week then when it gets wet it plays up , I know that the spider lives in the dry and warm behind the dash so I cant work out why it would be the spider . I have taken off the hoses around the starter and checked the wiring on the starter and everything looks ok , all the connections are good and tight , I also cleaned them up a bit with a small wire brush . this problem has never happened during the week when its used on the road it always happens off road which is annoying because i have to watch where i turn it off incase it doesnt start again . I have ordered a spider bypass connection but I dont think its going to cure it , I have had a look at the earth leads , theres one going from the block near the starter motor to the body , that one seems ok , I will put another lead from the battery to the block and see if that helps . thanks for your help .

my disco is a N reg 1996 , the remote has 2 buttons and its a manual gearbox i have tried it without waiting for the glowplug light to go out but it still wont start i thought about the starter , i will have to take it off and check it . thanks for your reply .

hi i have read about the spider issue with 300 tdi discovery and was wondering if anybody thinks that is what could be causing my problem . my 1996 300 tdi discovery is used all week monday to friday to get to work and home again with no problems , but when the weekend comes and its used off road ,splashing thru puddles and a bit of mud i get the same problem keep happening if i turn it off . when i turn the ignition back on and wait for the glow plug light to go out then turn the key to start the engine nothing happens , the engine wont turn over , everything that should work with the ignition on does work , wipers, fan,radio , headlights etc but it wont turn the engine over , i was lucky today as i stopped on a hill and rolled it down to bump start it which it did ok and ran as normal . does this sound like it could be the spider , i am trying to work out why it doesnt do it all week when used on the road but does it weekends when i go off road - it cant be the spider is getting wet as i think its buried deep inside the dash behind the radio isnt it ? under the bonnet is obviously getting wetter when i go off road and i was wondering if its something under the bonnet ?? any ideas much appreciated thanks

hi does anybody know how to get the heater controls off of a 300 tdi disco ( 1996 ) , the bulbs on mine have blown , i have had a look but cant see any obvious screws etc to release the panel with them in . any help much appreciated .

pux hi thanks for the offer to go on the run in december , i have spoken to three wardens so far , who stopped for a chat ,all three approached me while i was stationary having a cuppa or a break not while i was driving by flagging me down , none of them told me off or warned me about being in the wrong area , the first stopped for a chat when i was having a quick cuppa , he gave me advice on where to go and where not to go on the plain and considering it was the first time i had spoke to a warden i was grateful for his help , the next warden who i meet said similar things to the first but seemed more relaxed about the areas that i could go and couldnt go , then the third was totally different , he said that i should not go anywhere except on the byways ,which he said are clearly marked ( not too sure about that ) , do not drive on any grass areas or into any wooded areas , he also suggested buying a good map so as i dont stray into areas im not allowed .ie off of the byways . the reason i mentioned the wardens is that the three i have met so far all seemed to have different opinions and i was trying to work out what to do and where to go to stay on the right side of the law ,i have not been anywhere im not allowed , as far as i know , and i have not had my number or name taken or been reported , and i want to keep it that way . i have seen several police vehicles and even more land wardens over the plain who have acknowledged me by raising their hand to me as they drove past me and obviously had no problem with where i was driving and what i was doing , i hope to keep it this way so i tend to stick to the main routes through the plain . thanks Rich

hi im new to the forum and new to off roading , i was wondering where do most of you go off road , i have been on a few byways around the M4 corridor in Wiltshire and also down to Salisbury plain but always seem to run into the land wardens who have different ideas as to where you are allowed to go my discovery is not kitted out for serious off roading , ie no winch or lift kits etc but i have got AT tyres fitted and would like to go somewhere where i can have a bit of fun and get it dirty any suggestions much appreciated

Russ thanks for that , i didnt realise there was a getting out and about bit ,

hi im new to the forum and new to off roading , i was wondering where do most of you go off road , i have been on a few byways around the M4 corridor in Wiltshire and also down to Salisbury plain but always seem to run into the land wardens who have different ideas as to where you are allowed to go my discovery is not kitted out for serious off roading , ie no winch or lift kits etc but i have got AT tyres fitted and would like to go somewhere where i can have a bit of fun and get it dirty any suggestions much appreciated

hi can anybody advise me on tyre pressures for general grabbers AT2 , size 235/70/16 . I have been told that the pressures in the hand book are for the road tyres and not for these all terrain tyres , i have a 300 tdi 1996 . thanks for any help .

Hi thanks for all the replies Pete I managed to hole the oil filter when I was over Salisbury plain , I was driving thru mud and water about wheel height picked up the speed just slightly and hit a big unexpected hole. It knocked the tyre off the rim which was a good thing really because when I got on to hard ground to change the now knackered tyre I noticed the oil dripping onto the floor , I managed to get to a small back road and rang the RAC who took hours to find me , don’t fancy doing that again . Reading the post I think that I will keep it as it is and not fit a lift kit but fit the stronger springs and just incase carry a spare oil filter as the RAC couldn’t get one as it was Sunday evening and everything was closed .i don’t think I could go thru all the stuff that you have done because you fitted the lift kit . Thanks for the info on adjusting the bump stops , if I fit the oversize tyres I will adjust the stops as my wife drives it a lot too so it will be better for her . Fridge freezer At the time I was not impressed , we were stuck in the middle of nowhere , it was raining hard , pitch black ,we couldn’t start the engine because the oil would leak even more , only had a very faint signal on our mobiles and had the recovery truck driver phoning us asking where we were as he couldn’t find us !!! I do have bump stops fitted , in fact I had to renew the rear ones for the mot . i will have to check the engine mounts but i am not aware of any problems with them , it wasnt mentioned at the MOT which was done last month .I have heard that you can get oversize bump stops and I think that I will fit these along with the stronger springs as I don’t really want the agro that may come with fitting a lift kit . Thanks very much for your info. Rich

Pete thanks for your reply . i was thinking of trying to adjust the steering stops , i will have to look in the haynes manual as not really sure how to do this , i have put my original wheels and tyres back on until i can get this sorted out . i still might go down the route of selling these tyres and getting the proper size 235/70/16 , do you know any web sites that sell the lift kits as i dont want to puncture my oil filter again thanks Rich

hi dont know where to start really , just found this forum this is my first post , i have had my discovery for nearly a year now and still a lot of things i need to do to it when money and time permits, its a 96 300 tdi . just recently bought a nice set of 5 boost deep dish wheels for it but unfortunately they have the wrong size tyres fitted , they are BFGOODRICH 235/85/16 instead of my standard 235/70/16 .i have tried driving with these fitted but the fronts both rub on full lock and the rears rub on the body when i go off roading . i have read a few posts and there seems to be a few different opinions as to fitting these bigger 85 profiles and also fitting a lift kit , or selling the 85 profiles and get some 70 standards . i was considering a lift kit as i have had a problem when going off road with puncturing my oil filter when grounding out , and as i didnt have a spare with me it was a long wait for the recovery truck !! ANY advice on this matter would be most appreciated , i really dont know alot about the discovery but love driving it , especially off road i plan to do alot to it and will be reading lots of old postings to see if i can find out how to do it . thanks for any help / advice