disco_al

that was in landrover owner climbing trees a couple of months back - uses mog axles IIRC

too true - once had an astra diesel that was hooked on the stuff worse than oliver reed was to booze

it does sound like the rear panel gap *cough* tolerances *cough* are in need of attention. it has been mentioned before about damming up the gutter and pouring waxoyl or similar into it, this works it's way in then seals the problem. there is a product called Captain Tolley's creeping crack cure (no sniggering at the back) available from marine suppliers that works it's way into these sort of places - it's designed for sealing leaks on boats, so should work ok on a landrover

preloads were fine when i replaced the top and bottom bearings (and o/s cv joint) earlier this year, it just seems strange that it started after changing the damper. i will have to check the damper mounts and change the TRE's tomorrow (if it stops raining long enough)

Are we sitting comfortably, good then i shall begin..... It started last weekend after changing the steering damper on my disco for a nice shiny new one . After changing it i noticed that whenever i hit a bump in the road at anything over about 40mph, the steering would develop a severe "shimmy", similar to the effect you get when the wheels are out of balance. I knew that the n/s shock was a bit suspect, as it had always felt that the wheel was double bouncing over potholes, and that the wheels were not out of balance as they were fine before changing the damper, and i checked the suspension bushes last week, and all appeared fine there too. No problem thinks I, pair of new HD gas shockers required so i got some in and fitted them last night, quick road test later and it was still shaking after hitting a bump. I jacked the NS front up (it's that side that seems worse) and gave the wheel a wobble, nothing at 12/6 o'clock, but a bit of play side to side, so after checking the steering joints i found that the drop arm ball joint had some play in it, and after checking Rave, found that the drop arm joint can cause steering "shimmy" . Tonight i have changed the offending item, and the wobble is much less pronounced, but it is still there , the rest of the steering joints appear fine, no up and down movement to be found, although you can twist the track rods/drag link around their axis. The swivels are fine, as are the top and bottom swivel bearings, wheel bearings are fine as well, no play there. So, does anyone have any ideas as to where i should check next? would a new damper highlight the play axial twist in the other steering joints?

anything is possible if you have the knowledge. why not use a front axle on the rear for the rear steer? have a look at telehandlers, they have 4 wheel selectable steering, hydraulic admittedly, but don't see why it can't be adapted. good luck if it goes ahead, would like to see a real one about

not a landy, but a sierra (runs and hides) at 75k, relevant to the current thread though so despite what manufacturers say - a chain is not for life, and they can break

...and of course if the headset is paired with your phone, and left switched on, then as soon as you are within range then it should automatically disengage the immobiliser

does anyone know far behind the front crossmember the replacement 1/4 chassis extends? i have a friend down here that is looking to replace the 1/4, as the original chassis has corrdoded around the battery tray/front bumpstop, and he is hoping that the 1/4 will reach that far. cheers all

try craddocks, they used to have them - otherwise find a local signwriter who can make some up from a pattern

lovely, cheers

it is possible to weld aluminium with a mig, IIRC you need ally wire and some different gas - there is something on here about it somewhere....

pinion seal is not an MOT point. as already stated, sealed beam lights are the cheap option, halogen make for a worthy upgrade.

Right, I now have in my possession the X-Eng kit (Cheers guys) and i need to run a cable from the main battery to the aux battery, and as we all know, the aux battery on a D1 is on the N/S inner wing. Is it best to run the new cable around the bulkhead across the back of the engine bay, or should i just feed it across the front panel somewhere? Logic (?) would dictate to run it across the front panel, as this is the shorter route, leading to less resistance from the shorter cable run (if my understanding of this is wrong then someone correct me) As for the earth strap i was planning to run one directly to the chassis on the N/S. Any advice gladly accepted

all fairly simple really, most (if not all) is detailed in the tech section on here. save yourself a fortune and do it yourself, if you get stuck then there are plenty of people around on here who can advise/lend a hand if needed

hope you have deep pockets for when they go wrong disco's, as most people have already said have their faults - but what car doesn't? i have known brand new cars develop faults as soon as they have left the forecourt of the dealers. at the end of the day, take your time, do your research, and look for the best you can afford, test drive a few - easy if there is someone on here close by who could take you for a spin on/off road in one. everyone has their preferences engine wise - my first was a 200tdi, plenty of low down grunt, but very agricultural, the 300tdi's are supposed to be better, and as for the TD5's - lovely sound and oodles of power/torque, coupled with the toys that make them an awesome on/off roader. my current bus is a 3.5 v8 on lpg, does what it says on the tin. it's not the best looking by any means, and i have had to do some welding to the sills (inner wings are not MOT points as they are not classed as structural - that's what my MOT man told me anyway). other than that it's been pretty good to me so far, MPG is not brilliant, what v8 is? although for 52p/litre it's still cheaper to run on a weekly basis than my old 2.0 XR4x4 was (and the v8 sounds nicer ) parts are cheap - as already mentioned certain manufacturers parts can be of questionable quality, accesories are limitless in potential, your own creativity is the only limit on what you can do - just check out the Mouse thread from the House of Flying Spanners (top job lads - still in awe at the finished beast). do some research in the Discovery forum on what various people have encountered, and how they have solved proplems - the main thing to remember with owning a landrover is that you are never alone when it comes to fixing them.

Would have been better if it had been a weekend may have been able to tag along as i do fancy doing Strata Florida at some point, and you are only just up the road from here.

Judging from the repsonses the X-Charge is the way to go - so i've just ordered one Thanks for the help and avice all - much appreciated

it's a steering vibration damper - commonly found on disco's and rrc's

no problems at all

From your engine number you have 12L, which is 200tdi, the log book hasn't been changed to suit from the sound of it. The GCW is the Gross Carriage (?) weight - same as Gross Train weight - combined vehicle and trailer. GVW and the Front/Rear speak for themselves

I have been given a 70 a/hr battery that will be left to go dead other wise, and as i tend to be out and about fixing cars and farm stuff in the evenings, as well as bail loading/unloading it makes sense for me to add a second battery to run the lights off, rather than end up in the middle of a field with a flat battery. I will probably be adding a light bar across the front at some point too, and will more than likely use the second battery to power that, via a separate feed, so that it can be run independantly of the main lights, for extra front end lighting.

mainly the T-max system, and a couple on good ole flea bay. was thinking of talking to the auto electricians in town and getting them to organise the correct relay, then sorting the wiring from there (got plenty of good sized cable about to use) and using a couple of dial gauges for monitoring. it's to fit a standard 90 disco 3.5 (non air con), so i would imagine a 70-80 amp alternator load wise would be max of 55w work lamp, and a charger for laptop/led torch. not planning on fridges and stuff like that

Apologies if this is in the wrong section to start I was just looking at split charge systems, and was wondering what size relay is best for running with a 70 a/hr battery. It's not for running anything major, couple of aux sockets in the back for charging lamps, and maybe a small size work lamp or two. Any advice from the guru's most welcome

try a compression test first, that would show up a potential head gasket problem, if you can get hold of some uv leak detector fluid bung that in the coolant and see if there are any leaks. does it use a lot of coolant?