SolihullBeast

We used to have a 109 as the shooting bus on the farm, you can stuff it full of beaters and it carries up to 30 bags of wheat(sits a little down at the back mind!) well worth the work, easy and often cheap to fix and can go on for donkeys years if properly maintained, good luck

That us truly hilarious- I wouldn't be surprised if top gear eventually do a monster truck build challenge.. no doubt they wouldn't look too dissimilar! funny stuff.

Ahoy! nice looking vehicle, not too dissimilar to mine! Coincidentally I bought mine and put a new clutch and cam-belt in! two jobs worth doing well! Welcome to the forum, it has helped me so much with mine, up to the point where I am now replacing the gearbox using a guide in the technical archive! Hope you get stuck in Sam

Rustoleum paint was recommended to me at work by a painter and decorator who informed me that it was a much better alternative to hammerite metal paint, but I would like a few opinions before I splash out on 5 litres! any one tried it? Cheers Sam

I am a land rover man through and through and love them to bits, however the only jap I will sing the praises of is the Daihatsu fourtrack, we have had one on the farm for years, and it is bulletproof, get abused off road on a daily basis, regularly tows a cattle trailer, and gets almost no maintenance- it has covered 525000 miles and still runs well, the 2.8 gives a fair grunt too. Despite all of this I still prefer my unreliable, loud, expensive defender! just my thoughts

your quite rights sir! it is not a dash out job for the compressor, however I am removing ALL of the air-conditioning components which include the fans and electronics which sit awkwardly behind the dash, hence its removal! the compressor is the easy bit! removing the compressors has given me lots of nice new engine bay space to play with

Oil filler cap off, no air, no smoke and no smell! just blue smoke that appear to be rising from the front of the engine, if it is a head gasket what is the cost of parts roughly if I do the labour myself? Cheers Sam

Currently my 93 disco 200tdi is sitting in the yards awaiting a new gearbox and transfer box, and because I know it will be there a while as I'm on student minimum wage! I have decided to remove all the air-conditioning components (I had it discharged a while back) so that I could have a cubby box and a glove box, more engine space and mainly because I simply prefer opening the window! So I reluctantly accepted that It was a dash out job, so over a couple of day I have attacked the dash with some tools and it is off, to as difficult as I thought but plenty of little screws to be lost! But I discovered several interesting things which explain a lot; 1. On my alarm/immobiliser ECU (land rover 17vt ecu type) there was a cable coming out of it which had been cut, it was a television style cable with a single pin male which went into the ECU, what is it supposed to be connected to? and would it explain why my key fob has never worked? Is it an antenna connection? anyone know? 2. The clutch return spring appeared to be broken, is this a common fault? the clutch still returns normally(a bit wobbly at the top range of its movement) I cant find the part number anywhere, I would really like to fit a new one. Any Ideas as to where to get one? Cheers Sam

Just a quick questions regarding a 96 300tdi Disco, the vehicle actually belongs to my father, who assumes foolishly that I am a knowledgeable about land rovers based on the amount of time that I spend under the bonnet of mine!! So when his vehicle decided to give up the ghost on the M25- after its recovery back to the farm I was his first port of call, but it completely stumped me, the symptoms are as follows - A trail of oil form the oil filler cap down the engine plastic trim, looks like it had been flowing pretty heavily at one point. - Oil seeping out most sides of the rocker cover gasket. - Blue Exhaust Smoke. - Blue smoke coming out the engine bay, from somewhere under the exhaust manifold, I can't pinpoint where. - Major Loss of power Prior to the journey he said the oil was slightly above the max(he did not mess with the oil level, just left it) I don't know what the problem is but here what I guessed; There must be pressure for the oil to have been forced out the top of the engine, The blue smoke means oil is being burnt, and low power means the fuel/air mixture has been contaminated with oil? So I made a wild and rash guess and told him it may be a piston ring. I'm sure that the answer is probably fairly simple- but advice would be great so I can give him some more info- he hasn't been lucky with this land rover(new gearbox, two clutches, new transfer box, starter motor, steering box... its almost a new vehicle!) Many Thanks Sam

Its interesting, the latest range rover and discovery models seem to marketed on their diverse mixture off road capability and luxury comfort, however it appears to me that the majority of the consumer base seem to buy these vehicles based on their luxury alone, I very rarely see them off road, which doesn't surprise me as their repair costs for a few battle scars would be astronomical and very few disco 3/4 or new RR owners want to risk damaging their vehicles luxury appearance. Understandably the latest range rovers and discoveries seem to be doing relatively well in sales because of the buoyancy of this luxury market, which is great because it keeps the company afloat and able to continue to produce a more functional vehicle like the defender! BUT if the defender is to be updated I think it would be a sin for it to follow the tracks of the other land rover vehicles and lose its off road appeal, as land rover themselves put it, the defender is an icon, so they must think very carefully about its redesign, if it appears on the market in a few years time with design orientated towards visual appearance and luxury it would be a great shame. I hope the next vehicle is a capable off road vehicle that does not rely on electronics for off road ability but instead good design and decent driving! I agree with one of the comments above, I am forever seeing these concept vehicles appear claiming to be the next defender and they are just terrible, I really hope land rover remember what it was that made the first vehicle they produced to special. Rant Over! I hope that the opinions on here will give your marketing team an insight as to what genuine all round land rover owners think

Additionally if you make a high mount, non winch, wraparound tapered discovery 1 bumper you can have my money!

A agree with the dash idea, the defender dash isn't all that complicated as standard(on older vehicles), I have removed and replaced one, so I cannot be that difficult! Perhaps an up-rated dash, following the same contours of the older ones (not like the new defender dashes), using harder wearing and more cosmetically attractive materials. Re-design could include greater storage solutions, more room for additional equipment/gauges/switches etc. Blade fuse box perhaps, less use of brittle plastic.. that sort of thing! Hope the project goes well. I am a student as well and wish I could do this on my course, sadly real estate has little to do with land rovers! Sam

John! You are absolutely right! after driving it around a bit more today the the noise came back.. followed by a loud bang, loud metallic rattle and the difflock light came on in whatever gear I selected, and the vehicle is now un-drivable! SO it has been a long day! I removed both propshafts on the side of the road so the vehicle could be towed and finally got home 10 minutes ago! Off to ashcrofts to burn precious dollhairs! Sam

I know that this question has the potential to be one of those "my cars making strange noises questions" so I will endeavor to give as much information as possible; (additionally please note I am by no means an expert, so this is still all a bit new) Vehicle in question is a 200tdi 93 disco manual; This is what happened- Driving on the motorway steadily at 70, the vehicle was cruising comfortably with no unusual noises. (The only existing mechanical issues the car suffers from is a starter motor which occasionally "chattered" on start up and a handbrake light which flashed on occasionally, neither of these issue have ever affected the vehicle when driving, the handbrake was not seized, I made sure of this). So as mentioned cruising at 70, when a snapping noise occurred and it sounded like something was banging/crunching in tune with the speed of the vehicle( i.e the banging speed was proportional to the movement of the vehicle, so as I slowed the banging, crunching did as well), the noise came from the front half of the vehicle(but on hearing it I would not ascertain where specifically) I Pulled into the hard shoulder as it sounded fairly serious and pulled into a service station 200 meters further up, where I stopped to have a look underneath the vehicle and in the engine compartment and found; - all belts in tact - nothing fouling any of the drive belt paths - nothing fouling the paths wheels or tyres - propshafts secure and clear to rotate(ujs all good) - Handbrake was not binding(I took the drum off and checked its operation - The vehicle did not make the noise when stationary, or when revved stationary (only under forward movement) the noise was present under high, low and difflock, but not as prominent in reverse. - the engine ran nicely and did not appear to be affected by the noise. - Gear change and clutch operated perfectly.(high/ low transfer were a bit more "clunky" than normal) However after driving around the car park for a while the noise disappeared, and I drove the vehicle home without any problems, other than minor noise occasionally! this really stumped me, I can't seem to narrow down where this noise is coming from, it sounded incredibly unhealthy at the time(loud to the point that most of the people in the service station car park were looking over!) But then just disappeared at around 50/60-mph on a nearby road. So I ascertained it was not the props or engine, could it be the transfer box? cv joints? halfshfts? differentials? I would I have noticed these more easily? I don't know a huge amount about starter motors but is there any chance that the starter motor cog (is it called a bendix?) got jammed in the flywheel due to a dodgy solenoid? or would that make a different sound? I only suspect this because the starter and solenoid are always playing up? I am really keen to find out what the problem is to avoid causing any further damage? Any suggestions? Apologies for the long winded question! Cheers Sam

Just a quick one; Will a fanbelt and alternator belt from a 200tdi defender, fit a 200tdi discovery? Done a bit of trawling around the forum, to no avail! Cheers Sam

Thanks to all, well the common opinion seems to be that she can make it! great! and I have got some bits and bobs to get! A couple more questions, If a radiator is the first thing to go, then how is it possible to tell the condition of the radiator? I would like to ascertain whether mine has any life in it! Secondly on another note regarding security, I'm aware that rally vehicles can be a target for thieves, are there any little tricks known in the land rover world to immobilize a vehicle, like hidden cut of switches etc? and are there any way to prevent the vehicles from being towed? Cheers Sam

Hello all, I am considering doing the Balkan Rally (http://www.balkanrally.com/) in my 200tdi '93 Land Rover Discovery, however I am very hesitant as I'm not too keen on any major breakdowns in Eastern Europe! The rally does not involve any off roading, it purely a road event, so there will be no off road related damage. I am essentially curious as to what type of things go wrong when you subject a vehicle of this age to prolonged high speeds (motorway)? What type of breakdowns could I expect? Am I being to hopeful that it will go smoothly? Bit of Info on the vehicle in question - new timing belt and kit - all new suspension - all new bushes - new track rods - full service - new front prop - 113,000 miles Apparently according to my local specialist the transfer box has seen better days, but functions! There is no support from the organisers when breakdowns occur, so I would like to try and anticipate any problems! What are the most useful spares to bring? Many Thanks Sam

I second this, Gumtree have a woskshop at one address and a breaking yard at another, I have been in countless times and they are almost always refurbishing a classic! the lads down at the breaking yard are very helpful and there is a lot of old range rover bits kicking around Parts Depo, 01273 890259 They are usually fairly reasonable on second hand parts prices, most of the time! hope this helps Sam

How do you prime a steering damper? Sam

Hello All, Yesterday I fitted a brand new terrafirma steering damper, I also removed and cleaned and refitted the steering damper mounting bracket and what I believe to be a harmonic damper on the base of the diff as they were covered in oil and muck. Today I took the vehicle for a drive and the steering judder was terrible, especially under engine braking and normal braking, worse when braking from around 60/70mph. Judder also occurred when I went over potholes. Prior to the fitting of the damper the vehicle behaved absolutely fine there was no judder and no other steering issues, which leads me to believe that I have fitted the steering damper incorrectly, or upset the harmonic damper when I cleaned it? The steering damper came with no instructions, I thought that the washer/bush layout would be the same as the land rover setup that was on the old damper, however the terrafirma unit provided me with three washers(discs the bushes sit in, not sure if I have used the correct vernacular!?) and two bushes as expected. The land rover unit I removed had four washers instead of three! So I am wondering whether anyone knows how the washers are set up on a terrafirma damper? I will upload some pictures of the kit I was sent to better explain what I mean. this is the entire fitting kit supplied with the damper these are the two types of washer provided, i received two of the left hand type, and four of the right hand type Additionally which way around should the damper be fitted? i.e. does the boot end attach to the axle? I am hoping that the judder is because I have got the steering damper fitting wrong, however could it be attributed to me messing around with what I think is the harmonic damper? does adjusting that cause judder? I loosened the bolts on each side of the unit when I cleaned it and rotated the damper to get at the gunk. Finally just to assure you all other variables are ok, the steering was perfect prior to my messing about yesterday! additionally it has had new panhard and hockey stick bushes and new TRE's all round recently and the swivel preloads are fine and wheels balanced. The vehicle is a '93 200tdi discovery

ah I'll see if it hisses, if it does i'll use a specialist to keep up with the green agenda! thanks for the advice

Searched around a bit to see if there are any topics on here about getting rid of air conditioning but to no avail! I'm interested to know what the process is for completely removing all air conditioning components from a '93 200tdi disco, I have been given various bits of advice ranging from; "drive somewhere quiet and undo the main bolt into the compressor!" to "take it to a specialist and let them get rid of the refrigerant." I know for a fact it hasn't been recharged for years so probably has no refrigerant fluid left in it, would it be safe to let any remaining stuff out? would I have to remove the fan and compressor wiring looms? I have also heard it is possible to leave the compressor on and use it as a tyre pump? is this possible? is it difficult to do? Cheers Sam

That looks good, do they do a non winch version? Cheers Sam

Thanks for the response, I'm actually looking for this style of bumper but for a disco 1, I didn't know they were different! sorry for the omission! any more ideas? cheers Sam

Found this on devons site http://www.devon4x4.com/products_a/p12956c261/0/d44-disco-2-non-winch-hd-bumper.html Just what I am looking for, but the price tag is way beyond budget! Does anyone know where I can find a bumper like that (with tapered ends) at a cheaper price? I have had no success, help! Cheers Sam