tempestv8

Looks like they are DUPLICATING the issue with the 79 Series dual cab, where the rear wheels have been moved, but simply not far back enough. With a decent sized tray at the back of this Grenadier, it's rear wheels are going to end up positioned very similarly to the 79 Series dual cab's tray. Yes, Ineos have moved the rear wheels have moved back, just like Toyota did, albeit not far back enough, in my opinion. (Photo credit to Carsguide review - https://www.carsguide.com.au/adventure/land-cruiser-79-series-gxl-70350 ) The difference with the 79 Series is that the rear suspension is leaf spring, so the rear leaf spring shackles are actually roughly in the middle of the the tray. So that's not so bad, because this means the rear tray is getting some of its support roughly half way down the length of the tray. But since the Grenadier's rear suspension is likely to remain coil for the dual cab, it's support is no where near the middle of where the tray will be, with a similar length tray. So this could mean the chassis is being pivoted on the chassis from a point thats just below the front of the tray by the rear axle. This would be rather unfortunate because it will be a recipe for a bent chassis, when the tray is heavily loaded and the vehicle is subjected to offroad punishment.

What exactly does he mean by this? Surely this is not correct.

I wonder why I can't edit my profile to put down my name and vehicle details, etc. :-( I've tried a few times and it doesn't seem to add my signature line. Anyways, back to the topic. I did think more about why I'd like to run the engine cooler, but I suspect that all this will do will increase the temperature range in which the engine will be subjected to. So let's just say I'm driving along with a cooler thermostat. The engine will be running cooler at say 84-85 deg C, but when I find a steep hill and there's a lot of extra work required of the engine, the temperatures will start rising due to the cooling system maxing out at some point. So even with the cooler thermostat fitted, the engine temperature will climb because the cooling system can't provide any further cooling. And I may end up at around 105 deg C anyway. So now the differential is increased - going from 85 to 105 is 20 degs. Then when I am over the top of the mountain and coming down on the descent, the engine is not working hard anymore and the thermostat is still wide open. So the cooling system will drag the temperatures back down to 84-85 deg C again. What I'm thinking is that this bigger temperature drop of 20 deg by using a "cooler" thermostat may in fact be bad for the engine because the heads and blocks are now subjected to a much bigger temperature variance. If I stuck to the standard thermostat, yes the engine will be running hotter, but the temperature swings will be over a smaller temperature band. Smaller temperature swings = less stress to the head gaskets. Does that sound right? I've spent so much time thinking about this last night, about such a scenario, and this morning, your post above suggests that this is exactly what happens, i.e. the temperature surfing now is across a much wider temperature range. Based on what your observations, I've nearly come to the conclusion that it's probably best not to mess around with what Land Rover have designed.... I am interested to know what your thoughts are regarding widening the temperature delta between light load and heavy load, and its impact on the longevity of the engine, head gaskets, etc.

OK, I think I've worked it out - you want the PEL500110 if you need your HVAC heater to work in a cold climate and PEM101020 if you live in the tropics and the HVAC's heater is rarely used. Both the PEL500110 and the PEM101020 have a main valve that opens earlier than the standard PEM100990, but the difference is that the PEL500110 has a softer spring for the by-pass flow valve than PEM101020. The spring holds the by-pass flow valve closed. The by-pass flow valve's function is to aid the engine's warm up. When the engine is cold, the main thermostat valve is closed to cut off circulation to the radiator. When the thermostat is closed, and the engine is idling, the coolant pump does not produce sufficient flow and pressure to open the by pass valve. In this condition the valve prevents coolant circulating through the by-pass circuit back into the engine. What results is maximum flow of coolant through the heater matrix only. The purpose of creating this higher flow of coolant through the heater matrix is to improve passenger comfort in cold conditions, i.e. more of the available engine heat goes through the heater. When the engine speed increases above idle, the coolant pump produces a greater flow and pressure than the HVAC system's heater can take. The increased pressure acts on the by-pass flow valve and overcomes the spring's pressure, thus opening the by-pass valve and thereby reducing the pressure to the HVAC heater circuit. The by-pass flow valve modulates to provide maximum coolant flow through the HVAC heater circuit, and yet allowing excess coolant to flow into the by-pass curcuit to provide the engine's cooling needs at higher engine revs/min. PEL500110 has a stronger by-pass valve spring than PEM101020. Both these two thermostats will run cooler than the standard PEM100990 thermostat, by around 6 degrees, from what I can find. Hope this helps!

Hi Philip, Greetings from Down Under. I too would like to fit a cooler thermostat for my DII V8. I fitted a Scangauge II OBDII to check the coolant temperatures and in normal driving, the coolant temperatures fluctuate between 92 to 98 degrees Centigrade with the standard thermostat. Sometimes, with the a/c on and idling for ages in summer, the coolant temperature creeps up to around 100 deg C, and if the ambient temperatures are very high (say 38 deg C), idling in traffic can see the coolant temperature go as high as 105 deg C. The Land Rover part number for the standard thermostat is PEM100990 and there does not seem to be an alternative. However, since Land Rover share many components with MG, there is a cooler thermostat which is about 8 deg cooler. I think they introduced that thermostat due to the overheating and head gasket failures that plagued the 4 cylinder K series engines used in the MG convertibles. The part number of that thermostat is PEM101020. I am tempted to try this cooler thermostat but I am guessing that it could actually cause problems - the engine's ECU may think that something is wrong due to the cooler running engine. If you are willing to give it a try and report back, I'd be most interested! EDIT: I did some more digging around, and there is a Land Rover equivalent of that same thermostat and the Land Rover part number is PEL500110. I'm now trying to find out what the difference is between PEL500110 and PEM101020.

You need to find a battery specialist who has a battery tester - they will have what looks like a large handheld multimeter with alligator clips for positive and negative, attach your battery to it. The good units even have an input for the CCA and Amp/hr values from your battery label. Hit the test button and it will say pass or fail. Could look something like this: or Simply measuring the voltage isn't good enough for a battery test.

I'm not a fan of poly bushes. They simply transmit too much shock through the body and are not very flexible. Stick with rubber. As for shocks, it all depends on what you can get. Probably some ARB Old Man Emu shocks, but you may be able to find something cheaper. They only work with a suspension lift, i.e. longer springs, so if you have stock ride height, perhaps look at other brands. KYB?

Love this thread! It's like a photo essay. A picture tells a thousand words, so I have read at least a hundred thousand words!

The Rover V8 isn't really a performance motor that requires special oil, since it was designed 20 years ago. Semi synthetic oil is probably more than good enough for it. Most LR dealers (in Australia anyway) use Castrol Magnatec. Not sure if this is available where you are.

When the three Amigos light up, it's typically due to the SLABS computer not getting a "clean" signal from one of the four wheel speed sensors, aka ABS speed sensors. This can happen if you have brake squeal - brake squeal which can occur from the use of 3rd party brake pads or rotors will interfere with the signals and can cause the Christmas tree light effect on your instruments. If you take your vehicle to a dealer with a Testbook they can tell you which ABS wheel sensor is the problem and clear the code. If the problem reappears and it's the same wheel sensor, then it's time to get the sensor replaced. In the early days, this meant replacing the entire wheel bearing hub assembly, but thankfully LR have changed their ways and now you can just replace the sensor without replacing a perfectly good wheel bearing hub. The other reason why the three Amigos appear is if the shuttle valve in your ABS modulator unit fails. You should always "exercise" your Hill Descent Control to keep the shuttle valve in your ABS modulator from failing. Use it, or lose it, as they say.

The M&S lights flashing indicate one of three potential problems: 1. Over torque condition, which can happen if you have fitted a "chip" to your ECU to produce more power. 2. Corroded or loose earth terminals going to the auto gearbox - the airconditioning condensate can cause corrosion to the terminals 3. Dying starting battery - the gearbox is sensitive to drop in voltages, and the Discovery II uses lead calcium batteries (14V). So if you have replaced your batter with a lead acid battery (12V) and it is getting a bit flat, this will cause the M&S lights to flash. Load test your battery to find out it's condition.

Can I confirm the symptoms of the noise? On my vehicle, it is loudest in the morning, when the engine is first started. Once the engine warms up, the gurgling water running noise goes away. I believe that this is due to trapped air in the cooling system, but I've not been successful in bleeding the cooling system. I've observed the route that the water pipes take as it goes from the engine to the firewall and out again to the water pump. If air is trapped in that pipe, no amount of bleeding via the top hose can get that air out, because it is trapped and can't be released. So I really don't have an answer for you, but I share your concern that its not "normal". Lawrance Lee Melbourne, Australia

Which part of the world are you in? If you are in Australia, for about $1200 you can get a set of Old Man Emu springs and shocks to give you the 2" lift that you require. Nice and easy.

I've not done this conversion before, but removal of the Rotoflex coupling (some people call it a "guibo") would result in noticable increase in noise, vibration and harshness. It also becomes yet another unijoint to have to periodically apply grease to. Having said that, the 2 pinion diff on the Disco II is not a particularly strong unit if you do go offroading a lot - it has a tendency to eventually break the spider gears due to the shock loading when ETC detects and controls a spinning wheel. The pulsing nature of ETC sends a lot of shock through to the little spider gears. An ARB air locker would definitely strengthen the rear diff dramatically. Interestingly, the front diff (same diff centre as rear) seems to be much less likely to fail in heavy offroading conditions. Not exactly sure why, as the same sort of forces do apply to the front as well as the rear each time a wheel lifts off from the ground and starts spinning madly when the boot is put on the accelerator pedal. Lawrance Lee '99 DII V8 auto Melbourne, Australia

There's only a filter gauze material that covers the petrol fuel pump, and not an inline fuel cartridge as such. So whilst it is possible, it's not likely to be the fuel filter gauze that is clogged up to the point where it is unable to supply sufficient fuel to the engine. However, it is possible that the fuel pump itself is not capable of delivering enough fuel pressure when the engine needs it. In my experience with the submersed fuel pump in the DII, it does not really like to be running for prolonged periods of time on very little fuel in the tank. The minimum level of fuel that I'd keep in the tank when running on LPG is somewhere between 1/2 and a 1/4. This is to ensure that the fuel pump does not fail. Cheers, Lawrance Lee '99 DII V8 auto with LPG Melbourne, Australia

Hi Henry, Apparently its quite normal. Also, in my limited experience, if you just let the engine keep idling without revving it or driving away, it will continue to belch out smoke for a long time. The TDi motor may be old tech but its definitely economical compared to the TD5. Interesting observation is that the fuel economy of the Discovery was best with the Disco I, got worse with the TD5 in the DII and the Disco 3's TDV6 is even thirstier. Cheers, Lawrance Lee '99 DII V8 auto Melbourne, Australia

Thanks for updating the group with your fix. Its nice to know whether a suggestion actually resulted in a positive result. It's a shame that the ECU on the Disco II does not flag an error (like a Check Engine light) when the MAF sensor is faulty. Even on working MAFs, I've found that over a long period of time, they should just be replaced as a "consumable" because power outputs and economy improve with a new sensor. Same goes for the lambda sensors in the exhaust pipe. Lawrance Lee '99 DII V8 auto Melbourne, Australia

Re the original question, the TD5 motor is definitely a Land Rover "in house" design. It was supposed to be made more modular so that a 4 cylinder and a 6 cylinder derivative could be manufacturered based on this same design, so presumably a 4 cylinder version for the Freelander and a 6 cylinder version for a Range Rover. But BMW purchased Land Rover in 1994 and canned the 4 and 6 cylinder derivatives, so the TD5 remained. Shame to see this engine go, after only a run of 8 years production, now that the DII is obsoleted and the Ford Puma/Transit engine has made its way into the Defender.

I tried the download too, and it didn't work after the count down had finished. Lawrance Lee '99 DII V8 auto Melbourne, Australia