New purchase - Discovery ES 300Tdi Auto

[Tetsu0san]

So, after many years without a Discovery I purchased an ES auto the other day. I've got an early 110 that I really like as I've done a lot of work on it over the years (fitted a 200Tdi engine and a Defender R380 gearbox), but there was always something I liked about the Discovery. And now I have both!

Anyway, as I said it's an ES so has a lot of bells and whistles, and most of these make no noise at the moment.

• Aircon - Belt missing, and I suspect will need re-gassing
• Cruise control - Was told it works off vacuum pipes and some have visibly perished. I'll replace them and see what happens
• Electric seats - The base tilt on the drivers side doesn't work although it clicks when you try to adjust it
• Heated windscreen - Got a big crack in the corner so I suspect the element is knackered
• Auto dimming rear view mirror - The liquid crystals have leaked. Needs a new one I think
• N/S/R window - Very slow towards the bottom of the travel
• Bonnet pull - Cable has been relocated to somewhere else

I've found a few other disconnected connectors here and there, and I'm sure there is more that doesn't work but I've not really looked over it.

There is what appears to be a performance chip fitted to a 9pin serial type connector under the dashboard, but I have no idea if it works or not. I can't remember the name on the chip but I'll take a picture later.

 

Any information or advice on this would be greatly received.

 

Edited May 10, 2018 by Tetsu0san

[joe1]

That looks like a decent find! No oxidation on the door bottoms is always a good sign. I always thought the only chips available had to be direct replacements for the edc chip (and therefore soldered into the ecu). I'm not sure how anything separately fitted near the dash could work. But do post back if you find any more info about it. 

[ballcock]

Looks nice I have two of them. What engine? Mine are both V8s. The seat is probably the switch, I think there is a how to repair post in the tec archive. Cruise control on mine I have never got around to repairing I rely on the adaptive system. ( throttle control ) The aircon on my one I removed as the rad was causing the engine to under cool. As for the heated screen one of mine has various cracks and leaks like mad through the top seal but the element still works the other was replaced years ago and although working I find it almost useless. Good luck with it.

Edited May 13, 2018 by ballcock

[teabag]

I've had my 1997 ES V8 for 20 years now so I understand how it works, so.

1. Replace the belt and see what happens to the temperature coming from the vents.

theres a lot to go wrong  from a cheap relay to an expensive pump.

2. Vacuum pipes do rot,  I've replace  mine with black silicon hosewith a 5mm ID just under 3M.

3. Seat, as mentioned mor likely switch, or  maybe motor or the relay below the passenger seat.

4. You may have lost a part of the heated function, mine has lost a small 4" strip

on the drivers side, it's not an issue it's rarely used and the heated can defrost the screen just as quick, V8s warm up quicker than tdi'.

5. Had the same issue with the interior mirror and was replaced at £125 that was around 10 years ago, so now I only swhich it on when needed, as before it was permanently on.

6. Spray the window channels with silicone spray my help, if not take the door card off for a look-see.

7. The bonnet pull on the passenger side is strange for a U.K. Vehicle, all of the other cars I driven / owned even Honda's the pull on the drivers side.

So other than the complexity of the A/C nothing  seems that drastic , good luck with your purchase.

Dose your diff lock work?, mine doesn't as it has only been used once for a few miles in the snow years ago, use it or loose it.

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2018 by teabag

[Arjan]

Nice !

Many miles with the Disco I were made all over Europe.

Not aware you can "chip" them though..

Please keep it coming..

[Tetsu0san]

Thanks to all the replies, and I have an update (of sorts).

I've been driving it now as a daily driver and it all seemed OK generally, however yesterday when driving home the exhaust decided to split in two so last night was spent welding up the down pipe (a de-cat from a Defender by the look of it as it doesn't have the flexi bit) and also fixing the rear exhaust hanger as that had rotted out. That would explain why the rear pipe was moving around a lot!

Had some information given to me regarding one of my fobs not working so I'm going to hopefully get to the bottom of that.

While I was under there doing the exhaust I had a quick look around and I can see I've got my work cut out if I really want to keep it. I can see holes in the boot floor (not really a problem as I had to do this on my first Discovery), the sills are a bit ropey, and the N/S/R outrigger has rotten across the top. So all these will need welding. And there is a proper nasty oil leak somewhere that has been spewing oil all over the engine, axle, and chassis for a long time now. I've noticed that the vacuum pump cover has been bolted on so I suspect that is most likely where most of the oil is coming from so I'm going to replace that or at the very least try to seal it up again. I know they're renown for splitting and spraying oil all over the place so that's my first port of call.

Also, bloody underseal. What a stupid thing to put on a chassis. All it seems to do is dry out, crack, lift up, and create a mud/water trap all over the place. I'm sure it looks lovely for a while but it should be banned.

No pictures of the work done last night but I will try to upload some pictures as I go.

[Tetsu0san]

More updates!

The underside around the engine was very oily indeed so I covered it in degreaser and jet washed it all off. Still a few bits left here and there and there is still a fairly pronounced leak but at least I can see the engine now. It also looks like I'll be welding up the front arches, cills, and footwells too now though...

Did a transmission oil change and this has improved the gear changes quite a bit, which is nice. The fluid that came out didn't particularly smell burnt but it was pretty black. I did reconnect a connector at the front that had come off (or been taken off) and now I get a transmission warning light come on. This goes off when at 50mph+ and everything changes as it should and it goes OK so I'm not overly concerned. Going to clean out the fins on the oil cooler and maybe clean out the cooler at some point.

I still hate underseal....