new to forum

[tricky]

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

[Pete Attryde]

Welcome to the forum.

To stop the fronts rubbing you can adjust the steering stops although this will slightly increase your turning circle.

To stop the rears rubbing you will need to trim a small amount of metal from the rear of the rear arches in what is known as a camel cut.

Sorry no pics.

Hth

Pete.

[tricky]

Welcome to the forum.

To stop the fronts rubbing you can adjust the steering stops although this will slightly increase your turning circle.

To stop the rears rubbing you will need to trim a small amount of metal from the rear of the rear arches in what is known as a camel cut.

Sorry no pics.

Hth

Pete.

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

[Pete Attryde]

I am impressed you managed to hole your oil filter as it is well tucked up on the side of the engine.

Places like Paddocks, John Craddocks, MM4X4 and Devon 4X4 do lift kits of varying price and quality.

If your budget will allow it avoid kits in the lower price range as the components will be of a lower quality. Try and go for some springs made Old Man Emu as they seem to be highly recommended by others on here and either get Old Man Emu or Procomp or Rough Country shock absorbers.

You should be aware that a 2" lift could affect the high speed (50+mph) handling of your Disco as it will change the castor angle on the front axle making the steering feel very vague and less inclined to self centre. Not all do it but mine did. If it does effect the handling you will either need to replace the bushes at the axle end of the front radius arms for castor corrected ones or buy new castor corrected arms. Having corrected the castor you will then probably find that the front propshaft will have picked up a vibration which is cured by fitting a double cardon propshaft from a discovery 2 or a custom made one from the likes of propshaft clinic or devon 4x4 etc. I also had probloems with the rear propshaft as the steeper angle on the propshaft destroyed the rubber coupling at the axle end within about 3 months of me fitting the lift and then a second brand new one in about 6 months. To cure this I ended up fitting a high angle Universal joint at both end propshaft (from Devon 4x4) which involved changing the pinion flange on the diff. I then also had to correct the flange angle of the rear diff as I then had a vibration on the rear this was cured by fitting new rear radius arms that were longer than the originals. You will also definately need to change the front brake pipes for longer ones and may also need to change the rear ones as well.

All in all in my opinion I (having done it on mine) would say that if you can avoid fitting a lift kit if at all possible do, as it could be a lot more expensive and a lot more hassle than just trimming the body work slightly and adjusting the steering stops.

This is just representative of the problems I encountered when I fitted a simple 2" lift to my 1996 300TDI discovery and may be different to other peoples experiences.

HTH

Pete.

To adjust the steering lock stops remove the whell on the side to be adjusted and looking from the front at about mid way up the hub inside of the brake dust shield there should be an M10 (19mm spanner) bolt with a lock nut (the lock nut also secures part of the brake shield). Loosen the lock nut and then unscrew the bolt a couple of turns. Turn the steering untill the back edge of the other wheel is as close to the trailing arm as it gets if it hits then adjust the bolt out some more until the tyre is about 5-10mm clear of the radius arm. lock the lock nut back up re-fit the wheel and repeat on the other side.

Pete.

[FridgeFreezer]

Holing the oil filter is a good effort do you have bump-stops or have they fallen off? Also, are the engine mounts in decent nick (not failed and dropped a bit). Really it should be almost impossible to damage he engine bay if everything is as it should be.

As for a lift, a cheap option is a set of police spec springs, £9 per spring, they're a bit stiffer and a little taller. I have fitted two sets now and they work well, for £36 you can't really go wrong!

[thebiglad]

Hi FridgeFreezer, Police springs, sounds interesting, where did you buy them.

I'm assuming that you didn't have a mate (with socket set in hand) with you the last time you were pulled by the feds ?

[FridgeFreezer]

NRC2119 - HD front

NRC4304 - HD rear

[tricky]

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

[Jason2]

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

That must have been a bit of BAD luck with the oil filter, you must have kicked a branch or stick up that punctered it as your diffs would have grounded way before!

I would stick with the tyres that you have got as they are going to give you a lot better (naturel) lift than 235/70's just do as Raceface120 says and trim rear wheel arches. I have 235/70's greenway machos and they rub a little on front springs.

Jason