Long time Disco owner - fixed many common faults over years

[Andy J]

Hi all,

im new to this particular LR forum but it is by far the best ive seen, particularly the well organised Tech Archive. I have owned 2 Discovery's, a 200 TDi and at present a 300 Tdi. I very recently was almost tempted to by a latter Disco 2 model but backed out at the last minute for a number of reasons.

1) It was a lot of money

2) My present model is great (a bit rough round the edges) but i can work on it, dont need a laptop to reset an empty washer bottle light and i get great sattisfaction from keeping it going and fixing it up when needed

3) Its economical (34-35mpg average) and it keeps outside Mr Browns blooming increased excise duty

4) Its never let me down - ive found it very reliable (withstanding the clonks and rattles) - it always goes.

Anyway, ive seen many many problems over the years that i have fixed thanks to forums like this so i thought i would say hello and feedback some of my experiences for a change. I have many more i could write about but thought i should start somewhere, so here goes! Hello by the way

Buggered rear body mounts

Symptoms -

the rear door starts to catch on the bumper just before catching the lock

the car looks low at the back end (almost like the springs have sunk)

there is excessive rattling and banging coming from back when going over bumps

Fix - Mounts right at back of chassis, by rear bumber are completely dissolved. Replacement mounts sourced from ronmaughan@hotmail.co.uk and see http://www.yrm-metal-solutions.com/page3.htm . Need lots of brute force to lift the rear body away from chassis but easily done with some leverage and wooden wedge. Getting bolt in and out for the mounts can seem impossible until you realise there is a hole in the metal directly above so you can pop the bolt up through it whilst you slide the rest of the mount in/out

Front end wobble of death

Symptoms -

Around 60-65mph the front end can go into an uncontrollable spasm of vibrations that can frighten the pants of anyone. Usually goes away once you have braked to a speed of about 30mph, regain your pulse and crawl on a bit more

Fix - On both my discoveries (1990 and 1994 models) this has always turned out to be swivel pin pre-load. Fixing is relatively simple and there are posts on this website to help

Believe me, i know the frustration and money that can be spent in fixing this problem. I have been through the whole replace bushes, steering damper, steering box, steering u-joints baloney! If you have this problem it is your swivel pre-load. If any of the other items are shot (a) there are specific symptoms that will prove this and (B) they are probably shot from the death wobble caused by your swivel pre-load.

Explanation. The entire wheel assembly is hinged in the vertical plane on the upper and lower swivel pins. When pre-load is set correctly these pins pinch the swivel bearings such that there is no horizontal play. However over time, the swivel bearings (which take the brunt of the load) obviously wear a little, creating some slack in the horizontal plane. The best way to visualise the effect is to spin a coin on a desk, just before the coin finally comes to rest it has a frantic wobble/vibration just before it comes to rest. At this point the coin is rotating both in the direction you spun it AND horizontally (inline with the desk). If you watch a coin at this point, that is exactly what your front wheel(s) are doing. Im 150% sure of this - this wobble is swivel preload - other suspension/steering faults do not cause this effect (though they will get damaged the longer the pre-load is not set correctly)

Wandering steering

Symptoms - you look away for a split second at the radio to check the channel and when you look back at the road you have suddenly switched lanes :-)

Fix - There are probably a number of possible causes here but the 2 common ones i have seen relate to faulty ball-joints or panhard rod bushes. Both can be checked relatively easily.

Ball joint check - jack up the front axel at both ends (place on axel stands), crawl underneath and with each wheel, grab at 9:15 position and wiggle hard. Look for any play in ball joints - even the slightest play is enough to cause significant handling issues on road.

Panhard rod bushes - Jump in the drivers seat, wind down window, ensure engine is OFF and wheels straight ahead to start with. Lean out of driver window and look at front end around the wheel and rock the steering left to right. If the front end of the car moves side-to-side to the opposite direction of the wheel turn, the panhard rod bushes are done OR a bolt is loose! If the front end stays stationary and the wheel rocks side to side, the bushes are fine. If you then suspect the bushes are in fact worn, get someone else to rock the steering wheel while you watch the panhard rod ends from underneath - it will be really obvious if there is a problem.

I mentioned that it could be loose bolts - because i have seen this happen just recently. I did the above and went and ordered new polybushes, waited for them to arrive only to find that when i started to remove the panhard rod that the bolt at the axle end was loose - doh! The original Deflex bushes of a year old were infact fine. Replaced bolt and lock nut and tightened really hard and wander gone completely.

Still on the subject of panhard bushes, i noticed that even with the new ones and new bolts there is (for my liking) and uncomfortable amount of play between the inner metal sleeve and the bolt.

Moral- check your panhard bolts before you get the credit card out!

Siezed viscous fan

Symptoms - fan runs at all temps

Fix - simply remove fan altogether and do not replace :-) I have been running my latest disco for 5 years without a fan, towed boats and other trailers up and down hill and on long runs. Never had a temperature problem. Make sure your radiator is in good condition though (has full complement of fins)

Lack of power at start of day

Symptoms - could take a few turns of engine to get started and very rough and sluggish for first few minutes of run. Thereafter engine runs fine.

Fix - there is an air leak in the fuel system somewhere. When the car is off overnight a bit of air gets in that is gradually bled out once you run the car for a while. My first disco (200tdi) had this and it turned out to be the metal joints into the fuel tank (under the floor in the rear) that had corroded badly - common problem apparently. Replace the joints and bleed the fuel supply as per manual. There could be other places in fuel supply where a leak is occurring - just check it all.

Hope this helps someone

Cheers

Andy

[BogMonster]

No washer bottle light on mine never mind needing a computer to reset it - I just use a jug of water like anybody else

Welcome

[cooney?]

i'm new to this too, first forum probally be picking you brain a lot as my disco is now getting it s ten year overhall and everything seam to be going wrong but hope you enjoy it the missus hate it already

[disco tony]

excellent first post, welcome

[allegedly]

Welcome from a fellow newbie, Andy. You're right, there's a lot of friendly, knowledgeable people on here, and I know, I've used advice from most of 'em!

Rob

[JimAttrill]

There are lots of Tdi fans on here, Andy. Yes, the tech forum is very good. If you ever want to add an article, send a pm to White90 and he will add it there for you. Though it is hard to find something that isn't already covered

Welcome - it's a pity it took you so long!

[andymach23]

Hi all,

im new to this particular LR forum but it is by far the best ive seen, particularly the well organised Tech Archive. I have owned 2 Discovery's, a 200 TDi and at present a 300 Tdi. I very recently was almost tempted to by a latter Disco 2 model but backed out at the last minute for a number of reasons.

1) It was a lot of money

2) My present model is great (a bit rough round the edges) but i can work on it, dont need a laptop to reset an empty washer bottle light and i get great sattisfaction from keeping it going and fixing it up when needed

3) Its economical (34-35mpg average) and it keeps outside Mr Browns blooming increased excise duty

4) Its never let me down - ive found it very reliable (withstanding the clonks and rattles) - it always goes.

Anyway, ive seen many many problems over the years that i have fixed thanks to forums like this so i thought i would say hello and feedback some of my experiences for a change. I have many more i could write about but thought i should start somewhere, so here goes! Hello by the way

Buggered rear body mounts

Symptoms -

the rear door starts to catch on the bumper just before catching the lock

the car looks low at the back end (almost like the springs have sunk)

there is excessive rattling and banging coming from back when going over bumps

Fix - Mounts right at back of chassis, by rear bumber are completely dissolved. Replacement mounts sourced from ronmaughan@hotmail.co.uk and see http://www.yrm-metal-solutions.com/page3.htm . Need lots of brute force to lift the rear body away from chassis but easily done with some leverage and wooden wedge. Getting bolt in and out for the mounts can seem impossible until you realise there is a hole in the metal directly above so you can pop the bolt up through it whilst you slide the rest of the mount in/out

Front end wobble of death

Symptoms -

Around 60-65mph the front end can go into an uncontrollable spasm of vibrations that can frighten the pants of anyone. Usually goes away once you have braked to a speed of about 30mph, regain your pulse and crawl on a bit more

Fix - On both my discoveries (1990 and 1994 models) this has always turned out to be swivel pin pre-load. Fixing is relatively simple and there are posts on this website to help

Believe me, i know the frustration and money that can be spent in fixing this problem. I have been through the whole replace bushes, steering damper, steering box, steering u-joints baloney! If you have this problem it is your swivel pre-load. If any of the other items are shot (a) there are specific symptoms that will prove this and (B) they are probably shot from the death wobble caused by your swivel pre-load.

Explanation. The entire wheel assembly is hinged in the vertical plane on the upper and lower swivel pins. When pre-load is set correctly these pins pinch the swivel bearings such that there is no horizontal play. However over time, the swivel bearings (which take the brunt of the load) obviously wear a little, creating some slack in the horizontal plane. The best way to visualise the effect is to spin a coin on a desk, just before the coin finally comes to rest it has a frantic wobble/vibration just before it comes to rest. At this point the coin is rotating both in the direction you spun it AND horizontally (inline with the desk). If you watch a coin at this point, that is exactly what your front wheel(s) are doing. Im 150% sure of this - this wobble is swivel preload - other suspension/steering faults do not cause this effect (though they will get damaged the longer the pre-load is not set correctly)

Wandering steering

Symptoms - you look away for a split second at the radio to check the channel and when you look back at the road you have suddenly switched lanes :-)

Fix - There are probably a number of possible causes here but the 2 common ones i have seen relate to faulty ball-joints or panhard rod bushes. Both can be checked relatively easily.

Ball joint check - jack up the front axel at both ends (place on axel stands), crawl underneath and with each wheel, grab at 9:15 position and wiggle hard. Look for any play in ball joints - even the slightest play is enough to cause significant handling issues on road.

Panhard rod bushes - Jump in the drivers seat, wind down window, ensure engine is OFF and wheels straight ahead to start with. Lean out of driver window and look at front end around the wheel and rock the steering left to right. If the front end of the car moves side-to-side to the opposite direction of the wheel turn, the panhard rod bushes are done OR a bolt is loose! If the front end stays stationary and the wheel rocks side to side, the bushes are fine. If you then suspect the bushes are in fact worn, get someone else to rock the steering wheel while you watch the panhard rod ends from underneath - it will be really obvious if there is a problem.

I mentioned that it could be loose bolts - because i have seen this happen just recently. I did the above and went and ordered new polybushes, waited for them to arrive only to find that when i started to remove the panhard rod that the bolt at the axle end was loose - doh! The original Deflex bushes of a year old were infact fine. Replaced bolt and lock nut and tightened really hard and wander gone completely.

Still on the subject of panhard bushes, i noticed that even with the new ones and new bolts there is (for my liking) and uncomfortable amount of play between the inner metal sleeve and the bolt.

Moral- check your panhard bolts before you get the credit card out!

Siezed viscous fan

Symptoms - fan runs at all temps

Fix - simply remove fan altogether and do not replace :-) I have been running my latest disco for 5 years without a fan, towed boats and other trailers up and down hill and on long runs. Never had a temperature problem. Make sure your radiator is in good condition though (has full complement of fins)

Lack of power at start of day

Symptoms - could take a few turns of engine to get started and very rough and sluggish for first few minutes of run. Thereafter engine runs fine.

Fix - there is an air leak in the fuel system somewhere. When the car is off overnight a bit of air gets in that is gradually bled out once you run the car for a while. My first disco (200tdi) had this and it turned out to be the metal joints into the fuel tank (under the floor in the rear) that had corroded badly - common problem apparently. Replace the joints and bleed the fuel supply as per manual. There could be other places in fuel supply where a leak is occurring - just check it all.

Hope this helps someone

Cheers

Andy

Andy

Cheers mate, one of the best Disco posts I've read.

I was wondering about the steering wander. My TD5 drives well except for a vagueness in the steering which is most apparent on twisty A roads with a poor surface. There seems to be vagueness around the straight ahead position, but it is hard to pin down as it doesn't feel great cornering. I have just passed the MOT so there is nothing drastically wrong I think, just some play somewhere. It also seems harder than you would expect to hold the straight ahead position on these roads. It needs more input than normal to keep her on line I think.

I dont think I have any play in the steering box as the wheels steer with the slightest input to the steering wheel.

I did your panhard test and can see a very slight movement of the wheel arch in the opposite direction to the tyre. Would this be enough to cause the vagueness?

Also I'm assuming this test would apply to the TD5 as well?

Thanks again for posting.

Andy

[Andy J]

Andy

Cheers mate, one of the best Disco posts I've read.

I was wondering about the steering wander. My TD5 drives well except for a vagueness in the steering which is most apparent on twisty A roads with a poor surface. There seems to be vagueness around the straight ahead position, but it is hard to pin down as it doesn't feel great cornering. I have just passed the MOT so there is nothing drastically wrong I think, just some play somewhere. It also seems harder than you would expect to hold the straight ahead position on these roads. It needs more input than normal to keep her on line I think.

I dont think I have any play in the steering box as the wheels steer with the slightest input to the steering wheel.

I did your panhard test and can see a very slight movement of the wheel arch in the opposite direction to the tyre. Would this be enough to cause the vagueness?

Also I'm assuming this test would apply to the TD5 as well?

Thanks again for posting.

Andy

Hi Andy

someone else who owns a Disco 2 can confirm that the Panhard rod arrangement is the same but i cant imagine it is any different. Its hard to describe the amount of sideways travel that indicates a problem with the panhard bushes/fixings but it doesnt have to be much. If you do suspect, the acid test is to get an assistant to rock the steering wheel whilst you kneel down and look under the front. Watch each end of the panhard rod - it will be really obvious if there is excessive play as the rod will move relative to what it is attached to. In my experience it is always the axle end (passenger side) and i suspect this is because the passenger side of the car takes all the brunt of pot holes and drains we find on our wonderful british roads. If you do find any play, get a socket and spanner (19mm) and just check both nuts and bolts are tight - if not, tighten up and all will be fine.

Replacing the bushes in the panhard has to be the simplest bush replacement task on a Disco. Dont even have to jack the car up - just unbolt, and knock it out with hammer if a bit stiff.

Hope you get it sorted

Cheers

Andy

[Roverdrive]

Welcome.

An excellent first post. (IMHO)

[africanpete]

Welcome from another newbie, good post!

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend? checking the bushes on my TD5!