reedx Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Guy's do yourself a big favour and fit a disco 1 solid drop arm I'm with jbs on this one. I converted my 1996 Defender to the Disco 1 straight type drop arm ( NTC9236 ) a couple of years ago and haven't looked back. To answer Anderzander's question I believe the disco drag link is slightly longer as the defender arm has the longer swan neck link (including bracket for steering damper) at the end instead of a regular track rod end. I'd need to go and measure it to confirm though. I went the QT Services route and used the following producst from them. Total cost of the QT bits was just over £80 including delivery and VAT. I also used new Lemforder tre's (one left and one right handed) to complete the job. Heavy duty drag link Heavy duty drag link for 300 Tdi Discovery Series I from chassis number JA018175 onwards. All bars come complete with locking nuts and are zinc plated. They offer greater durability over the original items and other slide over reinforcing bars due to their larger wall thickness around their ends minimising the posibility of failure. http://www.qtservices.co.uk/product.asp?id=2672 Range - Discovery Series I Code - B1042 Name - Heavy duty drag link Price (exc VAT) - £45.00 Weight - 4.5 Kg Steering Damper Bracket Defender steering damper bracket http://www.qtservices.co.uk/product.asp?id=2916 Range - Defender Code - B1047A Name - Steering Damper Bracket Defender Price (exc VAT) - £15.00 Weight - 1 Kg Just been out and took the attached picture of the setup. Colin www.REEDX.net/landrover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badger Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I have the above, it works great. You can just just a screw in ball joint, I decided to go with greasable ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 That's great info! Here's one for sale .... If you could compare the lengths for me it would be a huge help. As I already have the heavy duty Defender drag link I'm hoping I can use it without having to spend again..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 The defender HD drag link is shorter than the Disco / RR one as RR / Disco's don't have the swan neck fitting. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news I would get a Disco / RR drop arm from a breakers. I expect a new part would be expensive. I too run the QT setup - had it on the RR and now have it on the Defender Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads Toy Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Thanks Reedx the picture is brilliant and the part numbers help tremendously. The only point I'm a little confused on is the drag links. Does the Heavy duty Disco drag link need any adjustment or is it a straight swap (when you put TRE's and the Disco drop arm on)? From BishBosh, the Defender HD one won't work with the Disco drop arm as it's a different length. Have i got that right? Really beginning to like this mod as the ball joint set up is a pita. Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedx Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 If you could compare the lengths for me it would be a huge help. As I already have the heavy duty Defender drag link I'm hoping I can use it without having to spend again..... If I get time tonight I'll measure them for you. I'm pretty sure it will be longer though. The price for the Discovery flat type drop arm ( NTC9236 ) has gone up a bit. I also got mine from land-rover-parts-shop.com and it was £26.06 including the VAT in 2007 for the genuine Adwest part. Colin www.REEDX.net/landrover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedx Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Thanks Reedx the picture is brilliant and the part numbers help tremendously. The only point I'm a little confused on is the drag links. Does the Heavy duty Disco drag link need any adjustment or is it a straight swap (when you put TRE's and the Disco drop arm on)? From BishBosh, the Defender HD one won't work with the Disco drop arm as it's a different length. Have i got t Malcolm I have attached a picture of the standard Defender setup for comparison. The Defender drag link tube ( ANR2860 ) is shorter than the Discovery item as it has a swan neck link on the drop arm end instead of a regular track rod. The overall length between mounting points should work the same. From memory I adjusted the length of the new disco drag link assembly, by screwing the track rods in an equal amount on each end, to approximately the LR setting of 924mm between ball joint centres. The track rod behind the axle isn't touched so wheel alignment wont be affected. Colin www.REEDX.net/landrover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads Toy Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Colin, Brilliant - armed with your info and my ignorance/brute force I will definitely be doing this mod. It will certainly save me the hassle when the ball joint goes again, as I'm certain it will when the cover slips off unnoticed and gets full of "stuff" Thanks for your patience and explanation with parts and links. What a nice lot of clever people on here! Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads Toy Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 OK got all the bits and about to embark on changing drop arm/drag link/tre's. Just a silly question, which end does the link with the LH thread TRE go? Does it in fact matter as I presume it's so that when you turn the link then it adjusts both ends rather than having to adjust each end separately. Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 put the left hand thread link on the vehicles left, then you can use that as a reminder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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