alt.fan.landrover - The Newsgroup's Frequently Asked Questions
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Adjust the two rubber stops at either side of the bonnet. They are threaded into a rivnut in the bonnet frame and locked with a locknut. On later models the rubber stop has a thread moulded onto it and threads straight into the bonnet metalwork. The rubber does go hard after a while, but replacements are cheap to buy new.
Check the cruise control vacuum hoses, it is likely that one of them has split.
The batteries in the key fob are going flat.
TDI 28-32 mpg - 9 to 10l/100km V8 14-16 mpg - 18 to 20l/100km
It could be a number of things, but the most likely is either the diffs, the Universal Joints, or the gearbox. Chock the front tyres, jack the back up and spin the rear wheels by hand. If you look inside the gearbox inspection cover, you will be able to see what is going on. UJs and Diffs are fairly easy to troubleshoot visually. Remember, a worn UJ can cause a lot of damage if it fails. Early LT77 gearboxes had a known issue where a gear inside the transfer box blocked oil flow to the splined drive shaft inside the gearbox. This caused the splines to wear rapidly, leading to clunky / noisy gearchanges, particularly noticeable in low gears. You can replace the transfer box gear with a drilled equivalent, which will stop the problem getting any worse, or if the damage is already done, replace the entire gearbox, either DIY or through a specialist such as Ashcroft.
Check it fully by parking on a hill, with no traffic around you, and you may well find that the transmission lock on the handbrake actually works fine. The less-than-positive feel of the handbrake lever itself may just give the impression that it's not working very well. Remember that the transmission lock works mostly like a toggle - it's on or it's not.
In all models, the air intake is inside the nearside front wing, so if the ambient water level (as opposed to the bow wave) reaches the wing, you're in trouble. However, V8s may already be coughing by this time, so you stand a reasonable chance of conking out before too much damage is done. Diesels will go all the way until water flows in the intake, then the engine will "hydraulic", a very costly situation to be in. If your diesel starts gobbing black phlegmy soot out of the exhaust, you are very close to catastrophe. Fitting a snorkel, and extending the gearbox / axle breathers to the new air intake level, will help this, although remember your CD player will be next to go.
Yes, of course, but you will need to decide where to fit the tanks. Underslung tanks will seriously compromise your ground clearance, although they make an interesting alternative to hard sills. Boot-mounted tanks will lose your boot space. It's possible to use smaller underbody tanks but these will usually have lower capacity. Replacing the fuel tank, and relocating the old tank, is another option.
You have a number of choices, depending on whether you want to drill the bodywork, but remember the Disco roof is steel, so a magmount will work on the roof - the lower front part is less likely to lead to the magmount being knocked off. Mirror mounts can be used on the (steel) roofbars, but may be ripped off by trees. If drilling is your thing, put the aerial wherever is most convenient, bearing in mind you will not want a twanging aerial to hit the bodywork frequently. Remember you will need a springy aerial if you plan to use it off-road.
This is a common problem caused by a water-trap above the crossmembers. You have 3 choices:
- Cover it all with Waxoyl and forget about it
- Get it welded, although the floor pan is corrugated steel and will not be easy to plate over
- Buy a replacement floor pan and get it all replaced at once. If you go for this method, you can optionally drill out the spot welds and rivet the new floor pan in place using the drilled holes.
Yes, you can cannibalise them off a Maestro van.
A known issue. Land Rover were replacing these under warranty so you should contact them and persevere for a replacement.
- Discovery Owners' Club: http://www.discoverownersclub.com (UK)
- DiscoWeb: http://www.discoweb.org (US)
- Discovery Elec-tricks (Otto): http://www.sf.hiof.no/~frodehaa/disco.html (Norway)
- Discovery Spotters UK: http://www.discoveryspotters.co.uk (UK)
Land Rover currently recommend MTF94 for topping up and replacement.
- Gearbox is the Achilles heel: Manual boxes pre '97 ish will probably have the design fault on the gearbox mainshaft - i.e. they wear and the gearbox generally has to be replaced. Listen for a clunk in first / reverse - slight clunk is normal, a bang is bad news. About £1000 for a replacement box. Land Rover eventually got around to fixing the fault (about '97 onwards I think). If a gearbox hasn't got it, it will fail! Auto is definitely preferable, as the manual change isn't great anyway.
- They also tend to rip out clutch centres.
- Dashboards can peel - Land Rover replaced loads under warranty. Check that it has been done if necessary.
- Look for a rotten rear floor. Don't run away if it is rotten though - it isn't structural so not a test failure (in the UK anyway).
- Look in the rear doorways where the C pillar meets the sill. It may be rotten - steel meets aluminium and corrodes quite quickly.
- Look where the mudflaps are fitted - Land Rover fit steel bolts through aluminium, so again they rot the panels. Also look at the rear wheelarch liners, they can rot away.
- The alpine lights also rot under the seals and the same has been seen at the bottom of the rear light cluster.
- Under the bonnet check the inner wings - they rot under the battery box.
- Check the doors for rot at the bottoms. Also check that the rear door fits and isn't sagging - the hinges have to carry a lot of weight with that spare wheel on. While you're there, check under the wheel cover (if one's fitted) and look at the state of the spare.
- V8 engines last forever if looked after. Regular oil changes are a must and if the coolant is anything but a fresh green colour think very carefully. Oil leaks are normal and keep the front of the chassis rust free!
- On a TDi check that the cambelt modification has been done - otherwise the belts wear out, snap and things go bang. A yellow spot on the timing cover signifies that it has been done and the gasket should also have a green tab sticking out at the top.
- Look at the roof - At least one has been seen that had lost a fight with a multi-storey carpark! Looked fine from below.
- Catalytic converters are £1000. Do an MoT and check that the emissions are OK! LPG conversions are as cheap as fitting a cat and often mean you don't need a catalytic converter. You also get about 30% saving on running costs.
- Do most of your own servicing. The fluids are easy and as you build your toolbox and your confidence you spend less and less money with mechanics.
- Take your time and find a good one and you will not regret it. Let us know how you get on!