Discovery desires - rot replacement

[RichL]

Glad you made it back OK mate Lad at work has a 5 door 200 TDi, one life live it, rock sliders, painted matt black and all that. Boot floor was rotten when he got it but was easily sorted. Engine has only needed new belts and a lift pump. Those steel wheels are the one's to have apparently...

[dollywobbler]

Frustratingly, I can't do much with the Disco at the moment as I'm doing shuttle bus service for a local music festival (hippy chicks FTW!). However, my neighbour managed to find time to tell me it looked like Mark Bridger's car. Yeah, thanks for that!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I shouldn't laugh at that but I just did, (loudly). Awful. I reckon these are a good car for wrong 'uns though.

[nigel bickle]

Hah -you're right. But, dont worry -Mr Bridger doesnt need it anymore!

[barmatt]

My brother (barmatt) can usually be found on landyzone, I've used it occasionally and it doesn't seem too bad.

 

Cool. I'm signed up there from when I had the Rangie. Might be time to post again.

 

I really don't understand the One Live Life It, or why owning a Land Rover somehow proves that you're living life more than someone who doesn't. We all have different ways of enjoying our life! It might also explain why you don't get many Hindus driving Land Rovers...

 

Landyzone is the best forum for Landy based knowledge and there is always someone online that can help and many of us will go out of our way to help. Have a look at the Landyzone international rescue section. We have a map with over 250 people (and growing) around the country that are willing to help out other LZ members for gratis if they are stuck and we have performed many successful rescues so far.

 

Don't worry about the keyboard warriors, just give as good as you get and you'll fit right in.

 

If you go to your usercp at the top of the forum page, turn off the signatures coz they fill up the page with shite.

[Doctormop]

I shouldn't laugh at that but I just did, (loudly). Awful. I reckon these are a good car for wrong 'uns though.

 

Seem to recall Kenneth Noye thought his Discovery far superior to Bedford Racal vans in 9 out of 10 road rage related homicides

[dollywobbler]

Well, I've owned it for nearly a week and haven't murdered anyone yet. Not that I'd broadcast it on a forum if I had...

 

Gorgeous sunshine means I can finally have a proper mooch around my new motor. I decided to seek a second opinion on its condition from Henry.

 

Henry complained about the amount of hay I found in the back of it - previous owner was a horsey type for a while. So I pulled out the boot carpet, then the sodden undermat. That revealed this.

 

First though is 'ugh!' but it's all solid (well, almost all) incredibly. A fair few patches there, and sadly they seem to have just been welded over the rot - so it looks like Freddy Krueger's sandwiches underneath. A new boot floor will be required at some point, no doubt. For now, a coat of Rustoleum will do.

 

I still need to ditch the side steps I reckon, and once the boot floor is dry, I might see if I can access the other side of that dented panel - see if I can push it out at all.

 

I removed the spare wheel cover, and discovered the original finisher!

 

The tyre was a disappointment though, as it had a nail in it. I have a couple of correct tyres floating around from the Range Rover still. One of those will do as a spare.

 

Then I investigated the rear wiper. It was doing a pretty poor job of clearing the rear window on the way back from Kettering last week. This bent arm doesn't help - I did improve things slightly on the homeward trip but needed the wheel off for better access.

 

Not that it was the only problem...

 

Had a rummage in the garage but the only suitable blade was this one, which is too small. I think it's from the Maverick. It'll do for now.

 

I reckon I've done pretty well here - certainly better than I did with the Range Rover. Everything seems to work - including all heater speeds and the electric windows and mirrors. I love the colour, love the graphics, love the wheels (will get those cleaned up a bit at some point) and love the blue interior. It's frustrating as I really want to go for a drive, but with a timing belt that probably hasn't been replaced for over five years and gawd knows how many miles, it's really not a good idea.

[dollywobbler]

Turns out you can massively improve a car interior with nothing more than a bucket of soapy water!

[Rusty_Rocket]

Nice progress

The boot floor is quite acceptable for one of these, most have big holes by now. Replacement is very simple if it does come to it though; it's only spot-welded in place and available for under £100 new. As you know, the Range Rover's is screwed into place with self-tappers so that's what some Disco owners do.

I advise you to bin the heavy rubber backed foam and just put the carpet back in. It won't get any worse then and there's no noticeable increase in road noise. I'm sure you've realised by now that the foam + leaking alpine lights are what causes the boot floor to rot! I notice your lack of sunroofs- that is a big plus point.. less things to leak

The rear wiper is always bent there because people bash it when putting the spare wheel back on the rear door- can't blame them really as it's a heavy lump to lift that high.

What are the inner front wings like at the outermost edges?

Interior looks great- if you're into preservation etc look after it- sonar blue trim is hard to get in good nick nowadays

[dollywobbler]

The front inner wings have been welded pretty seriously. They're now very solid - I just need to make sure they stay that way.

 

The rear wiper looked way too bent to have just been bashed by the wheel (which is indeed b*stard heavy!). I reckon someone was a bit heavy handed when replacing the blade and just ended up bending the arm. It was a fun day of, ahem, discovery today though. Having bought the car sight unseen, then been put off giving it a proper check over when I got there due to the incessant rain, I'm just glad it's not a total mess! Very eager to get out on the lanes.

[Rusty_Rocket]

Sounds like a very fair one for the money

The tyres look pretty chunky, are they 235/70's? They seem to handle a lot better than the stock 205 80's. Mine has the 235's on the alloys and I'm busy collecting a decent set of 205's for the steel wheels too, I shall blast and paint the standard steelies before I fit them.

These tyres are £100 a corner nowadays!

[dollywobbler]

Yup. 235s. The pair I have were actually donated by my neighbour when I had the Rangie, but I never got around to fitting them. I'll stick with that size purely on cost grounds. Can't beat free! I've nowt against slimmer rubber - my 90 V8 retained its tiny wheels and tyres and it didn't seem to do it any harm. In fact, it was more nimble over rocky ground than the 'all the gear' brigade and their enormous mud tyres...

[dollywobbler]

The prettying continues.

 

From this...

 

To this.

 

A bit of black paint on the steel part of the bumper, and some fancy vinyl and plastic restorer on the plastic bits. It's worked a treat!

 

All timing belt parts have now arrived and it's booked in for Monday. Looking forward to being actually able to drive it!

[Skizzer]

Crikey Ian, you're in danger of ending up with a nice looking car there. 

[dollywobbler]

The Discovery is back from its timing belt change. That work included new water pump, thermostat (planned for) and radiator (not planned for) in the end. £150 labour, £200 in parts. The super-cheap is Disco is less super-cheap! Still not complaining mind. 

 

After waiting so long, it seemed only right to get straight out onto the lanes. It's been a while!

 

It is a lot more comfortable than the Maverick over this terrain, but not as soft as the Rangie.

 

The diff lock works, low ratio is all fine and the gearing is much lower, so you have much more control. 

 

I'm tempted to clean the wheels up next, but I was never meant to be smartening it up!

 

A full service is still on the cards. It seems very reluctant to pull beyond 3500rpm. Maximum power should be at 4250rpm. I suspect the fuel filter is a bit gummed up, especially if it was indeed run on veg. I have new filters and oil, so just need to feel less coldy so I can get on with it. 

 

I really do like it though. The extra headroom over a Range Rover makes a huge difference. In a Rangie, you always feel that you're sitting too high up. Sadly my cheapo 'universal' central locking unit for the rear door doesn't fit. I need to make up a suitable bar to make it work.

[Lacquer Peel]

Looks good, I wouldn't mind an un-rusty Discovery.

 

Not sure of the point in off roading just for the sake of it like.

[dollywobbler]

An un-rusty Disco is a bit of a holy grail I think. I'm pleased this one isn't more rotten than it is. Could be a lot worse!

 

I'm not sure of the point of owning a 4x4 if you're not going to off-road. I enjoy laning - it's just another driving challenge. I don't like smashing stuff up at Pay and Play sites though, in the same way that I don't like ragging my other cars silly. I'm tempted to explore the world of trials though - having a go in a bog-standard truck is definitely of interest. Sadly, around here, it's all super-modified things that are basically a V8 engine in a roll-cage with some wheels. Not my cup of tea.

[Lacquer Peel]

I'd like a 4x4, but mainly for work!

We don't really have any publicly accessible green lanes in Scotland, maybe that's why.

[dollywobbler]

We don't have that many lanes around here to be honest. One reason I'm looking to find other ways to enjoy the Disco's abilities. Strata Florida is a bit of a legend, but to be honest, once you've driven it a few times, it gets a bit boring. Still planning to do it next month!

[Rusty_Rocket]

Mine doesn't really see much mud/'laning'. It's main role is lugging big trailers up and down the country; you really need a heavy 4x4 when there is 3t+ on the back. It also transports all sorts of house renovation stuff about all the time and then takes us all on holiday to Devon! They were always designed to be multi-purpose and are still so useful.

Dw they do run a bit flat by 3k, but still keep pulling. I don't usually use revs though, just the torque

[dollywobbler]

Aye. There's a good ol' chunk of torque, and far less lag than the BX. I'm sure it'll benefit from a good service though. 

 

I will be lugging stuff about with a trailer, but it is primarily an off-road (or off tarmac at least) machine. Always handy to have something capable of towing a car trailer though. The BX can tow 1100kgs, but as they seem to book you on maximum possible mass these days, the 3500kg limit of the Disco clearly wins.

[Brent_Crude]

Great thread, DW and I am really glad your punt seems to be paying off. I drove a fair few of these in the 90's and always enjoyed them, even more so than the P38s at the time. They were a game changer for Land Rover. Not sure what else would give you as much bang for your buck as the deal you did there. Well done, Sir

[dollywobbler]

This one needs a bit of fettling to sort it out. I'm hoping fresh, fancy synthetic gearbox oil might make 2nd gear synchromesh work again, and I think one of the swivels has a bit of play in it. Also noticed today that all five tyres are different makes!

 

I love how low tech it is. The throttle is actually cable operated - none of this fly-by-wire nonsense. I much prefer driving it on and off road compared to the Maverick. Far less bouncy. Ridiculous really that the underpinnings were already 23 years old when this Disco was brand new.

[brickwall]

SWB Range-Rover  more or less

[dollywobbler]

Same wheelbase, same chassis pretty much (slightly less overhang, better for off-road), same basic body structure. There was not very much new about it really!

[Lacquer Peel]

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1994-LAND-ROVER-DISCOVERY-MPI-2L-PETROL-LWB-4X4-7-SEATER-/290929563459

 

Lovely! It's begging for a turbo T-series.

[dollywobbler]

Bloomin' rare to see one that tidy. Was £1500 not long ago, which I thought ambitious. Has to be worth a punt at a grand though. Problem is, it's almost a collector's car - but I can't see many collectors wanting one.

[dollywobbler]

It's my wife's birthday today, so naturally it was a good time to give the Disco a service. I thought I'd start with the gearbox oil, but ran into many problems. I don't have a 32mm socket for the drain plug (32mm ffs!) for a start, but I did at least discover that the filler is easy enough to undo (a mere 13mm square). Swearing didn't seem to make any of my sockets grow or shrink, but while finding out what size it was, I did discover than the capacity is 2.7 litres. Bugger. I seem to have bought two litres. Why did I think it was 1.8 litres? Better to find out now I s'pose!

 

So, abandoned that and settled for pumping the propshaft UJs and sliding joints full of grease. First time they've had any for a while I suspect. Then it was engine oil time. The bitter voice of experience told me to check the capacity first. Yup, a mighty 6.9 litres, so my 5 litre catch can would have been a spectacular disaster. Handily, my wife has a huge stash of 10 litre buckets that came from Rachel's yoghurt company. Even more handily, a Discovery is high enough off the ground for a 10 litre bucket to fit underneath no problem.

 

Scarily, the filler was finger tight. These things drain quickly, which is good because I found myself stuck beneath the front axle holding a bucket. I didn't seem to have enough space to put the bucket down and get myself out, so had to hold the bucket while it drained! Better planning needed next time.

 

Dug out my brand new oil filter tool only to discover that the oil filter was also quite loose. FFS. Whoever did the last service was clearly not the same animal that wazzed up the wheelnuts to ridiculous torque + eleventy. Couldn't really find a way to get the filter off without oil going everywhere, but strategically placed cardboard avoided driveway chaos. At this point, the heavens opened. New filter quickly fitted, fresh oil chucked in and the rest of the service will have to wait.

 

Took it for a test drive. Seems happier, though I'm sure that's placebo. I really do like it. 

[John F]

...wazzed up the wheelnuts to ridiculous torque + eleventy.

 

A 27mm socket on a mahoosive breaker bar are part of the in-car tool kit in my Disco

[brickwall]

It's my wife's birthday today, so naturally it was a good time to give the Disco a service.

 

Took it for a test drive. Seems happier, though I'm sure that's placebo. I really do like it. 

 

 

I like how you think. I'll prolly downsize to a Disco in the next 12 months or so.  I really do like a nice one.