Land Rover Discovery 1

[The Don]

Hello All,

So I came across a rust issue with the Disco sometime back, this is at the front floorboard, both passenger and driver’s sides. Just unfortunate really, the A/C draining pipe has got blocked from underneath the car (with a decade worth of mud and sand I guess) and it’s been leaking in to the foot well. The factory noise insulator mat is made out of some spongy material about ½ inch think, so it has helped to retain the moisture in.

I pulled out all the trim and cut away the crap carpet underlay a couple of months ago, finally got some time to clean up the mess last Sunday.

Here`s the damage which became evident after some cleaning. This is on the passenger side though, the driver’s side isn’t that bad:

[img=http://imageshack.us/a/img545/9660/dscf2664f.jpg]

I scraped all the rust and removed most of the rotten metal from the floor board. Treated with some rust converter as well:

<a href="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/844/dscf2665m.jpg/" target="_blank"><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img844/2097/dscf2665m.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" border="0"/></a>

So im thinking of fixing this up temporary, should be good enough if I’m able to get a couple of years out of the fix. Welding is not a possibility since I don’t know how to, and I don’t think it’s worth all the hassle for a temporary fix either. Got a few options in mind:

• Use a fibre kit and some stainless steel mesh to cover up the holes – not sure whether moisture would creep inside the fibreglass layer and case the rest of the metal to rust away soon though
• Pop revert some metal plates in to place
• Use a metal epoxy like ‘JB Weld’ to glue some metal sheets

Any thoughts on a better solution guys? Anybody who has attempted a repair like this without getting welding involved?

The problem I see Mr Cat is if these areas need to bear weight. In that case a fibre repair wouldn't probably work.

Also if you are using pop rivets you will also have to juse JB Weld to make the plates water tight. Either way my reccommendation is to get the two floor boards and replace. I can't see any of the pics though so I'm assuming the worst here.

[MrCat]

Don, it appears that the floor board is still quite strong because most of the damage is at the top left hand corner (I had to cut away about 6 inch X 4 inch). The area where one would step on is still intact and not in a state that it would crumble down (sure don't want to risk the wife going missing all of a sudden while humming along in a highway ). That` why i thought of attempting a temporary repair

Other thing is, these are not available pre-fab over here, so have to get a couple of floor boards custom made and then welded in. All up about a 1000 dollar job which i would have spend on a nice set of Blisteins`s for the suspension revamp. hmm.. priorities.. priorities..

[The Don]

Don, it appears that the floor board is still quite strong because most of the damage is at the top left hand corner (I had to cut away about 6 inch X 4 inch). The area where one would step on is still intact and not in a state that it would crumble down (sure don't want to risk the wife going missing all of a sudden while humming along in a highway ). That` why i thought of attempting a temporary repair

Other thing is, these are not available pre-fab over here, so have to get a couple of floor boards custom made and then welded in. All up about a 1000 dollar job which i would have spend on a nice set of Blisteins`s for the suspension revamp. hmm.. priorities.. priorities..

MrCat, If that is the case I think a metal piece of the correct gauge cut to shape and welded would do the trick permanently. I know you said you don't know how to weld but if you prepare the area and take it to a pro, it shouldn't cost much.

By attempting the temporary repair, you could make matters worse, particularly if there is water seeping in causing more rust and drilling holes around would require them to be patched up as well when somebody gets down to properly fixing it.

[MrCat]

Hello All,

It`s been a while, thought I’ll start updating this thread again before I lose track of what went in to the Disco.

A recent addition was a pair of LED driving lights. These are 18W each (6x3) in flood beam pattern. I had trouble seeing the two edges below headlights when 4WD`ving at night. So this is a good solution. Found a couple of extra connections off the parking circuit already wired up to both headlights, so wiring it up was easy.

Puts out a decent amount of light output for a little slim package:

Edited July 30, 2013 by MrCat

[MrCat]

Hello All,

Just wanted to write up on what I’ve replaced/fixed or improved on the Landy over the last few months, in my quest to achieve a Land Rover which is bone dry underneath. Come to think of it, I doubt whether that’s achievable, even if I send it back to the Solihull factory which gave birth to it . But anyway, I know that I`m not getting stranded in this Landy.

Bit of a list of what got done and when:

• Around 310,000 km – Replaced two air conditioner thermo fans and relay. The whole lot was bust, only realized that the fans were not working in summer.
• At 314,722km – Replaced brake vacuum pump. I`ve got the old pump as a spare now I think it was the gasket that was bust
• At 317,651km – The power steering box was weeping a bit ever since I got the car, so a brand new unit went in, together with all the high and low pressure hoses. I replaced the engine oil cooler hoses at the same time as well (they`ve got a metal pipe to rubber hose join, which by design, leaks when old).

Look, steering box no leak anymore :

And here`s the old leaky bugger. This is the original unit, so should be as good as new if fixed with a repair kit. Will give it a go later on:

Edited August 2, 2013 by MrCat

[Jaliya48]

Looks good, Mr Cat!

[MrCat]

Looks good, Mr Cat!

Thanks machan..!

[MrCat]

…..Finally got around to sort out suspension stuff as well (at 320,413km`s on the clock). Wanted to get rid of all the old rubber bushes underneath and replace with Polyurethane stuff. Got down U.K made ‘Polybush’ brand, in the ‘comfort’ grade. Apparently the ‘comfort’ range is a softer set-up allowing for a softer ride and better articulation. They`ve also got a stiffer ‘performance’ range for road/highway applications and mid level ‘dynamic’ range as well. I opted for the softer bushes to preserve ride quality and also to reduce the risk of stressing other suspension components with hard bushes.

Here`s the list that went in. What`s left to do are the Panhard rod bushes and shock-absorber bushes. I`ve got them in stock, but didn't put them in since I am waiting to put in an adjustable panhard rod and replace all four shock-absorbers anyway.

• Front radius arm bushes (chassis mounting + diff mounting) – 6 in total
• Front anti roll bar (sway bar) bushes (chassis + links) - 6 in total
• Rear anti roll bar (sway bar) bushes (chassis + links) – 6 in total
• Rear trailing arm bushes (chassis mounting + diff mounting) – 4 in total
• Rear Suspension A Frame bushes – 2 in total

The following components also went in:

• Complete suspension bolt kit
• Rear Suspension A Frame Ball Joint

After 15 years of abuse the springs where shagged at all four corners of the car, especially the front pair. Opted to replace with “King” springs, an Aussy made brand. These are supposed to give an approximate 2 inch lift from standard ride height.

Here are the part numbers: Front: KRFR-01, Rear: KRRR-04

Took ride height measurements as well, from ground to wheel arch of fender:

• Before: Front left : 30.8, Front right: 30.5, Rear Left: 31.75, Rear right: 31.6
• After: Front left : 32.5, Front right: 32.4, Rear Left: 33.75, Rear right: 33.75

So the rear is level, spot on. Front leaning a bit to the right, probably because of all the steering components lying on that side (but was it 0.1 inches off when it was new? I am not sure).

Before and after height pics (up to fender), front left hand side:

Before and after height pics (up to fender), rear left hand side:

Here`s one of the new springs and sway bar bushes in place at the rear:

A "Tough Dog" unit replaced the original steering dampener too. The bigger bore size of the heavy duty unit is visible here:

Edited August 2, 2013 by MrCat

[MrCat]

Changed the fuel filter today (I know.. I know.. no big deal worth mentioning.. )

But just wanted to note down for anyone who would want to run a Diesel Purge cleaner though the fuel system. I use “Liqui Moly” products and am quite satisfied with their range. With this particular product, “Diesel Purge Plus”, the manufacturer recommends removing the fuel inlet line (+ return line) and running the engine with the cleaner itself (by inserting the fuel lines in to the bottle). However, if the diesel injector pump is not tolerant to any air on the fuel line, I don’t know whether it`ll cause any issues. The Bosch pump on the Land Rover 300tdi motor has got a self-purge function and air on the fuel line should not cause any problems with it.

Anyway, I didn’t bother removing fuel lines, took the old fuel filter off, fill the new one in with the fuel system cleaner and just fixed it in. The 500ml can is exactly the volume that’s required to fill the fuel filter.

Don’t know whether the cleaner has worked brilliantly or whether the old filter was clogged badly (which shouldn't have, it was last replaced less than 12k ago and I can’t remember pumping diesel out of any dodgy station further away from the city), but there`s a noticeable difference in pulling power and engine vibration now.

It`s quite wonderful how old engines respond to any sort of love and affection, especially the 300tdi`s

New filter in:

Liqui Moly “Diesel Purge Plus”:

Edited September 25, 2013 by MrCat

[MrCat]

Summer is just around the corner, so decided to renew the cooling system today.

327,352 km on the ODO, flushed the radiator and replaced the following:

• Radiator top hose and bottom hose
• Radiator bypass hose
• Expansion tank bleed hose
• Expansion tank

Here`s the new expansion tank installed:

Land Rover recommends using 50% coolant concentrate on the 300Tdi, But I decided to try 30% pre-mix coolant and then flush more often. It looks like higher water percentage dissipates heat better. Previously, engine block temperature would go up to 80+ degrees under normal running conditions. But did a test run and noticed that it would remain at 76 degrees after coolant change.

Edited December 1, 2013 by MrCat

[MadMMX]

Are you still using the heater or have you bypassed it ?

Cheers,

[MrCat]

Are you still using the heater or have you bypassed it ?

Cheers,

No, the heater is working fine so didn't bypass it.

The radiator bypass hose connects thermostat housing to engine block so that the radiator is by-passed when thermostat hasn't reached operating temperature.

[MrCat]

Disco got new shoes yesterday…!

Got a set of Kelly Safari TSR (All Terrain) tires at 327,688 km`s on the clock. Land Rover put 235/70 R16`s on the car, but got the tires in 245/75 R16 so that I’ll get about 1.7 inch increase in rolling diameter. These are made in U.S.A and apparently one of the oldest tire companies in America, supposedly a subsidiary of Goodyear.

These are more of an aggressive All Terrain thread pattern, something in the middle of A/T`s and Mud Terrains. Tire noise is audible at speed, but surprisingly (for this particular thread pattern) not too bad at all. Cornering at speed has suffered, I can almost feel the big chunks of rubber flexing underneath. Then again, this ain`t no sports car so that`s no big deal. The tires grip very well (much better than them crappy Chinese road tires I had before), any they were just fantastic when I drove on a wet sandy track to test..!

Getting some flex both front and rear. I couldn’t get enough articulation here, so am yet to find out whether it`ll rub the fenders under full suspension travel. If it does, it`ll most probably be at the rear, where I’ll need to do a small cut at the rear wing (a.k.a Camel Cut).

Side Profile:

Edited December 7, 2013 by MrCat