ACE gone

Dave Walton · Oct 5, 2015

Hi. ACE was leaking like hell, asked my Landy repair man for advice and was told to take a one time fix and remove it. Pipes are made of cheese and will leak, repair one bit and it will go somewhere else. Throwing good money after bad. So I have had the ACE removed and proper steel ARBs fitted. What a difference. Disco feels really good in corners now, nice and taught. Cant understand why ACE was fitted in the first place, other than to make life more expensive. So if anyone was in the same situation just do it. May cost a few quid but at least I wont be going back with another leak.

Discokids · Oct 5, 2015

But in a few more years discos with fully operational ACE may be worth a bit more? Just a thought.

sierrafery · Oct 5, 2015

... and next time when something fails on the engine remove it completely, cut the floor and drive it like the flintstones

... it's not the first time i'm saying that i'm just fed up with this D2 ''downgrade'' hysteria, the high spec D2 was conceived to be a well enhanced confortable vehicle and you can't compare the ride of a well maintained one with working ACE and SLS with a ''simple'' one on coils and conventionall anti-roll... shame on a mechanic who recommends a such good enhancement's removal for a leaking pipe, there are ways to fix the ACE these days no matter what problem it has with less than a conversion ... no offence, just a different oppinion.

Dave Walton · Oct 5, 2015

sierrafery said:
... and next time when something fails on the engine remove it completely, cut the floor and drive it like the flintstones ... it's not the first time i'm saying that i'm just fed up with this D2 ''downgrade'' hysteria, the high spec D2 was conceived to be a well enhanced confortable vehicle and you can't compare the ride of a well maintained one with working ACE and SLS with a ''simple'' one on coils and conventionall anti-roll... shame on a mechanic who recommends a such good enhancement's removal for a leaking pipe, there are ways to fix the ACE these days no matter what problem it has with less than a conversion ... no offence, just a different oppinion.

Ah, but to be honest the car drives better with the arbs than it did with the ACE. Cant see any point in spending up to two grand to repair the ACE if it is likely to fail again. Now dont get me wrong I enjoy driving my Disco, but I have to say that it has possibly the worst build quality and reliability of any car I have ever had in 46 years of driving (exept for a Fiat I had many years ago). The D2 has as you say a very high spec., but alas it isnt always as reliable at it could be and if it's going to cost more that the car is worth to keep the original spec.Its gonna get changed. Sadly the days of being able to fix a Land Rover with three spanners, a screwdriver and a bit of chewing gum have long gone. Newer models are becoming more and more complicated, without just cause and will price themselves out of the market before long as just too expensive to repair. Ive had this car for just over three years and so far I have had :- New steering box. New rear O/S air susp unit. 2 ride hight sensors. Airflow meter , Injection harness. Radiator. Track rods and drag link. new rear discs. 2 new hubs. Watts linkage bearings.Fuel pressure regulator. Battery. 7 tyres. and I'm sure more, but I try to blot it from my memory. Also have the the usual issues with leaking sunroofs and door seals, oh yeah and I need a new rear bumper ( having lost a fight with a ruddy gate post) and a ding in the rear N/S wing from the same gatepost. Now if ever my wife will allow I would love to fit some spotlights onto the roofrack I had made and a raised air intake, and I must get the chasis waxoiled before winter. Not to mention the O/S headlamp that has condensation on the lense and the keyfobs that are falling to pieces and the drivers seat heater that isnt working(and winter is coming on). Tell you what though, I'm glad I couldnt afford a Range Rover Sport. The nightmares Ive been told about them !!!

jamesmartin · Oct 5, 2015

Dave Walton said:
Ah, but to be honest the car drives better with the arbs than it did with the ACE. Cant see any point in spending up to two grand to repair the ACE if it is likely to fail again. Now dont get me wrong I enjoy driving my Disco, but I have to say that it has possibly the worst build quality and reliability of any car I have ever had in 46 years of driving (exept for a Fiat I had many years ago). The D2 has as you say a very high spec., but alas it isnt always as reliable at it could be and if it's going to cost more that the car is worth to keep the original spec.Its gonna get changed. Sadly the days of being able to fix a Land Rover with three spanners, a screwdriver and a bit of chewing gum have long gone. Newer models are becoming more and more complicated, without just cause and will price themselves out of the market before long as just too expensive to repair. Ive had this car for just over three years and so far I have had :- New steering box. New rear O/S air susp unit. 2 ride hight sensors. Airflow meter , Injection harness. Radiator. Track rods and drag link. new rear discs. 2 new hubs. Watts linkage bearings.Fuel pressure regulator. Battery. 7 tyres. and I'm sure more, but I try to blot it from my memory. Also have the the usual issues with leaking sunroofs and door seals, oh yeah and I need a new rear bumper ( having lost a fight with a ruddy gate post) and a ding in the rear N/S wing from the same gatepost. Now if ever my wife will allow I would love to fit some spotlights onto the roofrack I had made and a raised air intake, and I must get the chasis waxoiled before winter. Not to mention the O/S headlamp that has condensation on the lense and the keyfobs that are falling to pieces and the drivers seat heater that isnt working(and winter is coming on). Tell you what though, I'm glad I couldnt afford a Range Rover Sport. The nightmares Ive been told about them !!!

any 10 year old plus car is going to need replacement parts ,by then most moving parts have outlived expected lifespan ,bearing in mind most parts do last a lot longer, with ace you can expect to change the pipes once, and they arent cheap 6 -800 quid iirc

Dave Walton · Oct 5, 2015

Cost about that to have the ACE removed and ARBs fitted, but its now fixed. Dont have to wory about the pump going or any other bits that could wear out and it feels sooo much better to drive, very positive and sure footed in the corners. I used to have an old 1992 Toyota Hi Lux Surf and abused it over a number of years. It would go anywhere and only ever got stuck once, and that was on sheet ice. It was so reliable until the head went, but it would have cost more than it was worth to repair. Thats when I bought the Disco. Spent more on the Disco than I paid for the Surf now. But I still like the Disco, even if it is a Money Pit, Its always exiting.......wondering what will break next

shaun69 · Oct 5, 2015

Mate i think you are missing the point........Thats the fun of a LR it doesn't matter if its a S1 LR to a RR sport, Once bitten and all that....The a mount of probs i had with the P38 i could have just walked away, But thats the thing with LR you hate or love them and me for one i love them. I know I know after shelling out 2 or 3 grand for a 4x4 you want to just get in and drive.......Well with the age of LR 4x4 that I can afford we have to put up with these sorts of probs. But when its all going well its GREAT and dont they look better than that Jap crap (sorry)

Rant over, Soap box put away.......

sierrafery · Oct 5, 2015

Dave Walton said:
.....it feels sooo much better to drive, very positive and sure footed in the corners

maybe if your ACE was not working before that, with ACE was like in the video and now it's worst like the others to which it was compared cos it's taller

... if you'll put a roof rack on it too and load it then you'll feel the difference

i keep mine as close to it's new status as i can and i'm proud of it, when i'll feel i can't afford to fix it i'll sell it to somebody who can and loves it as it is and buy a D1... cos IMO without SLS and ACE the D2 is a kinda D1 with a nicer look, a more "squeamish" engine and complicated electronics.

shaun69 · Oct 5, 2015

Thats the point just there!!!!!! If yours was not working in the 1st place than yes putting all that nice new kit on would fell better. But with mine having the ACE working well......Well i would not go back to manual ARB.

discool · Oct 5, 2015

Maybe the vid above should have compared both the D1 with the D2, I drove both side-by-side when my disco was in for its service, then I had a D2 as loan car for the day that was every service for five years (1999-2003), the bottom line was that I found no difference in handling between the two unfortunately I always had a diesel and sometimes it was a manual, so

I know what any difference if any would fill like coming from a RRc with soft springs and without anti roll bars to the D1 with stiffer springs and bars.

MJI · Oct 5, 2015

When I first drove a D1 the roll really caught me out.

Like driving a blancmange, this is one reason I bought my D2

discool · Oct 6, 2015

I assume the D1 wasn't a dealers demonstrator then, if it was mine I would have taken it back and got my £32 grand back.

LR even gave me a free off road driving day at the Whitbread Hop Farm, even that plus them offering a good part x didn't persuade me to go over to a D2.

Down the line I'm glad l didn't own a D2 with the issues they are now having, although its only on forums that they have issues but I couldn't handle that

I'll be interested to to what happens to D2s when they are 18+ years old.

sierrafery · Oct 6, 2015

it happens to them what the owner will allow to happen, it's about TLC and preventative maintainance, i'm sure mine will last forever and i'll make a will to be buried in it

Dave Walton · Oct 6, 2015

Thats funny. My wife has promised to do just that if I spend anymore on it this year

As I said, dont get me wrong I really do like the Disco, if I didnt it would have gone the journey a while back. But as its my daily driver and I do about 20k a year, sorry if something has to be changed from original spec its got to happen if it keeps it on the road. I quite like the feel of my stone age ARBs and if the ACE wasnt working as it should before, which it may not have been given the way a lot of other things have failed on the car, well its a whole lot better now. Yes and I have a full roof rack which I will be loading up soon so I will be able to see how the ARBs cope with the extra weight in corners. As for body roll, I remember driving a Range Rover Clasic on a police driving course. Now that was scary in the bends !

ACE gone

Dave Walton

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