New (to me) 1996 Discovery v8 - Advice on upgrades/modifications

Hi All,

So I have just jumped into my second experience of Land Rover ownership! I used to have an early 110 in the UK, and now I live in New Zealand I have just bought myself a Disco of the v8 variety for the grand sum of $2000!

It is in pretty good condition (and completely stock) as things just don't rust the same as they do in the UK, and I have bought it as I run a tree business here so needed something good for towing.

I would like some advice for general maintenance and modifications for my use. Firstly the handling seems pretty sloppy and the shock absorbers don't seem to be doing much so I was thinking about doing a complete change of all the bushes (I am pretty confused about poly bushes vs OEM as there seems like no consensus) and some new shock absorbers. I was thinking of going the gas route as the springs seem quite soft. The other thing i was planning on doing was fitting an air helper kit on the rear so I when I am towing heavy weights I can increase the spring rates. I'm not overly keen on just going for heavy duty springs as I do about a 50/50 split of heavy towing and unladen journeys.

With the v8, it seems to run well, not smoky at all and no worrying noises. The oil looks like it needs a change but other than that is there anything else I should do?
Parts here are expensive and it seems to make sense to get stuff shipped here from England, so I need to pre-empt anything thats going to go wrong otherwise I will need to pay 5x the price!

A set of medium rate old man emu springs and shocks from Australia will transform the handling (and hopefully cost less than they do here) and save a lot of time compared to bush renewal. Perfect for 50/50 towing. Even if you did all of the bushes, you'd arrive at the conclusion that you have a set of worn out overly soft springs.
Don't get me wrong, if you have knackered bushes, they need changing. Swivel hub preload may need checking if you feel slop / wobble through the steering

Full service, all oils, including gear and transfer boxes and diffs as a minimum I'd say. Then as @cooltide says, decent springs and shocks. I won't comment on air helpers, I never used them but didn't have any problems. Then bushes. Polybushes are good but you might be changing them within a couple of years, sooner if you off-road at all. Stock bushes, though harder to fit as they often need a press, last way longer and to my mind work best.

Keep a good eye on the wheel bearings, towing seems to knocks them out, well it did on mine, so keep 'em greased and tight!

Similarly on the UJ's and diff output bearings, keep 'em greased and tight.

Sloppy handling might also be the front swivel bearings or the actual swivel balls, it's well worth checking them and again, keeping them greased and tight!

Have fun ..

All of the above^^^^^^^^^^. And change the brake fluid, often like tar on a 20 year old landy.

Polybushes are fine if fitted properly, done many thousand miles on them, on and off tarmac, and towing.

As Paul says, swivel pins/balls and steering linkage are often cause of poor handling.

I think you will be pleased with that for your work. My D2 V8 Auto is the best tow vehicle I have had.

Cool thanks for the advice. If I get new springs as well as shocks then I will hold off on an air helper kit and see how it tows with that setup. My brakes don't seem that good, I did my first decent trip today whilst towing and it doesn't like slowing down. I will check the pads, there was no judder or anything just a lack of power.
From the looks of it Old Man Emu is no cheaper here than in the UK. The terrafirma stuff seems dirt cheap compared to any other shock absorbers I have seen here.
Would it be sensible to keep it at standard height given that it primarily is used for towing? My offroading for work is going accross paddocks so nothing too challenging.

Treefingers said:

Cool thanks for the advice. If I get new springs as well as shocks then I will hold off on an air helper kit and see how it tows with that setup. My brakes don't seem that good, I did my first decent trip today whilst towing and it doesn't like slowing down. I will check the pads, there was no judder or anything just a lack of power.
From the looks of it Old Man Emu is no cheaper here than in the UK. The terrafirma stuff seems dirt cheap compared to any other shock absorbers I have seen here.
Would it be sensible to keep it at standard height given that it primarily is used for towing? My offroading for work is going accross paddocks so nothing too challenging.

Click to expand...

I would always stay standard height, towing or otherwise. Greasy paddocks an ARB locker in the rear or similar will help you more than anything else.

Stock it should handle fine. Anyone who says slapping aftermarket shocks/springs on made it handle better, is probably comparing a knackered setup to a new one. Not really a very good comparison.

Depending on what you want from the vehicle, stock suspension offers a good compromise in terms of breadth of ability and durability. If you want more fast road handling, HD towing or off roading setups, then you'll need to bias the setup towards that use, but will normally come at a compromise of other areas. e.g. fast roading handling WILL affect off road performance. But that's just physics.....


If it leans a lot, does it have anti-roll bars fitted? Not sure what you got in that part of the world. They aren't needed, but will make it lean less with them.

If the suspension is tired, then a full refresh of all the major bushes, shocks and springs is a sensible idea. The air spring assisters are probably a good idea if you tow heavy loads fairly often, as it will mean you can keep a sensible setup for when you aren't towing.


As for poly bushes, there is no single answer. This is because almost everyone who has an opinion on them, is not in a position to actually have an objective view on them. Nor able to actually offer any form of actual factual evidence.

The other part of this is quite simple. There is no such thing as a singular 'poly bush'. There are many different grades and types. And quality differs massively from maker to maker.

But even a single maker may offer the same bush in 2 or 3 different poly bush grades. Depending on what you are wanting it to do.