oil change, cambelt change

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I certainly agree with the DIY on Service. They you know exactly what you are getting in your car and not what the garage has cheap and in stock - you also dont get your bolts overtightened or gnarled by apprentices using air tools! The only problem I've found is in disposing of the old oil, which of course has to be done in an environmentally friendly way and thats a 5 mile drive to the site for me. I also agree with servicing more often than recommended in the manuals. This was really brought home to me when changing the oil in the axles. The service recommendation for a Disco 2 is to change oil every 93k but by that time its a silvery sludge! I now change axle oil annually along with the oil in the transfer and gearbox's. The engine oil I change every 6 months - which about equates to 6k for me - though I aim for early Easter and late summer when the weather is more likely to be conducive to outdoor working!
 
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ok... so i'm definitely doing engine oil, oil fiter & fuel filter every 6,000 miles or so.

which other fluids should I check at the same time? and are there any that I should just change without checking (like I would the engine oil)?

I want to look after my car properly, but also don't want the "quick oil change" to turn into a 3 day service every 6 months, if you know what I mean. Obviously there's a ton of stuff I could do at the same time, but other than engine oil, oil filter & fuel filter, what else would you consider easily done and that should be done just as regularly?
 
fishsponge said:
ok... so i'm definitely doing engine oil, oil fiter & fuel filter every 6,000 miles or so.

which other fluids should I check at the same time? and are there any that I should just change without checking (like I would the engine oil)?

I want to look after my car properly, but also don't want the "quick oil change" to turn into a 3 day service every 6 months, if you know what I mean. Obviously there's a ton of stuff I could do at the same time, but other than engine oil, oil filter & fuel filter, what else would you consider easily done and that should be done just as regularly?
Click to expand...

Jase750's earlier post (#29) pretty much covers it all. I can't think of anything missing, on the list. Everything else you might replace is "on condition", ie if it wears out or breaks, you'd fix it at that point.

DIY servicing and maintenance of a Disco 1 is pretty easy, compared to most other cars, just get stuck in and do the stuff.
 
oh yeah... lol, haynes manual is the bible for servicing then!

One thing I noticed the other day though...

where my diff guards have been welded on (by the previous owner or his garage), one of them is fine, but on the other one, the hole in the diff guard that allows access to what is presumably the filling cap/drain plug in the top half of the differential is slightly out of alignment with the filling cap/drain plug itself.

Is this normal, or has he welded the wrong diff guard in place?

I'll try and photograph it when I'm able to see my vehicle in daylight again (i.e. at the weekend when i'm not stuck in the office all day!).
 
Welded diff guards, O dear... but if you can get your 1/2 square socket extension in and connected to the level and drain plugs you should be ok, it may be a bit fiddly when refitting the plugs, but then I don't know as I don't have guards. :)
 
is it abnormal to weld diff guards? are they normally bolted in place? mine don't look like they have any way of being bolted (unless those bits were cut off).
 
right... so the previous owner clearly had his clever hat on that day then.

so... when I need to replace a diff, i'll basically have to fit one with no diff guard!

Why would you weld them on though... he never went off road in it! Can you buy them without bolt holes? Could that have been why he ended up welding them on?

And interstingly, each diff guards does have a hole roughly where the filler cap goes... it's just that one of them is slightly misaligned. It's almost as if they are designed to be left in place even when the oil is being topped up.
 
It just makes filling the diff more difficult...mine bolt on and off, its a 5 min job. You need to take them off occasionally to clean them and the diff cos you get all ****e in there, including salt which can rust your diff.

So clean the diff and fill the oil at same time. Simples.
 
ok, i've been searching... here's a pair on eBay...

Land Rover Discovery Diff Guard x 2 on eBay (end time 23-Jan-11 17:59:13 GMT)

I hadn't noticed bolts at the top... i'll take a look when I'm next underneath it. I figured they'd bolt around the outside. Maybe they're not been welded on after all!

It was the lack of bolts at first glance that made me think they'd been welded, you see.

Out of interest though, once the bolts are done up, what stops the thing just falling off? surely not just the tension & grip created by doing the bolts up tight...
 
fishsponge said:
ok, i've been searching... here's a pair on eBay...

Land Rover Discovery Diff Guard x 2 on eBay (end time 23-Jan-11 17:59:13 GMT)

I hadn't noticed bolts at the top... i'll take a look when I'm next underneath it. I figured they'd bolt around the outside. Maybe they're not been welded on after all!

It was the lack of bolts at first glance that made me think they'd been welded, you see.

Out of interest though, once the bolts are done up, what stops the thing just falling off? surely not just the tension & grip created by doing the bolts up tight...
Click to expand...


It is indeed, the guard cups around the diff and the bolts on top, 2 on mine, grip it to the diff. Bolts are at the top so they dont hit a rock and break off :D
 
s'ok... take a look below... this is my actual diff guard...

045.JPG


I can see the bolt(s) at the top... but does that look like weld around the outside of it?

Hard to tell now it's all covered in Waxoyl... i'll try to find a pic pre-treatment!
 
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No, its not welded (famous last words)..the guard is flush against the diff..it doesn't have a lip..that weld is on your diff.

I see what you mean though, thats badly fitted...get the ones i have, if they fit a disco, loads of room for the filler.
 
storm99 said:
No, its not welded (famous last words)..the guard is flush against the diff..it doesn't have a lip..that weld is on your diff.

I see what you mean though, thats badly fitted...get the ones i have, if they fit a disco, loads of room for the filler.
Click to expand...

first of all, thanks for the link. i'll add them to my wish list (once i've checked they fit a Disco 1). I think the rock sliders are more important for me at the moment though, so I'll put these as a close second!

as for them not being welded, let's hope that's the case. To the previous owners credit, other than never connecting the snorkel and using too-thin wiring for the spotlights, everything else has been done to perfection :D

in hindsight, then, I should have removed them for the Waxoyling instead of spending ages cleaning out the gap! At least I bought some Waxoyl aerosol to redo stuff when needed, so when I take them off I can go around the diffs again.
 
Its a landy...quality control was never a strong point.

I'd be careful waxoyling the diff then putting a guard on..you may trap water in...the guards do have a drain hole on the bottom..i'd let the waxoyl dry well before putting a guard on.
 
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