Spots Disco 2 ES Premium project.

Spot1 · Sep 29, 2018

I’m planning a little trickery with the wiring.

Obviously to be legal the (what will be 6) LED’s on the front bar need to be through a relay to only switch on with the main beam.

I want the side and rear LED’s on a hand break cut out relay so that they will only work when the hand break is on (therefore unable to be on whilst driving on the road).

HOWEVER I am also planning to have an override switch for the above for when I’m off road. This will most likely be a key switch so that it can’t be accidentally turned on whilst on road (and by a difficult MOT tester and argue that it is not road legal....

This is my plan for the front bar relays;

All the switching will be done on the common -ve so I maintain independent switching on the 3 pairs of LED’s on the bar. This will basically disconnect the -ve unless the main beam is on. The override relay will switch the trigger from the main beam to a permanent +ve therefore being able to have them on regardless of the main beam state.

The problem I have is working out the hand break cut off. Again, switching will be done on the -ve side to retain independent control of left/rear/right pairs.

The problem I have with this part is that the head light trigger is 0v until the main beam is on when it goes 12v. That is easy to trigger a relay. However the hand break is effectively 12v when the hand break is OFF and 0v when ON. This is basically backwards to what I need to trigger a relay.... I’ve considdered a normally closed relay but as I don’t routinely use the handbreak (it’s an auto so I just leave it in park, the American way) then that would mean that the relay is is energised most of the time which I don’t want.....

Is there a somewhere I could pick up a simple 12v when the ‘box is in Park?

Spot1 · Nov 3, 2018

The front LED relays are now wired and working well. I still have to do the same for the side/rear LED’s but that’s only half an hour when I get around to it....

I’ve been busy elsewhere replacing the knackered front fog lights;

They’re Chinese knock-offs but at £35 for the pair inc P&P I’m hoping they’ll do the job and probably last longer than the crapalloy originals (14 years!)....

I’ve added some amber strobes to the underside of the front of the roof rack to replace the ugly amber tit I had before;

I made the brackets myself, starting off with a bit of CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) work;

Which I then transferred to 0.5mm steel plate, bent and sprayed.

I’ve also added a simple but significant modification for this month;

I’ve also added one on the back window too...

At the the going down of the sun,
And in the morning,
We will remember them.

Spot1 · Nov 18, 2018

Spent an hour or so changing over to ‘winter’ BFG A/T tyres today and noticed something that may be a slight issue in the MOT a week tomorrow.... the N/S/R damper hanger has parted company with the chassis..... Oh B*LL*C*S!!!! Let’s hope I can find a friend with a welder and some spare time before then!!

Henry_b · Dec 31, 2019

Great thread this!

Spot1 · Dec 31, 2019

Henry_b said:
Great thread this!

Thanks Henry!

Also thanks for the prod that I haven't actually added to it in some time...
Basically, not long after my last post here my abusive wife was removed from my house by the police and I've spent much of the last year trying to sort myself out and get divorced from her... It's been a tough year but it's all but over now so onwards and upwards!

So, seems like a bit of an update is required.

Somewhat bizarrely, a week before this years MOT the R/O/S damper hanger parted company with the chassis... Also failed on the F/N/S wheel bearing and a couple of other bits! £750 later and a fresh MOT was issued! Ouch!

The cheap LED's that I had on the front roof bar turned out to be exactly that, cheap crap... I've now replaced them all with Raptor 4x4 "side shooter" LED's which are much brighter. I also had to re-jig my wiring as when it rained the bar got an earth from somewhere and would 'glow' despite not having the headlights on. They are now live switched so that problem is sorted.

Today, well over a year after doing the "double din mod" to the dash and loosing the cup holders, I have finally got around to fitting the American spec cup holders!

I've also upgraded my £20 El Cheapo petrol station dash cam to a decent NextBase 322GW to which I plan on adding a rear camera in the new year.

I also spent ages taking a "brass rubbing" of the indented 'Land Rover' in my rear bumper and using that to cut inserts out of red reflective tape to help the rear stand out on the road a bit more. The following day I came across www.StickyBitz2Go.co.uk that do this ready made... Typical! I'm planning on getting their rear side window "Discovery 2" Union Jack transfers when they reopen in the new year.

Another item I've added is a hidden GPS/GSM tracker. It was only £20 on eBay and easy to install/setup. Obviously I'm not going to say where it is in my truck but it looks just like a normal relay so is easy to hide and also gives the option to cut off a circuit remotely either as a preventative option or to immobilise the vehicle should the worst happen and it gets stolen. Hopefully it won't ever be needed but it's there should it be.

I think that's enough for now but I'll be back soon!

Henry_b · Dec 31, 2019

Spot1 said:
Thanks Henry!

Also thanks for the prod that I haven't actually added to it in some time...
Basically, not long after my last post here my abusive wife was removed from my house by the police and I've spent much of the last year trying to sort myself out and get divorced from her... It's been a tough year but it's all but over now so onwards and upwards!

So, seems like a bit of an update is required.

Somewhat bizarrely, a week before this years MOT the R/O/S damper hanger parted company with the chassis... Also failed on the F/N/S wheel bearing and a couple of other bits! £750 later and a fresh MOT was issued! Ouch!

The cheap LED's that I had on the front roof bar turned out to be exactly that, cheap crap... I've now replaced them all with Raptor 4x4 "side shooter" LED's which are much brighter. I also had to re-jig my wiring as when it rained the bar got an earth from somewhere and would 'glow' despite not having the headlights on. They are now live switched so that problem is sorted.

Today, well over a year after doing the "double din mod" to the dash and loosing the cup holders, I have finally got around to fitting the American spec cup holders!

I've also upgraded my £20 El Cheapo petrol station dash cam to a decent NextBase 322GW to which I plan on adding a rear camera in the new year.

I also spent ages taking a "brass rubbing" of the indented 'Land Rover' in my rear bumper and using that to cut inserts out of red reflective tape to help the rear stand out on the road a bit more. The following day I came across www.StickyBitz2Go.co.uk that do this ready made... Typical! I'm planning on getting their rear side window "Discovery 2" Union Jack transfers when they reopen in the new year.

Another item I've added is a hidden GPS/GSM tracker. It was only £20 on eBay and easy to install/setup. Obviously I'm not going to say where it is in my truck but it looks just like a normal relay so is easy to hide and also gives the option to cut off a circuit remotely either as a preventative option or to immobilise the vehicle should the worst happen and it gets stolen. Hopefully it won't ever be needed but it's there should it be.

I think that's enough for now but I'll be back soon!

Sounds like you've had your hands full.

Nice to hear you still have the D2, can't wait for more updates and of course more pics

All the best for the new year

H

Spot1 · Feb 4, 2020

What a w****r that was!

Over the last 6 months or so I’ve had three out of four wheel bearings/hubs replaced after a succession of failures. Only the O/S/R left to go now...

A month ago I had a power steering hose wear through so abandoned it at the garage for them to sort it out for me as I had to be in work the next day... the day after this repair I had an appearance of the three amigos!! I plugged in my nanocom and it revealed that it was the shuttle valve. As it was only intermittent I decided to leave it until I got home from 3 weeks away, which ended on Sunday, two days ago. Yesterday about noon, I decided to tackle this thinking it would only take me an hour or so and therefore I’d have it done before the wether came in (I don’t have a garage, only a drive). All was going well, all three ABS pump nuts released two of the hex bolts came out fine, the third one however rounded out! Cue total removal of the ASB pump! In the process of removing the bolt I end up knackering the shuttle valve! Bad to worse! Once the pump was out and the shuttle “removed” (read in multiple pieces) I was able remove the hex bolt with mole grips and surprisingly no damage to the ABS unit... A quick phone call to my local indi garage and they have a replacement shuttle valve on the shelf! Excellent only a mile and a half walk each way... in the pouring rain... at which point I discovered my waterproof coat is no longer waterproof!! Bugger!!

back home and ten minutes later the new shuttle valve has two wires soldered in place, bolted back to the ABS unit. Half an hour later and it’s back in the truck... it’s no 8pm and I have no breaks due to the air in the system! Great!!!

So, today I CAREFULLY drive the couple of miles to the car parts place to get a gallon of dot 4, well 5 litres anyway, and spent the best part of 3 hours bleeding the system and replacing the fluid at the same time, I’ve pumped about a litre out of each bleed nipple so hopefully I won’t need to do that again until it gets it’s galvanised chassis rebuild!

Next on the list is the power steering pump that has a slow leak... what could possibly go wrong!!!

Spot1 · Feb 7, 2020

That makes a nice change, something went well!

Attacked the EGR today.
Due to concerns with the British MOT rules, I’m not keen on fitting an after market EGR bypass/replacement so I thought I’d take it off and see what I could come up with.

Did you know that the exhaust inlet on the EGR is the perfect size for an interference fit of a 2 pence piece?

So that’s the inlet blocked off!

I’ve also removed the butterfly from the bore;

So no matter what it tries to do, it will think it is doing it but it won’t let any crap into the intake any more or restrict the flow...

Spot1 · Feb 8, 2020

Well, things are happening at a pace lately!

Today was the turn of the auto ‘box oil.
I have no idea when this was last changed but judging by the colour of it, a horrible brown-black, it’s not been done for a long time! I’ve simply drained and refilled for now. I’ll do this again in a couple of hundred miles and possibly even again until I get nice clean, red ATF come out at which point I’ll drop the sump pan and replace the filter and consider it job done.

On the subject of refilling the auto ‘box, it’s a bit of a b*****d to get to the fill hole... I brought one of these thinking it would be perfect...

500ml per stroke, ideal! Was it b*****ks! It’s now in my wheely bin!!! It may be ok if you’re stood in the open and can keep it upright but laying on your back under a disco... no! It was less than easy to pump and when filling, it had a tendency to come out the wrong end if not kept upright... do t waste your money!

I ended up using my old garden sprayer. Something like this;

After cutting the ‘Lance’ down to a couple of inches. Pour the whole gallon of ATF in, pump up the pressure and fill away to your heart’s content! I think that cost me about a tenner too which was easily worth its money!!

I also replaced the air filter too whilst I was at it;

I’m waiting for the oil filter spanner’s to arrive then it’s on to the engine oil and filters. I’m also waiting for my local Euro Car Parts to get the right diff oil in to do those too.

Need to keep the pace up whilst I’m in the mood for it!

Henry_b · Feb 11, 2020

Spot1 said:
Well, things are happening at a pace lately!

Today was the turn of the auto ‘box oil.
I have no idea when this was last changed but judging by the colour of it, a horrible brown-black, it’s not been done for a long time! I’ve simply drained and refilled for now. I’ll do this again in a couple of hundred miles and possibly even again until I get nice clean, red ATF come out at which point I’ll drop the sump pan and replace the filter and consider it job done.

On the subject of refilling the auto ‘box, it’s a bit of a b*****d to get to the fill hole... I brought one of these thinking it would be perfect...

View attachment 200100

500ml per stroke, ideal! Was it b*****ks! It’s now in my wheely bin!!! It may be ok if you’re stood in the open and can keep it upright but laying on your back under a disco... no! It was less than easy to pump and when filling, it had a tendency to come out the wrong end if not kept upright... do t waste your money!

I ended up using my old garden sprayer. Something like this;

View attachment 200101

After cutting the ‘Lance’ down to a couple of inches. Pour the whole gallon of ATF in, pump up the pressure and fill away to your heart’s content! I think that cost me about a tenner too which was easily worth its money!!

I also replaced the air filter too whilst I was at it;

View attachment 200102

I’m waiting for the oil filter spanner’s to arrive then it’s on to the engine oil and filters. I’m also waiting for my local Euro Car Parts to get the right diff oil in to do those too.

Need to keep the pace up whilst I’m in the mood for it!

I was in the same boat as you regarding the refill of autobox oil, i used a 500mi syringe, my shoulders hated it though!!
Only 4.2 litres to pump though, so not TOO bad, i was considering using my Dads garden sprayer. however i don't think he'd of appreciated that!!

Prolly worth replacing the fluid in 500mi just to get a little flush going

I found my auto shifted far smoother with new oil..

Hows yours feel?

Spot1 · Feb 11, 2020

Yeah, the sprayer made life much easier! I’m planning on draining the ‘box again in a few weeks as you suggest and potentially another time or two after that, until I get relatively clear, red ATF coming out at which point I’ll drop the sump and change the filter too.

I’ve picked up a gallon of diff oil so that’s on the plan for tomorrow and the oil filter spanner’s are due to arrive tomorrow too so will drop the engine oil out and do the filters too. I’ve also got a diesel filter so will likely tackle that too. Then a bit of a clean out/tidy ready to go for the remap on Sunday!

Spot1 · Feb 12, 2020

Another busy day!

Rear Diff was done easily, again the fluid was black and horrible... onto the front diff, pulled out the drain plug and found this;

First thought “WTF is that?!” The oil was black with a silver metallic tint... obviously something is wearing but considering it has not been changed in a long time I’m not TOO worried. I continued and got the front diff refilled too.

Next was the engine oil and filters, it was easy to drop the oil but why do they never pot filters in an easy to access place?! I know, let’s hide the filters where they’ll be a bar steward to get to!! Cue retrieval of the oil filter from on top of the exhaust pipe!!! ‍

Once that was done I drove over to my local indi garage to see what they thought of the “spring” from the front diff... he said “oh that’s just come off an oil seal” my reply of “and how the f**k did it get in my front diff then?!” Produced a very amusing look on his face!!
He thinks it’s just come off a seal at the end of the axle and that it’s nothing to worry about. He is sure it’s not from the diff itself so fingers crossed.

Once back home I set about making the back end stand out a bit better;

It’s not exactly a perfect “professional” job when you look closely but it certainly does the job!!

Henry_b · Feb 12, 2020

it's wearing a hi-viz jacket LOL

I had chunks fall out of my rear diff on the P38

metallic paste too!

That spring does look like it came from a seal, odd..

so long as you didn't get any large chunks!!

Transfer box next!

Spot1 · Feb 12, 2020

Yikes! Chunks isn’t so good!

there was plenty of that metallic paste on the front diff magnet but it’s certainly been years since it was last done. I’ll probably do both diffs again in the autumn and see how it is then.

Henry_b · Feb 12, 2020

Yep chunks arent good!

best to fill it with cheapo stuff and do a few flushes

Spot1 · Feb 16, 2020

Well, it’s remap day!!! A 50 mile journey through storm Denis being blown all over the place and wading through semi flooded lanes and I’ve arrived at Goodwinch just outside Barnstaple.

I’ve got my name on the white board and just gotta wait my turn. Can’t wait to see what José from TD5 Inside can do for my truck!! Watch this space for an update when I get home tonight!

Spot1 · Feb 16, 2020

It appears that my TD5 had already been remapped which I had half suspected. It was certainly the quickest of the 3-4 that I test drove at the time.

José was honest from the start that because of that I wouldn’t she the big gains that I would have from a standard map but he was sure he could make some improvements and he sure has!

Throttle response is MUCH better, before there was a second or two delay from burying the throttle to going which has been eliminated and the gear changes are much more responsive and smooth too. Off the mark, it goes far better and changes through the gears much better and if you hit the throttle whilst moving, it instantly drops a gear and just goes!

As I’ve just changed base in work my weekly milage has dropped significantly, it’s now a ten minute walk to work so it’s going to be a while before I can report on fuel economy but watch this space for an update.

Henry_b · Feb 17, 2020

Spot1 said:
It appears that my TD5 had already been remapped which I had half suspected. It was certainly the quickest of the 3-4 that I test drove at the time.

José was honest from the start that because of that I wouldn’t she the big gains that I would have from a standard map but he was sure he could make some improvements and he sure has!

Throttle response is MUCH better, before there was a second or two delay from burying the throttle to going which has been eliminated and the gear changes are much more responsive and smooth too. Off the mark, it goes far better and changes through the gears much better and if you hit the throttle whilst moving, it instantly drops a gear and just goes!

As I’ve just changed base in work my weekly milage has dropped significantly, it’s now a ten minute walk to work so it’s going to be a while before I can report on fuel economy but watch this space for an update.

I'm contemplating having a proper MAP on mine, it had a celtic stage 1 on it, however that was a ballache..
It didn't behave quite right, although it was faster!!

Spot1 · Feb 17, 2020

Henry_b said:
I'm contemplating having a proper MAP on mine, it had a celtic stage 1 on it, however that was a ballache..
It didn't behave quite right, although it was faster!!

I can only recommend José at TD5 Inside, he really knows his stuff and has made my truck much better to drive!

I had my previous vehicle (Skoda Octavia) remapped and that made a big difference from standard.
All I can say is that if the remap you had gave you that much trouble then José will make a significant improvement to it.

I’ve been out in mine again today, the gear changes are smoother, the Torque Converter now locks up about 5MPH earlier and it is generally more responsive and pleasurable to drive.

Next job HAS to be the steering pump but then it’s onto silicone hoses and performance inter cooler and lots of saving ready for a CR Turbo hybrid turbo next year!

Spot1 · Feb 24, 2020

Today, I’ve removed the G4/ES Premium roof bars. It was a bit of a swine doing so without removing the head lining but it is possible. They are up for sale if anyone is interested, I’m looking for £250 inc postage.

Spots Disco 2 ES Premium project.

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