Stuck in the mud in my TD5

Hi all,

Last week, I got stuck in the mud (clay) on a verge. It was on a slight incline, and naively I reversed onto this verge to turn my car around, but then couldn't get off This is the first time I've driven my car in v muddy conditions, and I think I probably caused the problem. I didn't realise quite how muddy and boggy it was, and I was in first gear in the High range ( I have a 51 plate Disco II TD5 ). The traction control light came on, and there were some quite strange noises as I tried in vain to drive out of this mud (the wheels were just spinning and I was getting deeper in it!). Eventually, I reversed a bit more onto some mud I hadn't churned up, stuck it in low range and 3 people pushed me out ! (thank you ladies )

Anyway, I phoned LR, they want me to book the car in for them to check out at a cost of £47 to see if there's anything wrong with it. I'm a bit worried coz I didn't think a 4x4 would get stuck so easily in mud, and I'm towing a horsebox and 2 fat cobs to a ride soon, and am a bit worried about it!

Any ideas what I should have done/didn't do? or tips on how to drive through these kind of conditions coz after all this rain it is sure as s*it gonna be muddy at this ride

Cheers,

Jules

What tyres is it wearing at the moment Jules?

Adz said:

What tyres is it wearing at the moment Jules?

Click to expand...

sorry, forgot to mention that. It's got Michelin 4x4 road tyres (can give you exact details tomorrow but too dark to read tyres tonight!) they've got quite a bit of tread left on them, but are obviously normal road tyres.

If its clay mud the only thing that will not get stuck in it is a tank. I hate clay as it sticks to everything and is real hard to clean from the tire thread. When the tire thread does not clean out you loose all traction no matter what tires you have. Personally I don't take anything to a dealer to get checked until it breaks. No point in spending money now to find out if something is going to break when I can just let it break and use that money to fix it.

I'd of thought a set of all terains would help alot.
I've got road tyres on mine will be changing for a set of Toyo A/t, have driven a TD5 on these and no road noise didn't sound any louder than road tyres, and grippy on wet stuff, not sure bout boggy mud,but they did look the bussiness!!!!
I've got a 300tdi and done abit of snow and mud, difflock was well impresive.
Without DL it would of sat there all day spinning put DL on and didn't even batter an eyelid at it, well chuffed!!
from what i understand if TD5 hasn't already got it, then it is possible to fit it.

Dont take it to Land Rover, they're a bit short of cash for all the money they are paying out on the Disco3's faults...

If you are on road tyres, they'll fill up with mud/clay and are as good as useless. the traction control on a TD5 is awsome, however just 'cos it's a 4x4 dosent mean it cant get stuck.

I have learned the things that you percieve to be easy - catch you out! ,
But the things that look like they are going to catch you out - the car copes with ease!

The strange sounds you heard was the traction control kicking in, you will hear it kick in for a couple of seconds or so before the little light on the dash comes on...dont worry it's doing it's job, if it kicks in across a field it's best to just keep the throttle steady the momentum up and let the electronics take over

jules34 said:

road tyres (can give you exact details tomorrow but too dark to read tyres tonight!) they've got quite a bit of tread left on them, but are obviously normal road tyres.

Click to expand...

Likely that's yer problem then... are you going to be driving in the clay much or was it a one off?

Thanks to all for the replies so far. I don't plan on going off roading, but I am towing a horse trailer next w/e with 2 fat hairy cobs in it, and I haven't towed a horse trailer before. It is likely to be very muddy, so I'm a bit concerned that I'm going to get stuck in it.

I don't think my Disco has Diff lock, there's no selector or anything. It's a manual and it has the small gear knob for Low, Neutral and High, it has TC and HDC. Haven't used the HDC yet, but the TC light came on the other day.

If I'm on muddy terrain, should I be in Low Range? The Disco handbook is pretty useless; it just says you should be in the highest gear possible!!!???

Any advice very gratefully received!!!

just slightly changing the subject, may i sugest you get the horse trailer and tow it about for a while before you put the horses in it. horses are a very temperamental cargo due to their high centre of gravity plus the fact that they dont like travelling in boxes. just hook the empty trailer up and run around with it for a few hours so that you become confident with the trailer. hope this helps

Have you had a chance to find out what tyres you've got on it at the moment?

I was under the impression all discos and defenders had difflock... what happens if you push the little lever for hi/lo across to the passenger side?

If you get a new light pop up on your dash board (should be orange I think) that looks like a couple of bar bells with a line between them - then you have difflock. Only use it at low speed, in as straight a line as possible and when there's a serious probability of losing traction. Never use it for normal driving - apart from making the steering rather heavy you'll probably end up breaking part of your driveline.

Cheers,

jules34 said:

I don't think my Disco has Diff lock, there's no selector or anything. It's a manual and it has the small gear knob for Low, Neutral and High

Click to expand...

All the boxes actually have a locking diff, just that some have the operating linkage removed outside the box. Look to see if the operating shaft is sticking out of the box. If you have this you are lucky for you can fit a lever to lock the diff. Some boxes had the internal linkages also removed, which is a bit more of a hassle to retrofit, but it is possible with bits from a Disco I or a Defender.

To get the TC to work you have to spin the wheels which follows the Land Rover philosophy of 'Tread Lightly'

Thanks for the advice Yella disco. Unfortunately, I don't own the trailer so will have limited time to practice, but that is a very ggod idea. I shall drive around next Saturday with it, and practice. I'm quite used to towing as I tow a 'van but appreciate the load I'm carrying will be very different.

Right, the tyres are :- All Michelins, on the front 235/70 4x4, on the back 4x4 synchrone - need anymore info?

JimAttrill said:

All the boxes actually have a locking diff, just that some have the operating linkage removed outside the box. Look to see if the operating shaft is sticking out of the box. If you have this you are lucky for you can fit a lever to lock the diff. Some boxes had the internal linkages also removed, which is a bit more of a hassle to retrofit, but it is possible with bits from a Disco I or a Defender.

To get the TC to work you have to spin the wheels which follows the Land Rover philosophy of 'Tread Lightly'

Click to expand...

Thanks for that Jim, but a wee bit too Technical for me! plus it's chucking it down here today, so there ain't no way I'm looking underneath the car getting soaking wet! Plus don't really have a clue what I'm looking for...

Thanks anyway

Right, have just re-read my owner's hand book, and it says nothing about diff lock, moving the transfer box lever to the left to engage, or a warning light that looks like a dumbell, so that makes me think my disco does NOT have diff lock... although, when I phoned LR they asked me if had it, and said they would check for me when I take it in....

Just out of curiosity, when did you pass your car test joules?
I've had to do a trailer test, so that im legite on the roads!!
The laws changed and anyone that passed there test after january 1997
has to do a trailer test, just wouldn't want anyone to get caught out and get hassle of the cops! By the sounds of it not many people know about it and are getting fined and points and people aren't getting off the hook very lightly!!!

JAC said:

Just out of curiosity, when did you pass your car test joules?
I've had to do a trailer test, so that im legite on the roads!!
The laws changed and anyone that passed there test after january 1997
has to do a trailer test, just wouldn't want anyone to get caught out and get hassle of the cops! By the sounds of it not many people know about it and are getting fined and points and people aren't getting off the hook very lightly!!!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the thought Jac, but I'm ok. I passed my test in 1990! I'm aware about this change in the law, and I agree with it. I tow my caravan, and I'm amazed that my husband and I and everyone else who passed their tests before 97 can hook up and drive away. Does seem a bit bonkers, but that's the law for you.

hi yes you will get stuck rather easily on clay or mud,you wont have a difflock on your td5 you have the great traction control used properlly this is better trust me i have had 1 or 2 landy's in my time from 90's,300 tdi's and now a 51 plate td5 adventurer and pull a large caravan in some tough situation's your biggest problem was high range selection if it looks dodgy i allways use low range in either 1st or 2nd ,some will say this is rubbish as they love the difflock system but i find this a little more limiting than the TC and HDC and i run the stock pirelli scorpians ,but good allterians would have helped you no end,you have to way up the pro's and con's of fitting more offroad biased tyre's as to road biased ,the louder allterians bugged me big time on long tarmac runs so i stuck with the road tyres,phil

I would take the vehicle to LR to have a look at it.

Read this article - it is from a chap in South Africa - he is known as quite a 4x4 guru. His experience with TC sounds similar to yours.

http://www.4xforum.co.za/?showitems&global[mymenu_id]=351
Hope it helps.

Ps - Not all disco II's have CDL.

Hi All,

One point worth mentioning (from hard learned experience) is to avoid getting stuck is to do the following

1, make sure you have appropriate tyres (I run on BF AT's) which are second to none in all but a real swampy BOG
2, TC works more agressively in LOW range than in high, so if your in gooey stuff you should as a general rule select LR
3, Survey the route first and pick a way through, much less embarressing !
NEVER take it to LR to 'inspect' they will only waffle you and relieve you of hard earned cash that can by fuel, tyres and recovery equipment

julia,
here is the answer to centre diff locks and hence why no visit to the dealers is required.

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/td5-diff-lock-they-all-manual-select-34036.html

basically if you have traction control and hill decent you aint got diff lock on our age group of td5. a quick check would also be, to see if you can push the little stick over to the left. dont force it. it will be obvious if there is a gate there for it to go into.

tip for the muddy stuff is to stop just short with all four wheels still on terafirma.
select low range, little stick forward, and first gear. the engine will rev higher than normal so selecting second, if needed, will come sooner than normal.
the trick is to be gentle on the accelerator and keep moving at all times, no matter how slow, until you get to where you want to stop.

have a practice on a quite road/ carpark, but keep it slow and dont forget to select high range again before setting off home.