Disco 1 Time for some new newby questions :)

Hi guys back again after a LONG weekend away working and i have a couple of concerns that i cant work out. i'll try explain my "new" issues best i can and any help/suggestions would be awesome and gratefully received.

ok my first one. when i pull off, change gear put on the power after slowing down there is a clunk on the front end as the power engages. only thing i have had that made a similar noise was a mondog rear engine mount! no idea other than that what i should be looking at or what for.

second one. how and where do i check the transfer box fluid level i think i may have a small leak from one of the housing nuts. in addition to where can i check where's the filler and how hard is it to fill.

and for my final mystery. earlier today i was working at pendine beach hotrod event and i parked up on the jetty facing down hill. when i came back to it a while later it had a patch of fluid on the floor under it. now after popping the hood and checking it was clear it was from the coolant system (wasnt empty but clearly had gone down since i checked it friday) i topped it up and started her looked but cant find anywhere its coming from. drove over to laphy to work at another event and checked it again when i got there no drop and no signs of where it came from. finished my day off by driving home 80 somewhat miles. done 70 on m4 and a465 (we will say 70 it might have been a tad more hehe) anyways got home no change in fluid levels.


other than my clunking (been there since i got her but now its bugging me enough to find out about it) she's running well and sounds fine idle or reving(when i silence the thrust bearing pushing the clutch). temp stayed just below half on the gauge where its always gone too since i've had it.

also if anyone has any of these issues and is sorting it take a pic or 2 for me hehe

thanks again in advance for any/all help/advice guys

For the transfer box fluid, there's a drain and a fill hole, fill the box using a large syringe with some tubing attached, until it starts to run out of fill hole.

As for the leak, it was hot yesterday wasn't it? Im guessing your expansion tank was full, and when parked on a slope that surplus liquid found an overflow point that on level ground would have been above thd coolant level.

Search on here for the P-gasket issue. well known failure point on 300's - and sometimes intermittent - ask me how I know.

Clunk from the front is probably play in the drive flange to the front axle - it may be more complicated - as in, internal to the axle - check your oil levels, and look for leaks on swivels - if they are dry on the outside, have a look in the filler hole for some CV grease, as there are two main reasons for no leaks:-
1) the swivel is in good order, and full of grease ( which is what you want!)
2) all the grease has leaked out - thus its not leaking any more! ( NOT what you want )

If the front axle oil level is high, then its likely the internal seals have gone - not usually hard, just tedious to fix

as always thanks for the reply's guys. been out to the car today and coolant is still in the same place it was when i topped it bk up (about 3/4 of the expansion tank i cant see no min/max lines). oil seems to be a little higher than it should be but it looks clean no mayo. i've taken a few pics of where i "think" it was coming down but cant find anything for where its coming from i'll post them shortly. as for the P-Gasket that one im confident i can find and do but im unsure of where the fill/drain is on the transfer box think i'll have to consult google on that one lol

as for the drive flange and swivels, i am a COMPLETE novice and more a potcher than a fitter but if someone has a couple of pics of where or what im looking for that would be awesome and i'll get to checking straight away.

loving all this learning and loving the disco, glad im not afraid of work haha

ceffyn said:

im unsure of where the fill/drain is on the transfer box

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Transfer drain plug is in that rectangular shaped alloy plate, (sump), that is bolted to the bottom of the transfer case with lots of little cap screws, (the plate sits at a bit of an angle to the horizontal).
The Transfer case fill plug is on the rear vertical face of the transfer case sitting behind the handbrake drum backing plate, it has a 1/2" AF square internal in the plug which you can get a socket drive bar into. The correct level for the oil is level with the bottom of the threaded hole, vehicle sitting level of course.

You need a copy of RAVE for the Disco 1, it'll give you all the information you require (and some you probably don't).
It can be downloaded from http://www.green-oval.com/data/lr/rave03.iso
If you have any trouble with it, PM me and I'll see what I can do to help.

Has your car got air conditioning, as they often leave a pool of condensation on the road .

Regards

Jonathan

jonathanp said:

Has your car got air conditioning, as they often leave a pool of condensation on the road .

Regards

Jonathan

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no air con or any of the gadgets its just the box standard 300tdi disco. just been doing some looking and it would seem i may have too much coolant in there that could be causing it but after looking into that i got a new question what coolant should i use i want to flush it and replace it all. i've seen people saying blue, people saying orange, and i have seen/used red in the passed on other cars but never realized there was a difference that could cause a problem just figured it was diff makes and some kind of die they are using.

Anti-freeze details from the owner's handbook (also in RAVE)

Total, 11.5 ltr with a manual gearbox or 11.7 ltr with an auto box.
Most members recommend using OAT antifreeze, the pink stuff.

ok so its update time, changed the transfer box oil what came out looked more like used engine oil than anything else i've seen thick and black. i've got a lead on the front seal it would seem so looks like thats going to be a near future challenge. also changed the oil in the front diff that went well what came out didnt look too bad but was clearly in need of a change. then i moved to the back and this is where i hit a snag. i couldnt open the filler (not due to tightness due to rounded plug) any ideas on the best way to get it out without the use of a drill! coolant i havent done yet its not looking great but its also not over heating or causing me a problem rite now.
addition to the diffs and transfer i also plan changing the gearbox oil is there a level check on the R380 or is it a case of drop it and fill it up until like the transfer box and diff i get a face full coming back at me lol

ceffyn said:

a level check on the R380 or is it a case of drop it and fill it up until like the transfer box and diff i get a face full coming back at me lol

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Yes, the same deal as transfer case as far as level goes, the fill plug is half way up the side and about the mid of the gearbox housing on the RH side, don't make the mistake of using heavy grade gear oil or you will have problems shifting gears, a good full or semi synthetic gear oil especially made for manual transmissions that meets the spec of your owner's manual is the best, not sure what brands you have in UK.

ceffyn said:

i couldnt open the filler (not due to tightness due to rounded plug) any ideas

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If you have a mate with a welder or have one yourself, find a short 1/2" set bolt put the thread end of it into the rounded out section of the plug and weld it into the plug very carefully avoiding welding the plug to the diff housing.
The heat of welding will cause the plug to shrink slightly in the threaded hole, you can then put a spanner on the hex head of the bolt and unscrew the plug, you will need to find/buy a replacement plug, but if you need to you can reuse the old plug as a temporary measure, just wind on a thin layer of thread tape before reinserting.

Gazbo said:

If you have a mate with a welder or have one yourself, find a short 1/2" set bolt put the thread end of it into the rounded out section of the plug and weld it into the plug very carefully avoiding welding the plug to the diff housing.
The heat of welding will cause the plug to shrink slightly in the threaded hole, you can then put a spanner on the hex head of the bolt and unscrew the plug, you will need to find/buy a replacement plug, but if you need to you can reuse the old plug as a temporary measure, just wind on a thin layer of thread tape before reinserting.

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Wrong, heating metal will cause it to expand, freezing will shrink.

discool said:

Wrong, heating metal will cause it to expand, freezing will shrink.

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Sorry, but 50 years in the engineering business, when you weld into an internal surface, ( the square key hole for the plug), initially the metal expands with the weld heat then as it cools contracts loosening the item in its confines.
We use this method to remove bearing outer rings, large broken off bolts, seized plugs etc, it works!

Gazbo said:

broken off bolts, seized plugs etc, it works!

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I agree ! It works