Disco 2 What's that noise and should i fix it or get a remap first?

Paul Leinichen said:

Hi all - and Happy New Year!
Firstly, I'm new to Land Rover ownership (though loving it so far!), so apologies for any "newbie" questions I might ask - but we've all gotta start learning somewhere!
Let's start by saying I've got a 2004 (04) Disco 2 TD5 Landmark manual. It's standard other than a snorkel with a Terrafirma (Pipercross by the looks of it) air filter, a wading breather kit and an EGR delete kit.
I've just picked up a decat pipe to fit this week and I was about to have it remapped by my local TD5 Alive agent. I'm then looking to get an uprated intercooler fitted (need to save up a little more though as i'm already in it up to my shoulders with the missus - spent £500 more than I said was the max on buying the car and will have spent £1000 since once the remap is done - that includes an "absolutely everything" service to make sure it's running spot on).
Now I've come up with some questions and an issue.
The questions first of all - i'm looking at uprated intercoolers (pricing them up ready) and they seems to be £400 or so. Though the 200/300 TDI seems massively cheaper (about £150). I know a TDI one won't fit the TD5 but why is there so much difference in price? Am I looking in the wrong place? Is there somewhere that anyone can point me to for the best balance of "I want the cheapest one that's worth having" and "but I don't want junk that won't fot / won't work / will be a waste of money"? More importantly - if I have a remap done now, then will this have to be done again when the intercooler is replaced?
Now, on to the issue - the car drove fine when I bought it, drove fine for the first few weeks of owning it, still drives fine MOST of the time. However, every so often (and seems to be getting more regular), when I go over a slight bump in the road and it's under load / accelerating then I get the orange T/C light up on the dash and a fairly loud clicking / grinding noise. What's the cause? What do I do to mend it? Is this something I should worry about and fix before I even consider anything that increases the power output? Got to bear in mind that funds (and the patients of "her in doors") are running very thin.
Oh, if it makes a difference, then the use is 70% daily commute up and down the motorway, 15-20% will be light off road use 10-15% will be towing a caravan. The upgrades above are mainly for the motorway use (and to help reduce the downshifts when towing) - though there's still a little part of me that's doing it just for fun!!
Oh, one other small thing - I've seen several Discos, whilst I was looking to buy this one, that have a dash modification to take a double-din stereo headunit. Where do I get the modified dash panel, or is there anyone that modifies them to order?
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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RyanDay1 said:

Hi mate, the T/C coming up or on during driving is totally normal, as long as its occasional. Mine comes on everytime I turn into my drive and go over the curb at full lock, and if I floor it on uneven tarmac or bumps etc. Long as it goes off you're fine.

Get the intercooler done first and you will be able to get a beefier remap straight up. I can also recommend dynachip just out of personal experience, if alive is anything similar with an uprated intercooler you can also fit a boost controller and squeeze a stage 3 remap out of it, big money and big gains when you get intercooler as far as i know I believe!

I have done a thread on my double din stereo install, in the new year I might be looking to make some more and sell em, so keep an eye out. Or do what I did and make your own, takes ages mind!
Cheers, Ryno
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https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/aftermarket-double-din-stereo-install.308189/

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neilly said:

Hi Paul,

Welcome to the loonyzone, make sure you know your EKA code.

Also, the BRRRR noise coming on with the TC lighton the dash is normal if you manage to wheelspin or go over a curb while accelerating.

Cheers

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brian47 said:

As the others have already said, it sounds like the Traction Control is kicking in for a very short time. TC is also tied to the ABS and Hill Descent control systems, while they say that it's normal if it happens once in a while, it might be a good idea to get the fault codes read to see if anything shows up, particularly with a wheel hub, especially since there's a snorkel and a wading kit been fitted in the past. I'm thinking the possibility of water "damage".
I can understand your trying to rationalise your spending, and exactly what you do and in what order is up to you, but left to me, I would get any and all the faults sorted out first, before I start thinking about new uprated intercoolers and remaps and bearing in mind that there might be a possibility that a previous has been in some deep-ish water, I would have a serious inspection of the underneath done, paying particular attention to the rear end of the chassis and the rear cross member.
The next thing I would be thinking about might be getting my own fault code reader; do not get led up the garden path over these, the only ones which will give you truthful results on a Td5 Disco 2 are either Nanocom, Hawkeye, Lynx or TestBook.
Regarding your question about double din head units, Ryan has done that modification just recently, and entertained us for a while with his efforts. But here, as a "purists" as I was once called not a puritan I must ask why. Is the fitted system not working or do you just want a dashboard full of bling?
Since you say that you'll be 70% up and down the motorways, it might also be worth getting both prop shafts checked out and possibly replacing the rubber doughnut at the rear diff end.
Remember that we're talking here about a 13 year old vehicle, so there are some not so obvious things which might require replacing, brake discs and pads, wiper blades which need regular replacement really, as do headlight bulbs, the glass of the bulb tends to discolour with age. Many owners use "Night Breakers" or the Phillips +130% bulbs, type H7.
Once you've got everything working as it should, then you can start thinking about uprated intercoolers and the like, and a remap from Mike at Dynachip. That man knows exactly what he's doing and he'll come to you.

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Paul Leinichen said:

Hi Brian,
Thanks for the detailed info. Overall the Disco is in very good shape. I searched quite a bit and ended driving down to Croyde Bay and buying a car that's been local to me all it's life. My local garage did a complete service on the car as soon as I bought it - they're a small "real" garage, not a brand-named outfit that fit things and sell tyres, so they know what they're doing - turns out they did the pre-delivery inspection prior to the last owner buying at a local dealership (my garage have the contract for servicing work for the dealership). Before that, it was serviced for about 8 years at another small garage i'm familiar with about 20 miles from me, and previously at Taunton Landrover. I've got full history plus the all important invoices showing everything that was done. It's had all brakes done within the last year, tyres in the last 2 years, suspension airbags early this year, chassis is solid and no signs of serious abuse or water damage anywhere.

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RyanDay1 said:

As @neilly says, Mike at Dynachip will be probably the most reputable chap on landyzone, unless you have any other reason to go with someone else, you should give him a call, he did my Td5 this month and I couldn't be happier, he's the best value too. Intercoolers are big bucks and I dunno about the gain but for my measly 250 quid I personally wouldn't want any more power from my remapped disco (its your truck though!) I haven't got serious towing to do yet but flat out the thing does scare me, at my age I'm supposed to be a boy racer too, its quicker than my old fiesta 1.6tdci zetec-s, and twice the size!
Would be worth just finding out from the experts such as Mike, who's mapped more injuns than I've had hot dinners!
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Paul Leinichen said:

Thanks for the info, i'll get in touch with Mike then, I've just looked at their website and see the do a national "at home" service so quite easy to arrange and seem reasonable prices. Must admit, i'd only looked at Alive Tuning as I've seen lots of positive reviews of the TD5Alive Predator remap so thought that was probably a better option than my local remap company (who aren't TD5 specialists). Alive use a local mobile agent in this area and, although Alive seem to have an excellent reputation, I have no experience either way of the local agent. If others have good experience and good results with Dynachip then I'll give them a try.
What's the fuel economy gain been like (or haven't you taken you foot off full throttle long enough to tell yet?? )?

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Paul Leinichen said:

ok, so you've convinced me - I've emailed Dynachip to see what they can offer and when they can do it. I'll update you all once it's done and let you know what the results are like.

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