I started the Radiator / Intercooler yesterday, did about 3 hours on it, not the easiest of jobs, yet again made harder by the previous inepts, who obviously had this all apart to fit the later Engine and Transmission, there was a missing rubber mount on one of the upper Mounts, I had to fabricate one of those from a spare bottom rubber by cutting it down a bittie, also there are 3 hoses going to the bottom of the Radiator on the Drivers side, hard to get apart at the best of times let alone when they have had the clips fitted at the wrong angles, presumably the Radiator was put in with these Hoses attached and then they were hooked up to their respective other ends

Also the 2 smaller Hoses were on the wrong stubs and routed wrongly which meant I had to have 3 goes to suss out exactly how they should run !!

Anyways close of play Monday left me just having to fit the Lower Headlamp Trims, Driving Lamps and Indicators back, and some new Boost Hoses plus a few other bitties under the Bonnet, then fill up with new Coolant, Bleed system and Road Test.

Both the old Radiator and the I/C were well ballooned and was definitely the right time to be replacing them

Sadly I didn't get any piccies yesterday, (was feeling well rough), so I took a few today

Y'all will just have to make do with looking at a nice new Rad through the Fan Shroud and some piccies of the old units plus a couple of D15KOE parked up in his parking bay after Road Test and final top up ....















Mels B/Day today so taking her out for Dinner in a wee while

OK, so I've been busy work wise, but also got to do a few more jobs on D15KOE

So here's a pic of yet another part that the previous "Technicians" decided the car didn't need ....



Battery / Jack Cover I managed to bag a good used one that looks almost new



So remember I fitted new Standard Springs and upgraded Terrafirma Shock Absorbers all round .....................

Yeah, all very good, but with a Trailer and Car on the back the Discovery just sat too low, so I revisited that job and fitted these, Medium Load springs, should improve things Towing wise, back end sits slightly higher now, (I'll get some pics later when he's off the lift) but the handling and stability is fine so I will see what they are like next time I tow with it

The new stock Springs, now removed ....



New Medium Load Springs ....



Next job was to replace the Centre Exhaust Pipe with a Terrafirma Stainless one, the one on the Discovery was bodged (surprise surprise), using some rusty old bit of tubing which was too small diameter, this was restrictive, see last pic in the set below ....



Also I needed to replace the Flange, (Mild Steel) which was rotten on the mating piece of the fairly new rear Silencer Pipe, Land Rover Part, the Silencer is stainless, but the rest of it is Steel, DOH !!

When it falls to bits I will replace it with a decent full Stainless item Flange replacement also meant changing the flange to match on the new Pipe .... I gave the rear section a couple of coats of VHT Silver to hopefully help it to last a while







The restricted bodge I mentioned earlier ....



So next job was to start from the rear and tidy up the previous Welded repairs to the rear end Chassis, whomever welded the Plates in nice but failed to weld plates inside the rearmost Body Mountings and one of the rear Bumper Brackets, so I fabricated and welded these in, then cleaned up the whole of this area and masked up and Schutzed it all, I am gradually getting the whole rear half of the Chassis tidied up.

The Chassis is now nice and solid but before November / December when the Salt goes on the roads I will have plated over and Schutzed the whole of the rear Chassis half to the 2.2m point, which is just in front of the B Pillars on Body, including buying and welding in 2 rear Outriggers When the weldathon is over I will spray fill the whole Chassis inner cavities with my Waxoyl / Oil cocktail ....

Chassis should be good for a while then, hopefully at least the next 2 MOT's if not more







Left to finish in between other Jobs, fabricate a sturdy 3mm Mounting for a new Towing Socket and prepare, Epoxy Primer and Paint the Towbar assembly Satin Black ....



I just blew another £230 on parts to fix the last Oil leak, (front and rear Propshaft Flange and Seal Kits) for the Transfer Gearbox

Included in that £230 I also bought some nice Waterproof Grey Seat Covers, Window Wind Deflectors, and new Gaiters for the Transfer Hi Lo Lever and Handbrake and new rear Floor Mats to go with the new fronts I got way back Not that I was gonna spend money on non essential cosmetics

Nuvver update soon

The jobs are never ending aren't they? Looks like you'll have a really nice looking original Disco when you're done. May I ask about your tank cradle? It looks very shiny. Is it a home made part or off the shelf upgraded replacement?

DefenderPilot said:

The jobs are never ending aren't they? Looks like you'll have a really nice looking original Disco when you're done.

Click to expand...

Yes certainly has been with this one, i knew it needed a fair bit but hadn't checked it thoroughly as it didn't cost me a bean to purchase it
Thankfully I can now see light at the end of the tunnel
Yes I'm hoping I'll have a nice D2 example with a few decent upgrades at the end of all this, should be reliable once finished I've changed a bunch of parts now, and still a few more to go.
When I wear out the (new) road Tyres I will buy it a set of BFG All Terrains, I won't be serious Off Roading, but will use it on road and up forest tracks, green lanes etc

The Car has been fitted with a 15P Engine and Auto Box from a low mileage later model, and it has had the V8 3.9 Torque Converter upgrade, I am not sure if it is remapped or not, so that may be why I thought it was sluggish 0 - 30, as the V8 Converters stall at lower speeds, that conversion is really meant for remapped TD5's, I'll have to look into that when I get time, I'm not sure I'd know how to tell if it has already been Re mapped ????????? .............
Now I'm getting used to it it certainly goes well once it's above 30

Of course it could have been that bodged Exhaust Pipe, I haven't road tested it yet since replacing that Hopefully later this week, but Workshop is busy now

Fuel Tank Cradle was rotten, the replacement is a Galvanised uprated item from Braith-Speed on EBay, I can thoroughly recommend the guys, they also break a few Land Rovers and work on them, they're very helpful

He is keeping his eyes peeled for the correct front Seat base for me, but for now I've bought it a pair of Grey Tailored Seat Covers, from JGS, will tidy that up and also stop my dirty overalls wrecking the Interior

I'll make a note of that. My tank cradle is surprisingly good considering the state of the chassis and bodywork but since I'm going to be getting a galvanised chassis I will be replacing it anyway. It would look very good with a matching tank cradle. Did it come with a galvanised strap too?

No upper Strap, I'm gonna need one, best I can find atm is genuine Land Rover at £109, not exactly high up the list atm, but it will get one before 26th February MOT
I might call Braith-Speed and see if they do one ......................

If they don't they certainly should

I saw your post about your Rear Shock Mounts, to be honest when you get into it they aren't that bad to weld / rebuild with 3mm Plate, I did mine recently when I fitted the rear Springs and Shocks

I have decided to replate my Chassis all the way down to the Rear Radius Arm Bush Mount before next Test in February. That Chassis should last at least 2 years + !!

I have started a separate kitty, I'd like a full galv, but the other option for mine is a 2.2 metre Rear Chassis which comes as far forward as the original Air Compressor Mount, atm my Chassis seems very good forward from that point ..........................

I guess I'm just baulking at the thought of £3000 vs £1000, plus the Full Chassis is a lot more work, likely with further expenditure ....



https://dixonfabrication.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=87_92_137&product_id=169

I wanted a new chassis at some point anyway so I just decided to do it now, rather than later. I plan for this car to see me to my grave, or final surrender of driving license, whichever comes first.

I've been thinking about the tank strap and I reckon I could make my own quite easily, the only problem being that I don't have the chassis brackets to work with, they've completely rotted away which would make it difficult for me to get the length right. A strip of stainless steel with some kind of tensioner at one end, maybe a turnbuckle but that might be too long. I need to think about it a bit more.

Mine has it's hardware, I managed to get the manky old bolts out, so I cleaned all that up and used 4 off nice Mercedes M8 ETorx bolts and plenty Copperslip, so they are both back in place now ready for when I get a new Tank Strap

All my firms bills are in now, so once they are paid by middle month I'll order a new one, I like to get everything settled first before dipping into the funds too much, and I already have a ton of other D15KOE jobs with parts here waiting .....................

Like you I could easily fabricate one, but I'd rather be doing something else for the sake of £109

Here is a pic of right and left sides hardware :-

Left ....



Right ....

Hmm, the right side one looks like a separate bolted on bracket. I thought they were both welded to the chassis and they're not how I visualised them.

Right hand Bracket is bolted to another Bracket welded on Chassis beneath it and adjusted up and down via the 2 Bolts, (kinda a rough adjustment) before pulling the Strap up with it's stud / bolt on the Right side, (bit vague there as mine was long gone rusted away

The Left side has a wee sliding adjustment of about 1"

Here is some pics of what is left of my Strap :-

Left Side ....



And the rest ....







HTH

There's a lot more of yours left than there was of mine. I'll wait until I have the new chassis in the garage before sorting that job out. Plenty more to be getting on with in the meantime.

In between other work and having to go up the Hospital to get a big bit of swarf fished outta ma eyeball I have done more Disco'ing

So after the bits of welding and tidying up the rear end Chassis I decided it was time to tackle the Towbar, especially as now the Discovery sits a bit higher I'd have to drop the Towball a tad
So who all remembers the manky rusty looking Towbar and bent Socket Bracket from way back

I fabricated a new Drop Plate and a new 3mm thick Socket Bracket, then cleaned up the whole Towbar and gave it 2 brushed coats of Epoxy Primer and 2 coats of Chassis Black then fitted it back together with a new Socket, (spray greased connections front and rear) and refitted the Ball Hitch and Drop Plate ....









Yesterday Santa Claus, (well young Bridie the Post lady), brought boxes containing Custom Tailored Grey Seat Cover set, to stop my filthy overalls wrecking the good condition Interior, and also that hides the bit of wear on the drivers Seat Base until I can find a decent passenger Seat Base with same pattern upholstery and swap that in, they are interchangeable side to side so I'm reliably told

The boxes also contained the Door Window Wind Deflectors Kit, new Rear Floor Mats, Transfer Gearbox Prop Flange Kits (Oil Leaking from both Front and Rear Seals), and a Handbrake and Transfer Box Gear Lever Gaiter kit to re-trim those too as they are a bit long in the tooth ....









Pix of D15KOE, now fitted with the Wind Deflectors and showing its stance with the upgraded rear Springs fitted ....







So this weekend after doing other stuff this morning, tomorrow I am on Transfer Prop Flanges, and Oil Change plus front Axle Oil Change

More soon

Nice job on the tow bar. Looks like new. Just need to get the back bumper looking black again and the whole rear end will look factory fresh.

DefenderPilot said:

Nice job on the tow bar. Looks like new. Just need to get the back bumper looking black again and the whole rear end will look factory fresh.

Click to expand...

Thanks, yes I have plans on treating some of the "greyed" Plastic bits when everything else is done, I have a nice Gel in my Paint shop that brings greyed plastic trims back up like new
It will as you say just look a whole lot fresher

I was under no illusion what I was taking on when I did the deal way back, the only mistake I made was getting rid of my DD, the Van, I should have given the guy some cash for the Discovery and sold my Van later down the line
So basically I've had to / am having to do the Disco in small bites as I need to use it during the week, can't be getting into any of our MB's in dirty filthy working clothes, the Discovery by design, with a decent Seat Cover and Mats is fairly easy to keep clean inside

As mentioned way back, some of the parts are, (compared to the Mercs), cheap, and also a lot of all this work is either pro active maintenance and also some nice to have goodies

Not counting the hours, (I love bringing older Cars back from the brink of scrappy doo and up to a high standard), I reckon I'll have about £3000 in it when finished so not to bad for a 4x4 that I can feel confident I can jump in at any time and travel from one end of UK to the other

So here's the pics from doing the rear Flange / Seal kit yesterday, I'm onto the front one today, then refill the completely drained T/Fer Box with fresh Oil and also refill the fully drained front Axle that'll be another couple of Jobs ticked off my list ....









Better get back tuit

So Mel cooked Brunch today .................. Phew, full up with grub, cross eyed, and thankfully just finished the Front Flange / Seal Kit

I'll fill the front Diff and the T/Fer Box in the morning now, it is Hot Tub / Beer 'O' Clock now

I have one more tiny drippy leak to do, might get that done tomorrow, a rear Halfshaft / Hub Carrier Seal on the rear Axle, I did it's other (left) side a while back
If nothing leaks after all this I will have a very unique Land Rover, i.e. one that doesn't pee out Oil from every conceivable source underneath it

Pixels ....









Time I wasn't 'ere

Managed to get that Halfshaft / Hub Carrier Seal done, changed the rear Axle Oil at the same time and, (same as at front), I installed a new Drain Plug and a Brass (as opposed to the nasty plastic) Filler Plug.
It's been out for a thrash today, the rear Axle is now oil tight

Shame the same can't be said for the Transfer Gearbox
It goes like this ....

When I did the front and rear Transfer Box Propshaft Flanges I first drained the Transfer Box, I remember thinking not a lot of Oil came out, no surprise really as the Flanges were leaking, and as there was no nasties on the Drain Plug Magnet, and all the Transfer functions work fine, (Hi / Lo, Difflock, Auto Trans Manual Mode etc etc) I wasn't overly concerned, just glad that I hadn't taken it on a really long run before doing its Oil Change and Seals .................

So now, (because it has the proper Oil level) both the Flanges are sealed up tight but it is absolutely chucking Oil out, I mean really peeing out, from the top of the centre Diff case area ....................
Just had the bloody thing up on the lift again, and using a mirror I have found where it is coming from ................................

This one has had the Diff Lock added, once again, all very nice, good modification, I am pleased, BUT why oh why do folks not do a job properly

There is a little lever on the top there which goes through a small casting with 3 bolts on it to actually operate this Diff Lock, and this little casting has 2 O rings, one for the wee Shaft and one for the little Housing, and it is coming out from one of those O rings, likely they've not even been fitted

I think I can do it without removing the T/Fer Box, so I've just ordered a complete Gasket and Seal Kit for it, might be here by the weekend, don't know if I'll get a chance to do it then though .............

I'm likely going to Glasgow Saturday to pick up a pro active spares purchase ................... A complete good used TD5 Auto Gearbox, with Torque Converter and Transfer Box, came out of a later 15P Disco 2, same Engine / Trans as mine has

I bought it because it's not too far away and a decent price

Best go and put a customers Citroen back together

Ever wish you hadn't done something ? ................
Like working out the total cost of parts on a project car .........................

Well I just went through all the D15KOE Invoices since June up to now ...........................

June £ 1014.19
July £ 729.94
August £ 1261.64
Sept up to today £ 48.23

Total so far and still ongoing £ 3054.00

That does include £80.00 pp transfer, but does not include Fluids and a few other non LR specific bitties like Towing Socket, Schutz, Welding Consumables etc, nor time, no idea, don't wanna know

I expect it to hit the £4k to £4.5k mark by the time it's finished which will hopefully be some time soon, so it better give a few years of trouble free service

Yeah, it includes a lot of Pro Active Maintenence and some nice goodies, plus buying some good used spare stuff that I don't need but might well do in the future, such as switch packs and the like
It doesn't include going to Glasgow soon to pay for and pick up a complete spare Transmission.

I am glad I never added up the receipts for all the other projects over the years, and I reckon I better stop counting on this one now, after all my projects are a hobby .................

The Jobs on D15KOE are now getting smaller, mostly "Tidy stuff up small welding jobs".
I'm currently welding in Mudflap Brackets and a few other small bits now, a few small bits at a time, Schutzing the areas as I go, so I don't get bored / fed up

Also there is the pee wee Oil Leak on the T/Fer box, hopefully the Gasket and Seal Kit will be here to do that one this w/e

The only other big item I foresee is the harmonic vibration through the Vehicle, consistent with Engine Speed, not Road Speed. I have narrowed this down to, (I think), coming from the Torque Converter area, worse some days that others, I suspect the muppets that fitted that lot have cracked the Drive Plate, by not seating the Converter properly before yanking up the Bolts, so I need a long weekend for this job

I've already bought a complete Flywheel and Drive Plate assy ....



I'm collecting a complete good used Transmission and Converter, probably next w/e now, so whatever parts I need I will have to hand when I do the Job, and if it's just a Drive Plate I then have a good spare Trans set up

Now there is a twist to this Transmission story .......................

When I had my 110 TD5 Defender, (they never came as Auto Trans), I bought stripped checked and rebuilt a complete Discovery TD5 Auto Trans, T/fer Box, new Torque Converter, Flywheel and Flex Plate, the whole bloomin' lot !!
Absolutely everything needed to convert the Defender to Auto, all Brackets, Bolts Oil Cooler & Pipes, Shifter, the whole chebang !!

I did that because Mel can only drive an Auto, but never got round to fitting it before I sold that Defender ...................

Last Christmas to free up some space I got all brutal and skipped a load of parts "I was never gonna need" ......................
Yeah you guessed it, thinking I was never gonna get another Land Rover vehicle I chucked the whole lot in the Scrap Iron

L8r's

I have looked into this vibration (and a lack of pulling away power) thoroughly and am almost convinced I know what the issue is, and it seems this issue is also related to the "harmonic / vibration" and an occasional light tinkling noise that can be felt / heard in the Cabin ....................

It would seem that whoever fitted this 15P Engine and Trans has fitted a 4.0 P38 Torque Converter, but no way is it an Ashcroft Kit
It looks like a poor quality "home made" Driveplate, Standard P38 Converter, (doesn't have the thicker 4 Bolt Plate on the Converter) and also I can find no signs of the Engine having had a Re-map

So, bearing in mind I have only viewed / confirmed all this through the inspection hole it the bottom of the Bell Housing, and some days the Vibe is worse than others, I have formed a theory .....................

I think the issue is either the Converters own welded on 4 bolt drive plate, or the actual Engine Drive plate at Gearbox end of the Spacer. Trans Oil is clean, so I don't suspect the Converter innards !!
The Spacer looks to be home made and is definitely shorter than a standard TD5 one, also there are some bright marks around the Drive Plate to spacer area and the plate looks to be ridiculously thin, something like 18 gauge

I think either the Converter Plate or Drive Plate is likely cracked / breaking or it may be poorly engineered and slightly off centre parts, which would fit in with a lot of other atrocious workmanship I have found on the Car whilst fettling, (read almost totally rebuilding it), back to it's former glory ...................

That would account for the Vibe.
Ashcroft do not recommend this conversion on a non mapped Engine, they say it affects low down power, because the Turbo can't spool up when pulling away at the lower Converter stall speed .................

So I have bought a good used standard Flywheel and all the correct Drive Plate etc, and hopefully, (sale agreed but yet to collect and pay the man as he hasn't pulled it out yet) I have also bought a good used TD5 D2 Auto Trans and Converter.
Once I get the correct Converter in with the spare Auto Trans, I will find me a long weekend to pull the T/Fer and Main Auto boxes, put it all back to Standard spec, and hopefully my theory will be confirmed

If it turns out I don't like the higher more revvy stall speed then later down the line, I may well buy the P38 4.0 parts off Ashcroft, and do the Remap
For now just want to stop spending money, currently a tad over £3k, and enjoy driving it without the bloody vibration, other than the vibe I really can't fault the 20 year old truck now I actually love driving it but hate working on it

Regarding the wandering issue all the work I have done has all but eliminated it, I still haven't got the Watts yet, (which does have a lotta play in the existing one), but advert does state they build to order and my "maximum get it by" date is 20th September

I have a bunch of smaller repairs like painting and replacing a lower tailgate door hinge, and more pro active welding / schutzing, but none of that is essential yet so I am just doing a little at a time, this will all be here in my project thread

This weekend I have done right front non existent Mudflap Bracket and a plate on the front A post body mount, and today hopefully finishing the left rear Mudflap Bracket which has also turned into rebuilding a bit of the inner Wheelarch

Finally, I will update this on the findings / outcome when I get the Trans out and swap the Converter, but as long as nothing breaks I might leave that until later in the year, perhaps my Xmas shutdown, as we have a Wedding soon and all sorts of other stuff that will take up valuable Disco'ing time

Brunch is calling ...............

Lots of nice work going on here keep it up