i'll have a look underneath it tomorrow to check the breather pipe on the passenger side rear of the auto box... if I can find the breather pipe!

Also, is it relevant that the ATF dipstick works its way up out of the dipstick tube over time? I think they all do that, but just checking...

And finally, what does it mean if it *is* coming out of the breather and what does it mean if it is *not* coming out of the breather?

not normal for dipstick to do that check breathers not blocked could also be cause of seal leak

hmm... ok... in that case, I might as well not bother pushing the dipstick back in then, because at least the dipstick tube can act as a breather of sorts!

is it obvious which pipe is the breather? and does it just have an open end which I will be able to see?

and how do i check it's not blocked?

it could just be your dip stick ,but pipe is like axle breather pipe runs from passenger rear side up to bulkhead if you pull hard enough should get end down ensuring you dont snag wires etc or undo banjo 14mm or 9/16 spanner and blow other way and check banjo holes at same time

My new workshop postcode is IP14 6

At least you'll see how it is done and can ask questions for as long as you like.........

I've done from here to Huntingdon and back on less than a quarter of a tank.

Fish, it really is quite frustrating that you can't get either a torx bit/set or 8/10mm spanner from Halfords, or borrow one from your neighbour, pop the airbag out in the dark with a torch, crack the steering wheel nut off with a socket, wobble the wheel off, rotate, replace wheel and tighten nut and plonk airbag back in, and then tighten securing bolts.

Just do it with the goddamm battery connected. Has anyone actually even seen a bag blow?

Battery or no battery is not my concern, it just brasses me off that you have to drive round til AFTER CHRISTMAS with a wonky wheel cos you haven't got time or effort.

Get up an hour early one day FFS!

jamesmartin said:

it could just be your dip stick ,but pipe is like axle breather pipe runs from passenger rear side up to bulkhead if you pull hard enough should get end down ensuring you dont snag wires etc or undo banjo 14mm or 9/16 spanner and blow other way and check banjo holes at same time

Click to expand...

what could just be my dipstick? do you mean it keeps working it's way out of the tube because that's just how it is?

As for the breather, i could undo the banjo easy enough (probably), but the idea of pulling the breather down from above sounds like a bad idea because i'd never get it stuck back up there again! I think i'll undo the banjo the blow through the tube. no idea how i'd check the breather actually on the gearbox itself... maybe i could see through it?

matthew2riches said:

My new workshop postcode is IP14 6

At least you'll see how it is done and can ask questions for as long as you like.........

I've done from here to Huntingdon and back on less than a quarter of a tank.

Click to expand...

Just worked it out... it'd cost me £36 in diesel to get to you and back... i'll see what the garage charge to do it for comparison... your offer will not be forgotten though

Mr Noisy said:

Fish, it really is quite frustrating that you can't get either a torx bit/set or 8/10mm spanner from Halfords, or borrow one from your neighbour, pop the airbag out in the dark with a torch, crack the steering wheel nut off with a socket, wobble the wheel off, rotate, replace wheel and tighten nut and plonk airbag back in, and then tighten securing bolts.

Just do it with the goddamm battery connected. Has anyone actually even seen a bag blow?

Battery or no battery is not my concern, it just brasses me off that you have to drive round til AFTER CHRISTMAS with a wonky wheel cos you haven't got time or effort.

Get up an hour early one day FFS!

Click to expand...

I could get a torx bit or set from halfords, and i already have plenty of spanners, and i'm happy to do the in-cabin work in the dark, just not stuff on the outside of the vehicle or in the engine bay. Sounds strange perhaps, but i've been stung too many times.

And regarding the airbag, the horn sounds as soon as my screwdriver touches the torx bolt, so that's not ideal...

as for time and effort, i could get up early one day, but if it all goes wrong i cannot get to work. i could do it of an evening, but i get home shattered every evening with tons to do so no time in evenings. Only time i have is weekends... i still have time tonight, technically, except the horn would sound continually while i'm undoing those bolts!

Do us all a favour & buy a FORD FIESTA then.
You seem to have a lot of problem's or you're just bloody picky !

666 george said:

Do us all a favour & buy a FORD FIESTA then.
You seem to have a lot of problem's or you're just bloody picky !

Click to expand...

i'd love to know what you think i'm picky about... my steering wheel being wonky? it's 90 degrees out, so that's enough to correct in my mind at least.

also, i'm already trying to do you all a favour by keeping all my problems in one thread instead of creating a new one for every single issue, so you can either read my thread or ignore it, instead of seeing me start a new thread every week...

and if nobody wants to help me, they won't reply... and i will notice this and not bother coming back here, but so far i have had tons of fantastically useful help from many people all of whom I thank greatly! I'm becoming a novice home mechanic slowly... very slowly.

There is no reason for the horn to sound while undoing those bolts. Worse case maybe a loose wire touching the airbag. Take the fuse to the horn and the airbag out at least, you can manage that surely.

Brian S said:

There is no reason for the horn to sound while undoing those bolts. Worse case maybe a loose wire touching the airbag. Take the fuse to the horn and the airbag out at least, you can manage that surely.

Click to expand...

yeah, i can probably manage that... still very strange though because a screwdriver simply touching the screw isn't going to complete a circuit of any kind, so i still don't know why it's happening! perhaps because it's a magnetic screwdriver?

You won't know till to get the airbag off and check the wiring, then you can put us all out of our misery.

yeah, alright... fair point!

so i'll take out the airbag fuse and the horn fuse, undo the two star bolts on the back of the steering wheel, slowly pull the airbag off the wheel, disconnect the wires and lay the airbag somewhere where it will do no harm!

I will then take off the steering wheel nut, wiggle the steering wheel off, put it back on and reassemble everything in reverse order.

What size is the steering wheel nut? And does the airbag disconnect by unplugging or cutting wires? I assume unplugging...

Well that will be 1 more problem off your massive list. Now move on to the next one.

it's not off my list yet because i've not done it yet. if it goes well it'll be off my list, but if i find the steering wheel nut thread has previous been broken and glued, for example, i'll have more problems!

And anyway, the next problem is already underway in this thread with a few replies from jamesmartin... about the ATF dripping from the bottom of the transfer box!

I'm flattered that you're reading my thread george, but you don't seem to want to be reading it... but you still are... not that i mind at all, but if you dislike it so much, feel free to not read it if ya know what i mean no offence meant... just confused as to why you dislike my thread so much yet continue to read it! lol

Cos I find hard to believe someone who own's a Discovery can be so dim. Don't take offence. Just take advice, have a try if it don't go right then ask more question's.

the horn is going off because the screwdriver is earthing the horn contact plate.

dont ask me why this is happening, but the principle is that the horn button connects the horn wire to the rest of the steering wheel which is earthed by the steering column.

if you are pressing just the slightest amount to move the plate etc then it will touch the rest of the gubbins and you get a horn. can be the only explanation. its not uncommon anyway. just remove the horn fuse whilst you do it as suggested.

on my 200 the wheel nut is 27mm so you can use your wheel brace, which is kind of lan rover. on a 300 defender i did it was either 22 or 24 mm and a td5 discovery i recently did was either 22 or 24mm also.

im guessing your 300 disco will be 22 or 24, but ould be 27, but you have your wheelbrace for that

I think the problem is you think too much. See a problem, read up on it, get the tools out. If you get stuck then ask for advice.

You will sort things out quicker and learn quicker.

Another option is to have a list of things to do and invest in the fuel to drive to one of us, I have a double garage and loads of tools and am quite happy to offer help and advise and even tea, as a few people on here know.

Matthew has offered much the same and I am sure others are like minded.

Helping don't cost us anything and if you do it under supervision you will gain confidence.

s'ok george... i appreciate the honesty!

for clarification though, i'm not dim... really i'm not... i understand stuff when people tell me it but often it doesn't relate to the bit of the car that's in front of me or simply doesn't make sense as a sentence in the english language! that's just the nature of human beings though.

As for just giving it a go and asking questions if it doesn't go right, that's not so easy for me. the Disco is my only method of getting to work. if I break it or screw something up that then needs a garage (a) it's stuck on my drive and (b) i can't easily get to work.

Plus, i have no money, so breaking something is not an option and buying surplus parts just in case i need them is not an option either.

Plus, if i order stuff to do a job and i'm missing even the smallest thing, if I can't source it locally in my town at the places i can get to on foot, again i cannot get to work on Monday and the car is stranded on my drive potentially.

Oh, and the other thing... i'm incredibly short of time normally, so simply going outside to see if I can take the wheel apart without any advice would take too long because i'd spend ages out there looking at it, eventually get half way through the job, ask a question, wait too long for a response and then not have time to put it all back together again before i need to use the car!

So basically, i need to know *exactly* what i'm doing beforehand and make damn sure i have all the necessary tools and parts before i begin.

i do have common sense and can usually just look at stuff and figure it out, but when it comes to the Disco, i am often unsure about stuff. For example, the bolts on the handbrake drum that hold the prop shaft in place... i had to undo those to change the rear doughnut, and daren't touch them just in case the bolts fell inside the drum and this was actually a bigger job than i thought. I suspected they were captive, but wasn't sure, hence asking for advice. But i asked for advice before i attempted the job because otherwise it could have been too late and there's me with 4 bolts rattling around inside the handbrake drum because i'd just "given it a go"...

i'm in a tricky situation, with little money, no time, minimal skills, minimal tools and a land rover which i cannot get rid of and is my daily transport!

I think i've rattled off a similar post to this one in the past in this thread...

I changed my doughnt without touching the handbrake side!

Tell me you have a Haynes manual. That is very helpful for most jobs.