Dear All,

About three years ago, and after many years of loyal service, my old 1992 TDi200 died. To be truthful I would have got it fixed (circumstances prevented DIY) but my wife told me it would not be a good idea. I really liked that car and, like many other women so did she; ride height, safe, sure footed, comfy, etc. Since then we have owned an old Sierra estate, Toyota RAV4 5 door (attempting to recreate the TD on a smaller scale), and finally, a Skoda Felicia (after the RAV was stolen). Whilst all the time being 'in denial' about what was always the right vehicle for us.

Oh happy day. Last week we bought a remarkably well preserved V plate Series II TD5 GS and it's great; and what a difference in performance but still essentially a Discovery. I previously read your forum opinions on TDi/TD5 choice and did wonder whether to stay with a TDi engine, but now I don't care. The car has done 114k miles and came from a dealer without a service history so I would be grateful for comments on the following:

There are CD based service manuals on ebay for about £5. Are they any good or should I buy a Haynes? I really need to make sure it is up to spec service wise.
It does not have air suspension or ACE (which I believe is a good thing) but does seem a little soft. Would this be normal for the mileage or just how they are?
The wipers seem to have lost their park position and you have to fiddle a bit with the switch to sit them down. They work fine in continuous operation but are everywhere on intermittent. The garage man said he will fix them but is 30miles away, so I wondered if anyone knows if it is an easy fix.
Any other wisdom regarding TD5 ownership would be most welcome

Sincerely,

Pat

Pat = welcome to the forum...

Have a look here & see if it helps:
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/wipers-dont-return-parked-position-59747.html

Also search for the RAVE CD - a download of the factory workshop manuals...

try this link The Green Oval - Downloads | Land Rover Data

Hi & welcome
Perso find rave etc boreing and hard to find stuff unless you need it for somthing realy technical.

I would change all your oils, diffs,gearbox(unless it's an auto!),transfer box,engine & all your filters.grease your prop shafts and get rid of the EGR if it's still there!

I bought my Disco about 6 weeks ago and would recommend a combination of Haynes/RAVE. The both have their strong and weak points IMO.

Dear All,

Thanks for your helpful replies. I now have a 609Megabyte manual (eek!!) and will, in due course, get round to looking at it. I am more comfortable with a Haynes book to be honest so will probably bite the bullet and shell out the £20 (anyone want one for a RAV4?)

Do a full change of all oils and filters. Absolutely, obvious now that you have mentioned it.

I did look at the non-parking wipers thread. Unfortunately it was not really concluded

I just noticed an ACE reservoir with pipes running from it; so I think that, although I did not know it, my car has ACE. How can I tell? There is a light on the dash which comes on then goes out on startup, as the owner book says it should. Does this mean that the ACE is there AND working?

Best Regards,

Pat

Pat Bryant said:

(anyone want one for a RAV4?)

Pat

Click to expand...

Don;t think we have many Hairdressers on thsi forum???

If you have ACE, look for:

1. a large metal box attached to the chassis rail under the drivers' seat - there'll be around 6 pipes attached to it - 4 of these will fun forwards fastedned to the chassis, and be visible behind the front driveres side front wheel.

2. Under the bonnet, there will be 2 reservoirs, one for PAS and one for the ACE.

If you have it, the system can be troublesome, and expensive to repair. Make sure you look after (waxoyl?) the pipes - if they corrode thru it can be pricey...

See my thread http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/ace-bin-repair-80305.html

Dear Martin,

Took me a little while, but I finally got the bit about 'hairdressers'

Yep, it's a GS and so, though I did not know it, has ACE. Furthermore my wife took a motorway trip (150miles) yesterday and got an ACE warning light during the journey, which I think was amber. After a break, a short outing showed no repeat of the warning.

I have read through your advised thread - thanks.

Given my preferred driving style it seems that the wise thing would be to get shut, although, as it is my new 'toy' and there is an immediate cost here, I might like to try to fix whatever is showing the fault first. What is worrying is the report of a complete failure which stopped the vehicle from running and the involvement of the ECU. Do you know if the ECU will disable the car in case of a major ACE failure or is it possible to easily remove the drive belt from the pump pulley and drive without ACE; because in the thread it suggested that leaky pipes were the main problem, and I could imagine losing all the fluid which, I expect, would trash the pump etc. I suppose what I am asking is: do you know what the electronics are actually sensing in this system?

Best,

Pat