Disco noob saying hi !!

[Fireball]

Hi all,

Brand new to the forum, and to Discos, having always had a Hilux Surf, but after yet another head failure, I've decided to give good old LR a go :D

I've got hold of a 1995 300tdi auto for very little money, and whilst she's competing with Starship Enterprise on the mileage, (170000) she drives ok. Needless to say got a few problems, and as I'm not too familiar with these, wanted to see if I could get a bit of advice.

Most bits need doing are straightforward, apart from rear o/s shock, the casing has rusted through, will this be ok for a week or 2 until I get round to changing it? Brake pedal is hard, real hard, and requires huge effort to stop. I've read on another thread this could be vacuum hoses, but can't locate where these are, anyone got a pic? I don't think its servo or master cylinder, as pedal drops on start up, but I could be wrong. Got a nice oil leak too, but need to identify where this is coming from. She needs quite a bit of welding too, but I can do this over the next few days.

Anyway, thats it (for now I hope!) and sorry to jump straight in with questions, but any help appreciated.

Many thanks.

[JulesV8]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure someone will come along and be able to answer your questions, I'm not massively familiar with the 300TDi.

Good luck with all the welding

[Fireball]

[quote=JulesV8;1088382]Welcome to the forum, I'm sure someone will come along and be able to answer your questions, I'm not massively familiar with the 300TDi.


Or not, as the case may be hehe :rolleyes:

[JulesV8]

Well, you cant win them all:)

Patience,someone will get back to you

[bilge rat]

the brakes i would check they are all free. my rears seized and i didnt really know untill i stripped them . as you say pump pedal hard with engine off hold pedal start and pedal should drop. the pump is on the drivers side of the engine half way down the block, check all the pipes from there to the servo . any hissing around the servo ?. cant think of any more ?. alan...

[Draglink]

Awreet?

[thebiglad]

Hi all,

Brand new to the forum, and to Discos, having always had a Hilux Surf, but after yet another head failure, I've decided to give good old LR a go :D

I've got hold of a 1995 300tdi auto for very little money, and whilst she's competing with Starship Enterprise on the mileage, (170000) she drives ok. Needless to say got a few problems, and as I'm not too familiar with these, wanted to see if I could get a bit of advice.

Most bits need doing are straightforward, apart from rear o/s shock, the casing has rusted through, will this be ok for a week or 2 until I get round to changing it? Brake pedal is hard, real hard, and requires huge effort to stop. I've read on another thread this could be vacuum hoses, but can't locate where these are, anyone got a pic? I don't think its servo or master cylinder, as pedal drops on start up, but I could be wrong. Got a nice oil leak too, but need to identify where this is coming from. She needs quite a bit of welding too, but I can do this over the next few days.

Anyway, thats it (for now I hope!) and sorry to jump straight in with questions, but any help appreciated.

Many thanks.

Hi Fireball (that's not a racing dinghy by any chance??),
1. the brakes willl very likely be the rear calipers are seized. Strip, clean and re-assemble and they'll be fine, Put new pads in while you're there and don't be surprised if they're worn 'on the ****', so to speak.

Then do the same on the front. Pads can be bought from www.paddockspares.com (http://www.paddockspares.com) for about a £10 per axle.

2. The rear shock - if it's just the top part of the casing that's rusted it's no problem, if it's the bottom part is it leaking fluid??

Cheers, good luck & welcome

Dave

[Fireball]

Hi Fireball (that's not a racing dinghy by any chance??),
1. the brakes willl very likely be the rear calipers are seized. Strip, clean and re-assemble and they'll be fine, Put new pads in while you're there and don't be surprised if they're worn 'on the ****', so to speak.

Then do the same on the front. Pads can be bought from www.paddockspares.com (http://www.paddockspares.com) for about a £10 per axle.

2. The rear shock - if it's just the top part of the casing that's rusted it's no problem, if it's the bottom part is it leaking fluid??

Cheers, good luck & welcome

Dave

Thanks for reply, and the good advice. I am hoping to strip down brakes tomorrow, so I will see what I find, but it sounds reasonable the rears are seized. The rear shock doesn't appear to be losing fluid, but I will change it anyway. Fireball comes not from the dinghy, but an incident involving me, an incinerator, a can of unleaded, and a trip to A & E !! The scars will fade :D

Anyway, thanks again.

Cheers,

John.

[thebiglad]

Thanks for reply, and the good advice. I am hoping to strip down brakes tomorrow, so I will see what I find, but it sounds reasonable the rears are seized. The rear shock doesn't appear to be losing fluid, but I will change it anyway. Fireball comes not from the dinghy, but an incident involving me, an incinerator, a can of unleaded, and a trip to A & E !! The scars will fade :D

Anyway, thanks again.

Cheers,

John.

Hi John, just a small tip for you when you do the shocks, take your time !!

The top nuts will almost certainly be seized on and if you force them off they will break and the hangers are expensive to replace (you know how I know, don't you:rolleyes:)

I found if I used a combo of easing them off a bit, spraying oil in behind, winding the nut back on, then oil the front etc etc, then I got mine off intact, but they're NOT easy.

The bottom nut will also be difficult. If it gets too bad, get the grinder out and chop off the bottom nut.

I try to do things to an engineering standard, but sometimes these corroded fixings get the better of me, so the big hammer comes out.

Well they ask for it, don't they??:o

Re the brakes, have something ready to compress the pistons back in after you've cleaned them with brake fluid and a tooth brush or similar. A 'G' cramp or similar is good.

Don't forget to take of the top off the master cylinder before you compress the pistons.

Good luck

Dave

[Fireball]

Hi John, just a small tip for you when you do the shocks, take your time !!

The top nuts will almost certainly be seized on and if you force them off they will break and the hangers are expensive to replace (you know how I know, don't you:rolleyes:)

I found if I used a combo of easing them off a bit, spraying oil in behind, winding the nut back on, then oil the front etc etc, then I got mine off intact, but they're NOT easy.

The bottom nut will also be difficult. If it gets too bad, get the grinder out and chop off the bottom nut.

I try to do things to an engineering standard, but sometimes these corroded fixings get the better of me, so the big hammer comes out.

Well they ask for it, don't they??:o

Re the brakes, have something ready to compress the pistons back in after you've cleaned them with brake fluid and a tooth brush or similar. A 'G' cramp or similar is good.

Don't forget to take of the top off the master cylinder before you compress the pistons.

Good luck

Dave

Thanks Dave, sound advice, especially regarding the rear shocks, as I have been known to just go and get a bigger hammer, if you see what I mean :D

As for the brakes, I've since learnt that the problem started after new discs and pads were fitted all round, so could be a simple bleed required, I will try that first, its certainly done enough miles since they were fitted to bed them in. Also at higher speed (above 60mph) the brakes seem to work fine, with very little effort required to stop. Its only after you release and then re-apply at lower speed that the pedal becomes hard and the brakes become ineffective again. Any thoughts?

Thanks again for your advice so far,

John

[SCHREIBER]

The brakes won't go hard if theres air in them, they will go soft;)

[thebiglad]

The brakes won't go hard if theres air in them, they will go soft;)

I agree with Schreiber, it's unlikely to be air in the lines needs bleeding.

Take the back wheels off and have a look.

Another thought is that even though the vehicle may have done some miles since the work, if the driver is light of the brake pedal they will NEVER bed-in - especially on the back.

Unfortunately what they probably need is a series of 60 down to 30mph severe braking sessions. The time it taks a Disco to build back up to speed will be enough between each braking session.

I know from personal experience (being a light-footed driver) that this will help.

Cheers
Dave

[Fireball]

The brakes won't go hard if theres air in them, they will go soft;)

Fair point - Cheers mate :D

I agree with Schreiber, it's unlikely to be air in the lines needs bleeding.

Take the back wheels off and have a look.

Another thought is that even though the vehicle may have done some miles since the work, if the driver is light of the brake pedal they will NEVER bed-in - especially on the back.

Unfortunately what they probably need is a series of 60 down to 30mph severe braking sessions. The time it taks a Disco to build back up to speed will be enough between each braking session.

I know from personal experience (being a light-footed driver) that this will help.

Cheers
Dave

Thanks again, I have nice quiet country roads early morning on my way to work, so will give the brakes a work out tomorrow morning. Haven't managed to strip them down yet, pi55ed down all weekend :(

Cheers Dve,

John.

[SCHREIBER]

Fair point - Cheers mate :D


No probs mate;)

[thebiglad]

Fair point - Cheers mate :D



Thanks again, I have nice quiet country roads early morning on my way to work, so will give the brakes a work out tomorrow morning. Haven't managed to strip them down yet, pi55ed down all weekend :(

Cheers Dve,

John.

Not sure that I understand you - do you mean it rained a bit where you are?

It's about 32° with us, but it was a bit hotter over the weekend :D:p;)

Cheers
Dave

[Fireball]

I agree with Schreiber, it's unlikely to be air in the lines needs bleeding.

Take the back wheels off and have a look.

Another thought is that even though the vehicle may have done some miles since the work, if the driver is light of the brake pedal they will NEVER bed-in - especially on the back.

Unfortunately what they probably need is a series of 60 down to 30mph severe braking sessions. The time it taks a Disco to build back up to speed will be enough between each braking session.

I know from personal experience (being a light-footed driver) that this will help.

Cheers
Dave

Finally got round to stripping rear brakes (in between the downpours) and they are working fine. Turns out it was the vacuum pump after all, which I have replaced, and brakes now working A1. One worry I have now, looking at the state of the vacuum pump, could it have damaged the camshaft? I'm guessing thats a head off job to replace, as the valves will drop when you remove it? I'm hoping I'm wrong, anyone have experience of this?

Many thanks,

John