New to the forum just got a 98 disco

[brad s]

Just introducing myself... Brad From Boston USA... Just picked up a broken down 98 disco that was parked under a tree for 2 years... Seller wanted 10,000USD before knowing it was in rough condition, after 2 months of talking I picked it up for 4000USD. Wouldn't start, when it was jumped it would run rough at 3500 rpm then die, all of the doors were frozen, all the the lock actuators were busted, the door locks were not functioning, the alarm would just go off at random. Pretty much all the electronics were not functioning...

I was able to limp it home with my girl friend following me with a jumper box...

Replaced all the vaccum lines which were rotted, flushed all the fluids, replaced the battery, fixed some hacked wiring under the hood, turned over and it idled it 3500RPM, then once in gear it ran normal. I traced the issue back to the throttle linkage, last tech who worked on this bent the TB bump stop down to increase idle, I'm assuming to keep the car from dying. I bent it back, pulled the cap off the idle bolt and fine tuned it, runs fine now.

Did plugs and wires, motor is running fine.

Got all the doors open, all the interior trim out, greased all the door joints, found only two of my door lock actuators were broken... For some reason I can't get my rear door to open all the time, no matter how much I grease it it only works for a few days, then seizes closed again, ideas on that?

I took the two door lock actuator apart and found the internal 12v motor was broken, I simply went to a local electronics store, bought two new motors for 5USD, put them back in the actuators, they work fine now. The dealership wanted $250USD for new lock actuators so this was a nice cheap fix.

Most of the gounds in the disco were shot, fixed those, replaced some blown fuses. Fuse number 13 and the ground behind the passenge side kick pannel were responcible for the alarm faults... Now everything works.

Questions!!!

A question, does the front bumper need to come off to replace the headlight washers? One of mine is broken and I just recived the replacement parts!

My steering fluid leaks, I've been adding a leak stopper, it has been slowing it down, but it's still leaking, where should I look for this leak? It's dripping down the joint to the steering arm.

Over bumps my shocks hiss, normal or time for new shocks?

As stated before, my rear door only works for a few days before seizing shut again... I pull the trim, open it, grease the joints, works for a few days, then seizes...

Pics of the current condition

http://members.aol.com/bswerl2/detail1.jpg

http://members.aol.com/bswerl2/detail3.jpg

[V8_Disco]

Hi Welcome to the Forum ... I have a D11 so not alot of help with your issues however try a search as the light washer has come up as in issue last week ...

and the lock issue there is a small spring that can fail ...

some one with a D1 will be along soon

Aidan

[HarryD]

Hi Brad and welcome!!!
Personally i am unable to help with the vast majority of your enquiry, but no doubt by the end of today, those with far more experience will have helped.
having said that, the washer jet assemblies can be replaced with the bumper in place. It's just a bit fiddly. As for the rear door, i had a similar problem which was eventually fixed by a squirt of "WD40" into the handle assembly from OUTSIDE. This was done with the door in one of it's refusing to open moments. having lubed, i worked the handle for a few minutes and it worked. I understand that there may me mechanical failures though, so perhaps I was just in time. This was months and months ago with no repeat of the problem, having previously been quite frequent.
Nice looking Disco though.

[oRGie]

Nice work, looks lovely allready ;)

Leaky steering boxes are very common, a small leak is allmost to be expected, mine has been damp for over a year with no need to top up fluid, so its a very small leak. I believe a recon box is the way forward if it gets too bad.

As above with rear door, mines a d2 also, but the wd40 through the hole when the badge is removed worked for me and hasn't stuck again for over 6 months.

All my landies have made that hiss noise going over bumps, I dont think thats a problem, at least I dont have any handling issues, nor problems when using the full articulation :)

[polarstar]

also as your from the US if your not sure what WD40 is it's a penetrating oil spray lubricant,
works wonders on the rear door lock.

[brad s]

Thanks for all the comments guys! Yeah we have WD40 here in the US, I've been using oil which I think drys up pretty quickly, I'll give the WD40 a shot later today and see how it works.

Right now I'm pulling all the side moldings off the bumpers and painting them with truck bed coating, I'll post pics if they come out nice.

[Ed Cheung]

Welcome to the forum, Bard. From the picture, your Disco looks like it is in good shape, after those minor repair... it should be as good as new. You will enjoy it more when the winter comes, BTW my disco is the same year and color as your but not as shiny. I was in Boston from 95-98, a very nice place to live. Live in Newton for a while then moved to Beacon Hill to cut the travelling time to school.
Ed

[HarryD]

Brad, just a thought. When under the bumper on your back fixing that washer nozzle assembly, beware. There is not a lot of slack on the pipes that run from the "t" piece connector and then to the nozzles. The temptation may be to use brute force to give yourself any needed slack but the "t" piece can be very brittle and then break if pulled about too hard. Be prepared for the washer fluid to pour out when you replace the damaged unit.