Cliff's Disco 2 thread

[Cliff4WD]

As always I admire you willingness to persevere. I gave up on mine when the FPR failed and the front steel steering pipes....

Thanks for the support. I've done the FPR twice and replaced rear ACE pipes. I'll be doing front ACE and PS pipes no doubt soon. I've also welded the chassis, welded the screen surround, bonnet hinges and scuttle (now twice), tailgate door hinges replaced, fitted a new head gasket, upgraded the turbo wastegate actuator with a Forge Motorsports one, a turbo blanket, and fitted a Mumby boost control valve, made a bespoke battery tray and fitted a twin battery setup with split charging system, replaced Alternator, removed the rear seats and fitted a commercial floor and bulkhead, rear hub replaced, front NS halfshaft had new CV boot, fitted an Ashcroft CDL lever and upgraded the SLABS ECU to allow TC and diff locking, SLS ride height sensors, Injector harness, injector seals, fuel pump, MAF and MAP sensors, Thermostat, rear door lock actuator, brake lines, brake discs and pads all round, refurbed the rear ARB with new bush bearing in the ACE long arm, rebuilt the front twin cardan prop, and probably more that I've forgotten about. Now add the ball joints and refurbishing work from this round.

Right now the transfer box is covered in oil so that looks like it will need to come out for some work. The spigot bearing in the crank screams in pain and could do with sorting out, and then there's the rest of the 22 year old components to worry about.

The vehicle was considered a scrapper when it first failed MOT for the rear chassis legs corrosion but I wasn't having that, so borrowed a welder, bought a sheet of steel and got to work. I could do without the aggro and the pain, but I'm now too invested to let it go. Not sure how much time I have though as it's getting harder and harder to find the energy to do work like this, especially with limited facilities. I'd like to keep it going and fit a new galvanized chassis, and running gear, but I'm now thinking that may be too much. Also I'll be 82 when it reaches historical vehicle status so probably too ambitious an expectation. I'll probably become that old fella with a rotting Land Rover on the drive who refuses to sell it

 

[Cliff4WD]

Finally finished the footwell welding today, although I still have some filler and seam sealer to apply. It's taken a ridiculous amount of time and effort to do what I thought would be a rotten but fairly straight forward job. Seems the time it takes to cut out and weld in new steel when you have little to no access and can't see what you're doing multiplies exponentially with frustration and discomfort. I'll not write too much as it's all been said before, but I'll post up some of the photos I've taken. One thing to note is the rotten floor panel I found on this side hiding under the under-seal. It just goes to show what you can't see happening when it's hidden from view.

I had to cut that out and make a patch panel to replace it, same with the section above it.

Pedals are in the way so next bit of the Disco to add to my parts stack was the throttle pedal.

Primed and ready for the next phase

 

[mikeau]

You're making a tidy job of that. Hats off.

 

[jenks69]

Once again great work

 

[German Grüner]

Very good your welds!

 

[Cliff4WD]

I've been slowly getting the offside maintenance/repairs completed. Getting the welding out of the way was great but it's only part of the story of course. I still had the ball joints to get out and replace and I have a humongous pile of parts to put it all back together.

The first thing I wanted to sort having welded up the scuttle, was to refit the air intake plenum and pillar trims and prevent rain water from getting down off the screen into the scuttle. Before the intake plenum could go back on, I refitted the brake servo and master cylinder, reconnected the brake pedal, and refitted the throttle pedal. I also gave the wiper motor assembly a good cleanup and rust treatment re-paint. I've already resealed the heater blower intake and added additional drain holes so that water can escape if it does get in, so good contact between the rubber strips and the screen is my aim. I gave the air intake plenum rubber strip a thorough clean and did what I could to 'revitalize' it, however it's 23 years old so probably not going to seal that great. If anybody knows a supplier of the strip in the profile to fit, it would be good to know. The same issue exists with the A piller trims: the rubber strips are old and don't want to stay stuck to the trim.
I gave the intake plenum and the trims a good clean and polish to remove the white surface 'bloom' ...

... and cleaned and reattached the rubber strips.

After thoroughly cleaning and degreasing, I used new double sided tape to attach the strip. Turns out this wasn't quite the success I hoped as the tape I used wasn't strong enough. I'll need to find something better and more akin to the stuff the LR OEM used originally.

I've given up for the moment on getting the trim refitted as it's been putting up a fight. I think that the lack of strength in my hands since suffering nerve damage is preventing me from rolling it enough to locate the clips.

Moving on then, time to do those ball joints. Panhard rod off the knuckle first ...

... followed by a good day's struggle to undo and remove the caliper, hub, and knuckle. Suffice to say the amount of corrosion didn't make disassembly at all easy. I didn't have to resort to grinding or cutting though, just a lot of effort.

Then it was time to get the G clamp and breaker bar out and press those joints out. Of course, I'd been working with the vehicle on axle stands, not quite enough room this side to get the breaker bar and socket on the clamp, so more faffing about shifting the stands to support the chassis and allow the axle to drop down and give the working clearance needed. I had a hell of a job shifting the top joint (mainly because I hadn't made the space I needed) and the joint gave up on me.

Don't try applying pressure to the taper as it doesn't work :lolno:

Things went a little more smoothly once I lowered the axle, and with both joints out, I got cracking cleaning, rust treating, and painting.

It was then in with the new joints and some black paint.

I'm now waiting on the knuckle to stew away in my electrolysis bath. The neighbours ...

... are getting a bit fed up with my grinder!

 

[mikeau]

After thoroughly cleaning and degreasing, I used new double sided tape to attach the strip. Turns out this wasn't quite the success I hoped as the tape I used wasn't strong enough. I'll need to find something better and more akin to the stuff the LR OEM used originally.

Friend of mine used to be a panel beater and swears this is the only stuff to use;

https://amzn.to/3o2yoMd

(Not tried it myself)

 

[Cliff4WD]

Friend of mine used to be a panel beater and swears this is the only stuff to use;

https://amzn.to/3o2yoMd

(Not tried it myself)

I've ordered a roll, so we'll see if does the job. Cheers

 

[Cliff4WD]

I don't know why I haven't used electrolysis to remove rust before now?

This was the state of things, a mix of caked on mud and rust. I had a hell of a job getting the hub and CV joint out of the knuckle housing; it was well and truly corroded in there. Heat, penetrating fluid, and a big hammer and flat thin chisel won the day eventually

I gave the knuckle a going over with my needle gun and a chisel to remove the heavy surface rust flakes and then dunked it in my electrolysis bath

For anybody who doesn't know the system, this is just a tub full of water with a couple of handfuls of washing soda (I happened to have a large tub of the stuff left over so used it. Other options are available e.g. acetic acid - washing soda is an alkaline; the idea is to provide a more conductive electrolyte). I used my old battery charger and used some welding wire to connect the positive side to a piece of sacrificial steel to serve as the 'anode', and the knuckle (and caliper, carrier, etc.) strung together and connected to the negative.

I gave it about 48 hours stewing and then a wire brush over before giving it another overnight dip

The results are pretty remarkable really.

 

[Paul d]

I've been slowly getting the offside maintenance/repairs completed. Getting the welding out of the way was great but it's only part of the story of course. I still had the ball joints to get out and replace and I have a humongous pile of parts to put it all back together.

The first thing I wanted to sort having welded up the scuttle, was to refit the air intake plenum and pillar trims and prevent rain water from getting down off the screen into the scuttle. Before the intake plenum could go back on, I refitted the brake servo and master cylinder, reconnected the brake pedal, and refitted the throttle pedal. I also gave the wiper motor assembly a good cleanup and rust treatment re-paint. I've already resealed the heater blower intake and added additional drain holes so that water can escape if it does get in, so good contact between the rubber strips and the screen is my aim. I gave the air intake plenum rubber strip a thorough clean and did what I could to 'revitalize' it, however it's 23 years old so probably not going to seal that great. If anybody knows a supplier of the strip in the profile to fit, it would be good to know. The same issue exists with the A piller trims: the rubber strips are old and don't want to stay stuck to the trim.
I gave the intake plenum and the trims a good clean and polish to remove the white surface 'bloom' ...

... and cleaned and reattached the rubber strips.

After thoroughly cleaning and degreasing, I used new double sided tape to attach the strip. Turns out this wasn't quite the success I hoped as the tape I used wasn't strong enough. I'll need to find something better and more akin to the stuff the LR OEM used originally.

I've given up for the moment on getting the trim refitted as it's been putting up a fight. I think that the lack of strength in my hands since suffering nerve damage is preventing me from rolling it enough to locate the clips.

Moving on then, time to do those ball joints. Panhard rod off the knuckle first ...

... followed by a good day's struggle to undo and remove the caliper, hub, and knuckle. Suffice to say the amount of corrosion didn't make disassembly at all easy. I didn't have to resort to grinding or cutting though, just a lot of effort.

Then it was time to get the G clamp and breaker bar out and press those joints out. Of course, I'd been working with the vehicle on axle stands, not quite enough room this side to get the breaker bar and socket on the clamp, so more faffing about shifting the stands to support the chassis and allow the axle to drop down and give the working clearance needed. I had a hell of a job shifting the top joint (mainly because I hadn't made the space I needed) and the joint gave up on me.

Don't try applying pressure to the taper as it doesn't work :lolno:

Things went a little more smoothly once I lowered the axle, and with both joints out, I got cracking cleaning, rust treating, and painting.

It was then in with the new joints and some black paint.

I'm now waiting on the knuckle to stew away in my electrolysis bath. The neighbours ...

... are getting a bit fed up with my grinder!

Great work again .what paint did you use Cliff

 

[Cliff4WD]

Great work again .what paint did you use Cliff

Oh, I'm just brushing on some old left over 'Corroless Glass Reinforced Black Rust Killer Chassis Paint In One'. I'm also priming first with zinc rich primer that I have sitting around. Hopefully the zinc will act like galvanizing and the black top coat make things look more acceptable as well as providing another layer of rust protection. I'd usually spray and make a nice neat job of it but I really can't be arsed to mess about cleaning spray guns, so brush marks it is.

 

[jenks69]

Inspirational as always @Cliff4WD keep going you're over the worst of it now, and the original job is almost done.

 

[mikeau]

Oh, I'm just brushing on some old left over 'Corroless Glass Reinforced Black Rust Killer Chassis Paint In One'. I'm also priming first with zinc rich primer that I have sitting around. Hopefully the zinc will act like galvanizing and the black top coat make things look more acceptable as well as providing another layer of rust protection. I'd usually spray and make a nice neat job of it but I really can't be arsed to mess about cleaning spray guns, so brush marks it is.

I reckon if anyone notices the brush marks it will be a long way down their list of current concerns...

 

[Cliff4WD]

Who'd have thought it would have gotten too hot to work: I made good use of some 'Goldilocks' weather and got the knuckle, hub, brake caliper, etc., back together. New oil(s) on order and ACE long ram end of the ARB assy is in the electrolysis bath before refurb and refit. soon be able to get the wheels back on and drop it off the axle stands. Then its reassemble the interior. Lots to do yet but at least the major repairs are out the way.

Still to do:
--Refurbish front ACE ram assy and refit with new ARB bushes
--Refit front wings
--Refit offside front mudguard
--Fit sound damping sheets in footwells/floor
--Replace ACE transducer
--Reassemble interior - dash/ECUs/seats/etc.
--Offside rear door lock handle/actuator pin
--Transfer box oil leak (might need box refurb)
--Patch hole in nearside rear wheel arch
--Fabricate replacement mudguard plate
--Lift up boot door to better seal from rain water ingress
--Service - engine oil/filter, gearbox MTF, transfer box oil change, coolant
--Lanoguard (or similar) chassis
--Recover and refit headliner (only been out a few years now )
--Fit EGR valve removal kit (had this a while now too)
--Fit new top hose and outlet
--MOT
--Tax
--Go for a drive!

 

[Cliff4WD]

Today was refurb the ARB/ACE day. I'd left the ram end of the ARB with short and long arms, and the ARB mounting brackets in the electrolysis bath over the weekend since Thursday, it was beautifully clean with just the loose surface crud to wash off. I cleaned it up ready for disassembly, it came apart without any fuss, the bolt threads all being rust free and clean offered no resistance in undoing nuts. The nut holding the actuator (ram) on the long arm came straight off with aid of the windy gun, no 'special' or improvised tool needed this time.

With the actuator out of the way, I finished cleanup ready for a thinned coat of Corroless one coat.

Next task was to apply the paint and then clean the actuator and remove the old perished rubber boot...

... and fit a new replacement

it was then reassemble and fit the new Meyle heavy duty drop links

Believe it or not, that all managed to eat up 5 hours of work time, so refitting to the vehicle will have to wait till next session.

 

[Cliff4WD]

Refitted the ARB/ACE and applied a bit of rust prevention.

First job, clean up track rod, axle, etc.

Next, it was fit rubber bushes to the ARB, put the fixing brackets on them, and then struggle with it trying to hold it in position while trying to insert bolt. Turns out I'm not the weight lifter I once was, so used the jack to support it.

it was then bolt and torque the drop links

I also gave the panhard bar a good wire brushing cleanup and refitted it too.

All ready for some rust prevention treatment.

 

[jenks69]

Edging ever closer! Nice to see new parts going on too!

 

[mikeau]

Thats an interesting ARB arrangement on that model. Is it factory like that or after market..?

 

[Cliff4WD]

Thats an interesting ARB arrangement on that model. Is it factory like that or after market..?

It's factory. The vehicle has ACE (Active Cornering Enhancement), the ARB swivels in 2 rubber bush mounts and is bolted to the axle via 2 drop links. An hydraulic actuator is located on the offside end of the ARB via short and long arms. The actuator pushes/pulls on the ARB to provide a torsion force to counteract body roll when cornering. Works great in practice as it aids cornering significantly. The vehicle is whole different animal if the ACE isn't working.
There are lots of comments made against the system (mainly by people who don't want to pay to maintain/repair it) and it gets removed and replaced with a standard non ACE ARB. This is a major mistake IMHO. Obviously this a feature that's relevant to tarmac road holding, so maybe not so desirable for extreme off-roading, etc. Same deal with the SLS (Self Levelling Suspension), gets criticized and ripped off and standard coils put on instead.

 

[Cliff4WD]

rogress has been slow but getting there. The hosepipe ban has made it a bit awkward as I wanted to pressure wash the oil off of the transfer box. I had to get underneath and give it a brush clean with jizer and then hand spray rinse. Hopefully I'll get a better idea of where it's been leaking the oil from (I expect from the the usual place). I don't have the energy right now to be removing gearboxes so I'll do the oil change and then look for the leak(s).
I've filled the axle and fitted a new brass fill plug. Both front wings are back on, arch liners, underseal repainted, rust protection painted onto the chassis rails, etc.
Today I adjusted the jacking and axle stand arrangement and removed the under tray and gave the sump and transmission a good cleanup. The entire engine and transmission is now relatively clean. I also replaced the ACE transducer. I had to order up a 27mm deep socket and juggle with various 3/8" and 1/2" extensions, etc., to get at it, but it's now replaced. I ordered the transducer a few years ago now, so it was high time that I actually fitted the thing. Not much to show in photos of this stuff, just the transducer

it is tight getting at it behind the pipes ...

The biggest problem I had though was getting the connector back on. I really struggled with this for some reason, I'm still not sure that I've gotten it on tight and secure.

Next job then is to replace the gearbox and transfer box oil, get the front wheels back on and drop it off of the stands. Oh, I also have the engine oil and filters to to replace. After that, its putting everything back inside the vehicle starting with the dash. I might even make it in tie for PB.