1999 Disco I 300TDi: Fixes, Mods, & Trips
- Thread starter NW40
- Start date
NW40
Explorer
Just before Christmas, I headed down to the heated garage at Defenders Northwest with the two 3rd members in hand, and 12 hours of wrenching later (I'm slow...), drove away with my TrueTracs and 4.12's installed front and rear! Photos or it never happened, right? Only snapped a couple rather lame photos, but I was focused on getting the job done this time, not taking nice pictures...
The 2 regeared/TrueTrac'd 3rd members shown here, plus the stock rear 3rd member. The front stock diff was still installed at this point:
Check out the size of those HD ring gear teeth!
Here's the rear stock 3rd member coming out:
As predicted, I'm running 2400 RPM at 60 mph with my 245/75R16 tires and ZF Auto, which is 100 RPM above stock design with a 5-speed. So, as far as the Tdi is concerned, I'm geared a touch too low (4%) compared to production design, but I find it manageable. I can hit high 60s and even low 70s if I need to, but at that point I'm up around 2800rpm; still far below redline, but I don't push it. And on the plus side, with my new gearing, I now don't ever get near my EGT limit of 1250 degF, unless I'm climbing the Snoqualmie Pass. With my previous under-gearing, I'd have to drive to the EGT on some of the local freeway grades or it would exceed 1250 degF. So that's a huge benefit. And seemingly little to no affect on fuel mileage despite the increased acceleration.
All said and done, for the money I put into it, I'm happy I went with this setup. I sacrificed a bit of top end on the freeways, yes, but it's lowered my exhaust temps, I'm able to keep a bit more speed in the hills, and I now have stronger gears and TrueTracs for when the going gets tough!
Next time I need tires, I may raise the gearing with a slightly larger tire. Or not. I'll have a couple years on these gears by then, so will have a good sense for what direction I'll want to go.
The 2 regeared/TrueTrac'd 3rd members shown here, plus the stock rear 3rd member. The front stock diff was still installed at this point:
Check out the size of those HD ring gear teeth!
Here's the rear stock 3rd member coming out:
As predicted, I'm running 2400 RPM at 60 mph with my 245/75R16 tires and ZF Auto, which is 100 RPM above stock design with a 5-speed. So, as far as the Tdi is concerned, I'm geared a touch too low (4%) compared to production design, but I find it manageable. I can hit high 60s and even low 70s if I need to, but at that point I'm up around 2800rpm; still far below redline, but I don't push it. And on the plus side, with my new gearing, I now don't ever get near my EGT limit of 1250 degF, unless I'm climbing the Snoqualmie Pass. With my previous under-gearing, I'd have to drive to the EGT on some of the local freeway grades or it would exceed 1250 degF. So that's a huge benefit. And seemingly little to no affect on fuel mileage despite the increased acceleration.
All said and done, for the money I put into it, I'm happy I went with this setup. I sacrificed a bit of top end on the freeways, yes, but it's lowered my exhaust temps, I'm able to keep a bit more speed in the hills, and I now have stronger gears and TrueTracs for when the going gets tough!
Next time I need tires, I may raise the gearing with a slightly larger tire. Or not. I'll have a couple years on these gears by then, so will have a good sense for what direction I'll want to go.
NW40
Explorer
I lost power steering on my Disco a couple blocks from home yesterday. Looks like my steering box blew a seal and dumped all the PS fluid. Oh joy.
So, what’s a guy to do? My knowledgeable and trustworthy local Land Rover mechanic says a new Land Rover box is the only way to go. He swears by them and says all reman’d boxes are junk, but a brand new Land Rover box is something crazy like $1500+. Ouch! That’s out of my price range.
I’ve heard good things about reman'd boxes from Redhead Steering Gears, and they happen to be local to me. I think a Redhead box would run me about $450-$500 + core, and they have a quick turnaround. Might be able to work a deal with them in exchange for 3 cores that I have laying around. I've also seen references on the net to Cardone rebuilds, like this one for $350. Don't know much about them, though.
Anyone have another suggestion on replacement?
And fellow Rover owners, is the install straightforward for an amateur backyard mechanic? Any tips?
My Disco is also my daily driver, so I need to get it back on the road ASAP. I normally dig into more substantial jobs like this down at Defenders Northwest where spare parts are plentiful, the garage is warm, and professional help is steps away, but since my truck is out of commission, planning to gather everything I need and tackle this on my sloped driveway.
So, what’s a guy to do? My knowledgeable and trustworthy local Land Rover mechanic says a new Land Rover box is the only way to go. He swears by them and says all reman’d boxes are junk, but a brand new Land Rover box is something crazy like $1500+. Ouch! That’s out of my price range.
I’ve heard good things about reman'd boxes from Redhead Steering Gears, and they happen to be local to me. I think a Redhead box would run me about $450-$500 + core, and they have a quick turnaround. Might be able to work a deal with them in exchange for 3 cores that I have laying around. I've also seen references on the net to Cardone rebuilds, like this one for $350. Don't know much about them, though.
Anyone have another suggestion on replacement?
And fellow Rover owners, is the install straightforward for an amateur backyard mechanic? Any tips?
My Disco is also my daily driver, so I need to get it back on the road ASAP. I normally dig into more substantial jobs like this down at Defenders Northwest where spare parts are plentiful, the garage is warm, and professional help is steps away, but since my truck is out of commission, planning to gather everything I need and tackle this on my sloped driveway.
