Buying a 1998 Discovery 1 Tomorrow!!!!!!!

dcwhybrew

Adventurer
...15-16L/100km (15-14mpg for you US guys). How does that compare to you guys and your trucks?.

For the D1, probably a little better than normal for combined highway/city driving. I think the MPG rating in the us was 12/16. I think I usually got 14 combined.

...curious to see if changing the plugs will make my fuel mileage any better?...

Probably not enough of a change to notice. You may notice it running smoother with the new plugs and wires. Do yourself a favor and use a 3,000 mile oil change interval. I used 2,500 because it was easier to remember the mileage points.
 

ipgregory

Adventurer
You're doing pretty good. 11-13 is normal for my D1s. 14-16 for my D90 but its a lot lighter and I don't run the AC much.
 

JeremyT101

Adventurer
Okay guys another check in for the truck. I changed the oil/filter to Rotella T 15w/40 and Napa gold something that the LR mechanic gave me. You should have seen the stuff that came out of that engine! It was Black. She feels much happier now I think. I drove it 500km this past weekend to do some camping on the beach at my yet unopened cottage. The truck was perfect for driving down the road to the cottage, which in the spring time has been known to get some cars stuck. We then turned north again and drove another 100km north, just to see what was up there. Pulled off the highway at a yet unopened provincial park. Had a picnic in the back of the truck, went for a walk, and then turned around and drove back. I know you guys won't believe this but on the way up, and back, i calculated that we were averaging almost 19mpg. The truck, from Totally full, to above a half tank drove 350km. I then put 25L in it, and drove it back down to exactly the same spot on the gas gauge, right above half. Got 205km out of that gas. Now, it is entirely possible the gauge is off. I have a totally stock truck, with the bottom of my bumper still intact and relatively bald road tires, going 100km/h in the right hand lane and not speeding up to maintain speed on hills with 91 octane in it, so who knows. I'm going to change the plugs this week, I found the champion copper 12something serial number that was recommended in this thread. But about the gas mileage. That number makes me not want to lift it or put AT tires on it. 19mpg is just so good. I was thinking before I drive for three weeks out to Atlantic Canada in the fall I was going to deal with all the maintenance issues over the summer then upgrade the suspension to OME MD or something and put new tires on (235/85). I was thinking what I might do now, if the suspension doesn't sag too much with the weight of our gear, is just wait to do that and go with like 245/70's without the upgrade. I know I need new tires so I have been looking at the BFG A/T, general grabber AT2, Michilin LTX. Just dunno which way to go yet.

I also bought a grease gun and some grease to be able to get all the U joints and slip shafts. The unfortunate thing is that, for the front U joints the grease gun tip part that goes onto the nipple fits between the yoke and the nipple, but for the rear it does not. So I was able to grease both slip shafts and the front U joints, but not the rears yet. I guess I may have to file down the metal tip part? Anyone had this issue before?

Thanks guys! Here she is!

DSC_2006.jpg
 
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rijosho

Adventurer
Hmmmmm, that may not be the most accurate way to measure your avg mpg's. Without going crazy to be super accurate on your calcuations, you can do the following:

1) Fill the tank all the way up
2) Reset trip odometer
3) If you have a GPS that also tracks distance travelled, zero that one out
4) Drive to your destination, or wherever, until you need to fill up again (assuming same day - i.e. a day trip of over 100 miles)
5) Pull into gas station.
6) Mark down both how many miles your trip odometer says you've travelled, as well as the distance your GPS says you've travelled. If there is a difference, either take the GPS reading, or average the 2 together.
7) Refill Tank
8) Note how many gallons/liters it takes to fill up
9) Divide the number of miles/kms you travelled by how many gallons/liters it took to REFILL your tank
10) Post up your results
 

Owyhee H

Adventurer
You are not going to increase your gas mileage by lifting or bigger tires. Just drive it the way it is until you find a weakness. Lots of D1's running all over the world in stock form. You might find that it does everything you want stock. You will be spending plenty on gas no matter what.

Im glad you got this sorted out, I know it was frustrating for a while. This is an invaluable lesson for the future, sometimes the best lessons are the hardest (ask me how I know).
 

JeremyT101

Adventurer
You are not going to increase your gas mileage by lifting or bigger tires. Just drive it the way it is until you find a weakness. Lots of D1's running all over the world in stock form. You might find that it does everything you want stock. You will be spending plenty on gas no matter what.

Im glad you got this sorted out, I know it was frustrating for a while. This is an invaluable lesson for the future, sometimes the best lessons are the hardest (ask me how I know).

Did you mean to say Decrease, rather then increase? I know for sure lifting/bigger tires will never increase gas mileage, but I know it will decrease it significantly, or so I have read. I plan to keep driving it until it shows a weakness, but I know the front tires are almost down to the wear bars, so that will be something to keep an eye on. I know this SUV is pretty damn capable in stock form and I usually prefer the scenic not technical route. I'm glad I got it sorted too, it is a really sweet truck, albeit frustrating at some moments.
 

JeremyT101

Adventurer
Hmmmmm, that may not be the most accurate way to measure your avg mpg's. Without going crazy to be super accurate on your calcuations, you can do the following:

1) Fill the tank all the way up
2) Reset trip odometer
3) If you have a GPS that also tracks distance travelled, zero that one out
4) Drive to your destination, or wherever, until you need to fill up again (assuming same day - i.e. a day trip of over 100 miles)
5) Pull into gas station.
6) Mark down both how many miles your trip odometer says you've travelled, as well as the distance your GPS says you've travelled. If there is a difference, either take the GPS reading, or average the 2 together.
7) Refill Tank
8) Note how many gallons/liters it takes to fill up
9) Divide the number of miles/kms you travelled by how many gallons/liters it took to REFILL your tank
10) Post up your results

Sounds good. I don't have a GPS but I have an app on my iPhone I use that GPS tracks me when I go road biking, so I can use that. Will report back next time I go for a long drive.
 

LtFuzz

Explorer
I used to get 17-19 mpg highway out of my bone-stock '96 D1 pretty consistently, so I'm not surprised. I honestly think it's the roof-rack, not a mild lift, that kills mpgs.

The SD rack on my 4.6 costs me 3 highway miles per gallon.
 

chris snell

Adventurer
If you have a grease fitting that you can't get to, you will need to remove that end of the driveshaft to grease it. You'll need two 9/16" wrenches for this task. It's simple: unbolt, grease, reattach. Having those wrenches in your kit is a good idea anyway. If you damage a diff or axle, you can disconnect a driveshaft and drive home with the center diff locked.
 

JeremyT101

Adventurer
Thanks Chris. Ill take a look at that. I would assume its best to mark both sides to make sure you are bolting it back in the same orientation? Does one need a tq wrench to tighten the bolts back up. It says they need something like 57ft/lb. is that tension something that can be achieved with two wrenches?
 

chris snell

Adventurer
I've never used a torque wrench. I get them as snug as I can without going full Thog on them and shearing bolts or rounding nuts. Tight is tight. Too tight is two pieces.

You can mark the orientation with the corner of a flat head screwdriver.
 

JeremyT101

Adventurer
Okay fair enough. I will see about that then. Woke up today to a new surprise, Check Engine light! yay. Only symptom is yesterday when i was on my way home, stopped to grab some food, when I started it back up again, there was a small roaring sound like the fans on full or a big diesel revving its engine next to you. Was only there for 30-40 seconds and as I pulled out onto the road to get it home it went away when it hit 2k rpms. Drove it to do more errands later on and never heard a peep. Now this! Called the mechanic, he got me to check the fan, seemed to spin freely (could have been a slipping belt of some sort?). Oh well. Aside from a 120km drive to Toronto tomorrow I'm committed to, its gonna sit until Tuesday when I'm taking it in to get it scanned. Never a dull moment!
 

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