Casper & Outono - 2x 1998 Discovery 1 Builds

[Outono]

Another day, another busted steering gear. Thanks BuyAutoParts! This one is going back… the splines on both the sector shaft and input shaft are toast.



Any recommendations on better options? A new one from RoversNorth or RoverParts is ridiculously expensive. It seems BAP is the only shop in town selling refurbs. I’m shipping my original rebuilt unit back to the shop to get the threads fixed, though they warned the sector shaft may not be easily repairable as its missing a chunk out of the side of it (I still don’t know how it happened - not clear if it happened during shipment or from their shop).

 

[Outono]

It's been quite a couple weeks. I sent the original steering gear back up to Straight Line Steering to get its threads all re-tapped. The BuyAutoParts unit was shipped back for a refund, but was lost in the mail. Just my luck. Fortunately, BAP still issued a full refund. So as far as Casper is concerned, we're still in a holding pattern until I get the original gear back from Straight Line.

But no project would be complete without constant threats to its future... My wife and I just bought a new house and, well, we just don't have the space for a project like this. That means this vehicle has to go. I intend on finishing the steering, putting some new brakes on it, and getting the title sorted.The goal is to let it go for roughly what I have into it. It's a great truck, but I think it's already come to the end of its life with me - time for a new owner.

So what next? Well, just because I can't have a project doesn't mean I can't have a Disco. A few days ago, I picked up another Disco 1. This one is in really great condition and has had tons of attention over the past couple of years. It was quite pricey as far as D1s go, but given the sheer amount of maintenace it has gone through, it was worth it. It'll need a little more work, including the new suspension i've got in the garage, but nowhere near the time investment Casper requires. I'll probably start a new thread for the second Disco next month.



With that said, if anyone is looking for nice project D1, hit me up. Casper will be for sale by the end of July.

 

[Outono]

Been a busy couple of weekends, but we got some new suspension on the 2nd Rover, as well as some Toyo Open Country MT tires.





I cannot say enough good things about the Koni shocks and King springs from Australia. They're just amazingly smooth and responsive. It really tightened the truck up, while still providing a nice ride. Well worth the investment.

Not much to report on Casper other than I have a couple interested parties in taking the vehicle off my hands. The steering gear has come back from Straight Line so I just need to find some time to wrap that up. Hope to finish it all by early August.

 

[bri]

Sorry... to lazy to search. What are those front radius arms and what features to they have? Assume they likely would have some castor correction or something. On my last big build I did a swivel ball redrill, radius arm "castor correction", did not really cut it.

Have you done something to improve front wheel articulation? I have done towers and stuff on some D1 builds, but not found much to significantly improve front axle performance (off road) and maintain on road performance.

Who did the arms and towers.

 

[Outono]

Sorry... to lazy to search. What are those front radius arms and what features to they have? Assume they likely would have some castor correction or something. On my last big build I did a swivel ball redrill, radius arm "castor correction", did not really cut it.

Have you done something to improve front wheel articulation? I have done towers and stuff on some D1 builds, but not found much to significantly improve front axle performance (off road) and maintain on road performance.

Who did the arms and towers.

You're right, the arms are for castor correction. They're made by Terrafirma and come in either 3 degrees of correction (up to 2 inches of lift) or 6 degrees of correction (2+ inches of lift). I've found they do a pretty good job for 2" of lift, though a swivel ball re-drill is definitely the appropriate way of doing things. I don't find the truck needs a whole lot more so i'll probably leave things be.

This particular build isn't going for maximum articulation, which is why I went with a more unusual suspension choice (at least for trucks in the States): Koni RAID shocks and King tapered wire progressive coil springs. This setup does give me better articulation than stock and some other aftermarket options, but not compared to the kits you can get from Gwyn Lewis in the UK. The Koni + King combo offers a tight, very comfortable ride, while being able to carry a maximum load over long stretches of extremely bumpy terrain without fatigue. I like to think of it as the best combination for touring, but they perform great on obstacles too.

Oh, and I threw some spacers on the front sway bar to stop the driveshaft from hitting it during articulation. That's something I think a lot of people forget to do...

The shock turrets are made by Ratel-X in the UK. They have no performance benefits whatsoever other than looking cool! The hardware for the suspension install is from Gwyn Lewis - it's all galvanized steel.

 

[bri]

you made some good choices. I did not do swivel balls until 4". won't go there with current vehicle.

you will likely need the camel trim on rear wheel well if you ever get artculated.. mine has rubbed a couple of times. running same tire size and ome HD springs, sways still on and they may stay on.

everytime I get going on the skinny pedal with post mount they get destroyed. i.e. bumpy/washboard...these days I just don't do that.

I will wish to get to loops on shocks soon.

 

[Outono]

Well, we tried tackling the steering gear again on Casper and we ran into yet another snag. This time, it was the Allmakes4x4 high pressure line. This piece of crap has a tolerance issue. No matter how you line it up, the damn thing won't thread in. Fortunately, I had a backup gear I picked up from LKQ to double check it wasn't my fault and what do you know, it really is an issue with the line.


This is not the best photo, but the top is the Allmakes4x4 line and the bottom is the (Bearmach?) line on my spare gear. The Beachmach line threads in like butter on the rebuilt gear, while the Allmakes line doesn't catch on either of my gears.

My guess is that fat ring i've pointed out in the photo is just too thick. That or the non-threaded end of the screw is about 0.5mm too long. Side by side, it's really hard to tell, but up close you can see that the Allmakes line has just a little extra and that's all it takes to screw you over.

I ordered another line today, but installation will have to wait until mid-August when im back from an upcoming trip.

But hey, at least the gear is back in and doesn't have any stripped ports

 

[Errant]

Are the filters removable? Mine doesn’t appear to have one unless it sits below what appears to be a disk at the bottom (hard to imagine since it’s so shallow looking).

On my '98, the reservoir has a removable filter basket in the top.

 

[Outono]

Quick update before a much needed vacation.

Finally got the truck's brakes and bits situated. New wheel bearings all around, as well as pads, calipers, rotors, and brake shoes. Fixed the leaky swivel hub too. The pedal still doesn't feel right despite lots of bleeding so im guessing the master cylinder or booster has a bent rod. Whatever, it stops just fine.

Also repaired an exhaust leak and located that intense fuel smell. Turns out, the previous owner forgot to put a seal on top of the pump. Easy fix.

But the big task this week was to get the vehicle registered. A month ago, it failed smog due to the readiness flags not being set. To date, I have still not been able to clear all of the tests. My guess is that it has something to do with this pending P0451 code that seems to come and go, but I decided to roll the dice and try to test again. Afterall, you get a pass if you have 1 incomplete.



After 20 minutes of nail-biting, it got a Pass. Just one day before the temporary operating permit expired. Whew!


Off to France for a week then back at it. I've got some new radius and trailing arms to throw on, as well as some Tactical Sliders and stainless track rods. Looking forward to it.

Casper is still coming along. The new lines arrived and fit perfectly on the pump. Will get that wrapped up when I return and then hopefully will pass the vehicle onto its next owner. I suppose I need to title it first...

 

[Outono]

Well, we finally did it. Casper has working steering and drives wonderfully. It took the better part of 5 hours and plenty of cursing, but despite all of the challenges and constant frustrations, we prevailed.



Those lines were still not easy to get in, despite being new, OEM (well, one of them), and the ports being re-tapped by the gear rebuilder. I cannot stress enough that you must have patience when doing this, otherwise, you're going to strip the threads. We spent a good hour or so hand winding them in, pulling them out, re-seating, then repeat. The Britpart unit doesn't screw in too deeply so you're always wondering why there are so many extra threads sticking out - turns out, you just don't need them.

We also threw on a new fan clutch from Britpart since the original was toast. I also ended up buying an additional OEM clutch from Britpart just to see who manufactured it - turns out, it's made by MAHLE, which is a quality German brand. I'll be throwing that one on my main rig.



D1V2 and Casper.

Now that Casper is running again, we've got to replace its master cylinder before getting it smogged and through its brake and light check. I expect to have the truck titled by September and then off to Craigslist (or to a potential buyer already lined up). It's such a nice vehicle and it bums me out that I can't keep it. It's substantially nicer inside than my built rig and has 100,000 fewer miles on the body. Oh well, need the cash for some Ashcroft ATBs

 

[Outono]

Hit an LKQ today and picked up a full set of door seals, windows seals, and some switches off of a Discovery 2. These should go a long way in making D1V2 more airtight. The truck whistles on the freeway due to the deteriorating rubber.

 

[Outono]

Got some audio equipment in the truck yesterday. Decided to go big because, why not?



This head unit is absolutely killer. No interface lag whatsoever and the added CarPlay is a real plus. Maybe a little big for the area, but who cares, it's perfect for running GAIA while on a trail.

Running a Match amp under the seats and Focal ES 100K speakers in the front doors. I'll admit I know very little about car audio so the sound is not where I want it to be yet. Of course, I only expect so much out of 4" speakers - they just don't sound any better than the BT speaker on my desk. Something isn't right. Will need to sound deaden the doors in the coming weeks to bring out some more of the mid bass. I'll also need to get some rear speakers to fill in the low end.

Mechanically, im still chasing a terrible fuel smell near the exhaust. It seems to come and go, but my mileage is atrocious - less than 10mpg freeway driving. I've been told to check the EGR for clogging, but my UltraGauge keeps sending a Cat Temperature Bank 1 alarm (value is over 8000 and the alarm is set for 2000). This occurs right when I start the truck so maybe it's just a wiring issue? The CATs are supposedly less than a year old so I find it hard to believe its a CAT issue. My ScanGauge shows no pending codes. I also passed smog no problem. What else could it be?

UPDATE: threw a P0461 today, which is a fault with the fuel level sensor. Thing is, the fuel level sensor appears to be working just fine unless it's moving down too quickly... Also doesn't explain the fuel smell outside. Any ideas?

 

[_ExpeditionMan]

Got some audio equipment in the truck yesterday. Decided to go big because, why not?

View attachment 739025

This head unit is absolutely killer. No interface lag whatsoever and the added CarPlay is a real plus. Maybe a little big for the area, but who cares, it's perfect for running GAIA while on a trail.

Running a Match amp under the seats and Focal ES 100K speakers in the front doors. I'll admit I know very little about car audio so the sound is not where I want it to be yet. Of course, I only expect so much out of 4" speakers - they just don't sound any better than the BT speaker on my desk. Something isn't right. Will need to sound deaden the doors in the coming weeks to bring out some more of the mid bass. I'll also need to get some rear speakers to fill in the low end.

Mechanically, im still chasing a terrible fuel smell near the exhaust. It seems to come and go, but my mileage is atrocious - less than 10mpg freeway driving. I've been told to check the EGR for clogging, but my UltraGauge keeps sending a Cat Temperature Bank 1 alarm (value is over 8000 and the alarm is set for 2000). This occurs right when I start the truck so maybe it's just a wiring issue? The CATs are supposedly less than a year old so I find it hard to believe its a CAT issue. My ScanGauge shows no pending codes. I also passed smog no problem. What else could it be?

UPDATE: threw a P0461 today, which is a fault with the fuel level sensor. Thing is, the fuel level sensor appears to be working just fine unless it's moving down too quickly... Also doesn't explain the fuel smell outside. Any ideas?

The value over 8000 is a known error message for anyone running OBD2 scanners on these trucks. Set your reader to ignore it so it doesn't bother you. Have you checked your STFT and LTFT values via that reader? Sounds like youre running extremely rich, could have an unmetered air leak which the ECM is trying to counteract with fuel. Even if you solve the fuel smell look forward to 12ish MPG even if your engine runs great.. speaking as a 5spd D1 owner on 235/85r16 K02

 

[Outono]

The value over 8000 is a known error message for anyone running OBD2 scanners on these trucks. Set your reader to ignore it so it doesn't bother you. Have you checked your STFT and LTFT values via that reader? Sounds like youre running extremely rich, could have an unmetered air leak which the ECM is trying to counteract with fuel. Even if you solve the fuel smell look forward to 12ish MPG even if your engine runs great.. speaking as a 5spd D1 owner on 235/85r16 K02

Hey, thanks for the helpful reply.

I reset the ECU weeks ago after realizing the previous owner had not when they replaced the IACV and other bits. That brought the idle down to normal and stopped it from running so rich. I also replaced the fuel pump gasket, which stopped the smell inside the cabin.

Still have the P0461 and still smell fuel near the rear so my guess is that its a cracked rubber line near the tank. My mileage is about 10.6mpg so its not way outside of normal. Truck runs well otherwise.

 

[_ExpeditionMan]

Hey, thanks for the helpful reply.

I reset the ECU weeks ago after realizing the previous owner had not when they replaced the IACV and other bits. That brought the idle down to normal and stopped it from running so rich. I also replaced the fuel pump gasket, which stopped the smell inside the cabin.

Still have the P0461 and still smell fuel near the rear so my guess is that its a cracked rubber line near the tank. My mileage is about 10.6mpg so its not way outside of normal. Truck runs well otherwise.

Do you have fuel spill when filling the tank to full at the gas station? There's a vent hose that likes to fail which was giving me a ton of fumes, especially at low-speed