Irwin the 1995 Disco (200tdi and 5 Spd swapped)

Colorofkris

Well-known member
This update will go from week 4 to current day. (1/12/21) The reasoning for this is due to the holidays in conjunction with my crazy work schedule. I had gotten a lot done on the rover, however the time line is skewed and I think it would be better to get everyone up to speed on where Im at currently so I don’t have o back pedal from every post.

I will start with progress…

My biggest achievement as of recent was the removal of the green plasti dip. The hood is in pretty rough shape but I do plan to sand it down and vinyl wrap it with a matte black. As for the rest of the body the paint is better but still pretty rough. The current plan is to just ride with it as is but down the road I may opt to vinyl wrap the rest of it with a white wrap.

As for quick projects that I tackled I installed a lug nut that I ordered since I was missing one on the driver wheel. New wiper blades. One of the window switches was burned out so I ordered a new one and replaced it. In the process of replacing I remounted the window switch bracket which was just dangling around. The current fix is 100% temporary but it’s working for now. The passenger front blinker has been out since I bought the rover as well, I hoped it was an easy fix by just replacing the bulb with no luck. I took out the light assembly and too it apart. I found I was out of blinker fluid. In the process I found that one of the connections had some corrosion on it which was most likely the culprit. I scraped it off and adjusted the spring in the connection and it was a success! I officially have working turn signals! Seat brackets finally came in as well so those got an afternoon of assembling to the new seats and some mock up time as well which I will post a pic of. Fitment looks good but I may have to do some custom work to get them to sit where I want them. Last but not least I threw on my spare tire cover from my first Discovery which was a 2004. I figured since the spare is a different size and rim why not?.

How about some meat and potatoes!!…

Let us talk maintenance. Im going to break this down into what I did for preventative, problems that have arisen and the fix, and upcoming.

As for Preventative…
I did my first oil change on the disco. I used Rotella 15w40 heavy duty diesel Oil. I used it on my 03 back in the day and really liked it. I’ll see how it holds on an actual diesel though. I used a Fram oil filter, it wasn’t by preference it was just the only one I could find in town. Oil change was a mess though. In the process of the oil change I did find a diesel leak which will come up in the next bit. I also changed out the air filter which I found oil on, so that will also be brought up in the last bit.

As for Problems…
First up 2nd gear decided to lock me out. I have driven about a week and a half with no 2nd gear. I added more fluid about 4 days in just to top it off, the fluid used was ATF which is not the right stuff but it is what’s int he trans currently anyway. 2 days ago on my way into work 2nd gear finally came back and has been working great since. I ordered Redline MTL fluid to replace the current fluid in the trans in hopes to fix the issue. I also realized after reading up on the shifters resting location it is supposed to be 3/4 bias and currently it is sitting 1/2 almost reverse bias. I think it may be time to replace the springs. I will be looking further into that.

The diesel leak was from the head of the fuel injection pump. I noticed it while warming up the rig for its oil change. The diesel was just pouring out. After a quick search I found it where it was coming from and went deep into a pit of research trying to see how to fix it. Luckily I found out how and did exactly that. I replaced the head o-ring which was pretty flat. I think it had been leaking for some time now but finally just gave out with the colder weather. Some signs that were showing and things it fixed once the o-ring was replaced include gas milage, low on power, rough start up. Vibration on acceleration, anything over 65 felt iffy, and a lot of smoke from the exhaust. The fix was relatively easy, just a tight fit to get tools back there.

As for Upcoming…
This weekend is looking pretty promising that I won’t have to work. If that’s the case I will spend a good bit of it trying to tackle some of these projects.

My reverse lights are always on. I think the switch on the trans is stuck in so I think Im going to pull it off and fix it it replace it. That ones kind of a priority because that could end in a traffic violation.

The popping in the rear that was previously mention in another post has been sourced to the upper suspension link ball joint. The “a” link has a lot of play causing the axle to rock. Parts are on order and Im hoping to see it this weekend. If that’s the case I will be picking up a floor jack and some axle stands to tackle that.

The rattling exhaust was obnoxious before so I just pulled off the over axle pipe as well as the tail pipe. I’m hoping to go back through and re pipe it correctly with he correct fittings.

The oil on the air filter is most likely a college PCV. I did the blow back test I read about through holing your finger over the dip stick hole and feeling for pressure when revving due to worn piston rings. Im thinking the oil change may of broke free some stuff that’s currently clogging the PCV, there was a lot of carbon sediment in the oil on the filter.. The goal is to take it off, clean it and flush it with clean oil and see how it does.

If I can get the most of that dealt with I think I will finally tae it out and do some pictures. Until then here are some updated photos post plastic dip removal…

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Colorofkris

Well-known member
Received the ball joint for the upper rear link as well as the redline MTL yesterday. Finally got a weekend off so the plan is to tackle those 2 jobs and if time allows possibly work on the reverse light issue I’m having and patching up the exhaust.
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Colorofkris

Well-known member
Had a successful completion of the transmission fluid change and the ball joint this last weekend. The ball joint turned out to be a nightmare but after 2 days and a lot of new tools later the new ball joint is installed. Over all the handling has improved dramatically from the ball joint. I still have some slack in the drive line which is to be expected from a 25 year old disco, the popping however is no longer an issue. As for the transmission overall a huge improvement in shifting. 2nd gear seems to be playing a lot nicer than before, still get the occasional warm up grind but nothing like it was before the fluid change. The rest of the gears are shifting a lot smoother as well.

I did end up checking the reverse light switch mounted on the transmission today as well and ended up breaking a connection on it. I still need to pull it out and see what the issue is with it. I will most likely be ordering a new one if that's possible. This has temporarily fixed my reverse light issue.

My latest arriving issue is the rev gauge keeps diving out and coming back on as well as the battery light. Being that I was messing with the radio (which is a mess) I figured I may have just messed with a ground wire, but have had no luck sourcing. I tightened up the belt to the alternator as well being that it seemed pretty loose. Also no luck. Looking at potentially replacing the alternator. If that's the case I plan to do an upgrade to the 100amp Rimmer Bros alternator.
 

Colorofkris

Well-known member
Quick update,

New alternator is on the way. Hoping to have that in by the weekend. Painted up the front grill and the bumper pieces under the headlights, they were green and I painted them black. Pics below show before and after. Mounted up a passenger seat temporarily since I needed a seat for the wife, I’ll try to get some photos of that later. Mounted the mud boards and the awning on the roof rack, payed out some decals, and ordered some camping goodies including a snorkel and a roof top tent. Also a gazelle pop up screen room. Wife and I are putting together some first aid stuff as well. Another project I tackled about 80% of was the exhaust. Finally mounted the old exhaust back up, just need to pick up a down pipe and a clap to put it on.

As for up coming projects,

Snorkel install
Rooftop tent install
Alternator install
Down pipe
Tailgate fold down table
Floors


If the rooftop tent makes it in soon the wife and I are hoping to put in a shake down run in the rover camping in Ocala National Forest In the next couple weekends before work picks back up.

Here are some photos of the update as well as some pics from hanging out on Jekyll Island...
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Colorofkris

Well-known member
I figured I would dish out another update.

The past few weeks have been pretty uneventful, mostly just waiting on deliveries. The alternator still has not been delivered and my current alternator situation has been getting worse and worse.

Roof top tent was delivered and its awesome! I really can wait to use it, but the rain has been terrible since it got delivered and haven't had a chance to even mount it. This weekend was up in the air for a 3 day trip camping in Ocala to give it a test run but between the rain and 2 of our dogs not doing to well we decided to hold off. Works going to be picking up again for a few months so hopefully we can sneak out for a weekend or 2.

Floor pans are becoming a bit of a pain. The original source for some new floor pans for the rover ghosted me, so that's cool. At a point where I am back to square 1. Im still int talks with my welder and I think we are going to hit the drawing board to make the best out of the situation and take the opportunity to make it a little bit more stout and last longer. Another thing I would like to consider when welding in the new floor pans is the new seats. New brackets are really hard to come by, and the universal mounts I got from corbeau don't mesh well with the way the factory floor pans sit. That being said my goal was to have them done by February, now Im hoping to have them done by summer.

Snorkel should be here in the next few weeks too.

I started a YouTube channel following the build so if you are interested in checking it out I just posted episode 5. They give a better break down visually of what's going on as well as me just rambling on. Im hoping to put some more focus on the videos as I progress.

 

Colorofkris

Well-known member
Have you thought about a fold down table from the tailgate and installing gull windows to replace the back side ones?

Heck yeah! I had a fold down table on the tailgate of my wrangler and loved it. Never made one for the Range Rover because the tailgate design was worthless. The tailgate table is a project I plan to tackle pretty soon. As for gull wings I have tossed around the idea but Im not sure I want to. I also really enjoy the natural light and I’m not sure how that will affect it.


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John R

Active member
Heck yeah! I had a fold down table on the tailgate of my wrangler and loved it. Never made one for the Range Rover because the tailgate design was worthless. The tailgate table is a project I plan to tackle pretty soon. As for gull wings I have tossed around the idea but Im not sure I want to. I also really enjoy the natural light and I’m not sure how that will affect it.


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Apparently Gull Windows are available in glass versions. I didn’t know that.

 

Colorofkris

Well-known member
Alternator finally came in! All installed and the rover is running great. Rooftop tent also came in and installed that yesterday evening. We are waiting on the ladder extension to come in because the rover is too tall for the factory ladder. Snorkel is still in process of shipping, hoping to see that next week. Last but not least, started making some lead way on the floor boards. Hopeful start on that will be next month.

Just thought I’d throw out a quick update. Works been busy so I haven’t had a lot of time for updates and stuff. Here’s some pics of the tent and stuff
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Colorofkris

Well-known member
Update-

Rooftop tent is on and ready to roll! Had to pick up the ladder extension because the rover sits up so high. Pic down below shows the current set up. Can’t wait to give it a try, just need a weekend off.

Snorkel should be in early next week. I fully plan to take an evening and install it when it comes in.

Received a new center dash this week from someone parting out a rover, got it at a steal, for only $60 shipped! I fully intend to have that installed by the end of the week as well. After that’s in then I will start considering radio options.

Other goals for this week are to pick up the stuff to do an oil change and down pipe the exhaust. I will also be ordering fluid for the front and rear diff as well as the transfer case. I’m hoping to change those fluid by the end of the month.

A few other things to note. The rover has been running great since the new alternator was put in. 2nd gear is starting to be weird again. I’m also in the talks of picking up a parts disco. It’s a white series 1, if it’s in as good of shape as it looks in the pics I plan to pull a lot of cosmetic parts from it to freshen up the current disco.

Anyways. Here’s some photos from a wma ride and setting up the new gear in the back yard...

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Colorofkris

Well-known member
I have to say I am doing terrible at updates on the write up right now. Work and life have really been taking up a lot of my time. Luckily I have my first camp trip with the rover next weekend! I plan to do a full write up on the trip similar to the write up for the Range Rover.

Some updates-
Snorkel has finally come in, install will most likely happen next month. Pretty excited though!

New dash piece is installed and the interior of the rover looks 500x better.

The floor project is in the works finally as well. I have a shopping cart of tools and supplies for the floors ready to order, just trying to polish out the final details.

Oil changed last weekend.

Put the rear driver side seat back in.

That’s about all I have for the time being. I’ll try to have a pre trip post soon!
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