The DiscoDavis Discovery 3 Build Thread
- Thread starter DiscoDavis
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DiscoDavis
Explorer
That was terrifying! Is Tim on here? Would not have made it through without his direction/encouragement. I know someone took pictures... hope they show up somewhere
Only one I have from the hangout area
Not sure, pretty well known guy(famous in the off road world) runs the testing for JLR, LR global experience and ultra4 racer. So not going to find much better in spotting. Did you get to use your lockers? How far did you make it? Get to pucker rock?
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DiscoDavis
Explorer
That's mega cool. No in fact, I don't have lockers fitted... yet
I turned around and went back over the rock line down below back into our assembly area. I got a peek ahead and did not like what I see... After everyone split up I trundled down to the lower sandy areas with some fellows that I honestly forgot their names... This is a personal shortfall of mine. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the vehicle did crawling with near-stock tires. That and how deep I could go in the puddles without getting feet wet. Nice and clean water too, mostly granite and quartz stuff unlike the muck I am used to.
Right after we got in everyone just sort of started wandering around slowly, totally reminded me of beetles.
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I missed this - did you go up the little climb where Tim broke a front axle?
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Yes :ylsmoke:
I was parked down slope from him when it snapped. I watched as he reversed down, jumped out of his 90 and says:
"so you're doing this, right?"
Then he spotted me all the way up. Even scratched a wheel and part of the frame, but nothing broke. He's like Rover Gandalf.
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Last update for this thread:
Back in November the D3 had an unfortunate accident. I won't say too much here about it but suffice it to say I fixed what I could and then submitted it for insurance. They decided to total her out, and I had to live with that. The whole process was long and painful, so I did not retain salvage (should have though, insurance made me turn her in with the bumpers and rack on (FYI don't let them include these things on an appraisal because they will do an actual cash value on something like this and you'll get burned on parts).
Damage was mostly mechanical. I absolutely loved that car and loved changing bits and pieces. I still say that motor was one of the best they ever fitted in a land rover. I will always miss how well that thing drove. If any of you happen to pick her up from Copart, find me and I'll give you the most complete records you have ever seen on one of these.
One of the last photos I have before she was gone to Landy Heaven. Colin if you're reading this I will forever owe you for opening your operating theatre in the middle of a Saturday night and performing emergency surgery...
Would I do the same build all over again? I spent time looking for a possible replacement but it is a crapshoot finding one that was loved enough to avoid major problems. Yes, if I had been able to find a good candidate I might have done another D3. I love those things. Just maybe not the snorkel fiasco again. So much work to fit...
Back in November the D3 had an unfortunate accident. I won't say too much here about it but suffice it to say I fixed what I could and then submitted it for insurance. They decided to total her out, and I had to live with that. The whole process was long and painful, so I did not retain salvage (should have though, insurance made me turn her in with the bumpers and rack on (FYI don't let them include these things on an appraisal because they will do an actual cash value on something like this and you'll get burned on parts).
Damage was mostly mechanical. I absolutely loved that car and loved changing bits and pieces. I still say that motor was one of the best they ever fitted in a land rover. I will always miss how well that thing drove. If any of you happen to pick her up from Copart, find me and I'll give you the most complete records you have ever seen on one of these.
One of the last photos I have before she was gone to Landy Heaven. Colin if you're reading this I will forever owe you for opening your operating theatre in the middle of a Saturday night and performing emergency surgery...
Would I do the same build all over again? I spent time looking for a possible replacement but it is a crapshoot finding one that was loved enough to avoid major problems. Yes, if I had been able to find a good candidate I might have done another D3. I love those things. Just maybe not the snorkel fiasco again. So much work to fit...
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DiscoDavis
Explorer
That explains the lack of updates on your build. Sorry to hear of the retirement. What exactly failed mechanically? (Being that several of us still own one)
The straw that broke the camels back was water got into the trans breather and we did not catch it before the clutch plates started delaminating... Not the cars fault fyi.
Considering a trans replacement on these cars is a body-off deal, that was it for me, among a few smaller items.
RIP old friend. My own silver D3 will have a litre of diesel in memory.
Shame about the box, mine is dying but the landy specialist who's swapping it out, takes them out from under. Never seen one have to get the body lifted for it to be changed.
Also, a shame about losing the rack and the rest of the kit you fitted to it.
Not tempted to buy it cheap on Copart if it comes and swap in a low miles replacement box? That's what i'm doing with mine as a new Torque converter and a low miles box is about £1000, then £400 labour, vs £2500-3185 for a rebuilt box.
Shame about the box, mine is dying but the landy specialist who's swapping it out, takes them out from under. Never seen one have to get the body lifted for it to be changed.
Also, a shame about losing the rack and the rest of the kit you fitted to it.
Not tempted to buy it cheap on Copart if it comes and swap in a low miles replacement box? That's what i'm doing with mine as a new Torque converter and a low miles box is about £1000, then £400 labour, vs £2500-3185 for a rebuilt box.
DiscoDavis
Explorer
I really, really thought long and hard about it. The whole process after the accident took a lot of time and energy, It was emotionally draining and did not want to do much but go to work and go home and mope. I just had a bad taste in my mouth for the whole thing. I also got run around quite a lot by the local LR dealer here and a few other things really sucked the desire out of the equation. It came down to I did not want to work with them anymore, it was a lot of money and I would never have a guarantee that I could avoid going there for help, I had to push very hard to get any help on prices, and to insist on specific actions taken. Which I hated doing as I developed a very nice relationship with them before this or so I thought. Our local guru really helped me through the worst of the work, but he was sooo busy I felt bad about imposing all the time.
It was a shame about the rack and bumpers, but I chalk it up to lessons learned and I was just glad to walk away from it all. I stripped what I could and tried to forget about the rest. I am glad all my remaining parts went to a good home for someone else's car.
As for the costs you mention, if I was UK-based, I might have kept it. The lowest price Land Rover Walnut Creek quoted me was $7500 USD, and that was JUST for the trans/installed...The week I watched her leave on the tow truck I swore up and down I would go to a vehicle that I could fix without being forced to go to the dealer, and one with less computers. Hence the two Landy's since. Although I had to get a lot of help from friends/local awesome shop guy, I have not returned to the local LR centre yet...
I am sure my Disco would appreciate the diesel flavored sendoff. Enjoy
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Abran
Observer
What a bummer. Wish you had posted about the incident.
I have swapped out 6 transmissions so far, body on.
It's a 8-12 hour job to install, but not terrible. I actually just recently paid a local tech to show me how to rebuild them and we did mine. Not for the faint of heart, but I did it.
Hope you get another one, i enjoyed your build thread.
I have swapped out 6 transmissions so far, body on.
It's a 8-12 hour job to install, but not terrible. I actually just recently paid a local tech to show me how to rebuild them and we did mine. Not for the faint of heart, but I did it.
Hope you get another one, i enjoyed your build thread.