The saga of my 98 Discovery...

[ExpoScout]

Well here are some preliminary pictures of my purchase last week.

98 Discovery LE
109,xxx miles
OME lift
ARB bumper
Warn 9k
Hella lights
255/85-R16s on steel wheels (with full size spare)
Also came with a hi-lift, various shackles and recovery equipment, a new cd player, and an Ipod mount

More to come...

 

[Wander]

Wow looks nice and is already built! Sooner than later pull up the carpets and pads and look for rust especially in the cargo area.

 

[jgdisco2]

throw some sliders on that thing and your good to go...looks good!

 

[Errant]

Congrats! I've got a '98, too

 

[ExpoScout]

After driving it back from picking it up I knew there were some issues...these included:

-Sticky gas door
-poor acceleration
-shuddering at sustained high speed
-something that sounded like a loose bolt underneath somewhere
-exhaust leak at the manifold/y-pipe connection
-squealing PS pump

I knew going into this that I was going to be doing pretty much all maintenance items once I got it home...and then see how it ran and go from there.

___________________________________________________________

The first thing I knew I was going to do was the fuel filter. It appeared that it had never been changed, though it may have been changed once before.

After getting the right rear tire off I got under there to see what was going on. As most of you have probably experienced, if it's been any substantial length of time since the filter has been changed, it's going to be a bear to get the fittings apart.

So after seeing Atlantic-British's kit which basically retains the stock filter and fittings, yet attaches the hose to the steel fuel lines with hose clamps. The problems with AB's setup is two-fold; it's ~$120 AND it doesnt replace any parts with easier to find units.

So the gears started turning...

After checking around, I went to a specialty import parts house that has always carried high quality/ hard to find stuff.

I found this filter:

It's a nice Bosch unit...not even sure what its original application is for. But it is .040" from being the same diameter of the stock filter....AKA it will fit in the factory clamp that attaches it to the frame. Also, the inlet and outlet nipples are the same diameter as the stock steel fuel line on the Disco.

Some 5/16" fuel line, small hose clamps, a brake line pipe cutter, plus about 20 minutes of time and I ended up with this:

About $10 total (more if you don't have a small pipe cutter)...and much more availability. Not to mention the best part is that apart from the bolt that mounts to the frame, screwdrivers are all thats needed to swap one out on the side of a mountain should the need arise.

 

[ExpoScout]

Wow looks nice and is already built! Sooner than later pull up the carpets and pads and look for rust especially in the cargo area.

Found a small amount under the passenger side carpet...little tiny spots but nothing major. I'm gonna be talking to the Line-x place this week about doing a tan coating in the interior. So I'll probably take care of the rust spots soon when I get the coating done.

 

[David Harris]

I found this filter:
It's a nice Bosch unit...not even sure what its original application is for. But it is .040" from being the same diameter of the stock filter....AKA it will fit in the factory clamp that attaches it to the frame. Also, the inlet and outlet nipples are the same diameter as the stock steel fuel line on the Disco.

Some 5/16" fuel line, small hose clamps, a brake line pipe cutter, plus about 20 minutes of time and I ended up with this:

Good call on the filter mod. That's the way I have replaced all of my fuel filters. No need to spend the dollars on the stock type unit.

 

[ExpoScout]

A couple other things I ended up doing was replacing some bulbs that were out. The front left bumper light was badly corroded and beyond repair....I'm gonna get a replacement unit.

Also, there wasn't a fuel cap after opening the door :/ So, I picked one up at Napa. This may have been part of the rough running and shuddering...don't know, but it needed to be fixed.

To get the gas door lock to work a little easier I simply oiled a key and worked it around in there. It feels like new.

While snooping around the engine bay I found several vacuum hoses that were ripped/torn/broken...fixed those. Also could have been part of the problems...

Replaced the spark plugs with Champions...antiseize and dilectric grease are your friend. Spark plug wires came next. Really dirty plugs especially on the exhaust leak side and some corroded wires were not helping things out.

Went around to all the accessible bulbs and made sure all had plenty of dilectric grease as well.

Just happened to glance at the throttle cable and it was BADLY out of adjustment. Evidently, most of the issues I had with acceleration were because with the gas pedal all the way down, the throtle was only about halfway open. Not cool.

Worked on the exhaust leak last night. Took the manifold off and found that a stud was broken and the gasket was shot. Replaced the stud and made a gasket out of an aluminum can. (shrug) It's worked so far. I did find some hairline cracks in the manifold, so I will likely try to source a good one, replace it and put a proper gasket in there.

While underneath I located a lone bolt left from when sway bars were removed. It was sitting in the hole on the frame with no nut....just dangling around...this was the annoying sound I was hearing.

The power steering pump just needed to be topped off. (the steering box does leak...I'll tackle that at a later date)

 

[Cpriver4]

Major,

Great find! I was actually talking to this guy for a while about setting up a time to come check it out. Good luck with everything. I'll be doing a lot of the same work to the D1 I just picked up.

 

[ExpoScout]

After going through the things I've done so far the Disco was running GREAT. Like a completely different vehicle...very responsive, smooth acceleration and shifting...didn't think there were going to be any issues.

Well I'm currently in the mountains of NC with my family. Halfway along the trip I stopped to get a snack. While sitting at idle the oil light began to flicker. I thought maybe it was low on oil so I added half a quart and the light went off....I thought it was taken care of.

On the way up the mountain after about 5 miles of an 8% grade uphill my temp gauge shot up. I pulled over immediately and shut it down. The oil light came on about the same time. After about 5 or 10 minutes I started it back up and everything was good, no oil light and temp was back down to normal.

Kept on going towards the parents house and everything was fine for about 25 minutes. Then when going 35mph on a flat road the temp started to rise again...before it got all the way up I pulled over. After pulling into a parking lot it immediately dropped back down. The oil light was flickering this time as well. Both went away and I continued to the parents house. Got there without incident and shut it down for the night.

So now I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering if the temp and oil light are connected somehow...or if they are separate issues that popped up at the same time coincedintally. There was never any smoking, dripping, or any physical evidence that temp was hot or oil pressure was low. The AC fan was running when I pulled over the first time...and I'm not sure if the clutch fan was running while I was driving (there's a semi loud muffler on there) or at least I didn't think to notice it. It very well could have been, just not sure.

 

[ExpoScout]

Major,

Great find! I was actually talking to this guy for a while about setting up a time to come check it out. Good luck with everything. I'll be doing a lot of the same work to the D1 I just picked up.

Thanks, yeah I'm happy so far despite the little issues. Good luck with your D1 also!

 

[ExpoScout]

After doing some research, sounds like the oil issue might be a dirty pickup. So that will be the first step since dropping the pan and checking it was on my list of maintenance items.

As far as the overheating issue, I'm just gonna watch it closely on the way home...hopefully I can make it back without any problems. Changing the thermostat/doing a cooling system flush will be the first step...as well as checking the clutch on the fan. I'll have to go from there.

 

[timmy!!!!!!!]

Has the truck been regeared?

 

[ExpoScout]

Has the truck been regeared?

Not that I am aware of. I suppose its possible though.

 

[timmy!!!!!!!]

Well if it is a dog to drive I bet it hasn't been regeared with those 255/85s. I run 235/85 on my disco and it is a dog at times...