2004 Discovery TD5, a.k.a "The Bear Bus"
Discussion
So this went through a Colin Chapman phase, self lightening.
1 sidestep and the rear step fell off...
Then the alternator went a few months later, doh!
Even with the battery light on it got me home fine, so the battery went on charge in the house and got me to work/the garage the next day (20+ miles).
The garage soon had the alternator changed, the other side step fell off when they stepped on it at the garage. They were quite apologetic, I just found it funny.
So now without side steps, that aids the ground clearance, plus they're heavy buggers, so the fuel consumption on the hills has got to be better!
1 sidestep and the rear step fell off...
Then the alternator went a few months later, doh!
Even with the battery light on it got me home fine, so the battery went on charge in the house and got me to work/the garage the next day (20+ miles).
The garage soon had the alternator changed, the other side step fell off when they stepped on it at the garage. They were quite apologetic, I just found it funny.
So now without side steps, that aids the ground clearance, plus they're heavy buggers, so the fuel consumption on the hills has got to be better!
I have a late TD-5, Love it !! Bought it November 19.
It’s a scarce non sunroof one ( the same as my early 300TDi and my first 300TDi, an N reg 3 door model, R.I.P )
It’s currently up Nth with my youngest, but I’m bringing it back in a couple of weeks.
Rear seats will be removed ( again ) and it will be a basic camper. I have bought an interior heater to fit.
It’s a scarce non sunroof one ( the same as my early 300TDi and my first 300TDi, an N reg 3 door model, R.I.P )
It’s currently up Nth with my youngest, but I’m bringing it back in a couple of weeks.
Rear seats will be removed ( again ) and it will be a basic camper. I have bought an interior heater to fit.
If only everything in life was as reliable as........
.......... a Land Rover!
The van has a slight rogue drain on it, so rather than jumping it off the leisure battery I went for a jump off a running Disco!
That's 5 litres, 10 cylinders in that picture, a few tonnes and just a smidge over 200 bhp on a good day.
.......... a Land Rover!
The van has a slight rogue drain on it, so rather than jumping it off the leisure battery I went for a jump off a running Disco!
That's 5 litres, 10 cylinders in that picture, a few tonnes and just a smidge over 200 bhp on a good day.
Edited by TiminYorkshire on Saturday 6th February 10:17
This had taken to squatting at random times, and then every time after being used. A neighbour asked if I was stashing gold bullion in the back! Some water and fairy mix has revealed a leaking rear airbag, new ones ordered and arriving tomorrow, hopefully I'll get some time to swap them out over the weekend.
Like these a lot but have been seriously put off one as my boss runs a similar age one, lowish miles and its always going wrong.
Problem is there is not much to shop it in for these days for reasonable money so he keeps ploughing the cash into it.
Think if you are handy with spanners it helps (almost a must).
Problem is there is not much to shop it in for these days for reasonable money so he keeps ploughing the cash into it.
Think if you are handy with spanners it helps (almost a must).
J4CKO said:
"Bear Bus", do you mean for the large dog, and not for carrying some chunky, rugged, bearded gay chaps round ?
The former for us, but I'm sure it could do the latter quite happily if that's your flavour. Just make sure the two in the back seats are short, the leg room for seat 6 & 7 is limited. TiminYorkshire said:
J4CKO said:
"Bear Bus", do you mean for the large dog, and not for carrying some chunky, rugged, bearded gay chaps round ?
The former for us, but I'm sure it could do the latter quite happily if that's your flavour. Just make sure the two in the back seats are short, the leg room for seat 6 & 7 is limited. Bought my one in November 19, it’s a base spec, just how I wanted it. They are complicated and heavy enough, as it is.
Took me about 3 weeks of searching, to find a late / non sunroof / manual car, in a decent colour.
I’ve had to spend ££ lots on it, but it’s a keeper !
Took it to the Sth of France in Feb 20 and it never missed a beat.
It was once owned by a classic Jaguar specialist for about 4 years and came with its service book and lots of invoices going back to circa 2007.
Previous owner was a slob, it was very grubby and he had smoked in it, but fortunately he only owned it for 6 months. A good valet sorted the interior.
I
Took me about 3 weeks of searching, to find a late / non sunroof / manual car, in a decent colour.
I’ve had to spend ££ lots on it, but it’s a keeper !
Took it to the Sth of France in Feb 20 and it never missed a beat.
It was once owned by a classic Jaguar specialist for about 4 years and came with its service book and lots of invoices going back to circa 2007.
Previous owner was a slob, it was very grubby and he had smoked in it, but fortunately he only owned it for 6 months. A good valet sorted the interior.
I
This kept squatting, just occasionally, then more and more often. So I sprayed one rear air bag (spring) with a technical water/fairy mix. It bubbled. Utilising a mixture of a degree in Engineering Science Degree from some New College and a dash of obvious thinking I decided that the air was better off staying in the afore mentioned bag. A neighbour also asked how much gold bullion I was stashing in the back and if that would be safe in the village car park.
I decided to buy some new bags. Given the number of Disco TD5s converted back to springs I though a new pair were going to be horrifically expensive, but a set of Dunlops were cheaper than my last set of trail shoes.
So a bit of setting the suspension on high, faffing about with axle stands soon had me realising that I'd never reach the 10mm brass connector in a minute gap between the chassis and body. It was time to bring out a French precision tool, this is an "Opinel" it folds so it doesn't stab you when in your pocket. Normally I use this for technical tasks such as cutting cheese on a holiday hike, or trimming cable ties that are holding the rusty bodywork together on the Disco in a drift warrrior wannabe style. It was time to let the stabbing commence, don't mention the binding rear calliper and rusty outer disc......
It was actually pretty easy to deflate then, undo the connector, twist the old bag 90 dgrees anti clockwise, remove, insert new bag, twist 90 degrees clockwise. The next job was trimming the connector of the air tube, as the Dunlop bags just kind of grab the tube. This was all done, and the engine started to bring the compressor on and partially inflate the bag, seemed pretty sorted.
Rinse and repeat for the other side and it was riding high again and hasn't sagged since. Success!
I decided to buy some new bags. Given the number of Disco TD5s converted back to springs I though a new pair were going to be horrifically expensive, but a set of Dunlops were cheaper than my last set of trail shoes.
So a bit of setting the suspension on high, faffing about with axle stands soon had me realising that I'd never reach the 10mm brass connector in a minute gap between the chassis and body. It was time to bring out a French precision tool, this is an "Opinel" it folds so it doesn't stab you when in your pocket. Normally I use this for technical tasks such as cutting cheese on a holiday hike, or trimming cable ties that are holding the rusty bodywork together on the Disco in a drift warrrior wannabe style. It was time to let the stabbing commence, don't mention the binding rear calliper and rusty outer disc......
It was actually pretty easy to deflate then, undo the connector, twist the old bag 90 dgrees anti clockwise, remove, insert new bag, twist 90 degrees clockwise. The next job was trimming the connector of the air tube, as the Dunlop bags just kind of grab the tube. This was all done, and the engine started to bring the compressor on and partially inflate the bag, seemed pretty sorted.
Rinse and repeat for the other side and it was riding high again and hasn't sagged since. Success!
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