Too cold for the Disco to start so I had to leave it at work. Only -21 (and that's not the wind chill) Even with the help of a jump it wouldn't run. It acted like it wanted to start but wouldn't keep running. The high temp tomorrow is predicted to be -21, so not much chance of it starting for at least a few days. I did let the battery charge up after cranking so it won't freeze. 4 days from now the predicted high will be around 45 degrees (that is above zero, ) which is about a 60 degree swing in temps.... What a world!!

 

Block heater is a must here, have one installed in my Jeep and in a diesel tractor. Painless starts and instant heat while waiting on the trans to warm up.

 

Mine is sitting at work so no place to plug in even if it had a heater in it.

 

 

So made it to work today (thursday) and of course the Disco barely turned over, so I pulled the battery (3 years old I see) and put the charger on it for 4 hours.... when I reinstalled the battery, temp was -7 degrees, and the truck barely turned over once and started right up. Ran a bit rough but cleared up after a bit.n I then noticed Master Cylinder was empty.. I filled it and of course, NO BRAKES!! I had a broken line fixed last week, and when I moved it (carefully) I found a spot in the snow right about where the line was replaced. Hmmmmm...Guess I will be taking it back to the shop that fixed the line.

I did get it back home (43 miles) one good thing about working 2nd shift, No traffic on the way home.

 

Mine used to leak brake fluid through the caliper piston seals when it was really cold. After I replaced the calipers I still checked the inner tire sidewalls for the streaks.

 

I have noticed the level would go down a bit in colder temps, this time it was empty and the spot in the snow is at the center of he rear axle, I just had the right rear brake line replaced and I suspect it wasn't tightened down all the way(??)

 

Cool, just mentioning it. It could be because the flare seal isn't tight or it has the wrong flare. It's one reason I do all my own work, I don't know what others did or didn't do and I'd rather take the guesses out of a problem. Not bragging, just like to do it myself and know it's done well. My MC would empty because of the calipers. Detour had the same issue with his Disco in the Maine cold. They chromed some pistons and when it flakes it chews up the seal and scores the piston bore, it won't leak until its cold. Once you get the line problem fixed if you see the MC is a little low in really cold weather check the inner tire sidewalls. It's quick.

 

Thanks.Part of my pre-drive checklist is to take a look at the MC level, as well as the oil and Power Steering levels. The joys of driving an older vehicle I guess.

 

Shop just called and said the Master cylinder is shot!! WOW!! just got this from Lucky 8 almost exactly a year ago. New (not rebuilt) and Lucky 8 will sell me a new one no problem..
So I guess I should plan on replacing the master cylinder every year....