Disco 1 vs. Rearden Steel 0

Got my A$$ kicked by a 1996 Disco yesterday........

I have an 04 D2 and came across the 96 D1 in Louisville and figured I pick up a project. Has not run in over a year, supposedly the fuel pump is bad. They replaced the engine a couple of years ago. Comes with brush guard and luggage rack. Louisville is about 2-1/2 hours away.

So I fabricated some steel plates to bolt to the frame and attach at tow bar. I figured I will pull the 96 home with the 04. I get there, its 33 degrees and raining/snowing. Look at the Disco. Its not bad for the $900 I paid for it. Paint is faded. Drivers leather is rough. Some small amounts of surface rust but manageable.

So I take off the brush guard and front bumper. 20 minutes with no issues. Bolt on the plates and tow bar. Fits like a glove. Put on the tow lights, hook up the 04 and jump in the 96. Oh yeah, the battery is dead so it won't come out of park. Ok.........unhook the 04 and bring her around, get out the jumper cables, jump in the 96 and the damn alarm goes off. Put the transmission in neutral. No problem. The transfer case.......no go. Does not budge. Nothing. The transfer case ain't going into neutral.........

Ok.........did I mention its 33 degrees and raining. Oh yeah the lot I am in is sloping towards the Disco......so I spread out a tarp and crawl under the 96 to try and drop the drive shafts................yeah that does not go well..............2 hours getting drenched to the bones and no dice. I can't feel my toes at this point and it's time to through in the towel.........

Next Saturday it looks like I going back down with a buddy and trailer to bring her home.

So some questions. The previous owner pried off the cover to get to fuel pump. The lines are completely rusted. I am assuming they are not going to come off willingly and I will be replacing them. Should I run steel line the whole length? Is a complete run of rubber fuel line acceptable? Any draw backs?

If my buddy has something come up and he and trailer are not available........

Could towed her back with the transmission in neutral only? Can someone confirm the transfer case does need to be neutral?

If I cannot get the transfer case in neutral, will dropping the rear shaft only be acceptable? Or do I have to disconnect both shafts?

Any other options/thoughts?

Thanks in advance. RS

 

Yes the t-case must be in neutral if you tow it on all fours unless both driveshafts are removed.
If you leave the trans in neutral then the engine must be running otherwise you will burn up the trans.
Yes you will need to run new fuel line, I have no idea if rubber line will work or not.
You must remove both driveshafts or put the t-case in neutral.
You can unhook them from the diffs and use strapping to secure them to the undercarriage and that way they will be unhooked but also easier to remove because you are not doing both ends.

 

Thanks Spike. That is what i thought.

I got the three bolts out of the rear drive shaft and was going to use big zip ties to hold it up. I could not compress the drive shaft enough to disengage it from the rear diff/rubber coupling. So I undid the other three bolts and only two of them would slide out. Still couldn't decouple the shaft from the rear diff.

Here she is.........

 

Dude for $900 even if it never runs you got a deal.
The SD rack is worth $500, the ladder $50, the brush bar another $50.
With the other parts you could easily double your money.
You will need to use a pry bar to get the driveshaft loose from the roto flex.

 

The rack and brush bar have some minor rust but nothing the die grinder won't solve.

What is the general consensus on refinishing them?

Textured Rustoleum?

Has anyone ever used Grizzly Grip?

 

I had to replace my fuel lines all the way from the fuel pump to the engine bay and back due to corrosion. A 25 foot coil of 5/16 steel fuel line was about 25 bucks at Advanced Auto. I had maybe two feet left over. I also repositioned them slightly and repositioned the fuel filter along the frame out of the wheel well area.

I fed a few feet of line at a time from the rear opening then climbed underneath and formed and routed it until I was done.

I was told that using rubber all the way would not pass state inspection. I also bought a new ProLine Fuel Pump Assembly from Rovers North for 100 buck. I used the rubber fuel injection line to join the steel to the fuel pump lines held with double clamps, same at the fuel filter. In the engine bay I cut the old lines right at the fuel injection rails and joined in the new lines.

 

Dude, that's one hell of a score!!