Please do! Thanks.

 

Well, I am happy to report good news!

I pulled apart VSS, that was the easy part, but getting to it was damn tricky, and left me covered in debris with a mouth or two full of dirt and grime!

VSS was filled with the plastic shavings as described in the VSS rebuild PDF, and extremely filthy on the outside!

The metal bit was very loose and wobbled from side to side quite a bit before taking it apart... which worried me.

Once apart I noticed that the plastic/teflon washers were not the diameter as mentioned (guess they had worn down). I cleaned everything meticulously with a toothbrush and seafoam. Applied some lithium grease to the thrust washer, and reassembled...

Vehicle shifts nice and smooth now (manual transmission), and doesn't jump or buck like it used to in any gear or in reverse

I also cleaned the PCV valve and the pasta-like breather, but all lines and parts were fairly clean.

Speedo works 99% and only lags slightly on acceleration from a dead stop, but properly speeds up and registers.

Granted this is not a permanent solution, but for now it will keep me going

Thank you for your help and time, it really means a lot

Pics to follow

 

I definitely agree with Archaeology Student. Getting to the VSS and re-installing it were tricky and dirty jobs. I really appreciate the effort of the mechanic who did that VSS repair for me. He actually did mine lying down on his back in the gutter of the street in front of his shop. That day, he was so busy that he didn't have time to put my Dscvry on his lift. I shifted the truck into neutral, and he quickly re-installed it.

Not every mechanic would lie in the gutter to make sure a repair got done fast and correctly, so that I could be on my way safely!

I'll be sure to thank him again next time.

 

I don't see pics 8)

 

What size Allen key did you use to remove from trans?

 

Hi, Tom. It seems like Archaeology Student and Motorvated are having similar problems to what I experienced with my Dscvry, but they're addressing them on 2 separate threads. Maybe you can pull them together?

I don't have the technical skill to pull it all together, but I think the problems with RPM readings, VSS, high idle (idle control valve), and fuel pump are somehow all related, or those parts just wear out at the same time, and give a very rough ride, like the truck is dying .

In my case, RPMs were too high at engine start up, and gauge didn't fall below 2 until truck put into gear. The truck revved really loudly. Then, I'd drive and be going about 60-70mph, and suddenly the speedometer would just flop down to 0, but I was still going 70mph. I posted earlier the parts that needed to be replaced: VSS, idle air control valve/actuator, and modified (cut slots in) throttle position sensor to allow proper adjustment.

Plus, I needed a new fuel pump...
The truck must've had low fuel pressure for a long time. Probably someone tried to adjust the idle screw, and the computer compensated for the low fuel pressure. Once my fuel pump was replaced and the fuel pressure was correct, the idle went crazy. It's likely that the fuel pump had the correct pressure during a second wind before it died, and that's why the truck responded with the high idle.

It's like, once 1 part in the Dscvry I starts failing, it throws off other parts in the chain that are close to the end of their life expectancy. So, it's important to link the symptoms together. Otherwise, a completely good part could fail and money/labor is wasted, and you still might not understand the underlying causes. I'd like to pass on that bit of experience to Archaeology Student and Motorvated. You'd probably do a better job than me at that because you understand the causes and can link them. I'm alot better at linking the symptoms because I hear everything my truck says to me. I just don't fully understand the language it speaks...yet!

I thank the good mechanics and DIYs out there for helping me with the language barrier and translation .

 

Whole problem is it is a British vehicle which makes it fubar from the factory with a crap electrical system (according to dad who is an old school type mechanic and used to work on mg and mini and such I the old days when they were new)

I get what you are saying and it does seem like everything wears out at once, it does also seem like things are related that in an American vehicle would not affect each other

 

Haha. Yeah, I guess being a Brit could be a problem . My Dscvry might still hold a grudge that we won the Revolution. Lol.

But, I understand fubar, and I don't agree completely that it applies to the Dscvry I (can't speak abt Dscvry II, though). Dscvry I just needs the right mix of driver and mechanic or DIYs, which is not easy to find...ok, almost impossible!

My only possible regret with the Dscvry I is that I bought mine new in 1997. If you're gonna talk British vs. American, then my main regret is that I had my choice of Ford Bronco vs Dscvry in 1997. Although the last model year Bronco was 1996, I could've gotten some nice used ones with low mileage...1995, 1996? That's probably the only trade-off that I might've made...a Ford Bronco instead of my Dscvry I. If I owned a Bronco, I'm sure that I would've saved alot of money and aggravation trying to save my Dscvry I from being fubar .

 

don't get me wrong I like my disco engine is ok with the hg done and oil leaks fixed, rest of drive train works well after fixing the poorly designed cdl shifter

biggest problem lies in the electrical, very poorly made electronic control modules that are not water tight that malfunction and cause other things to malfunction that should not even be remotely linked and severe rust issues from water ingress that should never happen to begin with

I.E. sides or firewall rotted out from water running down due to location of water drains on hvac intake area, water dumping into dash due to water coming in the hvac cold air intake area, floor rotting from this water being soaked up by the foam rubber sponge under the carpet, tiny springs that go bad on door latches so the door will not auto unlock, an air cleaner intake that is behind the headlight to suck in water and kill the maf I could go on and on

this just seems extremely poorly though out for such an expensive vehicle that is designed to GO ANYWHERE (camel trophy) by the time the disco 2 rolled out you would think the problems would have been fixed I could be wrong but they only got worse

flipping through the service bulletins you can see they did address problems but these were not fixed unless the vehicle came to the dealer with a certain complaint

abs system on disco 1 should have warranted a recall this is very dangerous esp for a non experienced driver

but I digress and climb down from the soapbox since we have gotten waaaaay off the op topic

newbies beware you need deep pockets or alooot of mechanical ability

 

I followed the article listed on Discoweb for removing the VSS, and the thread started by grptech on "repairing the VSS".

Here are some pics of the VSS I pulled out before cleaning it.





That is the inside, look at all the debris in there



Below are the pieces from inside before I cleaned them, all that metal looking dust/dirt is plastic debris.