I'd noticed a bit of noise from front top center of the engine that I assumed was alternator bearings. Luckily, I had talked the previous owner into a NAPA lifetime after finding he was replacing the O'reilly lifetime every month for about a year!! So, I ordered one in and finally got time tonight to change it, but the looseness in the tensioner pulley caught my attention first. When I went to spin it - it didn't! The alternator sounds and feels good, so I pulled the tensioner off, popped a seal off the 6203 bearing and found my answer - full of dry brown crud. I was all excited to push the bearing out and---damn, I remembered I'm home, the bearings are at work and the wifes away with the other car. So... I sprayed a little penetrant in to loosen up and flush the crap out, threw a bit of Valvoline blue grease in there, popped the seal on and buttoned it up - I'll change it tomorrow at work - and it sounds perfect!! But it will be replaced tomorrow - I wouldn't trust it 20 miles out of town! But the pulley is a good heavy cast item that is well worth rebuilding rather than the light duty plastic and stamped stuff I have available through Gates. It is pretty close to the quality they are using on Cummins though - we might have a HD option - but that will wait for another day. I stock at least 8) 6203 2RSJ SKF bearings so an easy and cheap repair - I'll probably throw one in the parts stash too - an easy trail repair if needed.
I'm still impressed with the simplicity and straight-forward design of my Discovery though - sure there are "quirks", but the rebuildable aspect of about everything is unheard of in other modern cars.
I've got an appointment Monday to get a new windshield installed ($316.00) and then to replace panhard rod bushings - they are the primary source of my panic-stop shudder - leaning towards urethane.. any thoughts. Russ

 

I put in urethane, and am very happy with them. There are a bunch of posts saying that they squeak, I just coated them with handfuls of never-seize before i put them in, and haven't had any issues.

I did have a hell of a time getting the snap-rings out of the tensioner to change the bearing, and then getting it back in.

You have the same issue?

 

Best fix for that is to grind a small groove in the snap ring gap to make levering it out easier then replace with a circlip after fitting a new bearing.

 

I wouldn't be so sure about that. I've had idler pulleys on a few vehicles that I lube up every couple years and have tens of thousands of miles on them since they first started making noises. The reason is, I got tired of buying new $40 OEM idler pulleys that would only last about 2 years till they started "whirling", so I just started lubing them up ever so often. I use Mobil 1 synthetic grease.

I've had even worse luck using aftermarket pulleys, especially some that fit terribly, or looked really cheaply built.

 

Most guys are going to say 'urethane', it seems to be a knee-jerk response. I remember reading a detailed article years ago in a Corvette magazine (another passion) written by Corvette racer, John Greenwood back in the early 80's who was writing a 3 or 5 part how-to column on ways to get the most out of the corvette for racing. The subject of bushings was one part of an installment and he basically indicated they ditched urethane bushings for racing and went back to factory rubber because they would limit suspension travel at it's limits, didn't seem to provide the 'instant response' advertised and tended to fail prematurely. They ultimately concluded urethane bushings didn't provide any better real-world handling benefits or more importantly, reduced lap times, but did come with their own drawbacks.

I know Your Disco isn't a Corvette used for racing, but thought still worth sharing. Other than that, I don't have any personal real-world side-by-side comparisons to say one way or another. Chances are, new rubber bushings will last as long as you ever own the rig. Urethane might too. Urethane bushings seem to be generally less expensive. I'm guessing they are easier/cheaper to manufacture (??).

 

Oh yeah- that thing is a pain! I tried for a half hour, before heading back to work and grabbing a NAPA 38033 pulley (@ 1mm larger OD) and bolting it back together - my wife was a bit restless to head up to a local hot spring! The next day, I took an 1/8" drill bit and drilled 3 holes on an angle to line up with the back side of the snap ring so that I can get behind it and push out - so much easier! Russ