d2 seats seem almost indestructible. How difficult was it to install? I assume the tracks are different width so I'd imagine decent amount of modification. How happy are you with the result? Thanks for any info. I'm on an eternal hunt for decent seating in all my classic rovers.

 

A mid winter day to top up oils and greases on my ‘97 D1. Don’t forget those pin housings folks. About a month ago, I was off roading putting on the diff lock. After doing the work last week, the diff lock is not coming out. It can go up and down, but not side to side. Before I start removing the console, is their exposed linkage from below that could use some spray? Thanks.

 

Yes, you can spray the arm from below - however, from the top side you have much better access to everything.

Just drill the rivets out, install some riv nuts and a gasket around the cover. Pop it off once a year for a thorough cleanout and re-grease as some debris can sit inside of that shifter.

 

Finally got this job done, and the ride feels a bit tighter, with less drifting. Unfortunately, one arm came off nicely, while another was near impossible. Perhaps its just me, but I did not feel comfortable using a torch to heat up the seized bolts underneath due to gas and oil above. Anyway, so back on it went and off to the mechanic’s shop. A couple of hours later, done. Mind you, while it was up, checked transfer case fluids and top up. A real pita to get at anyway.

With everything decent now, it looks like one of the panhard bushings need replacement. Might as well get both.

 

I think this is TL;DR.

This is a long overdue update but to be fair, I've dragged it out for several years. I started on this large list of maintenance/upgrades back in like 2015 I think. And that was pretty much the last time it's been driven other than when we moved in 2017 and I had to drive it (scary) from the old house to the new house, fortunately it was only about 10miles. Anyway.....I bought it with some OME lift, springs and shocks. They seemed old and the springs/dampers were rusty/crusty. I noticed the steering ball joints were in bad shape so I figured I'd do all those plus springs/dampers. I started on the rear figuring it would be easier but only managed to get one corner done before being interrupted by other life stuff. Until that I'd never worked on a solid axle vehicle before so it was good to learn. Anyway, moved in July of 217, drove the truck over to the new house late at night. Pretty scary as I learned later that one of the rear brake hard lines had rusted and was leaking pretty bad. I definitely had stopping issues, rolled most stop signs, only stopped for red lights.

So 2 years later....Decided to continue to work which now added up to a lot more. Both swivels were leaking (gaskets/seals failed), rear brakes lines were more air than metal, brakes were pretty much gone, rusty/crusty/nasty. So ordered all these various parts including calipers, pads, gaskets/seals, new bump stops, etc. Also had to deal with floor rust which fortunately was only surface, no weakened material. My son (who was 14 then) helped me with the other rear side including new hard brake lines. We took it out for a short drive...what a world of difference. Then we tore out the interior and he cleaned/painted the entire floor with POR15. We ditched most of the carpet because it was gross (front windscreen had leaked previously). Still need to finish getting the interior back together. But so many other things wrong still. Put stuff on hold yet again until last summer and decided to tackle the front. Had to pull the front end apart to clean and regrease the swivels, replace gaskets/seals/plugs. Neat to do that. Did the calipers/pads, did +2" goodridge brake lines, springs, dampers, towers bump stops, relocation cones, wheel spacers....phew. This whole process took many months to complete. Part of this was to replace all the steering rods with HD stuff (I had already bought the TerraFirma stuff years prior). The track rod bolt on the axle side was seized in the sleeve and was not coming out. Ended up cutting it to get the rod out. We also changed the front axle fluid though the stuff that came out looked/smelled fine. I didn't taste it. Finally got all this back together and went to bleed the brakes with a pressure bleeder. All the fluid came out the reservoir of course. Ordered a new MC and installed that, bled everything, all good.

I wanted to take it for a short drive again but I knew the hell that awaited me. T-case lever mechanism was seized up. We took apart all the various interior bits to gain access to the riveted on boot/frame. I drilled out the rivets and was able to remove the entire lever mechanism. We bought an ultrasonic cleaner and promptly took apart whatever we could and ran it multiple times thru the cleaner using evaporust. That **** cleaned up damn nice, some of the fasteners looked frickin new. We finally were able to take apart the sliding rod and get all that cleaned up so it would work properly. It took several tries to realign the mechanism (including a short drive that confirmed I had guessed the position wrong). After getting that done, we made an attempt to align the front end. We still had not installed a steering damper as we have the TF relocation kit that is yet to be installed.

Got it good by sight and went for a drive. It drove pretty well, took it slow, stayed local of course. The t-case lever worked properly though it still seems like it's slightly off. I think maybe the U channel selector rod is maybe bent a bit at the bottom though, not sure. Anyway, made a slight adjustment to the alignment and took it out again, this time venturing a bit further and onto a road to test 55mph. Haha.....yeah, front end shake like the thing was gonna fall apart. I thought we were gonna lose a wheel. Stooped and checked them, all good. Went home and took a look at the alignment again. My son offered some suggestions on how to check it as well asking the obvious question about what tire pressure were (duh, hadn't been checked in probably 7 years). Adjusted the alignment, checked all wheel torques, all steering rods, adjusted tire pressure....try again. All good and was pretty darn solid/smooth up to 55mph. Success!

So now we have to get the steering damper installed, put the interior back together, and a few other odds/ends. We still have maintenance stuff to do but it seems to be running decent for now which is exciting. I bought it in Feb 2013 and it had 126k on it, today it has <131k on it. Averaging down on mileage I guess.

Anyway, I do have a few issues to deal with. The passenger side rear door will not open and the window won't go down. Not sure how the hell I'm gonna open the door yet but I need to have that functional. The wipers work well after we unseized the mechanism

and greased it all up. But the washer fluid lines partied with the rear brake lines so they're more air than rubber. Worse though is the fluid pumps do not work. We only have 12V at the windscreen pump (that is the important one) so I'm hoping we can replace the lines and have functional sprayers. There is lots to do in the spring.....removing the winch, the front bumper, the rock sliders....need to get all the surface rust cleaned up and probably will POR them, maybe even rhinoline (or similar) them for robustness. That stuff can wait til spring though.

Here are a few pics that hardly summarize all we did (and have yet to do). Cheers.

 

Great photos of the work. I had a black 97 as my first one with the same bumper and antenna as yours. Eye hooks for the limb risers. Looks identical except for the lights. Mine were the Hella 550.., still have them 22 years later!

 

Replaced my original power steering pump. Lasted 26 years. Wow what a difference one finger to turn the wheel now. Enjoyed watching my oldest get his but kicked by such a small task.

 

Gave the XD a good look over, greased the U Joints, and once again bent the OEM SS mount back into place since RTE still hasn't contacted me back about their relocation bracket. Checked all the fluids, and I should be all set for the trip out to Big Bend on Friday.

 

Took the Disco for a little run in the snow after the dump we had on the weekend. This thing is awesome in snow!! It just cruised through a couple of feet of snow on a forest trail like it wasn't even there. As an added bonus, the transfer case unsiezed itself and now CDL and low range work! What a great afternoon in the Great White North!
And of course, since if there's no pics, it didn't happen, here ya go!

Cheers

Phil



The Land Rover in it's native environment.

 

Exactly how a D1 should look..IMO of course. Camel cut front endcaps, front flaps removed. Stock exterior. I love how high these trucks sit up off the ground.

I'll add that a Safety Devices rack is also a very nice addition to a D1.

I have an addition to mine that hasn't come in yet. When it does, I'll toss up a photo and see what the hive has to say.