After a hiatus, I'm back in a Discovery, this time its a 2003 Disco HSE. And yes, it falls within the oil pump dowel range. (SALTP164X3A779486)

I've had two Discos previously in a "previous life" and was able to afford to take them to the dealer anytime they needed to.

I'm no longer at that point in my life so I need to be more prudent when it comes to repairing/maintaining these beasts.

I've read up on DiscoMike's 60k mile/higher mileage baseline service guidelines and plan on performing that within the next two weeks, HOWEVER first things first.......

1.) This Disco doesn't have a battery. Anyone have any battery recommendations?

2.) When I had the Disco temporarily hooked up to a battery, there was a TCU error message and the truck wouldn't shift. The shifter wouldn't budge at all. Shifter problem? Linkage problem? Transfer case problem? Is the TCU part of the issue? I know that these ZF autos are pretty robust until a front driveshaft cracks one of them open. Thoughts/advice/feedback greatly appreciated. (BTW, I did do a search but didn't really come up with anything helpful).

3.) Would anybody affiliated with a LR dealer be able to run my VIN and tell me what options my Disco has? I know its got the cold weather package and navigation and was sold new by LR of San Jose.

4.) Worst case scenario for 2.) would be a tranny replacement. Anyone done this before? Can anyone walk me through this if necessary?

Thanks!

 

your brake switch is probably bad, thats why you can move the shifter. to check this:

throw the battery in and press the brake pedal? do you see any lights?

if not, then your switch is bad and you need a new one, buy 2 so you dont get stranded!!!!


if so, then your shifter silinoid maybe bad?

as for a battery, any premium battery will do, bigger the better.


ALSO.... DOWNLOAD THE RAVE MANUAL !!!!!!!!! search for it on this site, its what the dealer uses to fix your truck

 

manual is in my sig.

start with the battery and move forward. It could be a number of things.

 

Are there any battery recommendations?

I've already got RAVE, I downloaded it ~ a year ago when I started looking.

 

Replace the oil pump, and/or install an oil pressure gauge. That way, if/when the pump starts to fail, you'll be wise to it before any damage is done.

 

Optima makes a great battery. And adding an oil gauge is a good suggestion too. Pretty easy to do, and you can see it drop before the light comes on. It trips at 7psi..

 

Duralast Gold from Autozone, it is a top rated battery by Consumer Reports, the one for our trucks is 1000CCA and its under $100.

Your brake lights wont work unless the key is on, so turn the key on and then check for brake lights.
If you need a brake light switch it is like $15.
In a emergency you can jump the wires at the brake light switch, the brake lights will be on all the time but you can drive it.

 

Thanks for all the advise so far. Keep it coming please!

The people at various AutoZones in/near DC were idiots and none of them had the proper battery for a Disco so I ended up going out to the 'burbs and getting a battery from Advance Auto Parts.

I installed the new battery, however I need to install a new positive terminal cable as the nut that tightens the terminal to the posts is rusted solid and started disintegrating. So that's been added to my to-do list.

After installing the battery, the Disco would crank but it wouldn't catch and run.

While I was trying to get the Disco to run, I did the brake light test and they illuminated. Shifter still wouldn't budge. The RAVE manual shows one solenoid near the shifter and three down in the transmission area. Which one of these solenoids is the one I need to look at to eliminate as a possible cause.

Any ideas as to why it wouldn't start? Its got a full tank of gas, fresh battery, spark plugs and wires seem to be in good condition from a cursory observation.

 

Check for fuel pressure at the fuel rail. Press the little schrader valve looking thing in (with a rag or plasitic container beneath it) and see if any fuel comes out. If not, make sure your fuel pump is priming.

Also check for spark. Take a plug wire off, stick an old plug in it, ground it to the block where you can see it, and crank her over. If you have no spark, check another cylinder. If that one has no spark, it could be the Coils or the Crank Position Sensor.

Once you get it running, the two things you should really be focusing on are the oil pump and that front driveshaft.

 

How long has the truck been sitting?
More than a month and the gas is stale, more than 6 months and the gas is bad, more than a year and it will not run on that gas.

Check for spark first.