Hi folks,

Quick bit of History:-

I ran a Disco' 2 as a company car for 3 years, back in the early 2000's.
That (for a couple of reasons) led to me buying and running a Disco' 1 for a couple of years after that.
I also spent 20-odd years running and maintaining Defenders.
I wouldn't consider myself an "expert" in LR vehicles but it's not my first picnic either.
I've also done my fair share of spannering (restored several older vehicles in the past and worked as a mechanic) so I'm fine with spannering.

I'm starting a new job which requires a vehicle capable of getting around rough terrain (farmland, forestry etc) and a Landie is top of my list.

After 20 years of driving Defenders, I like the way TD5-era Defenders drive but I'm really over the whole "utilitarian" thing.
I don't like the cramped cockpit and the lack of legroom, I don't like the doors that don't fit properly, I don't like ripping my pants of the door catch or the plastic and rubber interior.
So, I'm thinking Disco 2 instead.

Trouble is, I had a pretty bad time with a Disco 2 back when I had one as a company vehicle.
During the 3 years I had it, the suspension airbags failed twice (and the compressor failed too), the sunroofs leaked (duh!), it was off the road for a month due to "the 3 amigos" (never found out what caused that because the dealer didn't tell me) and, most frighteningly, I had a really, really bad experience with the ACE when one of the actuators failed while I was on a long, sweeping, motorway bend, which ended with me lurching across 3 lanes (fortunately empty at the time) and ending-up stopping in the gravel in the central reservation.

Once the 3 years were up, rather than replacing my company car, I opted against accepting another one and bought a Disco 1 instead.
That was more reliable (it had a bunch of minor faults but no show-stoppers) although I much prefered the TD5 engine to the 300Tdi (sorry Tdi fans).

Seems like my ideal vehicle would be a TD5-era Defender, but with a Disco body on it.
Which brings us to where I am now.

I'm looking at Disco 2's for my new job but I'm wondering how much of the electrickery I can remove from it in order to create what is, basically, a Defender underneath.
The ACE has absolutely GOT to go and, from what I've read, it seems like that's possible.
The air suspension has got to go too, and that also seems to be possible.
I'm not crazy, though, and I'd never consider getting rid of ABS (I don't think it's actually legal, is it?) but I'm concerned about how removing the air suspension might affect the ABS because those systems share an ECU, right?

Then there's the stuff related to the "3 amigos".
The ABS, obviously, gets to stay and, honestly, I'm not totally hostile to TC and HDC. If they work, great. If they stop working, it's not going to strand me by the side of the road.
If there's any benefit (in terms of reliability) to disabling TC and HDC I might consider it but they're not really on my hit-list.

I know there's a lot of stuff already on the internet about these issues but if somebody could give me a brief synopsis of what's achievable - and what has to be done to accomplish it - I'd really appreciate it.
For example, I know that the ACE and air-suspension can be physically deleted but, having done so, do I need to "spoof" the SLABS ECU by, perhaps, continuing to feed it a dummy signal from the height sensors or can I use something like a Nanocom to properly deactivate them?
If it can be done, I'm going to do it but I'm just interested to know what I might be letting myself in for.

I don't need anybody to go to the effort of writing essays on how to do various things.
Just a couple of sentences so that, when I'm looking at prospective purchases, I'll have an idea of what any modifications might involve.

Also, please don't take this the wrong way but, if you're just planning on posting to tell me how great ACE is, or how reliable air-suspension is, just don't bother.

many thanks for any advice.

 

@Si Crewe

You may need to have someone with a Nancom adjust the settings but

Neither effect ABS as far I know, many Disco's were shipped without both

• Remove the Ace no issue there
• Replace the air suspension in the rear with Coils and Springs same easy to to do

Traction control and ABS do not generally give you a lot of grief, 3 amigos will disable both traction control and ABS, BUT your Disco will still stop safely
Causes for this and the fixes are pretty simple and well documented:

• Wheel sensors
• Wheel sensor connections
• Electrical connections to or in the ABS PUMP Search for Discovery Option B

Also I would love a TDI engine instead of the V8

 

The ACE and air suspension systems were only available on some models, in some years. ACE seems to have been almost non-existent in later model years (at least here in the US). If the ACE system detects a fault it locks in place, so I'm assuming that removal of any physical components will cause this error state, and the electronics will effectively become deactivated.
Removal of the air springs is a simple operation, and only requires access to a programmer to change the setting in the SLABS, then pulling the fuse for the compressor. It does not affect any other systems. I did this on my '99 D2 and a lot of others have also done it.
There's a wide range of issues that can cause the three amigos. Most are well documented on here and are pretty simple to remedy.

 

Thanks for the advice, fellas.
Pretty much confirmed what I was thinking but I was worried there might be something I'd overlooked.

Possibly a little beyond the scope of my original post but are there any common methods of improving the bit's of tech' that will remain?

I'm not keen on leaving the ECU under the bonnet, for example.
Not so much that I'll be wading, bonnet-deep, through a rain-forest or anything but I'd like to be able to jet-wash the engine once in a while without worrying that I'll kill the ECU.
I'll certainly have a look at moving the ECU somewhere inside the cabin if that's a fairly straightforward job.

How about things like the SLABS ECU?
Is that somewhere fairly safe or is it somewhere that it's likely to be damaged?

I suppose I should also say, I'm well aware of potential chassis rust problems.
I really don't mind fixing mechanical problems or welding structural parts.
The only things I'm really "frightened" of are body repairs and electrical problems.
Once I pull the trigger, I'll run it for a while (until the weather gets warmer and the ground gets firmer) to see what's wrong with it and then I'll take it off the road for a couple of months and go through it, replacing seals, bushes, bearings and balljoints etc, as well as any welding it needs so it'll be ready for next winter.

 

SLABS unit is behind the glovebox, inside the cabin. About as safe a place as it could be.

 

Same with the ECU. It's next to the SLABS, not under the bonnet.

 

My 02 D2 has neither ACE, SAI, air suspension or Sunroofs - SD model. Which also means, no leather or heated seats. Duraguard is what I think they call the seat fabric which is fine actually. Leather-esque if you will........
I feel like I kinda got lucky finding this one and didnt even know it until I read threads like this

 

im considering replacing my SLABS unit.... my RWS amigos obdII device gives me a
1.--Current Faults---->
Active Faults:
None
Logged Faults:
022:ECU Gnd or Reference Gnd bad
114:Shuttle Valve Electric Failure
<-END Faults

any my New FOXWELL NT530 cannot see it and says no communication to ABS... from other posts im suspecting my SLABS unit is bad?? i can get a replacement cheap enough used but if there is any other ideas Im open to suggestions!

i did replace shuttle valve with new one and it didnt change anything... i bought the NY530 specifically so I could powerbleed the abs unit but i cant seem to see it at all...

 

You need to perform Option B, even though you replaced the Shuttle Valve Switch you probably have a bad connector inside the WABCO Unit. Option B bypasses that weak link.

 

It’s possible to take out the air springs and the ace system With minimal effort and pretty cheap conversions. You can actually buy two solid sway bars and just replace the whole thing removing all the lines sensors blocks and pumps. You will need a different size auxiliary belt because you won’t be running your ACE pump. The rear air springs come out within a couple minutes but putting new Solid Springs in you will need to have the spring seats for the bottom. Removing all the systems will make all your dash lights go crazy and the only way to get them to turn off will be to go to a shop that has the correct Land Rover computer. they will essentially turn off the self-leveling part of the computer along with the ace part.

your ABS hill dissent and traction control light will also need a Specific computer to be reset. Before you reset that one you will need to fix the connector inside the ABS control module. There is documentation on the forum for this. Just search shutter valve ABS fix.
Having squeaky brakes can also set off the ABS lights randomly and if they are set off there is no way to turn them off without the computer.