1. I have noticed that sometimes my steering wheel vibrates atvarious speeds when braking. Its not a bad vibration as others have described on here but it is enough to cause a concern. It occurs when I am going down hill (and hitting brakes)or slowing down from going 45-50+ MPH. Like i said, its not bad, it doesnt even effect the steering, but its enough where I can feel it. Anyideas on what this could be?

2. When first starting my truck, mostly in the morning, the oil light comes on for about 45 seconds to a minute. Then it goes off for the rest of the drive. I checked the oil level and its fine, but it is getting close to a change, well not really but I dont like going to long on any oil. So do you guys think to oil is dirty or is there something else I need to look for?

THANKS!

 

Your rotors are warped and that is causing your vibration.
How cold is it where you are, what weight motor oil are you using and what type of oil filter?

 

Some morning's its been in the 20's, others its been in the 50's. Here in the the mountains our weather is all over the place, but no matter what the oil light comes on. As for oil weight, I'm really not sure, I am away from the truck right now so I cant check the records. I know I am using synthetic royal purple (80% sure...) and the filter is K&N.

Is a warped rotor hard or expensive to fix/replace? And is that the only thing it could be?

 

I have never replaced rotors on a Disco, you can get them "turned" at a brake shop, they put them on a lath and take out the "high" spots, they warp from being overheated to many times.

As for the oil psi, I think that I would have it checked. What year is your trk? Is it a '03? Even at 20 degree's your oil light should only be on for less than 30 secs at start up.
I use Mobil 1 15w50 and it has been 0 and below and my oil light stays on for maybe 30 sec when I start it in the morning.

 

nah, its a 2000. It might only be 30 seconds, but warning lights scare me so it might seem longer at the time... [sm=smiley5.gif]. So far its always been, at most, in the 30's when it came on. And this past week it has been warmer and it has come one twice at start up. Oh well, I am going to change the oil soon so hopefully that will fix that altogether.

As for the rotors, my brakes have made so much dust I dont see how there is anything left. My guess is those need to be replaced too. Like you, I have never delt with rotors, do you know if you can visibly see if they are warped?

 

I saw that you had a 2000 like as soon as I hit "post", there is no way to visually tell if rotors are warped. You have to take a micrometer to them and go all the way around them and measure their thickness.
I have had warped rotors on many cars and either lived with it or replaced them. If you need new pads then do them both at the same time. You can usually turn (on a lath) rotors only once then they are too thin the next time.
If you are driving and put the slightest pressure on the brake pedal you will feel the high spots, they will push the pedal back at you. The harder you brake the worse it will be. Try it the next time you are driving, let off the gas and press lightly on the brakes and see if you feel the high spots.
When I worked at FedEx we didnt turn rotors, we ran them until they were so thin that they would actually get stress cracks in them. And we knew it was time for new brake pads when the brake light on the dash came on because the brake fluid was low enough to set off the warning lamp. And yes we used cheap pads, cheap ones lasted maybe 2 months and good ones lasted maybe 3. We didnt care about brake dust though either.

 

Do you notice it pulling a little when you brake? If so the warp could be on just one rotor. On my old vehicle (93 exploder) I had a caliper that was grabbing before the other one was. So when I barely touched the brakes I would feel vibration and it would slightly pull to the side with the wonky caliper. Just a thought.

-W

 

When your rotors are warped on a Disco, they can not be resurfaced, the alloy is too soft and one of the two times you turn them will put them so far out os specc they will warp again before you get home. Go to Atlantic British and buy a set of rotors to fix this problem.
As for your oil light, you have eithe a bad oil sender or your oil pump is having issues. Don't waity around on this one, go have a mechanic do an oil pressure test both when cold and at operating temp, at idle and at 2000 RPM's.

 

I agree with Mike! If you were using conventional oil, and using 10w30, and it was cold, and near the end of the oil's life, you might have lost so much viscosity youre triggering your oil light..but with RP being synthetic and much less likely to lose viscosity like that, I would say there is something more sinister afoot.

Do you hear any ticking or other odd noises from the engine?

As for the rotors, I don't like the idea of turning them anyway..grinding away your stopping surface.....don't save money on brakes, air bags, or seat belts .

 

You know, there is a clicking sound for like 15 seconds, but that has only happened once or twice and the light has come on about 8+ times now. I always listen for sounds and stuff but the clicking went away pretty fast so I didnt even consider it. I think its time to have a few things looked at, its been about 5,000 miles since the last check up. I am going to schedule an appointment at the rover shop as soon as I get a chance. Better to stay ahead of things!