Hello,
'94 disco
Kind of a basic issue: when I brake the car vibrates at the wheel. The pads are ok and the rotor is stock(could be a factory replacement though) but no lips on it. The car otherwise drives straight and doesn't pull when braking. I'm thinking its the rotor but don't want to drop a few hundred bucks if something else needs to be fixed first. Any thoughts?

RM

 

When does it vibrate? Be more specific. Sounds like you have a warped rotor, possibily in conjunction with some loose steering components.

 

Warped rotors, if its in the steering wheel it is the fronts, in your butt it is the rears.

 

When I hit the breaks the steering wheel vibrates, and the driver's door panel vibrates too. Doesn't really matter how hard I hit the breaks, the vibration just varies from a little to a lot depending on pedal pressure.

The loose steering components are another issue. The car drives perfectly straight at any speed without drifting but the steering wheel is about 15 degrees off from center to the left when driving straight. It does not have any play though; if I turn the wheel to 0 degrees from center the car drives to the right.

Mike: What do I look for with "loose steering components"?

RM

 

The arm that comes off the power steering pump is what most often get loose on Disco I's.

 

So it is time for you to get that front end reworked, how mechanical are you?
You will need brakes and rotors, have the entire steering system checked and replaced as necessary and have your swivels serviced and have the pre load reset along with replacing the steering stabilizer.
If it is pulling when braking, you will probably be looking a replacing both front calipers with a couple of remanufactured one.
Big list but it will make a huge difference in how your truck handles.

 

I'm pretty mechanical, I do whatever needs to be done myself, using the workshop manual mostly. What exactly am I looking for when checking the steering system. I'll service the swivels since that's on my to do list. I'm also not sure what you mean by have the preload reset. I'll check the manual and see what it says. As for the brakes, I'm thinking of the Rover's North Proline drilled/slotted with EBC kevlar pads. I'm also going to add stainless lines and replace the lines from the ABS/pump unit to the calipers since they looked pretty rusted. Anything else I should be doing, please let me know.

RM