I took advantage of the 60 degree day in Denver yesterday to swap out a leaky rear hub.

Been noticing a clunk out back when going over certain bumps, especially when turning. Hoped it was a shock bushing, but after installing my new OME shocks, the clunk remained. During that job was when I noticed the grease stain on the brake dust shield.

After spending most of the gorgeous day attending to other domestic duties, I finally carved out a few minutes before dinner to at least get the tools staged for the hub swap. I went ahead and got the hub nut broken loose before jacking it up. Then I thought, "I've still got a few minutes, I'll jack it up and take the wheel off." That turned into... "since I'm out here already with all my tools, I can break the bolts for the caliper loose real quick." ...45 minutes after I walked outside I had the offending hub off, just in time for dinner!

After dinner the reinstallation went just as quickly. Finally a straight-forward Disco repair. Think it was still about 40° outside when I wrapped up around 10 PM. I love Denver!

Downside... still clunking. Now my attention is focused on the watts linkage. Looks like I can get a center pivot from britparts for 150 including new bushings pre installed. I'll probably disconnect the swaybar first, just to rule out those much less expensive bushings.

 

Got a UltraGauge for christmas. It super handy and has actually helped me diagnose which of my O2 sensors was needing to be replaced. It has some pretty cool features!

 

I replaced the oil pump at 130k now I must find a bcm and have it flashed any ideas guys?

 

Gavin,

Had a major clunk in our 03, turned out being the watts link bushings. Both the upper and lower on the center pivot link were wasted. The outer ones were fine (right and left), even though I bought new ones. The three inner bushings on pivot arm pressed in and out without issue, but the outer ones didn't fair so well. The outer plastic sleeve portion of the bushing is quite bit larger than the bore, the first one cracked going in, so I put the old one back in and said the he** with it. Sent the other one back to Atlantic British, and all of the bushings were original equipment. I believe they sell an aftermarket outer watts bushing and in the pictures it looks as though it has a gray outer steel sleeve..if it does...this would be the one I'd buy next time.

Side note...the guy at AB said you have to put the outer bushings in the freezer for a day before trying to install and heat the watts link end slightly before pressing it in.

Another side note...don't tighten any of the bushings bolts until the vehicle is down off the jack stands or you've lifted the axle to its natural position. Tightening them while the axle is hanging will twist the inner part of the bushing once you let it down, causing constant stress on the bushings. The bushing(s) is suppose to be in the relaxed position while going down the road and only get twisted when the axle articulates momentarily over rough terrain.

Brian.

 

So, I went out in the garage, turned on my little propane heater and finished jerking the engine out of the 03. Looks like three slipped sleeves and a blown head gasket were a few of its issues.

Now, it is decision time...rebuild/resleeve/new oil pump assemble/heads freshened up/etc...or try our luck with a junkyard wreck...or part the pile of crap out and stop the bleeding. And once you read the statement below...you'll understand why I'm leaning towards the latter at the moment. Granted, we've got D&D Fabracating, specialists in aluminum block engines and Land Rover, right around the corner from where we live...I'll stop over Monday and see what they have to say about machine work costs.

And, as if removing the engine wasn't fun enough...when I went to pull the key out of the ignition, after moving the truck to set the engine on the stand, it would not come out...and there is a message blinking on the radio asking to enter a "key code" (or something to that affect). This F'n thing just keeps getting better and better by the moment...lol.

Brian.

 

I cleaned up some of the exterior bits with Mother's Back To Black heavy duty trim cleaner (see before and after pictures below of the drivers side door).

 

I vote for top-hats! Junkyard engine is a dice roll. Removing and installing our engine is probably my least favorite of all rover tasks. I just finished torquing down the 14 bell housing bolts today.

Weird about the key code... try unplugging the battery and waiting 15 mins

 

Rolled over 200k today...

Fresh off of a wonderful gift from Santa... The old Throttle body heater plate gasket fail. First clue was a few P0303 codes while on the freeway, still felt like it was running fine though. Saw the puddle on the valve cover while checking the oil. Being away from home on a trip and planning more driving I checked with an Indy shop I use frequently and they were so slammed they couldn't look at anything until the 3rd. So I went by a dealership and overpaid for the kit. $50 for the new plate, gasket, and new throttle body gasket.

Read up on the procedure here and got it done in about 40 minutes, once I found a 7/32" nut driver which worked instead of the 5.5mm. Except it didn't quite work well enough as it started leaking 3 days later again... Took apart and redid only tighter... took about 20 minutes the second time :-)

Fingers crossed.

 

Thanks!

 

The Disco was great, 4 day 450 mile round trip deep into the desert. I lost the left side of my bumper on the face of a large dune. Now I have the excuse I needed for a new one! I charged it a little too hard Haha