2004 Discovery 2 Expo Build

[MStudt]

With the switches being a bust this past weekend I decided to move on. I was able to install front and rear differential skids, and the Southdown snorkel. My wife only asked for a couple things on the Rover, and having a snorkel was one of them. I didn't get pictures of the differential skids yet, but I will get some tonight.

Below are a couple pictures of the snorkel. I didn't take any pictures of the install since it was pretty much a guessing game. To say the Southdown snorkel had instructions would be an exaggeration. It came with a template for the cutout, but that's about it. I had to do some searching for Google images to get everything figured out. In the end I think it turned out pretty good. I still need to seal it up just a little around fender fitting.

For those of you familiar with the Southdown snorkel you'll notice something different about this one. I worked with Southdown before purchasing the snorkel to see what they could come up with for an elbow. I didn't want to run their typical snorkel end, and wanted to use a Donaldson Top Spin filter instead. They were able to bend, and stretch an end fitting for me that allowed me to mount the Top Spin filter vertically.

 

[MStudt]

Once everything is finished up we'll be sure to give a good walk around of the Rover. We have a lot of time invested into our Rover, and a lot of personal touches.

 

[MStudt]

I think the final purchase has now been made. To say I'm not happy with our current Terrafirma lift is an extreme understatement. We've blown 3 front shocks in 2 years, and the rear springs are sagging badly. After a lengthy discussion with GBR Utah we pulled the trigger on a new OEM lift. We ended up going with OME Heavy Duty springs all around for our added weight. For the springs we went with 60024L on the front, 60025L on the rear, and SD02 for steering. I should have everything by the end of the week, and I'm gunning for an install by the end of the weekend.

 

[MStudt]

It looks like the Rover is heading into the shop for the first time next week. After replacing the fan clutch, and condenser fan the temps are still an issue. I have no air bubbles in the system, and no coolant leaks either. I'm leaning towards an issue with the t-stat since that's the only logical explanation to the high temps. Either way I save the old known working t-stat, and have an extra water pump too. If we were going to be around through July I'd get this figured out on my own, but since we're leaving in under 5 weeks I'm just going to have someone do it for me.

 

[MStudt]

We dropped the Rover off at the shop yesterday, and received the much awaited phone call this morning. I seems like our t-stat is acting up in a weird way. It working, but only about 40% of the time. We had a small air pocket that they burped, and that only helped slightly. We going to swap out the current t-stat with a new one, flush the system, and they're going to add a bottle of Water Wetter. It's looking like we'll have it back on Tuesday.

The phone call ended with the owner getting on the phone to tell me we have a one nice Rover, and that he'd like us to show him around it when we come to pick it up.

 

[TGF]

The phone ended with the owned getting on the phone to tell me we have a one nice Rover, and that he'd like us to show him around it when we come to pick it up.

Now if it would just behave nicely and be issue free. :)

 

[MStudt]

Now if it would just behave nicely and be issue free. :)

You're telling me. I told my wife that I would like 1 month without issues, and she laughed at me. But, that's part of the adventure I guess.

 

[MS_Disco]

You're telling me. I told my wife that I would like 1 month without issues, and she laughed at me. But, that's part of the adventure I guess.

You might think about doing the Chevy thermostat conversion, I have all the part numbers if you need them. I can swap a thermostat in 5 minutes now with little water loss and temps stay steady unlike the pressure actuated factory version.

OB#3799

 

[MStudt]

You might think about doing the Chevy thermostat conversion, I have all the part numbers if you need them. I can swap a thermostat in 5 minutes now with little water loss and temps stay steady unlike the pressure actuated factory version.

OB#3799

I've thought about going that route recently, but I wanted to be 100% certain what my issue was before going there. If the issue ends up being the t-stat like I think it is then I'll visit that option.

Let me know what part number you have, and how difficult it was.

 

[MS_Disco]

I've thought about going that route recently, but I wanted to be 100% certain what my issue was before going there. If the issue ends up being the t-stat like I think it is then I'll visit that option.

Let me know what part number you have, and how difficult it was.

Here is the video I followed.... mostly... pretty easy took about an hour just from being careful not to cut too much.


OB#3799

 

[InsertAliasHere]

I think the final purchase has now been made. To say I'm not happy with our current Terrafirma lift is an extreme understatement. We've blown 3 front shocks in 2 years, and the rear springs are sagging badly. After a lengthy discussion with GBR Utah we pulled the trigger on a new OEM lift. We ended up going with OME Heavy Duty springs all around for our added weight. For the springs we went with 60024L on the front, 60025L on the rear, and SD02 for steering. I should have everything by the end of the week, and I'm gunning for an install by the end of the weekend.

Yeah my TF rears are shot less than 3 years after purchase. Same deal with the TF springs. I was thinking about going to RTE's 3in springs and Bilstein 7100's


-2002 Disco with heavy things bolted to it.

 

[vtrover]

can you post the link to the 3d switch blank ?

 

[MStudt]

can you post the link to the 3d switch blank ?

Here you go. Link

 

[vtrover]

thanks! how is it ? did it require trimming before installation?

 

[MStudt]

thanks! how is it ? did it require trimming before installation?

I haven't had a chance to install this yet since our Rover has been in the shop. I'm hoping to get this installed tomorrow after we bring the Rover home. I'll be sure to post about it since this is the one remaining thing that I need to install.

 

[MStudt]

Well. Tuesday has come and gone, and the Rover isn't coming home. The shop replaced what we all thought was a faulty t-stat, flushed the system, and added a bottle of Water Wetter. The Rover is still over heating at this point, and that work only helped slightly. We have a newish water pump (5k), new t-stat (again), new hoses, new sensors, new fan clutch, new ac condenser fan, and new radiator.
The shop said it seems like it's not dissipating heat like it should, and they think it "might" be the radiator. The radiator was replaced with an Nissens PCC000710G per recommendation from Lucky 8, and that should have been for the SAI models.
We didn't have any heating issues on our old leaky engine that we just swapped out. Now with all new parts we can't keep this thing cool. At this point our trip is on the verge of being cancelled since this issue isn't getting any better. We have a very large investment in the Rover, and I can't understand what else could be going on.

 

[TGF]

Grrr, frustrating. Time to find another shop with a fresh eye?

 

[MStudt]

Grrr, frustrating. Time to find another shop with a fresh eye?

Unfortunately there aren't many options around here since the only other trusted Rover shop is the dealer. The shop that we used is a very good import repair shop, and a Bosch certified repair shop. I'm going to make a couple calls tonight to some local contacts to see what I can come up with. I'm at my wits end right now, and not sure what we're going to do.

 

[YETI X]

Just a thought, perhaps stupid, but are you sure your temperature gauge is giving you accurate readings? Back when I was in high school, I had a 1976 VW Rabbit (don't judge). At one point I thought it was starting to overheat all the time and chased all the same symptoms you did. Turned out it was the temperature sending unit that had gone bad.

 

[TGF]

Have you tried posting your issue over here: https://discoweb.org?