Ownership Verified: I'll have some off - 1990 Land Rover Discovery Bobtail

The US experience is that most of the time when a Disco starts having death wobble and it isn't alignment or wheel/tire balance/belt shift related, it's the swivel pins. The swivel pins don't 'seem' to be bad and pass a shake or pry test. However, that turns out to be a false sense of security. Usually the swivel pins are indeed worn out; this only comes to light when you take the suspension down to the point where you can check the swivel pin preload.

That's certainly possible, there are varying opinions on the UK forums about whether or not you should be able to detect wear without taking the whole thing apart. I'm familiar with the spring balance technique and would use that for mine, it isn't a massive undertaking to strip it to that point. With the offside swivel at least I'd be tempted to unbolt the whole thing from the axle tube and again swap it for the known good part on Keely, the axle oil needs replacing anyway. Saves messing with setting wheel bearings.

I'd have to set the bearing on the other side as I already swapped the good hub from Keely but that's one less job to do and I can be picky over stub axle quality.

Maybe I can just try the pins first, although I won't know if the taper roller bearings inside are worn without swapping the housings.
 
That's certainly possible, there are varying opinions on the UK forums about whether or not you should be able to detect wear without taking the whole thing apart.

From what I read when I was last considering a Disco and from talking to LR techs here, the consensus answer in the US is "No, not unless they're extremely far gone and about to literally fall apart." Here it is thought that due to the way they're designed, unlike ball or Heim joints, wear can't be detected without tearing down the suspension to check the preload unless the wear is quite extreme. Well, saide from death wobble that seems to come out of nowhere. (This contributed to my decision to not buy one when last I was shopping for an SUV.) Your mileage may vary due to different driving conditions, of course.
 
Two months after the MOT expired and after much dicking around the bobtail is back on the road with a fresh MOT! :thumbsup:

Some issues needed fixing like a leaking rear oil seal, power steering hose and front panhard rod bushes. The latter have finally fixed the steering wobble, they looked fine but when the steering was turned it was clear that they were past it and allowed the axle to wander from side to side. It certainly feels good now, as good as scaffolding on wheels can feel anyway.

I'm looking at the option of ordering a new set of tyres as the others are perished and cut up, looking at around ?130-140 per corner for remould extreme mud terrains in the same size as before (285/75/R16). One tyre is still OK so can be kept as a space, the current spare is big but is a totally different tread pattern.
 
Went playing again yesterday at a local quarry. I took my camera although I spent most of my time taking photos of others I couldn't resist getting a photo of my truck

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A friend tried to tackle a tough section and struggled mainly due to the lack of locking differentials. I have a locker so thought I'd give it a go, I didn't get very far though. The smaller tyres I have on didn't give enough ground clearance and it just sat on the rock sliders. here's a photo another friend took.

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Edit: Also, some video from the GoPro:

 
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[video=youtube;ZNybnRkj-MY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNybnRkj-MY[/video]
 
I love that sketch, it's frightening how close they are to the truth with some people. :lol:
 
New boots for Bob!

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Exactly the same tyres that were on it when I bought it size and pattern wise but these ones hold air and don't have cuts in them. It's actually quite surprising how much the others were worn compared to new ones.

Also I wanted to see if any electrics other than the winches were connected to the aux. battery and came across this fuse that has obviously been a little warm. According to the label it controls the electric radiator fan.

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Man everytime I look in here, or in any of the other offroader threads, I want something capable 4x4 and go where no car goes .. :D
 
Man everytime I look in here, or in any of the other offroader threads, I want something capable 4x4 and go where no car goes .. :D

Me too. Waste of time in Germany though, sadly.
 
Apparently there are some places you can use a 4x4 in Germany, according to this site anyway. The first result is even in the Eifel region, a potential 21 or 30 mile (it doesn't show in km, oddly) trail and there are also off road sites listed.

In other news, Bob looks strange with little road tyres on. I was going to post a picture but the potato photo came out so badly that I refuse to show it. I want to get a photo of the new tyres in the back before they're changed so I'll get another shot then.
 
OK this is slightly better. That's how poor the other one was.

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As also promised, the tyres in the back waiting to be fitted:

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Yeah you need to get the new tyres on pronto.

Bob looks like a prop-forward wearing stilettos in that photo.
 
I reckon this'll do pig:

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I now have a migraine though so typing this and pressing the right buttons was a challenge in itself. Thank goodness for a form of touch typing and the fact that I have the day off work so I can just chill out and watch the pretty patterns dancing around...

I wanted the tracking too to make sure it was OK but their equipment doesn't fit, oh well it was cheaper for me. Finally as a nod to security I've also ordered a quick release adaptor, frankly this was cheaper than buying a new steering lock so I have two sets of keys to go on both sets of keys instead of just one (the other one has travelled into another dimension or something) and without a wheel at all no amount of crim attack is going to give them decent steering.
 
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Mate, leave the screen alone and get better. Migraines suck.

Weirdly, though, it would appear the pretty patterns themselves are universal. I did a Google Image search for "migraine aura" a few months ago and several of the options that came up matched mine exactly...

Spoilered in case you are still suffering.

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EDIT: Just noticed your updated location :lol:
 
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Fortunately it didn't hang around, the aura was gone pretty quickly. That picture is pretty accurate, although it was off to the right so despite it being right there I didn't get a proper look at it. The headache lingered past the 'man in van' TG segment from way back when, so I decided to get some fresh air instead of sitting around.

Actually, I had always planned to get some mud under the tyres and get a proper photo with them on. Not sure which of these angles I prefer, so here's both of them.

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Note the new air filter, I managed to fit that on Saturday and the old one was clearly partially blocked because it drives much better now. It chucked it down while I was driving the lanes today, not a problem for me or the surface because it's mainly gravel but now the whole truck is filthy already from some monster puddles that splashed up over the windscreen even at only 10mph.

Edit: There's this angle too. I've learnt to keep my options open with photos. :D

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They're a remould copy of the Simex Special Track, a great tyre that was around probably 20 years ago now and that I assume is completely out of production because Insa Turbo have completely nicked the name as well as the design.

Regarding the plate like a lot of things the answer you get depends on who you ask. Although it's actually a proper plastic plate instead of a sticker I believe that it should technically be illegal at that angle, and one MOT tester told me he couldn't pass it. He didn't do the MOT though and the others didn't even mention it. I've never had a second glance from a copper as far as I can tell but of course if I'm told to move it I will. You do see them everywhere though, stickers are popular with MX-5 owners too because they don't scrape the floor or block the grille.
 
I fitted a bit of a security upgrade this week, as shown in this crappy picture:

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It was cheaper than another key for the steering lock I had and as a visual theft deterrent I don't think you can do much better.
 
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