Someone Else's Problem: Lunacy and Eternal Optimism part II - 2001 Disco 2 V8

The booster pack arrived today

Yeh, thoose are lithium-polymers and they are explosion hazardous awesome, really.

Not so long ago, i bought similar thing for Frontera and it was great little advantage of 400 Amps for 3 full dead starts/per one charge. (2.3 diesel, rumembur?)

Unfortunatelly i left it in the car after usage.. It sat there few months and polymer packs lost their volume, the thing just refused to charge from that point... butanyway, definately vote for it, as it had useful range of outputs to give (phone, laptop, camplight etc...) not to mention wicked boost ability.
 
I've revived a dead USB battery pack by letting it sit with 0.5A for a week. Usually it's the battery management system that has decided to shut stuff down, but it can be revived by slooooowly recharging the battery unless it's compeltely bricked. Been working flawlessly for over a year afterwards, it's not... three years old?
 
That's awesome.

One has to wonder though if the Anker still has a full charge left in it after it's been left in the glovebox for a year and a half. Because that's when you'll need it.
 
That's awesome.

One has to wonder though if the Anker still has a full charge left in it after it's been left in the glovebox for a year and a half. Because that's when you'll need it.

True, but it does come with a 12V charger so you just have to be disciplined and give it a charge every so often. Which I will fail to do.
 
I've revived a dead USB battery pack by letting it sit with 0.5A for a week.

Well, i've been too lazy to study the schematics scearching "detour" around the manager. And definately too scaired to boost it directly to LiPo packs, so.. i just ditched the thing to radioshop for a reasonable change.

True, but it does come with a 12V charger so you just have to be disciplined and give it a charge every so often. Which I will fail to do.

Nonsense. You have more suitable lifestyle for it, cause, like with a laptop battery, you can just hold it to v12 plug in the car, with periodic discharges (as an offroad camping portable powersourse for exp) and it'll hold just fine.
 
Well, i've been too lazy to study the schematics scearching "detour" around the manager. And definately too scaired to boost it directly to LiPo packs, so.. i just ditched the thing to radioshop for a reasonable change.
You con't have to circumvent the BMS. The BMS should come alive again when plugged in, and give the battery a very small trickle charge until it can accept more juice. Unless it's a shitty pack with a shitty BMS.
 
Hard to believe that life with Bugsy has been entirely uneventful since December last year. I'm not entirely sure that's true but not much has happened. A new battery was purchased and fitted after the power issues mentioned above and that's about it.

I'm very pleased to say that lightning didn't strike twice and this year the trip to the Ringmeet went without a hitch, even with a lap thrown in for good measure. However the MOT is coming up soon so I have to do something about Expert Mode. I now have a diagnostic computer coming, not a Bluetooth OBDII adapter or a cheapy code reader but the real deal which will give me the right codes and allow me to clear all of them (I've heard that ABS codes are blocked sometimes). It will also allow me to change the BCU options for how the car behaves. If you're interested in seeing how the machine I've bought works, the manufacturers made a very good emulator:

http://emulator.nanocom-diagnostics.com/#

So the plan is to clear the ABS code and see what happens. If it comes on again immediately then I'll go straight to getting the module refurbished, however all previous experiences suggest that I have a number of strikes with this error, something like 4 or 5 starts before it comes on. If I think I can get it through the MOT then that's what I'll do and then look at sending the module off for refurb. The price is quoted at ?200 for a full refurb, which seems very good value.

Also I've removed the 'aerodynamic' upgrade wiper blades that I fitted last year because they were splitting already, originals seem just fine with the new arms...
 
Hard to believe that life with Bugsy has been entirely uneventful since December last year. I'm not entirely sure that's true but not much has happened. A new battery was purchased and fitted after the power issues mentioned above and that's about it.

That is good to hear, because:

Congrats, looks really great. My car-salesman-client has one pretty identical to this (-99, V8, 7 seats) and tries to sell it to me every time we meet. :)

He still has it, and I start to be more and more tempted to do something about it... It has had some unresolved running issues for all this time, so it has not been sold yet. And regular diagnostic tools don't seem to really work with these at all, so resolving problems seems to be a bit hard without purchasing dedicated tools like you did. Apparently he has now narrowed it down to broken lambda sensors, so if issues are sorted after that, I might look the car deeper.

What would you recommend checking extra closely? Naturally rust, and fault lights, but any other pop into mind? V8 seems to be have pretty awful reputation across the internets, but it looks like unless it has some symptoms, you cannot be really sure if problems are arising? Fuel consumption isn't too big of an issue, it seems that it is pretty close the same as Voyager. And with this awful economy rating it doesn't really matter if it is 15 or 18 l/100 km to be honest...
 
What would you recommend checking extra closely? Naturally rust, and fault lights, but any other pop into mind? V8 seems to be have pretty awful reputation across the internets, but it looks like unless it has some symptoms, you cannot be really sure if problems are arising? Fuel consumption isn't too big of an issue, it seems that it is pretty close the same as Voyager. And with this awful economy rating it doesn't really matter if it is 15 or 18 l/100 km to be honest...

It depends on the specification but as you said it has 7 it probably has air suspension and hydraulics like mine, I think this was the only option for 7 seaters. Air bags need to be checked for perishing and leaks along with the chassis area supporting the bags. Air suspension can be replaced with coils. If the bags leak then it'll drop down over time with the engine off, if this happens too much the compressor will fail.

Hydraulic pipes for the ACE system need checking for corrosion and leaks, this is expensive to repair if it goes wrong (mine is hanging on and I intend to keep it this way, hence only one gentle 'Ring lap).

This incarnation of the Rover V8 is probably the most reliable assuming it's in good condition. Spectre might have to correct me on this but AFAIK the 4 litre engines don't suffer from slipped liners as badly as the larger-bored versions.

At least one of the sunroofs will leak, I promise you. Watch out for dropping headliners or water coming from the roof fixtures when you brake.
 
Thanks! Yep, air suspension in the rear and all that stuff, should be pretty full-specced (read: lots of stuff to go wrong). Same issues with the air suspension are in S211, so nothing new in there :) Especially cold winters tend wear out bags even faster.

I think I will ask to get it for a test drive over some weekend to properly inspect it. We'll see if the number of D2's on the forum will increase.
 
Cleared the ABS code tonight, it hasn't come on again yet after doing other things and starting the engine multiple times. Also cleared a code on the SRS system that was detecting a loose connection on the driver's side seatbelt pretensioner, I'll pull it apart and clean the contacts at some point but it's OK now. I knew it was something under the seat because it only seemed to happen if the seat was moved...

After checking that the detected settings were all correct before over-writing the ECU I changed a few BCU settings, now I only have to press the unlock button once instead of twice to unlock all doors. Result! Also found that if I hold down the lock button the headlights come on for a short amount of time, I had no idea that existed and seeing the setting in the BCU was the only thing that made me investigate. I suspect I would've never noticed it otherwise.
 
MOT passed with no issues, ABS hasn't bothered me again yet but I'll still budget to get it sorted soon.
 
Went out to try my new camera lens today (18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR) and couldn't resist getting a snap of Bugsy in the frosty conditions. I was worried about salted roads but none of the ones I drove had actually been salted...

DSC_8850_P_S1024.jpg
 
Last edited:
Dammit Joe! After seeing the new pics of the M140i I got shiny car envy and had to spend this afternoon washing and detailing Bugsy.

Clearly there are a few spots I didn't buff correctly and I'm really just polishing the scratches that are already there. The underside now looks awful too but I'm arguing that it's a big car so it takes more work and it's 16 years old this year so I think it deserves some slack. :p

DSC_9330_P_S1920.jpg


Took the rear wheel cover off today because it was faded and washed the spare wheel, not sure if I like it without the cover or not.

DSC_9338_P_S1920.jpg


Edit: I forgot, I have my fingers crossed still but the ABS is now fixed. No more three amigos! The fix is safe and doesn't compromise the ABS, in fact I can now make use of the hill descent control and traction control if I need to. :)
 
Last edited:
About time I updated this. About a month or so ago Bugsy developed issues keeping its arse in the air, after turning off the ignition it would sometimes sink down to the ground. It could be reset with the diagnostic computer I have and may sit fine but would go down eventually.

The problem was traced to a leaking suspension air bag, a common problem with these at anything over 5 years as that's the life expectancy of the bags. At 16 years it's probably about right for one of these bags to fail so I got a pair at a reasonable ?120 and swapped them over. One had been replaced more recently but since I had the pair (as they're sold) I wasn't going to split them, store one and find out later that it has perished in the shed.

Now sitting pretty again and with better suspension performance than before, Bugsy is back to normal. I say normal because the ABS errors have returned and last time I checked the resistance values from the shuttle-valve switches they were really odd. I need to remove them again and re-check my fix as it may have failed already.
 
Fixed the ABS again, the slightly crappy earth I used had lost connection due to the bolt going rusty so I piggy-backed on to another large earth cable and it seems much better. The readings from the shuttle valve switches were still spot on so if the error comes back again I'm stumped. Did a few emergency stops on roads covered in gravel to wake up the ABS and a few racing starts to spin the wheels and activate the TC, all perfect.

I forgot how quick this thing can get off the line when you really push it and let 'sport' mode hold it in 1st to the redline. :D

In other news I'm looking at a new exhaust, mainly for the nice symmetrical double tailpipes but also because it'll sound something like this:

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: TC
Another MOT failed, this time due to leaks on the hydraulic Active Cornering Enhancement system. I've always known this would be a weak point, I've avoided any problems for the last two years and this is why I was so careful on my lap around the 'Ring last year.

A brief history on ACE It was fitted to Discovery Its to reduce the body roll on corners and I suppose it's pretty ahead of its time, thinking about how Clarkson was so impressed by the hydraulic anti-roll on the Range Rover Sport when it came out much later. It uses hydraulic rams from and rear to twist the anti-roll bar as required.

This is a slightly crappy video of how it works:
[video=youtube;ENByJ1-zx6k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENByJ1-zx6k[/video]

And this is supposedly the effect it has compared to the competitors of the time (which I take with a pinch of salt):

It's leaking from the main control valve block and the rear hydraulic ram, something that might at first impression seem easy to fix but the valve block sealing relies on hard lines that corrode in place and plastic seals that are generally a bit shit. It's leaking like this, not as bad but bad enough:

I was able to tighten the lower of the two nuts fairly easily so maybe, just maybe, this will stop that leak.

There's a second leak on the banjo bolt seals on the ram itself which, while being easy to replace, come with their own issue as the system must be bled after replacing them. This is done using the diagnostic computer, which I actually have. However, the documented procedure involves using a 4 post lift as you need to disconnect the link arms to allow the ram to be extended to the fully extended 'bleed' position, which essentially bypasses the ram to allow air to be removed from the system. The truck must then be lowered to run the bleed procedure.

This is pretty much what it does to shake the air out of the system:

Now if tightening that nut doesn't stop the leak then things will start to get a lot more involved. I first have to remove the rear hoses, which according to all . information will break in the process so will have to be replaced in some way. Said information says that just replacing the seals and plastic collets won't fix the leak, so I'm probably looking at using proper hydraulic fittings. The existing ports can be tapped out like this for fittings:

Acerepair2.jpg
ACE4.jpg


One option is to try and re-use the existing hard lines, using compression fittings like this:

ACE7.jpg


Or go for full-on hydraulic hoses like this:

IMG_4706.png


I'll see when I go back tonight and check the leak.
 
So I've been winding back and simplifying my approach to this, first to leaving the hoses alone and only cutting them down as much as required as per picture #3 above. That would get me out of trouble and I could buy replacement hoses later.

However after asking around I can't find anyone to do the work in the next couple of weeks, the critical time to get it done and get a free partial re-test on the MOT (for those who don't know, you usually get two weeks to fix issues and they only have to re-test the bits it failed on - in this case only a visual check is required) so I considered getting the genuine parts to attempt a 'proper' fix. The cost of the parts is less than the cost of a full re-test so if it worked then I'd be laughing and would be able to plan for a full re-build later on. Obviously here there's a chance to open up a can of worms as the pipes may be corroded and could snap off.

Today I dumbed it down some more and fucking sealed the clamp plate on with RTV silicone. It's a small leak so it might work, I don't know how Loctite silicone handles pressure. To do this I had to dismantle the thing, remove the plastic collets and therefore see the pipes. Thankfully they appear to be in great condition where they enter the valve block so I may still be able to do a 'proper' fix if the RTV doesn't have the desired effect. The hydraulic seals were left in place when I applied the silicone so there won't be any contamination of the system.

I've also ordered a replacement second hand valve block from ebay for a bargain ?46 that is actually in visually better condition than mine so I can get that modified for swapping out somewhere down the line if this fix works. A company I spoke to also said they can make me up stainless lines to match the old ones which sounds like an excellent idea.

Anyway nobody can claim that I haven't given myself options on this one. :D
 
Last edited:
Faff doesn't come close. :D

Seals arrived and were replaced today, horrible job but after driving around a bit there are no leaks! ABS lights have stayed off all this time too.

I thought things were going too well so I decided to look at the second item on the fail sheet - the headlight adjustment problem. Bugsy has 'premium' levelling headlights with motors and the motors have a little adjustment knob on the top, however something in the offside motor adjuster has become disattached (it's only plastic) and I can't adjust it. Drat and double-drat! If I can get another motor before Wednesday I might be OK to still have a simple partial re-test on the MOT. Otherwise I'll have to pay again for a full test, annoying and there's always the chance of something else cropping up...
 
Top