Member Since: 18 Jun 2021
Location: Derby
Posts: 51
Kev - I've really enjoyed reading this thread from start to finish , and it's given me some inspiration for things I need to do to mine (alongside the long list I already had)!
Next for me is to sort out the small leak I've got from the transmission sump, which I replaced with a metal pan recently and think I've not tightened properly. Then it's off with the front and rear bumpers to fit some new parking sensors.
I also need to tackle the oil pump. I chickened out of doing it last year when I changed the belts and I'm now regretting that, but will get it done in the next couple of months.
Keep up the good work and keep posting!
4th May 2022 2:16 pm
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
Thanks Ali, I am glad my ramblings have inspired you to take on the challenge that is Land Rover ownership.
My "to do" list keeps getting longer and longer. So far I have oil pump, belts, glow plugs, gearbox filter and sump, gearbox bridge seal and mechatronic seal, right hand egr valve (again!!) and steering wheel rotary coupler (clockspring).
Should keep me busy when I get in to it. I'm actually looking forward to some of it but I'm braced for the slog of doing the oil pump but on the plus side, doing the glow plugs at the same time as well as the gearbox bits means the Disco will have a very full service with no need for major surgery for a while.... at least that's what I hope.
Rest assured I will post my adventures (with pics of course!)
Cheers and happy spannering.
4th May 2022 4:03 pm
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
Afternoon all! It's a very nice sunny day here in North Wales, hope you are seeing some sun too.
My journey continues....
I decided I had seen enough of the little yellow engine light. I knew it was the right hand egr valve (again). Luckily, the first time I did an egr swap I replaced both valves together and as it turned out the right hand one was actually alright.
The first cheap pattern valve I put on lasted a very short time, IIRC about 200 miles and the response from the supplier was a joke. I bought another pattern valve from Auto Doc, supposedly a german manufactured pattern part. It has comprehensively failed.
I started at about 9:00am, took off the engine cover, disconnected the battery, disconnected and removed my auxiliary battery. Took out the auxiliary battery tray, removed the brake servo vacuum pipe undid the fuel pipe bracket, removed the small insulation quilt and the egr pipe.
Then I pondered how I should attack the valve. If you've never done an egr valve before let me tell you it is a simple job - undo 5 bolts and 1 electrical plug and out it comes......yeah right! No seriously that's all there is to it except of course there is no room to get in there.
I've posted on egr valves before so I won't do a blow by blow account but suffice to say I had to try a variety of tactics and arrangements of socketry and extensions and wobble drive to get the bolt on the top of the cooler undone. Not a bad effort today, I didn't drop any bolts (came close once or twice), I did manage to drop my stubby 1/4" drive ratchet but not too put out about that. 3 hours after I started and it was all back together and running like a top so at 127,148 miles I have put back on the old Valeo EGR Valve.
So I was intrigued to understand what had happened to the valve I had not long ago put on.
Here it is in all its shame!
Observe the body of the valve is quite clean confirming it is not very old.
Looking inside I was surprised the valve itself was free to move... a bit odd I thought. Then I looked at the bearings.
Pretty disgraceful really, the valve can't have done more than maybe 2500 miles. I'll will check and see if I have a note of when I swapped it.
Anyway, the burning question has to be why is a Valeo egr valve more expensive and why do OEM valves last a bit longer. I decided to split the seized valeo valve from the left hand side and see if there was any obvious difference.
First, the bearings look better and also, there is a green seal - not sure what it seals but it is nonetheless a notable difference. I also note the construction of the Valeo is more robust, compare the cross pins. On the failed valve it is a rather spindly looking affair compared to the Valeo version, this suggests to me on the Valeo valve the cross pin/shaft can't move laterally and so avoids thrust on the bearings. I wonder if this is why the cheap ones fail?
Here is the actuator and the valve body. I notice there is a red seal around the actuator; none of the pattern valves have these seals and they have all failed (quickly). I suppose the bottom line is cheap egr valves are a lottery - the cheap pattern one I put on the left hand side is fine (so far!). So if you don't fancy regular egr valve surgery buy the expensive Valeo OEM items or get the software patch and blank the things.
At least I think I am getting better at this and I didn't scrape my hands up either. So until the next time and all that....
Cheers
Last edited by classic kev on 7th May 2022 12:51 pm. Edited 1 time in total
7th May 2022 12:26 pm
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
I just had a quick blast back through this thread. I changed the right egr valve for the second time on 2 July 2021, so what's that, 10 months?
That is not very good especially as the car has probably only done about 2500 miles in that time.
So for the record, the failed valve was from Autodoc and was an AKS Dasis EGR Valve - AVOID!
7th May 2022 12:46 pm
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
Hello, Hello, Hello! I hope you're all enjoying this glorious weather (don't forget the sunscreen!)
Whilst some complain it is too hot and others get dragged off to the garden centre/park/retail village or whatever I saw the opportunity to have another go at the interior.
I wet cleaned the seats some time ago but always knew some more attention was going to be needed. With hot weather in store and not a cloud in the sky, today was the day to go at it again but this time I decided I would do the carpet too. So out came the genuine Land Rover mats and off I went.
I've already done the carpet in the load area so that was left alone. I used a combination of carpet and upholstery cleaner together with some Autosmart Biobrisk.
I used the wet and dry vacuum cleaner to spray on the carpet cleaner, let it dwell for a few minutes then agitated with a brush. Then I did a quick extraction before spraying on the Biobrisk from a small spray bottle. I let the Biobrisk dwell then extracted followed by a spray down with clean water and a further extraction. I know that sounds like a lot but it really wasn't.
The results are great. Wet cleaning the upholstery makes a huge difference even if you thought the seats or carpet were clean. With the carpet wet vac cleaning lifts the dirt and the pile too making it look and feel like new. Luckily the carpet was actually really good with only light soiling. The seats were OK too but this is the second time I have done them.
I know you all like pictures so here are the results; I didn't do before 'N' after because I don't think it would have showed up that well but anyway here it is, the finished result.
Drivers footwell - came up really well.
Drivers seat
Rear Carpet
Rear seats
I thought it was quite clean before I started, then I looked in the extract bucket
After all that work, park it in the sun and open the doors to dry!
Enjoy the sun, Cheers!
16th Jul 2022 3:01 pm
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
I've been contemplating the hit list of things to get done and the oil pump is at the top of the list. I have hammered the plastic and ordered a new oil pump, belts and tensioners and all the bits. I also ordered a new gearbox sump. Engine oil and transmission fluid are coming too.
The plan is to replace the gearbox sump and do the seals. That should be a fairly quick job then I will set aside a couple of days to do the oil pump and both belts. When I do this I will also be changing the glow plugs.
The other little job I have lined up is to replace the rotary coupler (clock spring) on the steering wheel - I've had enough of looking at the red airbag light!
So I know it has been a while but there will be some more spanner action with pics of course.
19th Jul 2022 12:30 pm
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
The red airbag light is off!
I decided I would have a go at changing the rotary coupler. What a breeze! It was nowhere near as tricky as I thought. The hardest part was fishing for the clip to release the airbag. Once the airbag was released I unclipped the plugs and set the airbag aside and pulled off the white connector plug at the top. Then I loosened the steering wheel bolt and gave the wheel a couple of pulls before removing the bolt completely and taking the wheel off.
After getting the wheel off, I popped the top part of the steering shroud off then undid the two screws for the lower shroud which give room to get to the 4 small screws that hold the rotary coupler. Undo the screws, release two electrical plugs and that's the coupler off.
Fitting the new one is just the reverse. All in I suppose it took me less than an hour to do including getting the tools together, disconnecting the battery and putting it all back together..
Anyway, it was great to see the little red airbag light go off when I put the key in and hope that's it for some time on that front.
Interestingly, looking at the switches and the original rotary coupler they all have Made in China stamped on them so I guess the genuine parts are the same as the cheap ones and all you're really paying for is the logo!
So if any of you have the airbag warning light on and it looks like the issue is the rotary coupler, don't be scared of it, it's an easy job to do and easily a DIY fix. It was so quick and easy I didn't even take any photos (sorry!)
Cheers.
22nd Jul 2022 2:57 pm
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
Morning all!
I had a busy day yesterday. I was going to drop the gearbox sump but the transmission fluid I ordered didn't turn up so that job is on the back burner.
I decided that since I had cleaned the interior I should do the outside after all it hasn't been polished for a while. So I gave it a quick wash down followed by clay bar and another rinse. The clay pulled quite a bit of contamination off the paint which was a surprise but the paint was generally smooth with no gritty feel to the touch but there were a few small scratches and some slight marring.
I put it on the ramp and dried if off then out with the masking tape. It felt like ages masking all the plastic. For those who don't know, it is a good idea to mask the plastic bits to stop the polish getting on the plastic and turning it in to a horrible grey/white mess.
Masking done, I set to. Using the DA polisher with a medium pad and Dodo Juice Lime Prime Plus I polished all the main areas then switched to the rotary polisher with a 3" pad to get in to the tighter areas. It was looking good!
I wasn't sure about whether or not to do a refining pass but decided it probably wasn't necessary. Then I had to choose what final stage product to apply. After some pondering I decided to go with Auto Glym Super Resin Polish which I applied with the DA and rotary polishers both with soft finishing pads.
After buffing I removed all the masking tape and decided the plastics looked a bit sad against the freshly polished paint so I thought I would see what I could do.
I have used boiled linseed oil in the past with good results but this time I thought I would use Dodo Juice Supernatural Glaze. I use this on the plastics and engine covers etc on my Mercedes, it is a great product and really brings up the plastics.
To finish I dressed the tyres.
Wow, it looks really sharp! It took a bit of time, about 7 hours but it looks great. Shame it was a bit overcast and dull but in the sun I know it will really pop.
Check out the plastic!
For a 2007 car I think it looks pretty good. Hopefully the transmission fluid will turn up soon so I can get that done then I am planning to do the oil pump. I now have all the bits save for an oil filter and provisionally I think August Bank Holiday looks favourite so I'll be swapping the polisher for the spanners.
24th Jul 2022 8:37 am
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
I couldn't resist it, here it is in the sun this morning
The reflection is deep and pin sharp
Cheers!
24th Jul 2022 9:02 am
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
Hello again!
You know me, a glutton for punishment! I have just finished doing the gearbox. For the most part simple stuff. Undo bits for access, drain automatic transmission fluid, undo more bolts and attempt to remove the gearbox sump. It sounds so easy!...............
What was I doing and why?
Well, the mechatronic sleeve seal has always been slightly damp. More recently it was positively wet so it needed to be changed. At the same time I thought I would drop the mechatronic unit and replace teh bridge seal and the mechatronic tube seals.
In my stupidity I decided I would stick with a composite sump - don't do it! There's nothing wrong with a composite sump except trying to replace it. What a
Anyway, I started it off yesterday evening and finished the spanner work today. What a relief that's done.
I have lots of photos so I will do a big write up soon, watch this space and enjoy your weekend!
29th Jul 2022 6:11 pm
Flatlander
Member Since: 20 Jul 2015
Location: Here
Posts: 575
Thanks for posting everything you're doing, it makes a good read - can you tell me, how often do you have to re-treat the black plastics? I find the stuff i'm using (several years old!) 'soaks in' - or possibly evaporates and needs re-treating within a few days to a week or so.
I've done a fair few gearbox sump changes and it's fair to say there is a 'technique' to it...
ETA... Also, what polishing pads are you using, the mobile guy that comes to my work just said 'as soft as you can get' but without a frame of reference... the Amazon Chinese ones feel a bit 'harsh' and I'm loathe to use the door panels as a test piece!
29th Jul 2022 9:19 pm
Captain Crosscheck
Member Since: 03 Sep 2021
Location: Oslo
Posts: 340
Nice work on the plastic Kev!
Just out of interest, how do you normally use the linseed oil? I have a couple of litres in the shed, which I only use for the garden furniture, and it won't mind sharing some with The Grey Shark
29th Jul 2022 9:25 pm
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
Hello! Hello! Thanks for the replies.
A few questions in there so here goes:
Boiled linseed oil is good on plastic; make sure it is boiled linseed oil. Application is easy, pour a little on to a lint free cloth and rub it in then leave it. If the surface looks a bit "wet" go back and wipe over again. You should get a satin sheen on the plastic and a return to the original colour. Linseed oil will improve faded plastic but it may take a couple of applications. I have found boiled linseed oil lasts a couple of weeks and occasional applications does to an extent rejuvenate faded plastic.
As for the stuff I put on the Disco I have only ever used on the Mercedes which was in good condition anyway but I would say Supernatural Glaze will last a good couple of weeks.
In all cases when applying a treatment on the plastic be careful not to get it on your paint, you might want to consider masking around the black bits, I know it is a faff but so worth it.
Next up, polishing pads. This is a world of choice and can be quite daunting. I agree the Chinese foam pads are quite firm, but the softer ones are OK. I have used the Chinese foam pads and didn't have any problems with them. Branded pads are perhaps a more reliable choice but you pay through the nose for the brand. In my limited experience, you need to try different combinations of pads and waxes/compounds. It does very much depend on what you are trying to achieve. If it is just light scratches and swirls then a medium pad is fine but if you are looking for more meaningful correction then it is time for hard pads and relatively aggressive compound. Lambs wool or microfibre pads are apparently good for a hard cut; I've not actually used either and have found I have achieved satisfactory results with the foam pads. This time around I used a medium Chinese foam pad with medium cut Menzerna 2400 compound then finished with Auto Glym Super Resin Polish applied on a soft finishing pad.
I would say start slowly. Using a DA polisher is probably the way to go. Yo need to experiment with different pad and compound combinations and also different speeds and pressure. The number of combinations is huge and really you need to try it and get a feel for it. Look on-line at some of the detailing channels and you'll see some really remarkable stuff; for my money, White Details is the one, the guy is mind blowing and goes in to such detail it will make your toes curl.
Aside from pads and what compound you should also ask yourself if you are aiming for a one step go at it or if you are going to go with multiple passes. On the Disco this time around I only did a light cut and then applied a wax but for example on the Mercedes I did a first light cut, then a refining pass (sometimes called jeweling) and then applied wax. If I am starting with rough paint then it can take a very long time to get to where you want to be and you should expect to be in the ring for 20+ hours of polishing; a 3 stage polish then wax will take this long.
Sorry if this isn't definitive but polishing is not really easy to explain in words. You need to see it done and then practice, practice and practice. Anyway, I hope that helps.
30th Jul 2022 10:43 am
classic kev
Member Since: 12 Feb 2021
Location: Mold
Posts: 204
I promised a write up of my foray in to my gearbox so here it is! It is going to be quite a long post and there are a lot of photographs
My mission was to drain the gearbox (again), remove the sump and filter to replace the mechatronic sleeve seal
While I was in there I thought I would also remove the mechatronic unit and replace the bridge seal and the tube seals mostly because it seemed a bit short-sighted not to.
First thing, I read up about the job and found some really great info. The best videos about the ZF6HP26 gearbox I found were from an Australian website on Youtube. Have a look for Yep that's it. There is also good stuff from a couple of BMW forums (or should that be fora?) and then there was a really good one from somebody doing this job on an Aston Martin.
The only snag is this is a D3 and as you will know, access to drop the composite sump is a problem because of the pickup tube from the filter. Now I know all about the reference to jacking up the engine but I didn't find any clear write ups about that or pictures of how others have done it. I pondered..... how hard can it be?? An engine mount should be easy enough to loosen to enable the engine to be lifted a bit to get the clearance. It all sounded quite easy. Now I will point out, I have the advantage of having my own 4 post lift, I don't think I would recommend taking this on without a lift. It is possible to do this job without a lift but it would be extremely difficult - I wouldn't want to try it without a lift.
Let's get to it:
First I disconnected the batteries. I probably didn't need to but because I was going to be faffing about trying to lift/tilt the engine I thought I would just pop the leads off - it wouldn't hurt and better safe than sorry.
I raised the car on the lift and popped the fill plug out. This will drop a few litres of trans fluid so be ready with the bucket!
Once the drain plug aperture had finished streaming I let the sump plug go
The draining fluid looks pretty good but to be fair it has only done maybe 3000miles. So far all easy, standard stuff. At this point I thought I should have a look at what is involved in lifting the right hand side of the engine. I looked at a couple of references that suggested removing the engine mount by undoing the two small bolts that hold it to the chassis. This didn't seem to be a very good idea to me because the bolts are difficult to reach and also because apparently the bolts have to be replaced. I had a think about it and realising there is no option other than to raise the engine the mount has to be released but rather than removing the mount I decided it would be easier to just undo the main retaining nut on top of the mount, then using a steel rod under the arm of the engine mount I could use the jacking beam to push the mount upward.
Seemed like a plan to me..... The first part of this master plan is undo the retaining nut on top of the engine mount. What you need to appreciate is there is no room in here and access from the top is not a reasonable proposition because of all the things that are in the way. I looked to see if I could get in there with a ratchet and socket - NO!
I could see the nut but it was a bit of a stretch to get to it. I worked out it is 18mm so I grabbed an 18mm ring spanner and slipped it on. The space is tight and I couldn't get enough of a pull on the spanner to crack the nut.
(I took this one just after I had loosened the nut but you get the idea)
What would you do?
Me, I double spannered it
Nut cracked I could just spin it off. So engine mount now free to move upward.
Next I faffed about trying to find the right bit of wood/tube or other material to wedge under the engine mount. I was going to use a bit of galvanised steel pipe but this was a bit big. Eventually I settled on using an old trolley jack handle, it was perfect for length and had good thick sidewalls so I stuck it in there.
Anyway, steel stick in place with a piece of neoprene at the bottom to help prevent it slipping I started jacking the mount upward.
You can see the mounting arm is almost clear of the threaded part on the mount. At this pint I congratulated myself for my ingenuity and proceeded to remove the sump bolts which was uneventful apart from more trans fluid dripping out. All the bolts came undone without drama, I was feeling confident I would have this job done quite quickly and was wondering what the fuss was about...... I was about to find out!
At this point I am sure those who know better are thinking "you haven't supported the transfer box, undone the gearbox mounting or removed the gearbox cross member". Well, that's sort of right. I had placed my big jacking beam under the back of the transfer box and put a Land Rover bottle jack under it. You can lift the box quite a long way without undoing the bolt but this was clearly not what needs to happen to get the blasted sump off.
It does however help give room to get the sump bolts undone.
I carried on; well perhaps more correctly I carried blindly on
So, I have the sump drained and all the bolts are out, the sump is loose and flapping about so I wanted to pull it out. I just couldn't get the clearance to get it out. I pulled and pushed and twisted and turned it but that plastic tube just wouldn't play the game. I couldn't raise the engine any higher because the engine mounting was now hitting the steering shaft. I was not happy
I grabbed the reciprocating saw and cut the tube off - sump off! I could see why people say swap the composite sump for a metal one with the separate filter.
I inspected the sump - it is original. See the date stamp
I looked at the magnets too; some gunge on there but it didn't look too bad.
Now we can see the mechatronic unit and the solenoids
The next step was to pop the mechatronic sleeve seal out. First get a screwdriver or small pry bar and unlock the outer ring and remove the plug. Then push in the tang on the white slider and pull down to release the seal. Then simply pull/wiggle the sleeve seal out of the hole.
"This is all looking rather good" I though to myself, ignoring the elephant in the room that I hadn't created the clearance to be able to fit the new sump but anyway, celebrate the victories as they come!
At this point I stopped for the evening but not before I had been thoroughly dripped on! The trans fluid just keeps on dripping, it is relentless, it doesn't stop no matter how much you try to wipe up.
So all of this was Thursday evening. I suppose in all I had spent about 2 hours getting this far. I probably wasted an hour of that time just faffing about figuring out how I was going to undo the engine mount and lift the right hand side of the engine but hey ho, I've been there and done it now!
I'll break here while I collate the next lot of photos. Don't go away, I'll be back shortly!
30th Jul 2022 1:30 pm
Flatlander
Member Since: 20 Jul 2015
Location: Here
Posts: 575
@classic kev
Thanks for your reply, of course one of the problems is that there is very little descriptive information when buying online, actual shops selling the stuff are very few and far between too so I guess I'll just buy a few (hopefully) cheap ones and see which suits best - thanks again!
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things.
