I currently have an 1996 (N) Discovery 300TDI, and I was wondering if there are any upgrades that can be done to improve towing speed and stability. This landie has also done in excess of 100K miles, does anything in the sway bar department need replacing after this sort of milage?
Yes, slightly when i get over about 55mph with the big genny behind, my colleagues defender 110 (05 plate) will pull it happily at 70+ without any issues.
I don't know how much difference it makes, but the brakes have been very squealy since i had them changed, the guy at the garage said the calipers weren't in the best of shape, but that it was fine to drive, are you able to replace part of the calipers? I've seen an piston listed as a part for the calipers, but a load of new calipers would set me back a hefty ammount :D
Unless you are very unlucky, new pistons should do it. Calipers seem to stay OK, and they should do at the price for a replacement! If stability is a problem, I would check out the bushes first - anti-roll bars aren't really a wear-and-tear item.
Gotcha, thanks. Any idea how long it would take someone to change the pistons? Got royally ripped off when i got the brakes done last time (took them 5.5 hours to change the discs+pads on all 4 wheels) hence why I didn't want to get them to change the calipers! Oh, and ditto with the bushes :) And do I go for OEM ones or Polybush?
Brake squeal may be something far more simple, like the garage forgot to put the anti-squeal springs back in or forgot to put some copper grease on the back of the pads. I'd check that first before forking out for pistons anyway.
As the legal limit for towing is 60mph even on motorays maybe a bit of instability at 55 will keep your speed down a bit ... and the rest of us safe ;-))
Actually, 5 hours isn't bad to do all that - it's better than I could do. It's the hourly rate they charge that makes you think you've been ripped off. UKP80 an hour is common.
Changing the pistons is pretty much a DIY job for a moderately experienced home mechanic, or a mate with said experience who doesn't mind giving a hand. Great care, great cleanliness, and allow plenty of time. There's nothing mysterious about it. And your time is free!
Big debate on OEM/Polybush. No experience, so I'll leave that to someone else.
Yes, need to get some experience doing this sort of thing :) Needs the timing belt changed and servicing soon, though i'm hoping for a bit of a skills swap with an company who do 4x4 services & spares :)
Hi Alex, given what you've said about your brake pistons, and with experience of towing heavy loads myself, the first thing I would do in your situation would be to fitted vented discs.
Zeus sell a vented disc kit that has the spacers etc you need. They also have the stainless steel pistons that are much better than the original LR plated pistons.
I suspect that comparing Defender and Disco towing is a bit unfair as the Defender has a 10 inch longer wheel base. I prefer very heavy towing, especially if distance and time are an issue, in a Defender as it is much more stable due to the extra length.It also has vented discs as standard.
If you do find that it's your calipers that are not up to scratch then I'd be wary about fitting new pistons. Having done this on a few occasions it's a bit of a faff and I at least went through more than one seal kit getting the wiper seal in properly. For the cost of the parts per caliper for a 4 pot caliper for me, the 4 pistons and 2 seal kits + 2 hours labour or thereabouts, getting the pistons out can be a nightmare, requiring compressed air to blow them out, sandblasting the caliper and then repainting them with caliper paint - I'd have been cheaper buying new/recon ones from Beamends if I had to pay for the labour. It's not just the cost of the pistons is what I'm saying!
Hi Alex, you stop better as the vented discs run cooler, or to put another way, take more work before you get brake fade. This is of interest when towing as the extra weight you are towing, especially in traffic can heat up the discs much quicker.
I've fitted them to people who tow horse box trailers, and the effect is quite dramatic when towing a trailer filled with 2 large horses.
I see, that makes sense, the biggest genny we tow is almost 3.5tonnes with the trailer, although it is braked itself. Shall have to look into getting a set of those discs :)
On or around Fri, 09 Sep 2005 20:04:34 GMT, Alex Threlfall enlightened us thusly:
The 110 is much stiffer sprung than the disco. One thing you can try is replacing the dampers (aka "shocks") and another thing you might consider is HD rear springs. I put HD 90 springs on the back of my disco, which are a touch stiffer, and this made it better behaved. The suspension on the disco, as on the RR, is very soft as standard, and this gives serious issues with the big trailer I tow - on my disco, now sold, it was better and so was the 110. Said big trailer has a very high hitch height, which I think makes it worse.
Other things to check are noseweight (depending on trailer type) and tyre pressures.
But the difference in arrival time between doing 55 and 60mph is just
5'30" (ish) over a 60 mile journey on a road that you can get up to speed and stay there for the full hour. No more than having to take a little longer over a very hot cup of coffee or a long pee because of too much coffee.
I travel down to Leeds fairly frequently in my old car I'd cruise just over 70, in the Disco I cruise just over 60. The trip is 100 miles and
2hrs it takes at most 10 mins longer in the Disco, not really worth bothering about.
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