Disco 2 Ace Pipes

sierrafery said:

then your system is fuc*ed up competeley... or maybe the ACE ECU is the culprit cos it's against all odds to remove the relay and get no warning light... depends on you m8, but i have the feeling that as many others you'll get rid of it... though if you want to fix it we'll speak again... your first step should be to get a replacement ACE ECU(which thanked to the de-ACE hysteria should be very cheap) and it's plug and play.
I hope you can see the ACE warning light on ignition self test though.... cos if you don't i'll be very angry albeit i'll never let you down if you want to fix it but i can tell you with a 100% certitude that with removed relay you MUST see the amber warning IF the system is not "mad" ..GOOD LUCK

Click to expand...

I think my system must be "mad" then... I was surprised that no lights appeared after removing the relay. However, on ignition self test, NO ACE light....

Bobdog said:

... on ignition self test, NO ACE light....

Click to expand...

that's not good then... dedicated tester is needed

sierrafery said:

that's not good then... dedicated tester is needed

Click to expand...

Right... repaired the pipe using 10mm copper and compression fittings. Replaced relay. First test drive, went round a roundabout, 'POP' car sagged no light but got the 'bong' warning sounds... upon inspection, found my mate had only 'nipped up' one of the fittings and not tightened it so it came apart. Did it up properly, another quick test drive, all fine, drove home, still fine, ACE actually seems to be working properly. Time will tell....
It seems that for some reason, considering I got the 'bongs' the ACE dash light is not working, maybe the bulb has gone.
Oh, and total cost of fix, about £10.

Well done with the fix, IMO the warning is disabled or blanked with tape by the previous owner cos maybe for some reason it is or was on, they are not bulbs but smd LEDs practically bullet proof, i've never seen one failed in 10 years of my LR technical ''adventure''... if you'll be in the mood some time remove the cluster and check if it's not black tape in front of it or if you find somebody with tester you can force it on at least you'll know if it's blanked or disabled

sierrafery said:

Well done with the fix, IMO the warning is disabled or blanked with tape by the previous owner cos maybe for some reason it is or was on, they are not bulbs but smd LEDs practically bullet proof, i've never seen one failed in 10 years of my LR technical ''adventure''... if you'll be in the mood some time remove the cluster and check if it's not black tape in front of it or if you find somebody with tester you can force it on at least you'll know if it's blanked or disabled

Click to expand...

Seems strange though, if the ACE was working properly, which it seems to have been before the leak, why disable the light?

Did you drive a D2 with confirmed well working ACE though? cos if it's in locked bars default and you dont know the difference you might not feel it cos it behaves like one with classic ARBs which is not unsafe just that it doesnt do what's in the video and does what the other 4x4 vehicles do and would not be the best of them

sierrafery said:

Did you drive a D2 with confirmed well working ACE though? cos if it's in locked bars default and you dont know the difference you might not feel it cos it behaves like one with classic ARBs which is not unsafe just that it doesnt do what's in the video and does what the other 4x4 vehicles do and would not be the best of them

Click to expand...

I'm not sure to be honest, my other D2 had ACE and I can't say it's any different. It does corner well. However... today noticed it leaking again quite badly. Turns out the repair has held fine. The flexi pipe to the ram has developed a pinhole leak! I've patched it for now with copious amounts of self amalgamating tape and three jubilee clips. It will hopefully at least slow the leak if not stop it for now but if it doesn't, I'll just cut the pipes at the valve block and put compression stop ends on until I can afford new pipes. I can't see that being this side of Christmas.

Well, today's emergency patch has failed. I could get a piece of hydraulic hose for yet another repair but I would need the banjo fitting to the ram. I don't think it's worth the bother. I'm going to get new pipes when I've got some money so I'm just going to cut and cap the pipes at the block. At least it will stop me leaving a trail of fluid everywhere and save my pump from seizing.

Bobdog said:

Well, today's emergency patch has failed. I could get a piece of hydraulic hose for yet another repair but I would need the banjo fitting to the ram. I don't think it's worth the bother. I'm going to get new pipes when I've got some money so I'm just going to cut and cap the pipes at the block. At least it will stop me leaving a trail of fluid everywhere and save my pump from seizing.

Click to expand...

Why not run a shorter drive belt and skip the ACE pump, then pull the relay and it will "somewhat" work as a normal arb. Its much easier than trying to block pipes off etc.. I can check tomorrow what length belt you need to get. I've run my system like this for over 2 months fine due to well, the financial situation.. but you do have to take everything a little slower as the body roll will increase a fair bit.

Jamiegreen said:

Why not run a shorter drive belt and skip the ACE pump, then pull the relay and it will "somewhat" work as a normal arb. Its much easier than trying to block pipes off etc.. I can check tomorrow what length belt you need to get. I've run my system like this for over 2 months fine due to well, the financial situation.. but you do have to take everything a little slower as the body roll will increase a fair bit.

Click to expand...

Worth considering I suppose, though capping should be easy, one pipe already has a compression fitting and the other just needs cutting and an end cap putting on.

My hydraulic hoses were about £20 each

Modded block
1/4" BSP male female swivel
1990mm 1/4" BSP hose male at swivel 14mm Banjo at ram
2 LR ACE washers, 1 LR ACE nut

I did fit a new ARB as it was only £60

So far I've spent £188.00 on new fitted rear pipes which I consider good value. Had a new Asus compressor (£175 inc new relay) as well. I much prefer to keep the existing system.

Nig43 said:

So far I've spent £188.00 on new fitted rear pipes which I consider good value. Had a new Asus compressor (£175 inc new relay) as well. I much prefer to keep the existing system.

Click to expand...

Where did you get them? Everywhere I've looked is around the £220 Mark with all the seals and collets etc.

MJI said:

My hydraulic hoses were about £20 each

Modded block
1/4" BSP male female swivel
1990mm 1/4" BSP hose male at swivel 14mm Banjo at ram
2 LR ACE washers, 1 LR ACE nut

I did fit a new ARB as it was only £60

Click to expand...

I don't suppose you did a thread on how you did all this? I've blanked the rear pipes with stop-ends for now but I'm thinking (like you have done), hoses would be better than metal pipes and most likely cheaper.

Bobdog said:

I don't suppose you did a thread on how you did all this? I've blanked the rear pipes with stop-ends for now but I'm thinking (like you have done), hoses would be better than metal pipes and most likely cheaper.

Click to expand...

Bits here and there, here and on d2bc

I was going to do one but been too busy

Heres my thread on it, not the best but might give you some idea, and rubber pipes rather than stainless, I really don't like the stainless anyway and am changing it. Single ply rubber hydraulic hose will handle the pressure of the system, the double stuff is bit hard to bend.
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/complete-ace-renewal-with-pictures-ongoing.333344/

Sorry, misled you. £188.00 was for fitting only. As said the pipes are in the £200.00 bracket. Mine came from Britpart.

Jamiegreen said:

Heres my thread on it, not the best but might give you some idea, and rubber pipes rather than stainless, I really don't like the stainless anyway and am changing it. Single ply rubber hydraulic hose will handle the pressure of the system, the double stuff is bit hard to bend.
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/complete-ace-renewal-with-pictures-ongoing.333344/

Click to expand...

That's the kind of thing I'm looking at. I've seen a company selling rubber hose, for example, 5 metres with 3/8" bore, 850bar burst pressure (about 12000psi ) for £28. Not sure about fittings etc. I'll only be doing the rear pipes, would it be easy to tap the valve block to accept screw in fittings?

A day later, my temporary 'bodge' is holding up.

Standard 10mm plumbing compression stop-ends. No leaks... yet... the fluid visible there is residual. Not really much difference in handling, maybe a little bit more roll. It'll do until I can get some new pipes made up.

Bobdog said:

That's the kind of thing I'm looking at. I've seen a company selling rubber hose, for example, 5 metres with 3/8" bore, 850bar burst pressure (about 12000psi ) for £28. Not sure about fittings etc. I'll only be doing the rear pipes, would it be easy to tap the valve block to accept screw in fittings?

Click to expand...

With the hose your really better off finding a local shop who will make them up for you rather than ordering your own etc because that hose needs the fittings crimped on with a hydraulic tool. That 12k pressure pipe is probably a bit overkill and will be hard to bend where you want it. You'll be surprised how cheap a shop will make pipes up for you with fittings etc. Block will need to be done at a machining shop most likely you need a lathe to make the opening wider. Problem with that is the front pipes would have to come off too. My guess would be, if the rear pipes going into the block aren't leaking, have the hydraulic hose made up and use compression fittings like you have to join it to the section sticking out of the block like you have with the stop ends. Hydraulics shop will sort out everything you need. Those pipes aren't actually 10mm but rather an imperial size, but sometimes you can get away with 10mm fittings, and you'll want hydraulic compression joints not plumbers ones.