Disco 2 ACE removal

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im sticking with ace - my d2 has very impressive handling - my old 200 & 300 had so much body roll compared - d2 just feels so much safer on the road can only imagine removing it would make a big difference - but then mine is working & if it stops doing that i guess if its very expensive to repair i could be removing too :(
 
300bhp/ton said:
No seriously you must be completely numb or totally unobservant. Working ACE is as big a difference as going from a sports car to a Defender. Or the difference between a hot cup of tea and a pint of bitter.

As for activating it, any bend, junction or round about in the UK is more than sufficient, even when driving slowly and gently.

So you are either lying or exaggerating for internet hyperbole if you are claiming you can feel no difference. .. or it was broken.
Click to expand...
Bit heavy handed accusing another member of lying because he has an opinion that differs from yours o_O. We are not on AG or you may have got another response!!
As it happens I can see both side of the camps on this issue. If LR had fitted a system with better seals at the block and pipes that weren't made out of cheese, ACE would be A1. Because of these it is not. I removed mine, without fitting solid bars a few years ago now and can still not tell the difference.
 
Sounds like a good subject for LRO magazine or similar to investigate. Get standard spec cars with and without ACE and compare them over the same route with some measuring kit onboard. They could do the same for SLS too while they're at it.
It would be better than reading about somebody fitting £300 LED side lights to their 'Fender...
 
How long would flexible hoses need to be as my rears are rusty and ready to pop.

Will be replacing with hydrauic hose.
 
sierrafery said:
1. but what's the purpose of anti ROLL bars though to be needed to work continuosly? ... you dont have to drive as to activate it cos it's continuosly active with limited operation above 2mph and in full force above 25mph

2. SLS was an option too, and it's far more better than coils even though some of those who got rid of it keep saying it's no big difference.... so was aircon also option... being an option doesnt mean it's something neglectable IMO just that people pay more for a better equipped vehicle.... then pay again to covert it to an inferior quality better than fix it, cos these days as i said keeping the ACE is less expensive than buying a conversion kit for more than 300 quid
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thats not entirely true repairing ace using standard parts can be difficult and expensive ,the block is very often damaged by corrosion as well as the pipes,you can buy second hand roll bars and springs etc but you cant get used ace pipes which with a 2k vehicle matters
 
Hello guys,
I might be on the way to remove the ACE system and install the standard ARBs.
Reason: recently, in a curve a rusty pipe blown and the pump was seized.

I would have few questions though:
I already removed the pump and installed an idler pulley.

The car seems to have a small amount of power due to missing pump. Am I correct or this are only my expectations?

Now, driving with the pump off, ACE turned off from BCU, and with ACE bars still on the car mounted, the car is driving like a non-ARB car at all?
I feel it leans a lot when making fast turns.

Installing standard ARBs, will reduce the lean angle?

Also, what are the differences between 5-seats ARBs and 7-seats ARBs?

P.S. for people which may have the ACE failure on the road, if you need to urgently disconnect the pump in order to arrive safely home, use the belt ERR5911, which is 7PK1580. This will allow you to run it without the pump and even without the idler pulley.
I did not have this info previously and I broken the pump.
 

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What an amazing discussion with opinions so polarised.
On my D1 I was advised to fit GAZ shockers to reduce body roll, it worked like a dream and rolls no more than my D2 with ACE.
I live the summers at 600 metres up, in France and the road down to the nearest town is quite fats and as twisty as heck. Once I drove out of our place in our D2 and the ACE light came on. The pump had locked the bars solid. I expected this drive down to the town to be a nightmare without ACE. It was not AT ALL. So I went from 600 metres to 240 metres in about 7 minutes, normal time, on a road I know really well. I would be perfectly happy to drive like this with the ACE locked all the time. If necessary I would remove it and fit gas shocks like on the D1.
As for knowing when the ACE is working, you can hear the pump working and yes it does work a lot of the time, get the window open, the ICE off and listen for it. Any roundabout or tightish bend you'll hear it hum. Like so much carp on Land Rovers, great when it works but a pain if you have problems with it. By the way, what was wrong with mine? No idea, took the fuse out, checked it, put it back, problem gone, never reoccurred!
 
I agree that the ACE has a lot of PROs.
I noticed the system on the highway and on national roads when driving fast, entering in curves with speed up to 80-90km/h with no inclination.

Now, the pipes are very rusty, so I believe that the repair will give me a lot of troubles additional to financial costs.
I would prefer to understand if the standard ARB are holding the car in curves too, and how much? I believe that driving with ACE damaged, the car has more inclination than standard ARBs. Am I correct?
With other words, when the ACE is defective, it drives as a car with no stabilizers bars at all. Correct?
 
sandu said:
With other words, when the ACE is defective, it drives as a car with no stabilizers bars at all. Correct?
Click to expand...
Not really. Depends on the default mode of the failure. It can be in "locked bars" when it should move like on standard ARBs or in "floppy" then it has no anti roll control. Removing the relay sends it in "locked bars" so the fluid in the rams is trapped and the oil is recirculated between the tank and pump so if you have no leak remove the relay and go for a ride then you'll see how it will behave on classic ARBs... it's explained in the WSM:

Failure modes
Failures where the vehicle can still be driven safely are indicated by the ACE warning lamp illuminating continuously
with an amber colour. The amber warning lamp will remain illuminated until the ignition is turned off. For all faults the
warning lamp will only illuminate again if the fault is still present. Failures which require the driver to stop the vehicle
immediately are indicated by the ACE warning lamp flashing with a red colour and an audible warning. All faults are
recorded by the ACE ECU and can be retrieved with diagnostic equipment.
The following tables show the type of system failures and their effects on the system operation. Torsion bar 'floppy'
means that fluid is allowed to circulate freely through the system. With no pressure in the actuators the torsion bar will
have no effect on vehicle roll. 'Locked bars' means that all pump flow is directed through the valve block and returns
to the reservoir. Both DCV's close and fluid is trapped in the actuators but can flow from one actuator to the other via
the valve block. In this condition the torsion bar will perform similar to a conventional anti-roll bar, resisting roll but still
allowing the axles to articulate.
........

Anyway, using pressure pipes and compression fittings to replace the pipes is cheaper than fitting a conversion kit

ACE7.jpg
 
I have no longer liquid in my system as a pipe was blown.
The pump is also broken.
So I have to choose between:
1. repairing the compression pipes and buying a pump
Or
2. Convert the car to regular ARBs, which I will have to look on second hand markets...
 
To add my peneth: I owned and drove a new (ex-demo) D2 with ACE for 5 years 2003-2008, 3 years ago I went back to D2 ownership after several years of Defender ownership and this current D2 already had the ACE disconnected (pump removed from engine and idler fitted) by the previous owner. I had considered repairing the ACE but after a couple of months I realised it drove perfectly fine for my needs and I hadn't really noticed any difference or missed the ACE of my previous D2 so instead of repairing the ACE I removed the valve block and all the pipework. I left the ACE ARBs in place and just capped off the rams. I have ran it like this ever since and I am perfectly happy with the drive.
If i had a fully working ACE system I have no doubt I would have kept it maintained and repaired but the facts are that I didn't and I haven't missed it in the slightest and don't see the need to replace the ARBs which work perfectly with just the rams capped off.
 
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Convert the car to regular ARBs, which I will have to look on second hand markets...
Click to expand...
If you want to go cheap find somebody to fabricate two strong metal brackets to hold them with the existing nuts as to lock the actuators solid(something like red in the scheme)...then it will be like on conventional bars

ACE lock.jpg
 
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