Advice on my disco 1

Disco1matt · Jun 8, 2019

Looking for some advice on best way to both rear side windows I have it cut and ready.would like to use the rubber from original windows.so still looks nice but want it to be 100% water tight.any advise would be grate.also looking to find somewhere to buy checker plate pre cut and bent for the curved windows in the roof?one last question as I know I’m going on.can I take my sun roofs out and checker plate them or sheet them up with some sheet metal.or any ideas for them.as they leak(as you all know most do) it’s an on road/off roader so want them gone.if anyone has any ideas how to?
Thanks in advance.

dieseldog69 · Jun 8, 2019

Disco1matt said:
Looking for some advice on best way to both rear side windows I have it cut and ready.would like to use the rubber from original windows.so still looks nice but want it to be 100% water tight.any advise would be grate.also looking to find somewhere to buy checker plate pre cut and bent for the curved windows in the roof?one last question as I know I’m going on.can I take my sun roofs out and checker plate them or sheet them up with some sheet metal.or any ideas for them.as they leak(as you all know most do) it’s an on road/off roader so want them gone.if anyone has any ideas how to?
Thanks in advance.

As far as I am aware there are no actual makers for the alpine light delete items you want but you can always get some 1.5mm sheet steel rolled to the right profile joggle the holes and spot weld them in, smear of filler and paint and they'll be golden.

As for your rear quarter windows, there are new seals available, they will be after market so be aware of that when it comes to fitting.

https://www.firstfour.co.uk/rear-side-window-seal-for-discovery-1-lh-and-rh.html

Stanleysteamer · Jun 9, 2019

dieseldog69 said:
As far as I am aware there are no actual makers for the alpine light delete items you want but you can always get some 1.5mm sheet steel rolled to the right profile joggle the holes and spot weld them in, smear of filler and paint and they'll be golden.

As for your rear quarter windows, there are new seals available, they will be after market so be aware of that when it comes to fitting.

https://www.firstfour.co.uk/rear-side-window-seal-for-discovery-1-lh-and-rh.html

Can you not get alpine light type windows second hand? From a LR breakers or somewhere? If not, I'd be tempted to get some sheet metal bent and then fit it, as flush as poss. Weld, fill, sand, paint etc to make it look as if nothing had ever been there. Don't know what you'd do about the interior though. Maybe a home made roof lining?

yfo866 · Jun 9, 2019

Plenty of alpine glass at Great Billing auto jumble. (Other auto jumbles available) The Defender truck cab rear corner glass seem to go for between a fiver and a tenner, and there are plenty around. I've not looked for alpine glass so haven't noticed the price.
Rear side window seals are available and they're expensive!
Disco 2 sunroof will fit the Disco 1. Just ensure the drain tube is free of obstruction as from what I understand a blocked drain tube is the most common reason for the sunroof leaking. Mine have never leaked. The back one decided it wouldn't close on it's own. Luckily it didn't rain over night. I only spotted it the next day at work when walking towards it and noticed the back one was open, front one closed. I always opened both or neither. I eventually got it closed. Something had gone wrong with the sliding mechanism. Had to get someone to press the button with me standing on the rear bumper pushing it as it slid forwards and then pushed down on top so it dropped into place.

discool · Jun 9, 2019

yfo866 said:
Plenty of alpine glass at Great Billing auto jumble. (Other auto jumbles available) The Defender truck cab rear corner glass seem to go for between a fiver and a tenner, and there are plenty around. I've not looked for alpine glass so haven't noticed the price.
Rear side window seals are available and they're expensive!
Disco 2 sunroof will fit the Disco 1. Just ensure the drain tube is free of obstruction as from what I understand a blocked drain tube is the most common reason for the sunroof leaking. Mine have never leaked. The back one decided it wouldn't close on it's own. Luckily it didn't rain over night. I only spotted it the next day at work when walking towards it and noticed the back one was open, front one closed. I always opened both or neither. I eventually got it closed. Something had gone wrong with the sliding mechanism. Had to get someone to press the button with me standing on the rear bumper pushing it as it slid forwards and then pushed down on top so it dropped into place.

The most common reason for the sunroof leaking is the glass or frame seal being faulty, the entrance to the drains is inboard to the glass seal so if the seal is ok how do the drains leak, they can’t unless the glass seal is faulty or the sunroof is tilted with water laying on it, but then it’s the drain thats also faulty, its the glass seal thats leaking, also being inboard how does it get blocked with the glass sealing the drain entrance.
Water leaking past the frame seal will fall onto the heading drains won’t stop that.

yfo866 · Jun 10, 2019

discool said:
The most common reason for the sunroof leaking is the glass or frame seal being faulty, the entrance to the drains is inboard to the glass seal so if the seal is ok how do the drains leak, they can’t unless the glass seal is faulty or the sunroof is tilted with water laying on it, but then it’s the drain thats also faulty, its the glass seal thats leaking, also being inboard how does it get blocked with the glass sealing the drain entrance.
Water leaking past the frame seal will fall onto the heading drains won’t stop that.

Two chaps I used to work with both had blocked drain tubes which once cleared stopped their leak. Personally I've never had a leaky sunroof. Just one that didn't want to close...
One of those chaps borrowed my electrical fish tape to poke down his drain tube. That was about fifteen years ago. Still haven't had it back GRRR

K2tnt · Jun 12, 2019

My really early Disco has the tilt-and-remove sunroof. It still leaks!
Does it have drain tubes? Can’t find them when I looked around. Would have thought this was simpler design as only has to seal on top rather than inside roof?

yfo866 · Jun 13, 2019

K2tnt said:
My really early Disco has the tilt-and-remove sunroof. It still leaks!
Does it have drain tubes? Can’t find them when I looked around. Would have thought this was simpler design as only has to seal on top rather than inside roof?

I've never had a look at the early ones. I'd imagine there was still a drain tub if there is a recess beneath the glass. In the later ones it's in the front corner (I think) and it then goes down the along the A pillar and ends near the front of the sill.
If yours leaks between the roof and the body of the sun roof, see if you can get some Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure sealant. I got some from ebay to seal the windscreen rubber seal. You clean the joint and then pour it in using the thin neck and it gets drawn in using capillary action

Advice on my disco 1

Disco1matt

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dieseldog69

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Stanleysteamer

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yfo866

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discool

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yfo866

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K2tnt

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yfo866

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