Just Bought A TD5, First things I should do?

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David G 6180

New Member
Posts
5
Location
Mid Wales
Hello all,

I have recently purchased a 53 plate td5 disco 2 with 180k miles on her. Ive just started out doing a light haulage buisness and being a disco can tow 3.5t it would be ideal for me at a fairly cheap price.

I paid 1600 quid for her, the past 3 mots have had NO ADVISORIES and has service history upto 155k. Its the landmark spec and is very tidy inside and out. The engine runs well being chipped i thought it pulled well and returned good fuel economy.
She is due her next mot next month and im confident it should past. It has hardly rusted underneath. She had benefitted from new airbags aswell. I checked the bearings, belts mayo in the oil filler cap. General rust. I made sure it ran fine and started when hot, and the gearbox and clutchdd worked well. Which it seemed to be at that price! There was then a sort of squeaky noise when i turn the wheel it sounds more obvious turning right than left. My friend told me it was the ball joints. I wasnt too bothered about this and didnt put me off too much. Overall i hope it should do me ok to start off. The 3 amigos come on and on now and again.

Is there anything i should do to here now i have her. I will give here a full service and get round to doing the gearbox and diff fluids. Should i change the injector loom and pressure regulator at the same time? Im very anxious as to anything potential to go wrong with it. As im young and dont have much money i dont want it blowing up on me or anything going wrong with it.

If anyone can advise me and reassure me on what to do with her now would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

David.
 
As @neilly has already said. Going a couple of steps further, since you don't accurately know when things were replaced, I would be looking to do a full service, including oils in the engine, G-box, T-box and both axles. Remember to change all the filters too, air, fuel, oil cartridge filter and the oil centrifugal filter. I also replace the soft copper or aluminium sealing washers when I get the fluids changed. Once that's done, I usually change the engine oil and all filters every 6000 miles or annually and I get the transmission oils changed every two years.
You might also want to consider replacing the brake fluid and the coolant, and while we're talking brakes, take a look at the condition of your brake discs, particularly the front ones for wear. RAVE quotes the working limits for the disc thicknesses.
Get the prop shafts greased up regularly, including the sliding joints on each shaft. They often get overlooked and a failure, particularly of the front shaft could be catastrophic.
Regarding the injector harness, you have an option here, do it asap or wait until it throws up problems. Check the condition of the red plug in the engine ECU for oil contamination, obviously if there is oil in the plug then change the harness. The same might apply to the FPR, leave it until it starts to throw up problems.
The occasional 3 Amigos is something that should be looked at, if only to find out what's causing it. When the 3 lights are showing it indicates that the operation of the Anti-lock Braking System, along with the traction control and hill descent control systems could become compromised.
 
brian47 said:
As @neilly has already said. Going a couple of steps further, since you don't accurately know when things were replaced, I would be looking to do a full service, including oils in the engine, G-box, T-box and both axles. Remember to change all the filters too, air, fuel, oil cartridge filter and the oil centrifugal filter. I also replace the soft copper or aluminium sealing washers when I get the fluids changed. Once that's done, I usually change the engine oil and all filters every 6000 miles or annually and I get the transmission oils changed every two years.
You might also want to consider replacing the brake fluid and the coolant, and while we're talking brakes, take a look at the condition of your brake discs, particularly the front ones for wear. RAVE quotes the working limits for the disc thicknesses.
Get the prop shafts greased up regularly, including the sliding joints on each shaft. They often get overlooked and a failure, particularly of the front shaft could be catastrophic.
Regarding the injector harness, you have an option here, do it asap or wait until it throws up problems. Check the condition of the red plug in the engine ECU for oil contamination, obviously if there is oil in the plug then change the harness. The same might apply to the FPR, leave it until it starts to throw up problems.
The occasional 3 Amigos is something that should be looked at, if only to find out what's causing it. When the 3 lights are showing it indicates that the operation of the Anti-lock Braking System, along with the traction control and hill descent control systems could become compromised.
Click to expand...
Hi Brian, thanks for the advice. In regards to the pressure regulator what lights come up on the dash, should there be anything else to change? Should i just change the fpr
 
David G 6180 said:
Hi Brian, thanks for the advice. In regards to the pressure regulator what lights come up on the dash, should there be anything else to change? Should i just change the fpr
Click to expand...

There's such a thing as "If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is".
Frankly, if the fuel pressure regulator isn't causing problems, I wouldn't even bother to replace it. I bought mine about 5 years back and I've never had the need to change the FPR.
A fault on the FPR won't bring up an indicator light, but you will soon know if it is giving you problems, just as you'll know about any fuel related trouble.
 
Don't bother trying to second guess what fault is coming up next. You never know but the FPR and loom may have been replaced recently so you would just be wasting money and potentially causing new issues if you fiddle around with things. Just do the regular service items listed above and drive it!
 
Kwakerman said:
Don't bother trying to second guess what fault is coming up next. You never know but the FPR and loom may have been replaced recently so you would just be wasting money and potentially causing new issues if you fiddle around with things. Just do the regular service items listed above and drive it!
Click to expand...
Thank you all for the advice! I shall leave the fpr. Carry out all servicing and check the ecu for oil and replace the loom if so! Is there an easy fix to stop the 3 amigos or is generally a sensor. Sometimes it comes on when i turn it off and on it goes off then after a while it comes back on. Also would any one know what the squeak is? Heres a pic of were the noise is from i think. I was told it could be the belt or steering linkage needed greasing?
 

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David G 6180 said:
Thank you all for the advice! I shall leave the fpr. Carry out all servicing and check the ecu for oil and replace the loom if so! Is there an easy fix to stop the 3 amigos or is generally a sensor. Sometimes it comes on when i turn it off and on it goes off then after a while it comes back on. Also would any one know what the squeak is? Heres a pic of were the noise is from i think. I was told it could be the belt or steering linkage needed greasing?
Click to expand...

There are a number of reasons for the 3 Amigos. It could be a sensor, but there are four wheel speed sensors so the only sure-fire way of deciding what the problem is is to get the fault codes read using a compatible code reader. Many of the cheaper code readers will not work on the Td5 Disco 2, some will look like they're working but end up telling you lies. As you have been advised, use a Nanocom, Hawkeye, Lynx or Foxwell NT610.
The picture is of the steering ball joints. They are "sealed for life" so there's no way to re-grease them, and unless you have access to some seriously heavy duty pressing kit and experience in using it, I would leave changing them to a garage, it isn't the easiest of jobs.
As @Kwakerman says, don't go looking for or trying to second guess trouble, that will only make your head hurt and it might leave you out of pocket when there's no need.
 
you dont mention and im sure you've looked into it but On a legal note just be aware that if your using the disco and trailer for hire or reward and the combined weight of the vehciel and trailer excedded the 3.5 tonne ( easily done if towing a car etc ) then you may need an operator licence and a tachgraph fitted
 
Make sure the oil pump bolt has been done. If you can't find out one way or another, get it done yourself as soon as you can - seems they can let go at any mileage.
 
If cash is not abundant, then I’d leave FPR and loom til they go (or they might never). You’d get plenty of warning, and still (almost certainly) mobile while you get the parts in. Sounds a good find, enjoy! A
 
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