Disco 3 (LR3) My D3 Project

so it begins , started on the drivers side first

wished to share so it may help others who are going to replace them

top 3 x strut nuts req torque of 75nm
bottom M16x 200mm bolt, torque to 300nm

bought dunlop genuine struts , didn’t wish to get the cheap copy ones , originals have lasted at least 10 x years so done very well

put the vehicle into off road height
very important to pull fuse F26 before jacking up to stop the compressor running
axle stand under for safety

concentrating on getting the back nut off the top of the strut , got all new nuts for that

will replace the long turbo intercooler hose on the drivers side and new T bolt clamps

valve block is for the back passenger side

will update as i progress

What's the meaning behind the ally shrouds on the air bags? Protection or is it to control bag distorsion under heavy loads?

dieseldog69 said:

What's the meaning behind the ally shrouds on the air bags? Protection or is it to control bag distorsion under heavy loads?

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from seeing how the air bag inflates it does seem the shrouds are there as protection and also help support it when it goes into extended height

was surprised how much the suspension actually extends that from the bottom sills it gives 17 1/2 inches clearance

The T5 chassis flexes a bit too, mind you, not surprising under that weight, mine went 2780kg on the weighbridge with me and a full tank of diesel.

dieseldog69 said:

The T5 chassis flexes a bit too, mind you, not surprising under that weight, mine went 2780kg on the weighbridge with me and a full tank of diesel.

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is the VW chassis , think the D3 weighs around the same

can see now why the disco eats bushes, seems to be the front lowers and rear uppers , am waiting for some extra long spanner’s as it’s a sod trying to get to the back top strut nut, they are also nylons and looks as though some has tried before and rounded them off

gstuart said:

is the VW chassis , think the D3 weighs around the same

can see now why the disco eats bushes, seems to be the front lowers and rear uppers , am waiting for some extra long spanner’s as it’s a sod trying to get to the back top strut nut, they are also nylons and looks as though some has tried before and rounded them off

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The D3/4 is unlike the L322 which is of a monocoque design with individual front and rear subframes that the front suspension, engine and drivetrain sits in and the rear has it's own too, the D3/4 has a separate chassis and body, the chassis is a T5 chassis as per it's Ford legacy.

dieseldog69 said:

The D3/4 is unlike the L322 which is of a monocoque design with individual front and rear subframes that the front suspension, engine and drivetrain sits in and the rear has it's own too, the D3/4 has a separate chassis and body, the chassis is a T5 chassis as per it's Ford legacy.

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ah i see, something like was designed for the mini , is surprising how quickly the weight adds up

if i had the money would get my body lifted off and everything checked and replaced whilst the body was off to give more longevity

like the L322 but alas the ins was too expensive

You'll need to pop the body off for the turbos, it isn't as bad as I first thought but it's hardly a one man on his drive effort without some great big brass balls and a lot of equal size matching blocks.

dieseldog69 said:

You'll need to pop the body off for the turbos, it isn't as bad as I first thought but it's hardly a one man on his drive effort without some great big brass balls and a lot of equal size matching blocks.

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hope this is being rude mate , are we talking about the D3 , as if i may say the turbo can actually be replaced without removing the body

one turbo for the D3 and 2 x for the D4

indeed i can just imagine what massive effort it would be lifting a body off, inc all the equipment u would need

would be a dream having a post lift and something like a barn to lift the body off, never mind nice to ponder

funny enough the amount of garages that told me the body had to come off for the rear belt , alas watched that belt being done in around 30 x mins

have learnt a lot in just a year , latest is how to get this jeffing rounded nut off the top of the strut , had plenty cups of tea whilst thinking , lol , hopefully the extra long spanner's will come weds

Irwin nut and stud removers ?

freelance said:

Irwin nut and stud removers ?

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was able to get the irwin socket on the front but impossible to get it on that back nut ,

today those long reach spanner’s should turn up and will then have another go ,

have got a few more ideas , if it’s comes to it i will undo the body bolts and jack it up an inch or so, or get s nut splitter , one way or another it will come off, lol

it’s because it’s been rounded that caused me the agro and won’t be beaten

passenger side i believe u can get to the strut nuts from the top

well at last i got the bloody back nut off and strut out finished off the dinotrol , didn’t wish to push my luck getting near the electrics

can see how much longer the spanner’s are with a standard one next to it

hopefully this post will help others and always good to give something back to the forum

thk god the new strut is in and new intercooler hose, still got loads to do on the drivers side, ie getting all the trim back in

replaced the voss connectors for some nicer and better brass pushfits , replaced on the strut and front valve block

not a bad days work and am knackered

shouldn’t have to mess around with the height recalibration seeing the height sensors control that

Gary nice work
Im surprised at the amount of rust?
Looks good all blacked up
If you have the time well worth removing the cill covers as the amount of mud they collect at the rear is amazing

As above, I was thinking it's blinking rusty under there!! Nice work indeed

What the feck is this "paint" LR apply to the underside ???? it doesn't seem to be able to even stick, let alone stay black, but I'm sure it's really environmentally friendly .....

Good on you for putting some proper nasty solvent based stuff on it ... which'll stop it rusting away, getting scrapped, and needing to be replaced at the cost of 20 tonnes of CO2 for yet another new vehicle

lynall said:

Gary nice work
Im surprised at the amount of rust?
Looks good all blacked up
If you have the time well worth removing the cill covers as the amount of mud they collect at the rear is amazing

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many thks and good to get feedback from a professional mechanic , the rust i found was all just surface and easily came off with a bit of wire brushing , the chassis throughout is solid , its already has the hammer test at every part that i could reach on the chassis and i inspected it when i bought it extremely carefully , no welding at all nor any rust holes

all the chassis drainage holes are all clear,

oh yes the sills, as i know ive seen one or two that can cause issues , seems to happen when side steps are fitted and maybe trapping the water there , but already had all the covers off and have been cleaned out and treated , no signs of worries but treated it anyway as a precaution

did cover up the electrics as i didn’t want to spray too near them, but gives me peace of mind then that the entire chassis is now fully treated inside and out and this was just to fill in the bits behind the inner arches etc

blimey that back nut on top of the strut was a sod to get off , little turn with a longer spanner, then a irwin socket , back to another socket , but pleased that one is at least done

am not looking forward in particular when i do the passenger side with those other 2 x turbo hoses , will get all the liner and strut off first then go from there

but once done i then know it’s all done properly , chassis is all solid and will just redo the dinotrol inside and out i think every 5 x years is recommended , just as a precaution , but know the chassis on these done rust through like the older ones, unless dipped in salt after off course, lol

thks again for the feed back

Disco1BFG said:

As above, I was thinking it's blinking rusty under there!! Nice work indeed

What the feck is this "paint" LR apply to the underside ???? it doesn't seem to be able to even stick, let alone stay black, but I'm sure it's really environmentally friendly .....

Good on you for putting some proper nasty solvent based stuff on it ... which'll stop it rusting away, getting scrapped, and needing to be replaced at the cost of 20 tonnes of CO2 for yet another new vehicle

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many thks and also bless u for the feedback , has taken me since monday to just get this far, but wished to ensure it’s all done properly , all the little bits were surface rust and easily came off

the original paint round the anti roll bar etc just peeled off so wire brushed it and gave it a couple of coats , did stay away from the electrics, just covered it the best i could, inc covering the discs, didn’t want them covered in dinotrol

blimey is good this stuff sticks like hell and a sod to get off ur hands

as i wish to keep this a good while i just wanted to ensure everything is done correctly and just taken my time

will bubble test all the air line fittings ive fitted and also test it over night before i move onto the passenger side

thks once again

Being called a pro, Ive been called far worse than that

lynall said:

Being called a pro, Ive been called far worse than that

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lmao , noticed i didn’t shorten it

removed some heat shields so i can now try and torque the drivers side top strut nuts

in the pic, look between on the right of the 2 x pipes and left handle of the lamp on the left hand side , can just see the blue part of the nyloc nut

can’t get a 1/2 bar in there so will try 3/8 but then can’t find my 1/2 - 3/8 reducer

sorted out the air leak on the new front valve block, just need some PTFE on the fittings , then tested the valve and associated pipes with a hand vacuum pump

found it considerably easier using pushfit instead of the voss connectors , plus being brass should last longer than the plastic ones

had to order some new inner wheel arch liner clips,

now waiting for my new HD front drop links, heard the cheap ones just snap

left the inner wheel arch liner out for the moment , so i can ensure everything is working perfectly before reinstalling and moving onto the passenger side