Where to get an allignment done? And some other questions...

Hey guys. I posted on this board once before and got some good help,
so I'm back.

My fiancee owns a '95 disco with the 3.9 gas V8. One of the front
tires is "cupping" and apparently, the front needs an alignment. From
what I understand, the rear can not be alligned because of the solid
axle. Anyway, I know nothing about Land Rovers so I don't know if there
is something special that needs to be done during a front end
alignment. Can any decent alignment shop do the job or does it need to
be done at Land Rover for some reason? I don't want to tell her to
take it to Land Rover if she doesn't have to, because they're so
expensive. Who can do it? What special things are there to know
about, if any? I just don't want her to take it to some alignment shop
that breaks something because Land Rovers are wierd in the suspension
somehow.

Also, she's been running 10w-30 oil in the car. This seems too thin
for a V8 in the hot New Mexico climate. The lifters do tap ALL the
time, but the car has almost 160,000 miles on it. What oil grade is
best? I did a search and it seems like Castrol 20w-50 is a good bet?

Lastly, which oil filter is the best to use? Fram? Purolator? Mobil
1?

Thanks for any help. I know aircooled VWs and Japanese sports cars but
nothing about Land Rovers.

~Anthony

Hi Anthony
I had my Disco alignment done by the local Goodyear tyre depot here in
Australia
as far as I know their is nothing unusual to look out for.


--
Simon Mills

98 Disco Tdi auto

Anthony wrote:

> Hey guys. I posted on this board once before and got some good help,
> so I'm back.
>
> My fiancee owns a '95 disco with the 3.9 gas V8. One of the front
> tires is "cupping" and apparently, the front needs an alignment. From
> what I understand, the rear can not be alligned because of the solid
> axle. Anyway, I know nothing about Land Rovers so I don't know if there
> is something special that needs to be done during a front end
> alignment. Can any decent alignment shop do the job or does it need to
> be done at Land Rover for some reason? I don't want to tell her to
> take it to Land Rover if she doesn't have to, because they're so
> expensive. Who can do it? What special things are there to know
> about, if any? I just don't want her to take it to some alignment shop
> that breaks something because Land Rovers are wierd in the suspension
> somehow.
>
> Also, she's been running 10w-30 oil in the car. This seems too thin
> for a V8 in the hot New Mexico climate. The lifters do tap ALL the
> time, but the car has almost 160,000 miles on it. What oil grade is
> best? I did a search and it seems like Castrol 20w-50 is a good bet?
>
> Lastly, which oil filter is the best to use? Fram? Purolator? Mobil
> 1?
>
> Thanks for any help. I know aircooled VWs and Japanese sports cars but
> nothing about Land Rovers.
>
> ~Anthony

The only adjustment for front wheel alignment is toe in, and this may indeed
be the cause of the problem. However, other possible causes are wear or
damage to steering or suspension components such as tie rod ends, tie rod
bent, worn swivel bearings, worn wheel bearings, and these should all be
checked, so that perhaps a suspension/steering specialist or dealer may be
indicated, although it is most unlikely any competent mechanic would break
anything.
10W-30 is probably a little thin for use in that climate on a worn engine,
but is unlikely to cause problems. 20W-50 is probably better. I doubt there
is a significant difference between the filters in practice.
The most important thing with this engine is to not skip oil changes.
Properly serviced it is very durable but is also very susceptible to poor
maintenance.
JD

On or around Sat, 02 Apr 2005 20:37:32 +1000, JD <[email protected]>
enlightened us thusly:

>Anthony wrote:
>
>> Hey guys. I posted on this board once before and got some good help,
>> so I'm back.
>>
>> My fiancee owns a '95 disco with the 3.9 gas V8. One of the front
>> tires is "cupping" and apparently, the front needs an alignment. From
>> what I understand, the rear can not be alligned because of the solid
>> axle.

when you say "cupping", what exactly do you mean?

excessive wear on the inner edge of one tyre could be swivel bearings
problems.

tracking errors will tend to wear both front tyres, either inside for
toed-out or outside for toed-in. I tend to get LRs set parallel, for discos
and 110s and so on.

excessive wear on both edges of one or other tyre is more likely to be tyre
pressures too low. ditto excessive wear in the centre of a tyre is most
likely to be tyre pressure too high.

>10W-30 is probably a little thin for use in that climate on a worn engine,
>but is unlikely to cause problems. 20W-50 is probably better. I doubt there
>is a significant difference between the filters in practice.
>The most important thing with this engine is to not skip oil changes.
>Properly serviced it is very durable but is also very susceptible to poor
>maintenance.

way too thin. 15W40 minimum, 15W50 or 20W50 would be better. 10W30 is for
cold climates, with temperatures below freezing for significant periods.

The other thing about the V8 is that you want an anti-sludge formula oil,
which means in rough terms API SG or later.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"If you cannot mould yourself as you would wish, how can you expect
other people to be entirely to your liking?"
Thomas À Kempis (1380 - 1471) Imitation of Christ, I.xvi.

On 1 Apr 2005 19:10:52 -0800, "Anthony" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Hey guys. I posted on this board once before and got some good help,
>so I'm back.
>
>My fiancee owns a '95 disco with the 3.9 gas V8. One of the front
>tires is "cupping" and apparently, the front needs an alignment. From
>what I understand, the rear can not be alligned because of the solid
>axle. Anyway, I know nothing about Land Rovers so I don't know if there
>is something special that needs to be done during a front end
>alignment. Can any decent alignment shop do the job or does it need to
>be done at Land Rover for some reason? I don't want to tell her to
>take it to Land Rover if she doesn't have to, because they're so
>expensive. Who can do it? What special things are there to know
>about, if any? I just don't want her to take it to some alignment shop
>that breaks something because Land Rovers are wierd in the suspension
>somehow.
>
>Also, she's been running 10w-30 oil in the car. This seems too thin
>for a V8 in the hot New Mexico climate. The lifters do tap ALL the
>time, but the car has almost 160,000 miles on it. What oil grade is
>best? I did a search and it seems like Castrol 20w-50 is a good bet?
>
>Lastly, which oil filter is the best to use? Fram? Purolator? Mobil
>1?
>
>Thanks for any help. I know aircooled VWs and Japanese sports cars but
>nothing about Land Rovers.
>
>~Anthony
Hi Anthony,

Be careful, I had one tyre depot (STS/Stapletons) adjust the alignment
on my Disco TD5 and they screwed the steering up. I took it to my
local Kwik Fit and the guy there did it properly as he knew that there
was one adjustment for toe in and another to keep the steering wheel
level when you're steering in a straight line. Interestingly, the guy
at Kwik Fit who did the alignment correctly used to work for STS, but
left when they got taken over by Stapletons.

Regards nemo2

PS. Apologies for anybody not in the home counties in the UK who have
not heard of Kwik Fit, STS or Stapletons all tyre and exhaust centres.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Austin Shackles) wrote:

> I tend to get LRs set parallel,

Parallel to 2mm toe out from memory.

--
Niamh
4x4 Cymru
http://www.4x4cymru.co.uk

On or around Sun, 3 Apr 2005 02:19 +0100 (BST),
[email protected] (Niamh Holding) enlightened us thusly:

>In article <[email protected]>,
>[email protected] (Austin Shackles) wrote:
>
>> I tend to get LRs set parallel,
>
>Parallel to 2mm toe out from memory.

sounds right. I found it went nicely set parallel and didn't wear the tyres
crooked, so that'll do me. The 110, once I had a proper steering damper,
could be hurled around corners (on big fat 31x10.5 tyres, too) at much
higher speeds than you'd expect from such a big thing; ditto my disco,
although admittedly on stiffer springs than standard to control the body
roll a bit better. I expect those cost a bit in off-road ability, but since
this one hardly ever goes off-road, it's no big deal.

Discos have a bit of a reputation for edging front tyres, but I reckon a lot
of that is down to tyre pressures - the "book" (in addition to confirming
that toe-setting figure) also says, for 235/70 tyres, 26 psi.

The current set on mine have been running at 36 psi from new, and although
they're soft pirellis have worn as flat and even as a flat, even thing.
There's about 2mm tread left on 'em, maybe, and not only have they not worn
crooked they also haven't gone "saw-toothed" like soft-compound tyres
sometimes do.

Only flipside of running that pressure that I can see is that the ride is a
bit harsher on small, sharp bumps. It's possible that they're wear OK with
a bit less pressure, but 26 sounds way too soft for a vehicle as heavy as
that - on the minibuses I used to run, with 185R14 tyres, they reckoned to
use about 48 psi in the fronts, and unladen at least they were lighter than
the disco.

The other aspect of the higher pressure which appeals to me at least is
lighter, more precise steering feel.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"Chuck didn't reply, so George swung round in his saddle. He could just
see Chuck's face, a white oval turned toward the sky.
'Look,' whispered Chuck, and George lifted his eyes to heaven.
(There is always a last time for everything.)
Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out"
Arthur C. Clarke, "The 9 billion names of God"

On or around Sat, 02 Apr 2005 18:30:57 +0100, nemo2 <[email protected]>
enlightened us thusly:

>Be careful, I had one tyre depot (STS/Stapletons) adjust the alignment
>on my Disco TD5 and they screwed the steering up. I took it to my
>local Kwik Fit and the guy there did it properly as he knew that there
>was one adjustment for toe in and another to keep the steering wheel
>level when you're steering in a straight line. Interestingly, the guy
>at Kwik Fit who did the alignment correctly used to work for STS, but
>left when they got taken over by Stapletons.

Mind, it doesn't actually *matter* if the steering wheel is slightly out
(say less than 1/4 turn) - the worst that might happen is that you're
turning circle one way will be slightly restricted. Normally, I'd not
expect a small adjustment in tracking (toe-in) to alter the steering wheel
position more than a few mm measured on the rim, though.

The toe-in is adjusted by the track rod, whereas the steering wheel position
is affected by the thing that I call a drag link - the rod from the steering
box to the front wheel. Just changed a joint on one of our discos, and as a
result the wheel isn't quite straight any more. One day I might be bothered
to correct it.

It5 is however true that if after adjusting the tracking the wheel is
off-centre, then ideally you want to adjust the drag link to correct it -
but then again, if you want that level of service, you may have to pay
more...

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so."
John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873)

> > Discos have a bit of a reputation for edging front tyres, but I reckon a
lot
> of that is down to tyre pressures - the "book" (in addition to confirming
> that toe-setting figure) also says, for 235/70 tyres, 26 psi.
>
> The current set on mine have been running at 36 psi from new, and although
> they're soft pirellis have worn as flat and even as a flat, even thing.
> There's about 2mm tread left on 'em, maybe, and not only have they not
worn
> crooked they also haven't gone "saw-toothed" like soft-compound tyres
> sometimes do.

I think you've done it again, Austin! I've always thought 26 ( or 28 as my
book says for whichever size I have on the Disco ) is low. After all they
say 38 for the rears unladen!

I've just put a set of Scorpions on after the Goodyears were mangled by
dodgy shocks - at least I hope that's what it was!

Think I might try 35 all round. ( Wifes Rover saloon, diesel, is 30 all
round and it's much lighter than a Disco.

What do you reckon?
TonyB

>
>tracking errors will tend to wear both front tyres, either inside for
>toed-out or outside for toed-in. I tend to get LRs set parallel, for discos
>and 110s and so on.

Which you can do at home with a suitable length of string....

>
>excessive wear on both edges of one or other tyre is more likely to be tyre
>pressures too low. ditto excessive wear in the centre of a tyre is most
>likely to be tyre pressure too high.
>
>>10W-30 is probably a little thin for use in that climate on a worn engine,
>>but is unlikely to cause problems. 20W-50 is probably better. I doubt there
>>is a significant difference between the filters in practice.
>>The most important thing with this engine is to not skip oil changes.
>>Properly serviced it is very durable but is also very susceptible to poor
>>maintenance.
>
>way too thin. 15W40 minimum, 15W50 or 20W50 would be better. 10W30 is for
>cold climates, with temperatures below freezing for significant periods.

10W40 is the handbook recommendation for that year in the UK. At this
mileage it's going to be ready for some new bits in any case, which
shouldn't break the bank at a decent specialist.

--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'77 101FC Ambulance aka "Burrt"
'03 Volvo V70

My Landies? http://www.seriesii.co.uk
Barcoding? http://www.bartec-systems.com
Tony Luckwill web archive at http://www.luckwill.com

On 2005-04-03, TonyB <[email protected]> wrote:

> Think I might try 35 all round. ( Wifes Rover saloon, diesel, is 30 all
> round and it's much lighter than a Disco.

I run my Defender 110 at 40 all round, it seems fine to me. However I
need to do this as I have dodgy cheap remoulds on tubeless carcasses
that need tubes fitted. When I pumped them to 32 or so PSI I was
getting 5 deflations a month spread across all the tyres, no matter
who fitted them, what tubes were used or how much chalk etc they used.
Pumping them to 40PSI cured it immediately, not had a single deflation
since then. The truck feels fine on the road and tyre wear looks fine
too.

--
For every expert, there is an equal but opposite expert