How do I re-instate the ACE system if it's been disabled?

Hi There my little Landy Brothers from other mothers.

I have a question you ACE specialists out there.
I have noticed that my RED ACE light is on there dash so ive looked a found the ACE reservoir is empty and the hose connection to the bottom is simply cut and left hanging.

The ACE Pump is still spinning with the belt attached which can only mean that one day that will just break due to lack of oil/lube.

my question tho is! "How have the previous owner disabled the ACE or how would a complete cowboy novice do it?" (just so i know what they have done) ? Then... "How could i repair it (reconnect the hose) to see what the initial problem was before some numpty decide to sabotage it.?

Has he simply cut the reservoir hose and thats it? ACE now disabled ?
or have he bypass the ACE somehow and if so what do i need to be looking for to Un-bypass it?

sorry if this is a simple answer and im just retard. i do have some mechanial knowledge but when it comes to hydrolic, pumps and pipes im pretty useless.

thanks again homies. One day We'll All have a D2 that works perfectly lol.

look under drives side at the chassis pipe leak is usual reason for disabling ace

Yeah,the pipes are stupid money,most get the block machined to accept hydraulic hose fittings from a hydraulics shop instead of paying hundreds just for half the pipes from Land Rover.
It is well worth having ACE in my opinion,my last td5 didn’t have it but this current one does and it’s much better .

cheers guys.
so just to confirm... if i reattach the hose to the ACE Reservoir and fill it up. should then the ACE system be back to how it should be? then i would be able to locate the leaking pipe and replace?

i kinda need to know what they have done to disable it so i can re-enable it.surely it not just a matter of detaching a hose?
How are you suppose to disable the ACE?

I want to repair the whole ACE system.

thakns again

YorkshYorkshireDallas said:

How are you suppose to disable the ACE?

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The correct way to completely remove the ACE system would be to remove the ACE pump and replace with an idler pulley, new Aux belt....... Replace the ACE Anti-roll bar Rams with traditional anti-roll bars and new drop links (IIRC the drop links are different lenghs) remove all the ACE pipe work, valve block and use diagnostics to tell the BCU ACE is no longer fitted so you get no warning lights on the dash.

HTH

Thanks @robhew86
If all the pumps and everthing is still present. what would i need to do with the reservoir hose thats not connected? would i just reattched that to the ace pump and top up fluid? i want to diagnose what was wrong with it for them to disable it,

all i can see wrong at the moment is the reservoir hose is not connected to anything and my red ACE dashboard light on. im just trying to put right si can test it properly. it still has all the ACE aniti roll bars ect but i dont want to keep driving it like this as it can be pretty dangerous ive heard.

Just out of interest I fitted an ace bypass to mine after problems with the actuator connections. Cost me £36.00 all in, no lights on the dash, no nothing. To be honest I don't subscribe to the "Ace must have". There's very little difference.

YorkshYorkshireDallas said:

Thanks @robhew86
If all the pumps and everthing is still present. what would i need to do with the reservoir hose thats not connected? would i just reattched that to the ace pump and top up fluid? i want to diagnose what was wrong with it for them to disable it,

all i can see wrong at the moment is the reservoir hose is not connected to anything and my red ACE dashboard light on. im just trying to put right si can test it properly. it still has all the ACE aniti roll bars ect but i dont want to keep driving it like this as it can be pretty dangerous ive heard.

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connect the pipe up and fill system with atf ,are the pipes corroded under drivers side

Just one more thing to go wrong IMHO. I know that sounds trite, but these are elderly vehicles and every little helps, particularly if you plan on fixing it yourself and driving it far from LR Specialist garages.
Bottom line, my TD5 has the ACE removed and the anti-roll bar mods and I'm very happy with its handling, why would I want the added complexity and inherent reliability risk of ACE?

jamesmartin said:

connect the pipe up and fill system with atf ,are the pipes corroded under drivers side

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Not that I can see. But I'm assuming there will be a leak somewhere hence why they bypassed it.

Thanks bud. I'll try reconnect the hose and fill it up then see if there is a leak anywhere.

Nig43 said:

Just out of interest I fitted an ace bypass to mine after problems with the actuator connections. Cost me £36.00 all in, no lights on the dash, no nothing. To be honest I don't subscribe to the "Ace must have". There's very little difference.

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Can you give me some details please - I'm about to remove the ACE from my D2, which is leaking again.

Si Click said:

my TD5 has the ACE removed and the anti-roll bar mods and I'm very happy with its handling, why would I want the added complexity and inherent reliability risk of ACE?

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Mine has the ACE removed (by previous owner) but still has the original roll bars on and I'm very happy with the handling of mine too. I removed all the pipework / valveblock and just capped off the rams on the ARBs. I've been driving it like this for several years and have absolutely no problem with the handling and have no intention of fitting the other ARBs. I've had it heavily loaded many times without issues.

daftpooly said:

Can you give me some details please - I'm about to remove the ACE from my D2, which is leaking again.

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The kit is available from Britpart. Comes with new belt and pulley. All you do is remove the ace pump, blank off the pipes and fit the new.

Interceptorxj said:

Mine has the ACE removed (by previous owner) but still has the original roll bars on and I'm very happy with the handling of mine too. I removed all the pipework / valveblock and just capped off the rams on the ARBs. I've been driving it like this for several years and have absolutely no problem with the handling and have no intention of fitting the other ARBs. I've had it heavily loaded many times without issues.

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If the ACE has a problem the ACE ecu puts it into a sort of "drive it still" mode which means the anti roll bars are locked into a central position. It happened to me going down the mountain road near my place in France, which I drive up and down all the time, (drops 360 metres in 5 to 10 minutes), lots of hairpins and tight bends. Honestly, it felt little different. No idea what caused it, checked the system out, removed and replaced the fuse. Went back to normal and never recurred again! So I would be inclined to leave it as it is. But if you remove the rams you would have to replace the ARBs with conventional ones. D1s have no ACE but with good gas shockers, they don't roll much, mine doesn't anyway even with a 2" lift, before I lifted it with heavy duty springs, it drove even better! ACE does work well-ish, when it works but yet again it is a question of do you want the extra complication which gets troublesome and expensive when it goes wrong. If mine packs up, I'll remove it and just make sure I have decent ARBs and gas shocks.