We get almost sentimental about a
Discovery 1, while our apprentice get the work done.
We have some expensive vehicles on our
forecourt, but I rarely drive them because they are prepared for sale and are
so clean inside and out. My use of them could preclude their sale, as they are
either not available or not in a fit state for inspection by a potential
purchaser. It's also silly to have thousands of pounds tied up in a vehicle for
me to use, when I have several reliable, if aged, cars at my disposal with no
capital tie-up. The upshot is I end up driving all sorts of scrap, of the kind
that is usually the last in a long line of trades which ends up being broken
for the engine or sold on as someone's project.
In the fickle rural community, people judge
the proprietor of an establishment by the car they drive. It matters little;
our sign-written fleet is as tidy as Mrs. Manifold's Range Rover, although not
too valuable as to make people think you are overcharging them and they are paying
extra for you to ride around in style. I've ended up driving an old Discovery
200Tdi in the recent winter weather as it is a willing worker, even if slightly
challenged in the bodywork department. It has one major flaw, however, and that
is the heater fan does not work. I run it with the radiator grille blocked off
because the 200Tdis are reluctant to give away spare heat. So, relying only on
the ram effect of the air gives little heat in the cabin.
In
the fickle rural community, people judge the proprietor of an establishment by
the car they drive.
The Disco suffers the other well-known
problem of leaky sunroofs, so is damp inside. Before driving it the other day I
had to scrape the ice off the inside of the windows, and I decided it needed to
be fixed or moved on to be scrapped - which was a shame really, as these old
Discovery models are a bit rare now and I am quite attached to it.
The failure of the blower fan is well
known, and usually requires the dash assembly to be removed to gain access to the
heater unit. That, in turn, is stripped to replace the motor. The whole lot is
then put back together again. It is a bit over a day's work, so totally
unjustified in fiscal terms on this Disco. I was not convinced the motor had
burnt out because, with the ignition set to 'on', the panel lights dimmed
slightly when the fan was switched on, showing it was drawing current. I
guessed it was just seized up.
The motor is a poor affair, as it is not
sealed and the bearings are exposed to all the damp air entering the heater
system. It takes only a few minutes to remove the plastic cover between the
wiper arms, making one end of the motor visible. On the other side is the fan
cage, and this was seized almost completely.
The apprentice was watching my antics with great
amusement, but he had his own Discovery job to occupy him. The D3 belonged to a
local land owner who had inadvertently partially flattened the battery by
leaving the side lights on for a few hours, and it then would not start the
engine. A simple matter, the owner thought, to tow the D3 back to the farm
buildings and put it on trickle charge for a while. This did indeed work as the
engine started fine, but it then proceeded to pump all the fluid out of its
power-steering system.
It
is inadvisable to move the steering wheel on a dead Discovery 3, Range Rover
Sport and many other modern vehicles
It is inadvisable to move the steering
wheel on a dead Discovery 3, Range Rover Sport and many other modern vehicles,
because the internal pressures created in the steering rack when the pump is
not turning pushes out the oil seal on the pinion shaft. Then later, when the
engine is started, the fluid just pours out until the system is empty and
internal damage to the pump occurs when it runs dry.
I had to recover the Discovery with our
trailer because driving it even a short distance could add hundreds of pounds
to the repair costs. That's getting close to the 3.5 tones maximum for my old
Disco to tow, but it coped well. Back at our workshop I could have ordered a
big box with an expensive new steering rack in it, as the apprentice loves to
open such things and fit them to other people's vehicles. But he's more skilled
than that, so I ordered a much cheaper small box instead with an oil seal in
it. It was not difficult for him to remove the rack and fit the new seal using
a suitable length of pipe. He did not even have to remove the old seal, as it
was just sitting loose on the pinion shaft.
I
had to recover the Discovery with our trailer because driving it even a short
distance could add hundreds of pounds to the repair costs.
Great care had to be taken to keep the
steering wheel in the straight-ahead position because, if that turns, it
usually rips out the electrical feed to the wheel functions and airbag. He tied
it in a fixed ratchet strap, and did not move the road wheels. When the rack
was put back it was set so that the track rod ends fell into place, and when
the column was re-attached it was all in the proper relationship and the rotary
coupling had not been destroyed. He took the Disco for a long test drive to
make certain the seal stayed in place when the oil was hot. I guess he was
probably dreaming of being a landowner or a Discovery 3 owner while he did so,
but neither will ever come true in the short term - especially on the wages I
pay him.
I
guess he was probably dreaming of being a landowner or a Discovery 3 owner
while he did so
The Discovery I, meanwhile, was responding
well to having its fan bearings soaked in penetrating oil every few hours, and
a few minutes pushing the fan around with a screwdriver had it free enough to
try and power it up. I switched it on and, with some screwdriver help, the
motor kicked in and ran itself. It was a bit slow to start with but it soon
gathered speed, so I left it running and put the charger on to keep the battery
topped up. After half an hour it was as free as it ought to be, and it
self-started when switched off and on again. I replaced the plastic panel,
happy in the knowledge that I might enjoy a modicum of comfort.
I was eager to try it out, and so we
delivered the Disco 3 back to its owner and I used my Discovery to collect the
apprentice. The heater worked well, although the cab was still damp. Rather
than fit wipers to the inside of the 'screen as he suggested, I'll get him to
seal the sunroofs with silicone; that might bring him back into the real world
again.
