How to remove/replace drink holder from Discovery rear arm rest.

[FinnMcCool]

This tutorial was born after a car detailing shop pulled the mechanism out of the arm rest while cleaning, and could not get it back in, nor could both the local Land Rover servicing place and the local motor trimmer. I hope someone finds it useful one day.

[nathanc]

Thanks FinnMcCool! Saved $65 and it only took 15 minutes.
One addition to your excellent description:
In my case the metal spring had been dislodged and was causing the mechanism to jam halfway closed. (With two young boys in the back seat, no wonder!).
It is necessary to make sure the spring engages in the hook that you mention, but also that it clears the lever pin that engages the lock mechanism. My spring had bent just enough that I had to put it into proper position with a pair of needlenose pliers. Fortunately the slot where the damping mechanism runs provides easy access to that position.
Thanks again.

[Alan M]

Thanks from me also. I had no idea how to fix the cup holder until I saw your excellent tutorial. In my case, I had trouble disengaging the clips between the inner and outer shells using the hacksaw blades. But a short spray with WD40 into the gaps did the trick by allowing the blades to slide far enough in. Before that, the blades simply refused to slide in far enough (probably years of dust and surface rust creating too much friction).