Thread: Poida4x4's Disco 1

if you raise it,, will the kids be able to get in and out ?
not driving at night, will save you lots of $$$$, and will make a much better holiday for all concerned.

It's been raining here a fair bit so I just checked the interior for leaks. Sure enough, the front carpets are sodden. I'm pretty sure I've had this problem before in Darwin. I'll do some searching around here to find the problem. I lifted them up a bit and there didn't appear to be rust. The previous owners kept it under cover, but I can't do that here. Hopefully in Tassie I can though

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

if you raise it,, will the kids be able to get in and out ?

The oldest can just scramble up now. I don't think a small lift will make a huge difference, and I'm happy to just lift them in.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

not driving at night, will save you lots of $$$$, and will make a much better holiday for all concerned.

This is totally true. I've done a lot of driving at night and must say I quite like it, listening to something interesting and floating through the darkness. This was mostly pre-kids though so everything's changed now. I do have very fond memories of night time Pilbara journeys in the old Volvo listening to war of the worlds while looking up at that massive starry sky.

Based on our experiences with our D1, and your need for touring/towing, I'd say lifting and bigger tyres are not essential.
I'd say a modest suspension upgrade, rear airbags to level it when towing and standard size tyres because going bigger will make it slower for towing.
Need to fix the water leaks. Check the opera windows. Is the windscreen leaking? Rust treatment for the floor. Pull out the spare wheel and see what it's like under there.
Very thorough service. Brakes. Service the transmission and transfer case. How is the cooling system? Has the timing belt been replaced?
I'd also improve the headlights. At least plus bulbs.

Don't forget to upgrade to a head light relay set before you touch the lights and fry the column switch.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Pull out the spare wheel and see what it's like under there.

It's a D1, the spare is on the rear door.

yeah, you have to ask yourself, with the kids ... how much night driving will you be doing?
ie. roos can be a problem mainly at night!
Emus can be a worse problem during the day in some areas tho.
That is, is the bull bar absolutely necessary!

As for snorkel, I'd say do it.
I got a cheapie off ebay, but had to mod the bends and joins as they wouldn't seal up properly.
Mod was just cut two slits in each joint to allow the tube to flex so that they'd seal up properly. Once clamped, they perfect.
$80 off ebay.

get an EGT for sure .. you're then free to tweak to your hearts desire!
I read up as much as I could on gauges and alarms, and decided that a coolant gauge was the better idea, rather than a low coolant alarm(just my preference!)

I have a thread on the 1Gauge gauge system that may be helpful to you as an option as well ...

With the kids, one of the major problems you'll find is that the rear isn't as 'accommodating' as it looks in terms of space.
A 'top half' cargo barrier makes that almost a non issue tho.
Mine came with a full length barrier, which I chopped to a top half design and re-did the lower brackets.
The biggest issue with a full length is that they waste too much floor length, which is already at a premium in a D1. Losing the lower half gives you back about 3" or so of floor length.

As for other tips: be highly suspicious of the coolant system! You say PO was a LR nut, question him on the age of the rad. If in doubt, have it in mind to renew/replace .. etc.
More than anything else, you want reliability from the 'little things' that put dampeners on adventure .. blown hoses, leaking 'this', and worn out 'that' ... etc. etc.

So ... any connection involving oil and or water or any fluid of any type .. check, double check ... and then just renew it anyhow!
eg. when I got mine, my PO was pretty good at maintenance, and car was bought primarily based on how well he'd maintained it.
But over time, small leaks develop here and there. They're all very well known now, and they will most likely happen to yours too.

On that tho, I've not yet read any info regarding one of the heater hoses, there are two on the drivers side rear of rocker cover. One of mine was resting hard up against the rocker cover itself, and so with time(and heat) it's got heat fatigue on the hose itself.
Not melted through, but if not corrected would have burst at some point.
What I did for a long time tho was to use a piece of hose off cut to get it off the rocker cover to stop more damage, but the hose was damaged .. so started looking into hoses.
Decided that silicon hoses were better, especially for the main large hose. I hate those octopus designs with hoses tacked onto hoses, and got myself a hose kit with the stainless joint adapters.
Needed to be trimmed a little to fit perfectly, but now if any hose breaks, it's an easier job of doing the one(of three) than the original 3 in 1 type design!

Hi Poida4x4,

Nice looking Disco 1 - I myself just entered into Disco 1 ownership although my one is a little older than yours, it's a '93 200tdi.

I plan on fitting a coolant alarm (especially because 200 TDI heads are becoming impossible to source).

I am looking at removing my existing bull bar (it's quite big, and has previously had a winch fitted to it by the looks of it).

Good luck with the D1 - I'll be keeping an eye out on your thread!

Cheers,
GG.

are you going to go wading in deep water or tour along mostly sealed roads with some offroad work? honestly, ive gone offroad a number of time and crossed some water and i've never had to use the snorkel for what it was intended for. if you live in far north qld or NT and do a lot of remote 4wding then the snorkel is essential. if like me you do light 4wd work and mostly camping/fishing then the snorkel is not worth the hassle.

id be more worried about EGT and low water level alarm.