Thread: My disco is deadly above 70

There are no vibrations or shimmys, it just swerves from lane to lane to ditch. I grabbed the rain gutter above the drivers door today and without too much effort I can shake the Disco back and fourth very dramiticaly, my neighbor was there and was amazed, he had never seen a car sway like that except during a riot with 20 people trying to push over a car, and I'm not a big guy 90kgs. I think I will be pricing springs and shocks. What's a good set of shocks that won't break the bank, I gather Rancho's are something to stay away from?

Also the disco had an OME 50mm kit (springs, shocks, and dampner) installed in 2000. So they are now 9 years old with 125,000klms on them.

Charley

Originally Posted by rameses32

...the ball joints have no play...

Come to think of it...
Given that even the most recent Disco I by now has been around more than 10 years I would definitely have a look at the ball joints, especially if these haven't been changed yet. Sometimes these little buggers don't have excessive play, but become stiff and "notchy", producing exactly the symptoms you describe.
Also, raising the vehicle as you did by 50mm will alter the castor angle. Initially I presume the effect wasn't that pronounced, but by now all bushes have aged and become more sloppy. Add to this worn shocks and springs...

I had a similar problem. The car was very twitchy on the road and would wonder when I accelerated and also when I back off. I had to keep a very steady hand on the steering wheel and did not give real confidence at 100Kmh .The springs were replaced but still wandering. On the week end I put some new shockers in and it ride beautifully now. The original shocker still felt ok but changing the solved my problem. A land rover mechanic also told me they wonder if the tyres pressures are not correct, 28psi front 38psi rear. Hope this helps.

Cheers David.

Originally Posted by Landover

I had a similar problem. The car was very twitchy on the road and would wonder when I accelerated and also when I back off. I had to keep a very steady hand on the steering wheel and did not give real confidence at 100Kmh .The springs were replaced but still wandering. On the week end I put some new shockers in and it ride beautifully now. The original shocker still felt ok but changing the solved my problem.

A land rover mechanic also told me they wonder if the tyres pressures are not correct, 28psi front 38psi rear.

Hope this helps.

Cheers David.

I disagree I run 40/40 and my car doesn't wander

28front - 38 back that seems very low pressure for front tyres?

Originally Posted by ohleaky1

28front - 38 back that seems very low pressure for front tyres?

28/38 I think is the pressures reccomended by land rover on the door placard...

Hi,

My 89 Rangie was the same, vibrated the hell out of the steering wheel at anything above 90km/h.

found the problem, If you take the front shocks off, check the lower mounting eye's in the diff housing, the ones in the rangie were oval shaped from years of 4wding, they had to be filled in with a welder and then ground down and re-drilled.

Also check the steering dampener had that cause the front wheels to shake and bounce from left side to right side at 100km/h on my 82 rangie.

depends on what year disco you have and how much off roading it has done I guess.

Hope I get the disco on these problems before it ends up like my rangies...

Totthead

Originally Posted by rameses32

What's a good set of shocks that won't break the bank, I gather Rancho's are something to stay away from?

Charley

I have had Ranchos on an 86 RRC and my current 97 Discovery V8 and found them to be very good, the RS9000's are fully adjustable to suit your ride preference and load, otherwise my choice has been Bilstein or DeCarbon, you get what you pay for.