Thread: Very dangerous brake problem...

Originally Posted by OffTrack

The pick of the aftermarket CDL levers is the one made by .50. His modified stock lever is about as close as you can get to the factory item, and is a big improvement over the Ashcroft style levers due to the fact it retains the sealed back. The Ashcroft levers (and copies) have an open back and rely on a rubber boot (which they have only recently begun supplying) to provide sealing from the elements. I initially had a copy of the Ashcroft installed and wasn't really happy with the increase in noise levels in the car, so changed over to a .50 lever which resulted in a noticeable decrease in noise levels. Given that they are both around the same price it's a no-brainer.

www.discovery2.co.uk / D2 CDL levers..... THE BEST!!

cheers
Paul

Bugger, bought an Ashcroft, and it's to be delivered to work tomorrow. I was under the impression that the .50 lever would be more expensive as I'd have to post my lever back to the UK?

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

thats a doable trick in an auto the same as creeping down a hill forwards whilst you're in reverse abusing the TC to control the speed.

And probably all you could do in a D3/4,RRS..........

Originally Posted by winaje

Bugger, bought an Ashcroft, and it's to be delivered to work tomorrow. I was under the impression that the .50 lever would be more expensive as I'd have to post my lever back to the UK?

The .50 lever is £200 + £50 core charge refundable if you return your lever. Return postage is in the vicinity of £30 so your net cost would be £230 if you returned the lever.

The Ashcroft lever is £245 ex vat.

The main difference is that the ashcroft comes with shift knob with CDL markings. If you want the knob with the .50 lever it's an extra £20.

In the end if you send Del the old lever the .50 Lever will cost you £5 more. Hardly worth quibbling about really.

cheers
Paul

Originally Posted by OffTrack

The .50 lever is £200 + £50 core charge refundable if you return your lever. Return postage is in the vicinity of £30 so your net cost would be £230 if you returned the lever.

The Ashcroft lever is £245 ex vat.

The main difference is that the ashcroft comes with shift knob with CDL markings. If you want the knob with the .50 lever it's an extra £20.

In the end if you send Del the old lever the .50 Lever will cost you £5 more. Hardly worth quibbling about really.

cheers
Paul

Fair enough, thanks Paul, well if the Ashcroft irritates me I'll ebay it and buy the .50

Originally Posted by diesel

Any input here greatly received.

Yesterday I was on a very steep offroad track, it climbed for over a k reaching very steep angles. A drop on one side & steep hill on the other with no room to turn around if needed. Ruts and shail really testing the vehicles limits... The Disco was flawless, loved it.

Now...
Luckily for me all went well. Once finished we decided (the Prado & Disco) to have a play. There was a steep & rocky climb, perfect for a vehicle & tyre compare. This brought to my attention a massive & dangerous problem.

The Prado went up, then reversed down under full control. The Disco struggled up, then came down completely out of control! Backwards I will add.

To keep it short, we did a few tests because we were in a safe area.
It appears that the Disco when descending nose first is under full control, I could even stop on this very steep section. This rules out a tyre traction problem.
Descending backwards the front wheels lock & away she goes, no control at all. Very dangerous.
The EBD and ABS should prevent this, simple as that. However it does not. I have no lamps or chimes showing a problem, plus traction control also seems to be a little 'delayed' compared to normal.

I dread to think what could have happened should I have needed to reverse to re-try a section.

Has anyone experienced this?

Years ago we were deliberately put into this situation of reversing down steep descent by our instructors towards the end a 4WD Proficiency Training Course having been taught to "drive through the brakes" earlier in the day. It is an easy technique to learn an instils huge confidence in the Disco and yourself when mastered. I use it in preference to HDC and 'always' on very steep descents when I want to be in absolute control of my descent . I now have CDL enabled (CMM Air Shifter) but back then i didn't.

onebob

Originally Posted by Reads90

Umm 1 st rule of off roading never ever brake going down ( forward or backward ) a steep hill off road

Why well I think you have sort of found out why. The front / rear ( which ever is the highest ) will lock up and the chance of the car sliding sidewards are massive and then you will roll

You should be doing it as Stallie says

Ali

I do at times brake when going down for a number of reasons...firstly the engine braking on my disco is not satisfactory enough to do it on tick over on some of the slopes I come down causing the car to navigate stuff far to quickly...and secondly a lot of hills I come down have selves so I brake to stop and drop off them.

Originally Posted by dullbird

I do at times brake when going down for a number of reasons...firstly the engine braking on my disco is not satisfactory enough to do it on tick over on some of the slopes I come down causing the car to navigate stuff far to quickly...and secondly a lot of hills I come down have selves so I brake to stop and drop off them.

Exactly.

I've been down plenty of slopes where you had to ride and modulate the middle pedal with a manual Tdi in low-low.

A 30% Maxi low range would solve the problem.

An array of comments, most of which totally miss the point.

I didn't really ask for common sense comments or quotes, nor advice on offroad driving. If you read my original post it was an experiment in a safe area that found the problem.
I can assure the few that posted in a derogatory manner that I'm more than aware of the basic physics of weight distribution, I'm also fully aware of how vehicles handle in different situations.

The point:

The front wheels locked, with no further braking force being allowed to the rear wheels. Yes, I know how to use HDC & the handbrake, that is not why I posted here. I also know why we use CDL.
I should have remained in full control with the brakes alone, it was a slow & controlled descent test.

Consider this:
The Prado, with no CDL or traction did what the disco could not, a little embarrassing to say the least.

This is a new problem, the Disco has performed this task without problem in the past. This thread is to discuss possible problems with electronics and the brakes without showing errors on the dash.
As the vehicle did slide it would have exceeded the 0.3g required for EBD, this was considered on site.
Also the HDC works fine.
I will be testing the shuttle valve switches and solenoid valves tomorrow as well as removing the SLABS ecu.

Thank you for all the replies, with the above taken into consideration I welcome further discussion.