Who has taken their D2 around Australia?

Could someone tell me the "critical" sensors that might stop the car from going on my model D2 (1999 TD5) please?

From the posts in this thread I have only seen throttle position sensor mentioned. Are there others that I should be aware of and carry? I guess fan belt and radiator hoses you could see are important spares too, but I am more worried about electronics on this trip; if we are to to the cape I am also thinking a water blind/bra thing is a good idea, just to minimise the in-rush of water in the engine compartment.

Shocks seem to be a pretty good idea to carry spare - and in my case a spare rear sls bag is probably a good idea too......

Chazb

Not many of the other sensors might stop you from going forward, but the TD5 disco has a few "eccentricities" that should be sorted out before a long trip. I (as have many others on this group) sorted out these problems over quite a period of time of time using and improving our disco's. These include dc joint, oil in loom, oil pump bolt, fuel pressure regulator, manifold studs, head dowels, turbo hoses, etc etc.

Taking a disco on a round Australia trip is fine, but you need to be aware of the potential problems and either get them fixed before you go (at lots of expense) or be prepared to fix them on the road and wear the cost of recovery (if your remote). RACV totall car is a must!

You should also consider getting a diagnosis tool like Faulmate or something similar and know how to use it and also skill up on mechanical knowledge to do simple servicing and repairs in the bush.

And finally, get out there as much as possible before the trip. In a way you want to break the thing that could break now rather than them become a liability in the middle of know where. This is about getting to know you truck and its problems...dont worry...it will bring you closer together! :D

If your a newbie to 4wding (trying not be too patronising) then come out on a few trips to get used to your rig and get onto the LROCV for some decent training!

Angus

p.s- definitely get your suspension done! standard suspension will not last!

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Originally Posted by Chazb

Could someone tell me the "critical" sensors that might stop the car from going on my model D2 (1999 TD5) please?

From the posts in this thread I have only seen throttle position sensor mentioned. Are there others that I should be aware of and carry? I guess fan belt and radiator hoses you could see are important spares too, but I am more worried about electronics on this trip; if we are to to the cape I am also thinking a water blind/bra thing is a good idea, just to minimise the in-rush of water in the engine compartment.

Shocks seem to be a pretty good idea to carry spare - and in my case a spare rear sls bag is probably a good idea too......

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A spare SLS bag is a good idea, also a good idea to be able to manually inflate your airbags from another source if your compressor fails. I think Airbag Man (do a search on google) sells a manual inflate kit or you could source the parts yourself to modify your SLS airlines. I think "Walker" from this site did this modification.

Is removing the rear sls and replacing with springs a fairly simple (read: cheapish) mod for a garage to do? I like the idea of a new suspension and higher lift, whilst I am getting my tyres and shocks done......

And thanks for the big reply Angus, I am definitely getting RACV total cover, and will be doing as many weekends away beforehand with a mate who knows a lot more than me and is coming on the big trip, so will be trying to pick up as many bush mechanic skills as possible. I am spending a lot of time sourcing service-type parts and working the best/cheapest way to get them (funnily enough getting them shipped over from the UK appears to be a cheaper option, even with shipping included, than any Aussie supplier! - Dont hold me to that, but thats how it looks at the moment!). I will check out google for faultmate too.....

I will have a think about the owners club, I guess it would be a good laugh and a good way to meet like minded people.

Chazb

Might want to check out the d2au yahoo group as well. We do a lot of talking about D2s there too.

Keep and eye on the trips section. Lots of day trips happen around Melbourne.

Cheers

Angus