Thread: Discovery suspension "down grade"?

Originally Posted by DieselLSE

I can up that to 45 years.
And I mostly travel on my own or with one or two passengers. Off the top of my head I've had a rear diff and fuel pump failure (SII SW, broken front axle (SIII LW requiring an eight hour capstan winch down hill in deep snow, and headlights and driving lights failing early one morning on my way back home to go to work (SIII LW. Add another eight hour uphill winch plus a handful of other winching out episodes and that's about it. On each occasion I had the spares and knowhow to either fix the problem or work around it.
Mind you, I'm fastidious about preventative maintenance and doing any work properly and seeking advice where needed.
I'm not saying I haven't had other issues with Landrovers, and I recall a broken rear axle, probably on the SII and an intermittent miss in the engine on the LSE before I converted it to diesel, but these happened around town and didn't stop the vehicle.
Just remembered that the steering drop arm bolts on the SII SWB came loose in the butcher country. From memory (this was early new year 1977) one bolt had disappeared and I couldn't tighten the others. Funny story now I think of it. I must write it up one day. But I got out OK.

26 years is more than half my life time which is a good going i think.

Originally Posted by rick130

This ^

Hoses, belts, sealed bearings, O rings, seals deteriorate with age (heat cycles and UV degradation) and not necessarily miles.

They are all consumables like brake pads and filters.

A 4wd is one vehicle I have no interest in finding out how far I can get out of a certain part.

Originally Posted by AK83

I did my fuel pump once at home no jack as I lay in the gutter getting fuel all over self .. including my brand new Suunto watch(idiot!), which then suddenly stopped working(wonder why )
Let it dry out and de smell, took it into store to get them to have a look at it, me looking all confused and sullen. 10 mins later they bring me a new one out under warranty .. me lesson learned

My fuel pump slowly died over a period of a few months. Confusion as to why I'd suddenly lose power going up hill if I tried to power up it, back off it came good, power through it it'd shut down.
I thought carbs. But eventually could hear the slower tickering rate of the ticker ticker and the penny dropped.

Common failure in the series 1 as well,my father had two piped up all the time,one as a spare,just changed over the wiring.
Then rebuilt the failed one later on.

Originally Posted by AK83

Depends on trucks.
I have various experiences.
……………………………………...
But I'm wondering if anyone knows about materials. Is there some sort of product that could keep the rubber of the air bag in better condition.
Now with the two truck air bags out and sitting in my shed, I can see the microscopic cracks that the RWC mech noted, and failed. Something like an 'Armourall' for rubber to keep them from hardening and cracking up?

Came across this on the interwebs YouTube seems he uses

AT 205 Reseal:

https://amzn.to/2Iss794 for all sorts of rubber on cars!

No... just No!

Rubber doesn’t “dry” out.

Originally Posted by Tombie

No... just No!

Rubber doesn’t “dry” out.

Fair nuff, and the fact that it came from SK(youtube) also makes me doubt it too .. maybe it does do something, but I'm 'not a fan' of that bloke so hard to accept his 'advice' anyhow.

@ Tombie: I dunno zip about materials tech, but then what makes those very tiny crack/fractures in the rubber balloon part of the air bag. Hard to see them until you actually go looking for them.
Is that not 'drying out' , or just plain old stress fracturing type of thing, or something.

I know Ozone stresses(or drys out) rubber, seen it on old tyres that otherwise were in new condition in terms of tread. Maybe just a case of being 10 years old, hard usage, a bit of Ozone and UV attack?

Originally Posted by AK83

Fair nuff, and the fact that it came from SK(youtube) also makes me doubt it too .. maybe it does do something, but I'm 'not a fan' of that bloke so hard to accept his 'advice' anyhow.

@ Tombie: I dunno zip about materials tech, but then what makes those very tiny crack/fractures in the rubber balloon part of the air bag. Hard to see them until you actually go looking for them.
Is that not 'drying out' , or just plain old stress fracturing type of thing, or something.

I know Ozone stresses(or drys out) rubber, seen it on old tyres that otherwise were in new condition in terms of tread. Maybe just a case of being 10 years old, hard usage, a bit of Ozone and UV attack?

Rubber naturally degrades as free radicals cause organic chains to breakdown and reform. It’s not reversible despite what people tell you. Depending on how it’s breaking down, eg oxygen, ozone it may occur on the surface so a “treatment” to the surface may improve the lustre of the finish and rubbing the degraded top surface off can improve appearance. It’s still degrading and there’s not much you can do to change that. This damage happens more at stress points, hence why cv boots split - constant rotation and stretching. Protecting it from oxygen and avoiding radiation (UV) will help somewhat eg some UV protectant coatings etc.

There are some great scholarly articles on the topic.

Yup.. that’ll cover it

With engine seals - those fluids that they add are essentially like adding brake fluid to NBR. It makes the rubber soften and swell. For a short time it looks like it’s restored... and then it turns to “cheese” and breaks apart.

Ozone and UV do the most harm to automotive rubber.
As does oil leaking onto rubber not designed for oil. Think coolant hoses etc.