Back to the Discovery II Section
Please be aware that ECR is now a Defender repair and modification shop only.
We no longer work on Range Rovers, Discos or Series Rovers.
These pages are from work we did in the past and left up for your enjoyment.
2001 Discovery Series II
Off Road upgrades
This Disco II has come to us from VA for a host of off road upgrades. The D2 is nicely optioned already, but it needs some sorting out of the upgrades that have already been done and some more tricks added on. The Rover will be getting a long laundry list of options and upgrades to make it not only look better, but perform better off road. Once it is complete it will be sent out west to meet the customer for some off road fun.
The D2 already has a correct bumper and winch set up and ARB air lockers front and rear, but we will be changing the gearing in them from the stock 3.54 gearing to 4.11s for a better crawl ratio when the Rover is playing around off road. Here you can see we have removed the rear diff and are starting to tear down the front axle to get the front diff removed.
Once the diffs are out on the bench we can inspect and repair them as needed and get them set up with the new 4.11s. This rear diff has the weak factory rag joint still on it, so we will be removing that and setting the D2 up with a proper rear driveshaft and swapping out the stock gears for the GBR 4.11s. Both the front and rear lockers units on this D2 suffered from gear oil coming back up the air line and the rear locker would not disengage correctly. The problem is a poor install on the air input line. We will be correcting this install with our upgraded fittings that will eliminate the oil line leak issues and make service of the unit far easier down the road.
Our set up tosses out the troublesome O ring input set up through the diff case and instead utilizes a fixed fitting inside the diff with a stronger compression fitting. This means if you ever need to remove the air line there is no risk of harming or loosing the small copper air line, because if you disturb those items that can mean you have to remove the entire diff for what might have been a simple trail air line fix, and that sucks. Our set up uses the diff case itself as the air passage and this means less leaks and no hassle repairs. You can see our 90 degree air fitting installed above.
Inside the D2 we have some changes and sorting to do as well. Above you can see the previous install of the ARB locker wiring. It is all over the place and the lockers are getting power from the wrong place (ignition switched power). Yes, we know the ARB instructions likely tell you to get power from your ignition switch but in true off road situations there are times when that is a bad thing. Lets imagine the vehicle rolls over in a bad spot and has to be righted. If the Rover is on its side you want the ignition off. If your ARB system is wired to the ignition switch this will also turn your lockers off. This isn't a big deal until you realize that when you start to right the D2 back onto its wheels that the diffs will differentiate because the other wheels are in the air (yes, even if it is in Park with the diff lock locked) and this can cause the Rover to shift and even roll into a worse situation or maybe even run someone over. If the lockers stay active with the key off they would remain locked while the vehicle is pulled back onto all 4s and with the diff lock engaged and the handbrake set the vehicle would not roll or shift. It would hold tight and be righted and land exactly where you thought it would. Why do we do things differently like this? Actual off road experiences, not just what the install manual says.
We'll also be altering the ARB locker wiring so that the front or rear lockers can be activated at will. This can be beneficial in certain situations for the experienced off roader.
Here is the ARB wiring install after we are done sorting it out. Power is collected from the right source, the wires are all run in chafe resistant sleeve for long term reliability and every connection is made securely, and not with scotch-loks or push in fuse connections that fail in time like this set up had before. It takes the same amount of time to do it right, or do it cheesy. Well... actually in this case it takes longer as we have to undo the cheesy and then do it right.
Under the Rover we have some other wiring to sort. Some power wires for the add ons in the rear of the car were run too close to other equipment. Here you can see the main power wire for the ARB fridge that is installed in this D2. It rubbed on the handbrake drum and is nearly eaten all the way through. You may think our wiring and installs are over the top, but we know that they are done right and done for the long haul. How would you like to be 3 days into your off road adventure and then have your fridge crap out due to this wire? You wouldn't... that is why we are so picky about everything we do.
Here you can see the we have also installed a new raised air intake to help battle the dusty trails and short water crossings this Rover will see. Next we'll button up the gearing change and get the diffs back in the Rover and then we'll start on the exhaust mods, sorting the rest of the interior wiring and test the lockers. Oh yeah, and make custom mounts the drivers seat goes further back.
Here you can see the completed D2 ready to head out to Moab for the customers vacation. We've gone over the Disco from front to back to make sure it is ready and reliable for the trip and we have installed some new mods and made some old mods even better. If you have Disco II upgrade needs from a small job like this, to a big job, contact ECR.
We'll be happy to outfit your Disco or Disco II and make it a better off roader.
ECR