Discovery - OKIEROVER.COM

November 21, 2012May 15, 2023

What? Code 44 again? (Post #304) 11/21/2012

It seems like every time I drive the Range Rover I get a Code 44. This is a GROSS over exaggeration of course. It only happens every other time. 😉
(did I just use an emoticon in my blog? Wow. I need help.)

I saw the Check Engine Light come on during the drive home on Tuesday evening. When I got home I looked at the display but it had not yet decided to tell me what was going on.

So when I got in the her this morning I again noticed the light and stopped to see if I got a code. I snapped this very dark picture at 0625(CST) with my cell phone in the cul-de-sac in front of the house. It was the code I expected to see. The gas mileage is pretty disappointing right now (13mpg). I’ve chalked that up to a wonky transmission but suspected the oxygen sensors as well.

On the drive in and as I was writing this I was thinking “what the hell”? I changed out the oxygen sensors fairly recently. It must be something else.

What else you might ask? That’s a very good question. Let’s go to J.E. Robison’s website for a quote. He has a great website and if I lived anywhere near him (Massachusetts) I’d be dragging my Landie in for his advice and service.

Code 44 – Lambda sensor A – left bank

Code 45 – Lambda sensor B – right bank

If one of these fault codes (#44 or #45) is displayed check the wiring to that particular lambda sensor. In addition this fault will be displayed if the vehicle has a condition which causes it to run very lean or very rich on one side (example – a vacuum leak or a bad injector). This code often appears in conjunction with the misfire codes in cases of bad ignition misfire (cross-firing plug wires) If both codes are displayed, the voltage supply to the heater coils of the sensors must be checked. Check for 12V appearing on the O2 signal lead, and check the heater circuit for shorts.

So as you can see there is a lot to get under the bonnet and take a look at. The vacuum hoses are a serious concern. Considering in the last two years we have had some weather extremes. Two summers with 120(F) temperatures followed by two winters with temperatures down to 5(F). This kind of weather is hell on rubber bits. I swap our wiper blades more often than I buy trousers for work.

So what if I don’t find anything out of place I replaced these just a year or two ago. Is that right?

I go back and look through the blog and find the last time I wrote about oxygen sensors for the Range Rover was November 2003. And my last evidence of me actually replacing them December 2003. Seriously? That can’t be right. Is it?

I see that I swapped the oxygen sensors for the Discovery in 2008 just before we reenacted National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) and took the Mother Road out to California. Did I replace the O2 sensors back then on the Range Rover as well? I have a feeling I may have.

That is actually good news, because that was 4.5 years ago. I can live with that replacement rate. However I’m not real happy with the miles on these if they were replaced in 2008. But if I replaced them in 2003, I can seriously live with that.

So while the weather is still nice over the Thanksgiving holiday I will take a look around and see if anything is out of sorts. If no, I will order some O2 sensors.

Lookin’ good in Uptown.
Parked in front of Tucker’s Onion Burgers
on N.E. 23rd in OKC.

Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving to all you out there. We have so much to be thankful for here in Oklahoma.

May 18, 2010May 15, 2023

What to tell a friend (Post #179) 5/18/2010

I got a twitter message today from my good friend Ferdiad. He was telling me about how his next car will be a Land Rover.

His experience involves this wreck on the Broadway Extension.

That is one cracked up Classic. It looks like a 1995 Range Rover LWB. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it before. My first thought is…I wish I had a place to store a parts car. My second was…
What kind of Land Rover does Ferdiad want?

That was answered in a tweet a few minutes later from his wife, the infamous puckchk whose drunken hockey tweets amuse me to no end.

So if I have that correct SHE is wanting a Discovery. To wit I responded that they needed a 2004 Discovery SE7. I have lots of reasons for that. Mainly the rear air conditioning for their little spuds. The extra seats will come in handy when their kids have friends stay the night and they have need for 5 or more seats.

If you have read my R.I.P post for my Disco, you may be asking, why are you recommending a Discovery? If you game for a Land Rover and you are game for a Discovery, you should get the newest model you can. Now if my friends have the connections I think they have puckchk may find herself behind the wheel of an LR3. After all her husband is the lord of all computers for a major auto dealership empire.

I can’t wait to see what they get.

What the hell? Two posts in one day?

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

October 14, 2009May 15, 2023

Fun With Google Maps (Post #157) 10/14/2009

View Larger Map
It’s fun to find your Land Rover on Google Maps.

I stopped working in that building in December 2006. So this must have been right before that. The sun is sitting low in the sky so this could be early December.

I kinda miss the old girl.

While browsing my work neighborhood I found the following Google Map anomaly.

View Larger Map
Now click the arrow in either direction. Presto, cars. You can see the damage to the trees which was the last big ice storm we had in 2007.

September 30, 2009May 15, 2023

Cash For Clunkers Land Rovers (Post #156) 9/30/2009

Jalopnik has posted on their site a list of EVERY CAR that was traded in under the Cash For Clunkers program. They also have a Top 10 of the most exotic cars that were traded in. Looking through the Top 10 list makes me wonder who these idiots were. Looking through the Land Rover entries on the list will make you cry.

The much derided program that we spent tax payer dollars in the guise that we are removing GAS GUZZLING MONSTERS from the roads to replace them with more efficient models, snared many a Land Rover.

Two of the 500 1993 Defender 110s were turned in. Who were these people? Did they not understand that a North American Defender 110 would bring in 10s of thousands of dollars? A Defender 110 in non-running condition would bring 20k. But as you are aware you had to drive the vehicle in to the dealership. So these vehicles were runners! Awesome, I hope these two people get a nasty case of shingles.

Seventy-eight Range Rover Classic LWBs were turned in. That’s 78 less vehicles we get to pull parts off of to keep our beloved machines running. A much needed heavy sigh should be inserted here. You can see the hundreds of Discovery 1s and 2s listed there as well.

At least we can be comforted that the SEMA people got the 25 year old or younger clause in the bill or we would indeed be wondering what people were thinking when they traded in their Series vehicles. And our sincere concern for the idiot who traded in their Series 1 Lightweight to buy a Prius. Thank you SEMA.

Enjoy your day, thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

May 31, 2009May 15, 2023

Garage clean up, moving spare parts, adjusting the door (Post #149) 5/31/2009

The garage is in an awful state. The Spring’s projects are over and it was time to get the garage in a sorted state. I went through the shelves and with 20$ worth of bins I got the nails, screws, and bolts all put right and organized. I moved the chairs to the space I just cleared and now they are nearer the door for loading.

I gathered up all the parts I had on the shelves of the former Discovery 2. I found all kinds of things on the shelves. There was…

a full set of tires on Hurricane wheels
a package cover (black)
a front drive shaft
a set of head lamps
an owner’s manual
a set of interior carpets
a spare CD disc cassette

I pretty sure I have the tires and wheels and the carpets sold. Some friends of mine are joining the Land Rover community in a big way. They recently bought TWO Land Rover Discovery’s. They made great deals on them and are getting in very cheaply. When the price of Land Rovers drops to below 4000$(US) for 10 year old models, it makes it easy to get in to the hobby.

I also got the door sorted out on the Range Rover. The classic problem of the door handles not working the latch had raised it’s ugly head on driver’s side door. With the help of 57loboy of the LandRoversOnly forums, I was able to adjust the pull and get it door working perfectly. I wrote a Tech Tip for my website if any one is interested.

It may not look like I did much to sort out the garage. But I can now work on my autos by moving just a few work benches and boxes. before I couldn’t find anything on the shelves and I had to creep around things just to walk from one side to the next.

I am getting closer to driving my Rangie. When I get some money in for the spare parts I will get the viscous coupling fixed (and a write up for that) and the air conditioning fixed. The AC will be a swap on the expansion valve and a recharge. Hopefully that will bring me cold air and summer time comfort. I’m hoping there will be enough money left to tint the windows.

May 6, 2009May 15, 2023

Not much going on (Post #143) 5/6/2009

Just a post to let my readers know,

I’m not dead
Not much is going on
Still have stuff to sell from my Discovery
My beloved Big White Bus is nearly mine again

We have one more payment on the now wrecked-totalled-dead Discovery 2 and it’s off to the auto lots to buy my wife and possibly my son cars. I also have the rims and some other bits I need to sell from the Discovery. And, I get to begin driving my beloved Range Rover Classic again.

A few projects wait for me.

The sunroof is malfunctioning.
Rust on the lower tail gate.
Headliner will need to be replaced again.
Viscous coupler needs to be replaced/rebuilt.
The fluid in the passenger side floor board needs to be sorted.
New radio.
Tint the windows.
Air condition needs to be repaired/recharged.

The sunroof will be a chore I’m afraid. It drops down to slide and then slides about an inch and then stops. I’m sure it is fixable, I’m not sure what it is causing the problem. This will be easily accessible when I pull the headliner for a replacement.

The rust on the tailgate is another of the normal problems with Range Rover Classics. I have all the stickers to repair and repaint and rebadge the lower gate. I’ve watched Edd China do this type of job on Wheeler Dealers so many times I’m sure with a little guidance from JagGuy I should be able to sort this out in a single Saturday in his shop. I need to protect my upper lift gate while I’m back there and will learn what he did to prevent his from rusting out. I will post the procedure when I have it done.

The viscous coupler failure is a very annoying problem. And could be the most difficult of this list to fix. I’m thinking the repair will be a used replacement. I will then have one on the shelf to rebuild in case the used replacement fails me.

The wet floor boards is most likely a leaking wind screen seal. There are some small holes in the floor pan that need filling as well. I will pay a auto glass company to replace the seal and refit the window. It’s not worth it to mess with this when doing it wrong could cost me a wind screen and more wet floor boards. I will pull the carpets and seal the holes most likely with welding.

Tinting the windows is a necessity of driving in Oklahoma. The afternoon sun can bake you like a cake. The air conditioning since it was converted to R134a does not cool like the R12 did before. I will replace the expansion valve and get the system recharged. Hopefully it won’t be a continuing problem.

A new radio will be a nice addition. The stock unit has a famously failed display. A used replacement unit is a couple of hundred dollars. There is a fellow in Arkansas, Roverville Radio that refurbishes your unit for less than 200$(US).

If I can’t find a good unit on eBay, I think I’ll just buy a new “modern unit”. That way I can get Sirius OR an iPod OR a memory stick OR Bluetooth my phone OR whatever is available right now to get tunes in my Classic. I’m sure what ever I buy the next technology will be release a week after I have it installed. So get your money together this summer for your own sound system upgrade.