Weekend Wrenching Gone Awry

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
11/13/2017 at 12:52 • Filed to: Disco Inferno

Doggo is helping

So this weekend’s tasks were fairly straightforward: fix my ABS “shuttle valve” wiring, fix my driver’s side door lock, and fix at least one of the power locks.

Easy! ...right?

I had the instructions printed out for shuttle valve wiring bypass and a pretty good understanding of what to do.

For the driver’s door lock, the stock lock pins are known for breaking, so I ordered a new, fan made, locking pin from eBay, allegedly much better than stock, figuring this was the problem.

Lastly I’d also ordered extra salvage but fully tested door latches a while back and had those ready to go in.

None of that went to plan.

Shuttle Valve(s)

Confident I knew what I was doing, I began the process of removing the ABS pump and valve assembly. I ended up removing a bunch of crap I didn’t need to. Turns out when people say it is pretty easy to remove the shuttle valves they are right… but only if your aren’t being cocky and only read half the directions.

The approved method

Anyway, the valves (which are actually electrical switches, but whatever) out, I put them on the bench to test. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand they were bad.

No, I hadn’t ordered spares, they’re expensive! No, I couldn’t repair them, the switches are potted. No, I couldn’t buy them locally, the Land Rover parts counter was closed. No, they don’t ship with prime. Ok, well looks like I can get them here this week, so…. NEXT.

My ex-valves

Driver’s Door Lock

Old vs “Improved”

The door came apart pretty readily and I could immediately see the pin wasn’t the problem as it was fully intact. I tested the mechanism and it worked fine, so my only conclusion is the lock pin wasn’t correctly seated. (This is not a hard thing to mess up, I soon learned) The summary is getting the lock back together was a complete nightmare and took me the rest of the day to complete. Also the “improved” lock pin was too large. Also in the process I managed to change the handle pull adjustment and now instead of feeling solid and competent, it feel like opening the door of a shed. Poop.

Passenger’s Door Lock

For as long as I’ve owned the car, only the driver’s side and rear cargo door’s power locks have worked. Apparently this is a common problem and the only real fix is to replace the entire latch assembly.

Shown - everything can can go wrong

Yes, you heard me. The power lock motors are built into the door latch. Essentially if anything goes wrong with the door latch, you have to replace the entire thing. (There are instructions on how to disassemble and repair this unit, but they’re time consuming and fraught with peril.)

So anyway, having learned from the last two tasks, I read the directions twice before proceeding.

Yeah, turns out the directions were overly generic and contained a bunch of unnecessary steps. Horray!

Anyway, I finally get the latch out, swap the new one in, went to test it and… same performance as before. “ FU lly tested!” Thanks eBay!

After confirming the problem wasn’t electrical in nature, I went online and ordered a NOS unit, which should be here around the same time as the shuttle valves.

My attempt at disassembly didn’t go well either

In Summary

I set out to complete three tasks and managed to partially complete one.

Lessons Learned

Don’t buy used parts on a high failure item.

Read the directions, but also watch youtube videos to figure out what corners to cut.

Test parts as you receive them, don’t trust sellers

Make sure your car is out of the way if you’re going to start a car-disabling level project.

I might be really bad at this

DISCUSSION (9)

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
11/13/2017 at 13:02

.....did you not have to take out the entire window frame to get the lock actuator out?

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
11/13/2017 at 13:04

Yes and no. You have to unbolt it but only raise it about six inches to wrestle the actuator out.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
11/13/2017 at 13:07

My passenger and rear driver-side passenger door lock actuators are blown, shuttle valve also has been faulty for a couple years.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
11/13/2017 at 13:16

There are instructions online on how to rehab the locks, but it isn’t for me. I played around with it (since I now have a spare bad one) but it requires removing a lot of parts that would rather not be removed, plus more fab than I was down for.

I use my Disco for offroading a fair amount but don’t have a CDL yet, so the one-wheel-drive mi amigos affords won’t cut it. Also dash light annoy me. The fix is dirt simple even if your valves are bad. The Atlantic British video seems to be the most comprehensive.

Urambo Tauro > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
11/13/2017 at 13:23

Make sure your car is out of the way if you’re going to start a car-disabling level project.

Wise words. I always find myself more motivated to fix issues on whatever I’m driving at the time, and as a result, I’ve blocked myself in on more than one occasion haha.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
11/13/2017 at 13:29

I have a CDL and a lift so i’m not worried about lacking traction.

Rock Bottom > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
11/13/2017 at 15:22

Doggo is clearly unimpressed by your vehicular choices...

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Rock Bottom
11/13/2017 at 15:50

He is just mad that (A) he isn’t on the same side of the fence as me and (B) I wouldn’t let him drive.

Kinja'd!!!

Rock Bottom > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
11/14/2017 at 11:29

So he’s just mad until he gets to go for a ride!