Land Rover Repair: Land Rover Discovery brake shudder, land rover discovery, changing brake pads

Question
Hi John,

I've got a 1995 Series 1 Disco. It has a couple of issues that I'm hoping you can help me with.

The first one is a shudder when braking at low speeds, like pulling up at traffic lights only when i'm about to come to a complete halt it shudders and makes a sort of grinding noise.

The other issue is overheating. The car runs fine all day but when going up a steep hill or doing some particularly stressful climbing it starts to overheat.

Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Paul,

grinding sound when braking - probably your rotors need changing (brake pads too).  Lots of weight transfer going onto the front and those brakes are under a great load.  Have them inspected by a brake specialist (Midas, Mieneke, ... ).  Most of these shops can do the work and at better prices than the dealer.

As for overheating, could be the slow deterioration of your radiator.  If it's the original, its about time to change it.  Again, most local rad shops can perform this work and save you a bundle.  Even install a better rad than original.  My guess is the radiator since you don't have overheating while driving normally.  IF it was something more serious, you'd see that needle going high very quickly and more often.  There is one other possibility...

The 3.9l engine we have in our Disco is a real workhorse.  It can take quite a bit of abuse before having trouble show up.  The newer 4.0 engines have trouble with sticking exhaust valves.  The 3.9 may also have this problem but it is able to 'motor on' and kinda 'ignore' this trouble until the problem becomes extreme.  I was told that the 3.9l with sticking exhaust valves can go much longer than its 4.0 or 4.2 equal.  Those engines have (far too many) sensors that would start to groan and complain much sooner.  Only way to tell if exhaust valves are sticking is to have a LR mechanic run specific tests.  A valve job (about $2500) is the only cure.

Lets hope its only your radiator.  Rad shops can pressures test the rad and your entire system to determine if there is trouble there.

Best of luck,

JohnMc