I really hate the way some task you thought would be challenging enough becomes suddenly even more difficult once you have already go into it, either through blind ignorance or because something isn't the way its supposed to be.

Replacing this Disco front end was always going to be a challenge. I didn't have access to a concrete surface as any garage space available to me was too small for the size of the car. So grass it was. I didn't have half my tools because they are lost somewhere in the Pajero, presumably rusting away with it. So I had to rely on runs to the local Supercheap and a few mixed tools that my old man happened to leave behind. It made the whole process needlessly difficult, which reminds me of something I saw a while back about Scott and his attempt to reach the South Pole. For some reason, he didn't want to use dogs (presumably he was allergic), so they had to walk the whole way. They all died. Dogs might have made it a touch easier. (Coincidently, or not, his ship was called the Discovery.)

Obviously, my problems weren't quite on the same level. For a start I'm not allergic to dogs, but it was kinda chilly while I was working on it, so I think its in the same ballpark. Absolutely.

My lack of the right tools was a real pain though. I couldn't swap over the calipers because I didn't have the right socket (and nobody stocked that stupid splined type). So I had to change over all the brake lines to suit the new diff calipers. This is where it started to get fun. See, for some Land Rover reason, the Disco has to separate brake line circuits, which isn't all that unusual. A lot of cars do, its usually just one for front and one for rear. The Disco though has two circuits for each front wheel. Each circuit drives one side of the calipers. Which is kinda clever, but it makes the front end a mess of brake lines, and I'll get to the fun of bleeding this system later on.

This was a hassle because the brake lines where imperial. I didn't have flare spanners that were imperial and the only set I could find that were, didn't have the right size (7/16ths, but they had everything but). I had a cheap set of imperial spanners, so I came up with a great idea of grinding out just enough from a ring spanner to allow it to slip over the brake lines. Naturally, it failed immediately costing me the use of my only spanner in that size, or at least the ring section of it. It was a great idea though.

I managed to pull all the calipers lines off eventually with only mild mincing of the ends, and only one grinding. The rest of the bolts gave in deceptively easily given the experience the weekend before. And before I knew it the diff was out. When I flipped it over, I saw just how much damage the cv cage had been doing to the swivel pin housing. Whoops, again.

Dragging the new diff over the grass into place was a real pain, so I cheated and threw the wheels on it and wheeled it under the car. Which worked brilliantly (suddenly beam axles aren't so stupid an idea), and before I knew it I had all the arms, track rods, steering rods and springs and shocks fitted. It pretty much happened that quickly. Rattle guns are truly awesome, I think you could find a use for one in just about every part of your life. From opening jars of pasta sauce, turning on taps, winding down car windows, all the way to cleaning teeth, etc. A great tool.

With the diff all fitted, I hooked up the brake lines and topped up the fluid. The reservoir pretty much ran dry, so I knew I was in for some brake bleeding fun. The manual says bleed the master cylinder, than bleed calipers in reverse order of their distance from the master. Which I did, both circuits and even having to remove the front wheels just to get to the bleed nipples. A real fun job. The brakes were still as spongy as ever even with perfectly clear, air bubble free fluid. So I repeated this process starting with the master and working back to it. Still no improvement. And again, still no change.

I was about to punch the nearest British person, although the Kiwi neighbour nearly qualified by choosing this time to discuss his Ford Sierra Cosworth Twin Turbo 4WD something or other, which he tells me about every time I happen to wander near that side of the yard when I'm visiting the parents (or more likely stealing tools). The car, by the way, has never been seen as its in New Zealand, but based on previous "conversations" I've had with the guy (about how great oxyhydrogen gas is for your fuel economy, how his radar detector is completely undetectable, etc, etc), I'm thinking that his Sierra is actually just a Ford Fiesta with a racing stripe and a hole in the exhaust.

In order to avoid a trans-Tasman diplomatic incident, I gave up and decided to drive it home as is. This was in reality a pretty stupid thing to do, but driving it home meant I could actually get parts and work on it during the week (which I naturally didn't do). Driving it home though was fairly intense. It stopped ok(ish), but I needed to pre-pump the pedal to not hit the floor. I did this by left foot braking everywhere and pumping the pedal a few times whenever I approached a set of lights (green or otherwise). Despite a few clencher moments coming down hills, I managed to get it home safely with the road going public of Brisbane none the wiser.

I haven't actually touched the car since (except to repair the central locking/install alarm), though apparently this issue is fairly common with Land Rovers. The solution is to try reverse bleeding which I'd never heard of before, but apparently its still not 100% perfect on the Discos. Still, what a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.