DACE pump seizure - common?

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Author Message   MDH (Mdh_ii) New Member Username: Mdh_ii Post Number: 1 Registered: 07-2003 Posted on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 12:04 pm:    Hi. Recently while being on tour in the remote Namaqualand desert area of South Africa, the ACE pump on our Discovery II (2000) let go. At first the yellow ACE light came on and the ACE fluid in the system was noticed to be low (checked at the resevoir in engine compartment). The manual states that in case of the yellow light you may continue to drive to the nearest service centre - if red you must however stop completely. The red light never illuminated though. At the nearest town the pump/compresser was found to have seized completely and that immobilized the vehicle because it runs from the same belt as all the other engine driven components. With the compressor seized, the fan belt running over the immobile pully overheated the belt and caused the belt to snap. A flatbed truck had to take the disgraced Disco to the nearest LR dealers in the Northern Cape and parts had to be flown in from Cape Town. Is this a common component to break on the Disco II? The pipe connecting the resevoir to the compressor was found to have caused the leak of fluid, but why would the lack of fluid seize the pump? Is the compressor dependent on the hydrolic fluid for lubrication? Could you somehow disconnect the compressor from the belt circuit and thighten the belt enough to continue your journey? Readers' comment regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated.   Chris Browne (Chris_browne) Member Username: Chris_browne Post Number: 220 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 01:51 pm:    The fluid does lubricate and so I'm afraid your right to get a new pump. This link tells you more about the ace system. http://www.landroverclub.net/Club/HTML/ace.htm   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Senior Member Username: Offroaddisco Post Number: 1392 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 04:33 pm:    For that reason I bring along a spare Non-ACE serpentine belt as a back up. Should the ACE ever fail you can always swap belts and have a non-ACE vehicle until you can have it looked at and avoid the flatbed.   MDH (Mdh_ii) New Member Username: Mdh_ii Post Number: 2 Registered: 07-2003 Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 02:13 pm:    Thanks for the advice. I'll get a non ace serpentine belt asap for back up. Is ace pump failure common or was this a freak occurance?   Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Senior Member Username: Offroaddisco Post Number: 1394 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 02:19 pm:    It's not common like problems with valves or bad u-joints but it can happen.