By bryan on Monday, July 30, 2001 - 09:46 am: Edit

I have a 97 Disco with about 74K miles. Recently it seems that there is an exhaust odor in the interior compartment. Most noticeable when idling and A/C is engaged. Has anyone had a similar issue or know what the problem might be. I believe there is a 8 year/80K US Warranty on exhaust/emission systems but my luck I won't be covered.

Thanks in Advance

Bryan

By Discosaurus on Monday, July 30, 2001 - 10:44 am: Edit

Have you had a check engine light ?

65-70K is about the milage where the O2 sensors crap out. A rich mixture could result that will be noticeable in the cockpit.

My '96 has this issue right now, but I've had a check engine warning for O2 sensors for a while. Guess I need to replace them one of these days - it's noticably down on power.

keith
discosaurus

By bill on Monday, July 30, 2001 - 07:45 pm: Edit

Out of curosity:

65K is when the "service engine" lite comes on indicating the legal requirement to replace the O2 sensors.

Aside from the "drop in mileage" clue that the sensors need replacing, is there any other test (short of ruining the engine) that indicates that the sensor(s) have actually failed?

Without having access to the proprietary LR test book software, none of the aftermarket ODBC II diagnostic software vendors have been able to implement the correct diagnostics for the O2 sensor banks.

Can I assume that the "mean time to failure" for the sensors is around 65K miles, but that some might actually last long beyond that?

bill

By Alex Schubow (Alex) on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 01:33 am: Edit

The software from OBD-2.com does O2 sensor tests.

Typically if the sensor is failing it will trigger the MIL anyway.

Alex

By bryan on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 02:55 am: Edit

Actually, my Check Engine light is NOT on and I never had a Service Engine light. The lights pass the initial bulb test, and typically the Service Engine light illuminates around 52500 from what I gathered. Mine has not illuminated. I also recently had an emissions inspection (2.5 months ago). The car passed. I also do not have any noticeable drop in mileage -- to the contrary I am getting great mileage (about 16.5 - 17 in suburban setting)

Bryan

By Gil Stevens (Gil) on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 05:02 am: Edit

there are some unscrupulous dealers out there that pull the fuse for the check engine light, so the customer doesnt keep coming back with the check engine light on...not saying it happened to you, but it is a possiblity, also, 97s were recently recalled for a prom chip replacement because the check engine light was not illuminating. i have a copy of the recall but it is in PDF foramt and cant be copied. email me and I can send it to you.

By Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 09:16 am: Edit

Speaking of....

Both the 'Check Engine' and 'Service Engine' lights come on on my Disco when the ignition is first turned on (so I know the bulbs aren't out). I've almost put 62k on it, and still haven't had my 'Service Engine' come on, which I was expecting at 52k.

Any thoughts?

-L

By gil on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 09:37 am: Edit

if its a 97 you need the new prom chip....

By tc on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 09:46 am: Edit

I have a 96 and got about 87,000 miles on it. I just had the 90,000 service with the local LR dealer. I had not experienced any problem nor replaced the O2 sensor. I guess I am just lucky.

By Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 09:56 am: Edit

Gil, mine's not a '97, it's a '99....

-L

By Rob on Thursday, August 02, 2001 - 05:44 am: Edit

I was listening to CarTalk last week and they addressed this exact problem when someone called in. They said that there does not need to be much of an oil leak for this to happen. Check out their web site and you may find the answer.
www.cartalk.com