My hubby has been in charge of the “care and feeding” of our older Rovers (90 and 91 Range Rover) for awhile and he’s pretty good at it. But this time, I think he might have bitten off more than he can chew. My 2000 Disco had the “sit, stay” syndrome common to Rovers of that era with leaky airbag suspension in the rear end. Instead of replacing the airbags and trying to convince the sensors that all was now right with the world, we opted to put on a set springs – albeit a used set from a Range Rover with the same load ratio. Seemed like a good plan until he got it all back together and put it on it’s own four feet again, only to see that the rear end was riding lower than expected/prescribed. 
I started driving it again while we decided whether to add “risers” to make up the difference, or buy heavier duty springs. THEN the front end clink-a-clank-a started. It’s not quite a grinding… More like little elves with hammers. There’s also some “resistance” on acceleration (great for mileage, I’m sure.) Is this a NEW problem with the transmission? Or a related (cause-effect) issue with the differential. Where do we even start? Is it safe to drive it?
Are these hobby cars or daily transportation? Your post is also not clear as to whether the problem is with a 1990, 1991, or 2000 model; that usually makes a big difference.
Since a Range Rover and a Disco are completely different designs, the springs from one could easily be the wrong length for the other. What do you mean by “albeit a used set from a Range Rover with the same load ratio”. What’s a ‘load ratio’? Regardless, it sounds like you need to get either the old airbags working, or find replacement springs of the correct length and rate. You might also find a Rover discussion board, they’ll have lots more direct experience with these kinds of problems.
It’s with the 2000 Discovery.
The reason I posted it here is that my hubby is on all those discussion boards and I don’t want him to know I am asking. He really is pretty good at the Rover stuff, but this one… Anyway, I know he tried these springs because we had them and the info he found on one of “those” boards was that they were interchangeable. Apparently not. So now you see my challenge. He thinks this new noise is transmission, I think in defense of the spring work he did… But transmission work = professional BIG $$. And replacing the springs (or air bags) would be $300 either way, and might solve the problem.
OK, I understand. And my hat’s off to him, keeping these things running is a MAJOR accomplishment. My problem is that springs either are correct and work, or they don’t. Sounds like these aren’t correct, and until you get the Disco sitting level, it’s hard to diagnose the other problems. When new problems pop up ‘conicidentally’, I usually think they’re somehow related.
“My 2000 Disco had the “sit, stay” syndrome common to Rovers of that era with leaky airbag suspension in the rear end. Instead of replacing the airbags and trying to convince the sensors that all was now right with the world, we opted to put on a set springs – albeit a used set from a Range Rover with the same load ratio.”
NNNnnnooooooo…You must use the CORRECT steel springs. Just step up and buy NEW ONES from a DEALER…Exact replacement springs for your exact model…Trying to keep 3 Rovers on the road must be a full-time job…Any vehicle called a “Disco”, you know that’s a joke right from the beginning…
“The Land Rover Discovery is a mid-size SUV, with off-road capabilities, from the British car maker Land Rover; now a division of Tata Motors. …”
It’s worse than I thought…