How strong are Disco Rear Doors?

[Tobias]

I have a bracket made by Kaymar that holds a hi lift jack to the spare wheel on the rear door of my 96 disco. I have heard that Defnders rear doors are a bit weak when it comes to weight on them is this the same with the disco? Will the door bend over really bumpy roads with the extra weight?

Tobias.

[RangingRover]

No, the discovery door is much stonger. The weak point you'll find with the discovery is the bracket which holds the wheel, these can be prone to fracture where the studs are welded onto the bracket. Your door may sag at the hinges a little more, but the weight of the spare and the weight of the door itself kind of makes this inevitable.

The reason defender doors are so weak is that they are made of a single thin sheet of aluminum over a thin box section frame, and with the weight of the wheel bouncing around, the aluminum flexes on each bump, over time causing the frame itself to fracture through. Its not uncommon to see a defender door which has completely cracked through both top and bottom parts of the frame. The disco door is made from much thicker aluminum, and is pressed into a curved shape (even on the outside you will notice a slight curve left to right, and the inside has the sharp curve where it seams with the outer), with quite a lot of frame supporting it inside.

Any engineer can tell you that a piece of sheet metal in flat plane is quite easy to flex, but once you form even a gradual curve into it, its structural integrity increases greatly. If you look at any panel on a car which looks flat (defenders excluded!!), almost 100% of the time it will have just a slight curve - part of the reason panel beating is somewhat of a black art, since realising and following these curves is quite difficult and time consuming.....

[Loanrangie]

If you are planning on carrying a large tyre on the back, i would be geeting a wheele carrier to lessen the stress on the door hinges which causes dust and water leaks.

[red90]

If you are planning on carrying a large tyre on the back, i would be geeting a wheele carrier to lessen the stress on the door hinges which causes dust and water leaks.

Not if you adjust everything correctly. IME, you need to take a few hours and get it all adjusted properly. Once set up correctly, it will seal very weel and never move.

A few things to watch.

1) The lower hinge can get bent if the door is pushed hard against the retainer strap. First check that it is straight before doing any adjustments.

2) On the openning side of the door there is a wedge that supports the weight of the door when closed. It is important that the door holds tight and close on this wedge to prevent hinge damage and wear. The earlier Discos had a better system with a brass wedge and an interlocking catch on the door. The newer ones (94'+) changed to plastic and a non interlocking design. The plastic ones wear out and needs periodic replacement.

3) When adjusting, get inside and you can see from that perspective where the door is sealing properly. It should be air tight.

[Loanrangie]

Aussie dust will get into even the tightest landy seal, especially the defender.