The Rover-Landers of BC

Hi Guys,

With the price of Disco IIs coming down and the wife getting a job where she can walk to work, I've been thinking of selling our trusty 2006 Chevy Aveo and picking up a Disco II in the $3-5k range. It would be a second vehicle, and be used for shopping runs, dog walking and the occasional camping trip/roverlanders event - probably no more than 5,000km per year in driving.

I know there's quite a few Disco II owners on these boards and the vehicles seem quite popular - if anyone has any tips on things to look out for or consider when choosing one, I'd be much obliged.

Based on my own research, I'm ruling out the 03-05 models due to the reported engine self destructs, so I'll be looking at 2000-2002 Disco IIs.

I'm going to see one vehicle this weekend, it's a 2002 with 200,000km on it. One owner for the past 14 years and has been well maintained at the dealer (had an extended warranty). it looks really clean and has a 2" lift with an aftermarket front bumper... The head gaskets have been replaced but the owner reckons he's leaking coolant again (tops up every 2-3 weeks) - I can work this into the purchase price and do the HG myself at some point. Has anyone done this job and can they comment on whether this can be done at home by someone with basic mechanical skills? Should I be concerned that the head gaskets have potentially failed twice within 200,000km?

Cheers
Dave

Coolant loss could also be a sign of a cracked block which is common on these. (speaking from previous experience). Thorough pre-purchase inspection from a certified mechanic with experience on these will tell you a lot.

At 200,000k, the heads have been done, possibly twice. They use stretch bolts, which often fail after 60,000k...

Also, Google "3 amigos Landrover" and you will see another common problem.

Thanks CDN. Yup, I'm concerned that the block may be the problem too. Head gaskets are just about serviceable by me and give me leverage on the price but an engine swap is not something I'd want to entertain...

I believe the brake modulator was done on this vehicle to correct the 3 Amigos issue... The front drive shaft was also done under warranty but I'm not sure if they put the greasable UJs in...

I had a Disco 2 (SD model, 4.0 with no sunroof) for about 5 years and it was a good "do almost everything" truck. Other than regular maintenance it wasn't much trouble until the head gaskets eventually went on it. It was a little quirky for the electronics but overall a reliable truck, nice ride and SWMBO liked it which is always a bonus. When the Disco 2 died I picked-up a 1998 P38 Range Rover 4.6 with the original thought of doing a motor swap but after a few days of driving the P38 I kept it and found a new home for the Disco. I felt that the Range Rover was a better built truck, as capable, and maybe more, than the Disco 2 and it had much more room in the back seat area as well as a tailgate rather than a large rear swing door. P38s are pretty inexpensive these days so I'd suggest you give them a look as well (but get one that has had a coil conversion done to it to save on air suspension hassles). Both the P38 and D2 will have many similar weaknesses (head gaskets, quirky electronics, thirsty on gas) but the ride is amazing, both have good towing capability and you get a lot of bang for your buck. There tends to be more off-road gear available for the D2 but I found that the P38, in my opinion, in stock set-up was better off-road than the D2 as it had a better departure angle and I believe a better turning radius as well. Just my experience and I'm sure there is technical data to the contrary but from a driver/owner's perspective that's what I found.... I miss both those trucks!

You should be able to find a decent driver in the $2500-$3500 range for a D2 or P38. If you take a look at Discoweb or Range Rovers dot net you'll find lots of info. If its a D2, look for a 2001 era and you can retro-fit a CDL shifter into it, watch-out for a worn front drive shaft as it can cause serious and expensive damage of it fails while driving and also keep an eye out for internal body rust (body skeleton). The rest is typical rover.

Regards, Rob

Thanks Rob,

That's really useful mate. Pretty much confirmed what I read about the early Disco IIs - head gaskets, front driveshaft and weird electrical quirks (it's British made after all).

I think I'll give to 03-04 a wide berth - that 4.6L V8 sounds like a gong show... apparently Land Rover was still using the old tooling for the Buick V8 at the end of the Rover V8 production life so the later engines suffer form all sorts of tolerance issues. Craziness!

One thing which you may want to consider is CDL. If I recollect correctly, only the pre-2001s or the 2004 come with the factory CDL.