It's strange to me the answers you are getting. My goal would be reliability before all else.

If I bought a new Disco:

#1 Front Driveshaft- rebuild or buy aftermarket. They are a bit of a PITA to rebuild.

#2 Rebuild cooling system. These trucks love to blow head gaskets, which is a $2500 job at an indy shop. So overheating is BAD. At the very least, I'd flush the cooling system and replace the orange coolant with green. Then I'd replace the stock thermostat with a 180* (avoid the Motorad thermos, they have issues) and replace any hoses that looked questionable. Then I'd replace the idlers, tensioner, and belt.

#3 As mentioned, buy an ultragauge.

#4 I'd probly replace the crankshaft position sensor. They tend to fail and leave you stranded.

Then I'd think about tires and lifts and such. I buy parts from ebay, rockauto, or amazon 99% of the time.

 

I read what the intended use(s) were, but will this be a DD or weekend warrior? And BTW, you already screwed up the most important step...having a competent mechanic thoroughly checked it out prior to buying. I failed to do the same thing...it cost me

 

For parts supplier, I'd go with Rover's North.


As to a check off list, mine would like something like this:


1. T-stat 180 and switch from orange to green antifreeze
2. Change oil to either t6 or RP. Thickness depends on your taste, but I think most posters go thick. I use RP 20-50 during the summer months and then switch to t6 for the other six months. (Get a good filter as well). Change oil every 3k if you intend to do the off-roading as you say you do. Otherwise, every 5k change is ok.
3. Change and replace all other fluids if you don't have a history of what has been done to the DISCO already. Every fluid- brake, ATF, axle, oil, etc. Just piece meal it, but do it.
4. Front prop shaft, greaseable joints (5 zerk points). New sets you back between $300 to $500. Don't forget to get new nuts and bolts installed as well.
5. Find a landy mechanic who shares his knowledge and tap him/her for information and have the mechanic work on your Landy. When most guys marry, they usually have a "best man." Your best man is your wing man. Your beer drinking buddy. Your confidant. When you marry a DISCO, your mechanic should be your wing man. Find a good one.
6. S-belt, plugs. Wires I don't think are as important unless really worn. In which case, replace.


I have a stock SE and has been a reasonably solid soccer dad SUV. No mods on my DISCO other than I use it to tow behind my 36' motorhome when we all decide to go traveling. Had to install some bumper and electrical stuff (blinkers, etc.) to get it tow behind my MH.


Be a voracious reader of this forum. There are some way crazy smart guys here and most of their advice is pretty good.


enjoy your ride!

 

have it checked by a knowledgeable LR person and then start on this list
https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...service-29020/

 

Go through the service records carefully. I would make sure that you know how old the thermostat is and if you are not sure when it was replaced, if ever, service the entire cooling system. I took the if it ain't broke route, and got burned big time. Ended up with a new engine due to overheating from a thermostat failure.

Inspect the driveshafts. If the U Joints are worn replace them.

Do the service listed in the sticky and keep records of what you do. The Disco II is a great truck when maintained properly.

Switch to D1 wiper arms. The D2 blades are awful. You can use Bosch, RainX etc. if you switch the arms and it is easy.

Getting a lift will mean that you are going to have a much stiffer, and noisy ride. If you are mainly using it for off road than that is a plus, but if you are doing light off roading I would try to get by with stock springs and OME Sport shocks. You will be much happier on the ride there. I am a city boy so I just went from 2" Med Duty lift to stock and am much happier.

When anything breaks you can bet someone on the forums has dealt with it. Search for it and you will likely find the fix. People will help you out if they can. You can surprise yourself with what you can do for the investment of some tools.

 

The front driveshaft must have been mentioned 10 times in this thread?

 

Forgot to mention a real-time ultra-gauge (UG) scan reader. I'd skip the Bluetooth port readers for smart phones.....get the UG. Heard the blue-tooth OBD scanners are not very reliable, though perhaps in some cases a nice convenience.

 

First off just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has and continues to post to my thread. You have all given me some good advice. In response to some remarks from above. Since purchasing the car I have had a mechanic do a top to bottom inspection and he gave it the thumbs up. Though he is not a Certified LR mechanic he has taken car of my English imports in the past (currently a 52 MGDT). This car is in very, very good condition. It has 60k miles on it and looks as if all of it was city driving. Brakes needed to be replaced but other than that it had very little wear and tear on it. The only real issue was cosmetic and that was the leather had never really been cleaned. That took me about three days to do, but once it was done it now looks like brand new.


I now need to take it to a certified LR Mechanic and have him go through the check list that was mentioned. If any of you are located in the San Fernando Valley, CA area and have a good mechanic please drop me a line and let me know who that is. Once a mechanic has gone through it I'll start working on any issues he runs across. I think for now I'm going to leave it stock and drive it for a while then worry about making any mods to it.


My biggest problem right now is we do not have a driveway (our garage is off the alley way) and it will not fit into the garage, the door is about two inches to low. So I have to work on it in the street.


Anyway thank you very much for the direction.
Steve

 

Semi deflate the tires to get it into the garage?

 

don't know why I didn't think about that, thanks