Or it's your battery, I threw in a cheap re-man batter (flame on, lol) and it's cold cranking amps are horrible and imitate the symptoms of a dead battery.

 

I think once you get everything worked out your Disco will
be a good truck.
Get things in order of importance and work from there.

See if a Rover Club is there, they would know the best places to find parts and help.

 

Go to Autozone and have your battery replaced. A driveshaft is definitely something you can replce on your own. But you need to find one first. See if you can get a cheap used one for like $50 and use the rest of the money for the whine noise.

 

This is what I would suggest.

Forget the fan.

Change out the gear oil in your rear end to synthetic to better protect it until you get your driveline worked out.

Buy a used driveshaft on e-bay. Make sure the u-joints are ok. It will cost you $70 to have it rebuilt and balanced if you want, but if the joints are ok, you can wait.

Watch your coolant level, check it every morning and watch your temp gauge like a hawk. Also check your oil. Head gaskets don't have to leak to the outside. They can leak into your oil, or into the combustion chamber.

Take the $99 and put it in your pocket. You can pay for a lot of little things, and do them yourself. It isn't that hard. Get the things you know it needs done first and then take it in to see what else is wrong.

What weight of oil are you running?

Forget about the little diaphragm thingy for now. It is cruise control.

Modify your signature to add your year and mileage. That way we don't have to go back through posts to see....

 

Should I spend the 70+ dollars on a new battery? I did sell my laptop tonight so I have a bit of money to throw into this thing now.

I do not know what weight oil I am running currently as it was fresh when I bought it. What weight should I put in seeing as summer is right around the corner, with 100+ degree weather?

When I fill my coolant, we'll say the engine is totally cold, what level should it be at in the resevoir? There is no fill line, and I dont want to overfill it.

I will be looking into that drive shaft, although I don't see any on ebay currently.

I will probably hold off on the engine diagnostic and at least see if I can handle some of it myself. I sure hope the head gaskets aren't blown, that's expensive from what I have read.

 

Make a trip to Autozone and have your Battery tested before you replace. If it's not the battery, why replace. You might have really corroded battery connections or a bad ground. Check them too. Also, make sure the belt is good (and routed properly). Batteries are good for about 4 years, sometimes less, so may well be the battery, but since your budget doesn't allow, don't start replacing parts indiscriminately. While you're at Autozone, have them read the codes and clear them (for free). Seriously. If it is the battery, yeah, you'll need a new one. Check around for sales. If you can save $15, why not?

Check your manual. Most people run 10W30 in the summer (probably all year long in AZ).

Get out the Yellow Pages and call around the bone yards and see if they have any drive shafts. See if you have a custom driveshaft joint in town. If they'll make one up for you for $150, that's the way to go. It'll be all new and then you'll have one less thing to worry about down the road.

Then diagnose the whine you described. You need to pair up with a guy that knows about Land Rovers. Find a land rover or off road shop around town. Start hanging around there and begin asking questions. You reallly need to get a Land Rover repair book and start reading it. It will help you sooooo much.

Fill the resivior up about 1/2 way with 50/50 cooland/water ratio. Keep your eye on the level.

Actually head gasket repair isn't all that expensive if you only change the gaskets (not assuming you need to do that yet). I mean, the gaskets are $30 and you could possibly reuse the bolts - even though they say not to, I know a lot of guys that do and don't have trouble. It's a lot of work though. You need to do some serious reading up to do that job and you'd want to have someone coach you through it ...a mentor, if you will. It's basically the same as a small block chevy and they don't get much easier than that. Usualy you'd want to have the heads pressure-checked and checked for straightness, but iwht your funds, that might be a luxury. Anyway, you need to see if that's even a problem before you start thinking about head gaskets. Just keep your eye on the coolant level.

 

Well coolant level seems to be consistent, although the ignition issues seem to be getting worse. I tried to get my battery tested at auto zone lastnight and the last two times I've tried the battery checking device says there is some sort of interference like a light is on or something and will not read the voltage. doors werent open air switch wasnt on, no interior lights nothing so Im not sure how to remedy that issue!

BUT what I do know is the first time we took the battery out they tried to charge it and it wouldn't move from 12.4 volts, and it has a capacity of 12.6 so the auto zone guy says. The battery is a costco (a wholesale warehouse like sams club)brand name "Kirkland" which makes me somewhat suspicious of it's performance.

I'm printing this thread out and over the next few weeks as I move away from mid-terms i'll be working on it more and more and looking at the wealth of infosuggested here.

Thanks!

 

Coolant level should be about halfway. If you open the cap and look down, there is a little thing coming up from the bottom. Should just be covering that. These are a sealed system, and if it has run below the reservoir, it needs to be bled. Park with your nose on an incline, remove the plastic bleed screw on top of your radiator. With the heater on high, start the truck and let it warm up to operating temp. Once you see coolant flowing through the radiator, top it off and insert the plug. Fill the reservoir to the proper level.

If the coolant is to the top of the bleed screw, you are probably ok.

I run 10W40 in the summer.

The Autoparts store should be able to tell you if something is drawing on your battery with the truck off. I would take it to another store and try again.

Don't listen to the last post on head gaskets. Worst advice I have ever heard. You don't want cheap gaskets, as they will blow again, and you NEVER re-use head bolts. That's the problem with forums, you have everyone giving you advice. Never know what is good and what is bad......

I would at least pop the rear fill plug (on the back) on your rear diff and stick your finger in. See what the oil looks like. If it is milky looking you have to change it. If it is black, I would suggest changing it, and if it is somewhat clear, you may be ok till you get the front shaft on.

Call a local dealer and see if there are any Rover clubs near you. I am sure there would be someone willing to help for a few beers...

 

OKDiscoGuy,
Sorryyou didn't like my idea on the headbolts, but if you carefully read what I wrote I didn't say it was the 'recommended'method, in fact I indicate it's NOT the recommended route to take.However, if it comes to arepair and funds are severely limited, as it appears in this case, it's an option.I personally know a lot of guys that have reused head bolts and never had problems, and it's not likely the worldwould fall apart if he had to go this route. I understand the logic and science benind new headbolts ...and personally I can afford to do things right with myL/R,but there are a lot of people that can't. I was totally broke at times when I was astudent so I empathise with his situation.So, that is the framework behind my comments.

 

If it isn't recommended, don't recommend it. They are stretch bolts and they are only $80 for the set. I don't care how strapped a person is for cash, it will never be worth it to re-use the bolts. There is a risk that is more expensive and time consuming. While it is relatively easy to replace the gaskets, it is still a major project for someone that is not experienced.

Iam in the same boat, still have all of my funds tied up and have to budget. If a person can't afford $80 to do it right, it is time to get something else. I