Being new to the world of Land Rovers, but not new to BMW or the occasional Jaguar, I decided that I wanted something to drive during bad weather, and something with a little cargo capacity. So I started shopping.

My knee-jerk reaction was to search for an X5, until I drove several and realized that the build quality was horrible. I also didn't want to buy a ticking time bomb (4.4 Liter V8) and the 3.0 Liter 6 Cylinder is a little underpowered for my tastes.

I found several P38 Range Rovers, and simply couldn't come to an agreement on price, while also finding a few of them were "misrepresented".

Many of the Discos I found were also misrepresented, however a few days ago I found a 1999 D2. I've heard horror stories about body control units, and "spider" modules, and I was hesitant, but figured as long as it was running, how bad could it be.



The day I went to pick up the D2, an hour before I arrived to buy the truck the owner had a stroke. It was a very small stroke, and eventually he sold me the truck from a hospital bed while connected to an EKG, so I'm pretty sure he didn't lie to me about the truck.

The interior was filthy, and it had a pervasive odor of machine shop mixed with barnyard and sweat. First order of business was a quick clean up.



On the drive home, with the windows down I could hear that the engine was pinging under load, and there's a rattle over sharp bumps, as well as a vibration from the front drive shaft. I already have a new front shaft to install, and I found the reason for the ping under load (the intake tube before the throttle body is cracked where the idle control valve connects, allowing unmetered air into the intake tract as well as a missing vacuum hose on the passenger's side of the intake plenum, near the brake booster connection.

Unfortunately the previous owner who I've nicknamed "Sir Caulks Alot", went overboard with black silicone trying to stop some leaks on top of the truck. The headliner is ruined from the leaks, not that it would have lasted this long anyway.

The interior is cloth with manual seats, with a pattern I would almost call "digital camo".



Newish tires, and a head gasket and resurfacing recently, were selling points for me.

This weekend I'm planning to tackle the front drive shaft replacement, and tracking down where this mysterious vacuum line goes, as well as replacing the broken intake tube. All while hitting everything under the truck with a rubber hammer to track down the rattle.

I've downloaded the RAVE ordeal, and why can't they include a vacuum line diagram? That's annoying.

Also, while I'm on the subject of annoyances. Why are the dang front bumper covers so expensive? Hasn't China started making knock-offs by the millions yet?




Missing, Broken, Needing Replacement/Attention:

• Brakes are spongy (stainless braided lines already on order, as well as rotors and pads)
• Window Switch panel (tabs broken off console)
• Front bumper cover & fog lights (apparently these are gold plated because I paid less for a 2001 Jaguar XJ8)
• Driver's seat (has a 3" hole in upholstery)
• Headliner (of course)
• Cruise Control (the hose from the pump to actuator is gone)
• Front Drive Shaft
• Driver's side rear door lock actuator (expensive and hard to replace)
• Tail gate lock actuator (expensive)
• Radio
• Missing vacuum line (I'm not sure what was supposed to be connected there)
• Intake Tube between MAF and throttle body (IACV connector broken)

Not too bad for a truck with 240K miles on the odometer. I only gave $2800 for it.

After searching the interwebs, I found that I'm not actually missing a vacuum hose, I'm missing a little cap. Circled in Red.


Apparently nothing is supposed to go there. It's just supposed to be capped off. I'm assuming during the recent head gasket replacement, someone knocked it off, or didn't take the time to check for vacuum leaks.

 

Well at least the head gaskets were done recently and you already have a front drive shaft. Besides brakes the other items are just annoyances. Forum contributors are good source for parts if you don't like roaming salvage yards. Have fun and good luck!

 

Sinister:
I must say that I love the color. When you shine up the black bits, it really sets them off.
The drivers side rear window actuator, what exactly are you referring to? They are not that horribly difficult to replace if it is what I think it is.... If you google it you may find some information, but I may be thinking of something wrong, is it the frame that attaches to the glass? Or is it this;
www.discovery2.co.uk / Rear Passenger door lock Assy

I take it rust is not an issue in Kentucky! Yours looks real sharp.


The front bumper cover is an issue here in this country too. Once it is busted, most guys here just dump it and make/buy a metal bumper.


Atlantic British have the rear door latch actuator for sale for about 139 bucks, if it reeaaaly needs replacement, but first you might want to try this:

First priority? Get that driveshaft replaced. They will fail and beat the crap out of your tranny and undersides. Do it now.


Every Disco 2 ever built needs a new headliner. Some guys order the cloth and some spray on adhesive and do it themselves. Some rip the whole thing out and paint the roof. But before you do anything, get those sunroof drains cleared out or it will just keep happening.


Check out this forum search engine first and then the forums in South Africa and Australia for hints on how to do some of the stuff you want to do, they are good at documenting the processes.


One last suggestion; D2s do not like getting overheated. The factory temperature gage will stare at you while innocently indicating normal temps until about 10 minutes after the engine is mortally overheated and the heads are warped and block is cracked, etc., after which it too will finally spike, and that always too late. I would recommend an additional aftermarket heat gage that is more reliable.


Do you have an OBDll reader? You may wish to get one to read, diagnose and/or clear the faults.


If you were to convince a Chinese factory to make those plastic bumper covers, and the price was not idiotically close to what the market is charging for them now and the quality was acceptable, I am sure they would sell a pile of them.


I have never tried lucky 8 for the door stuff, I quote Atlantic British only for comparison purposes.


Have fun and enjoy that sweet looking ride!

 

Thank you. I like the color too, and my wife has already nicknamed the truck "Ruby".
Oddly enough there is nothing wrong with the windows, all of them work. The problem is only with the locking mechanism. The truck is fairly "entry level" as it has cloth seats, no cd changer, etc. But it has the keyless entry/security system. When locking the truck with the key fob, only three of the doors are locking. The tail gate and the driver's rear door won't lock or unlock with the button on the key, or the button on the dash.
Rust is an issue in Kentucky, but I can't find any on the body of this truck. I'm going to invest in some additional rust proofing, because the body is in very good shape.

There is a Rover salvage yard a couple of hours away, and they have four or five Disco 2s, but none of them have front bumpers on them. I have yet to see a good looking metal or wench front bumper, and since I'm not planning to go rock crawling on weekends, I just don't need anything like that.
Yep, it's parked at the house, and I have the shaft ready to go in. The replacement is an OEM style, but I'm going to go ahead and put it in, while I rebuild the original with Spicer Greaseable U-Joints.
Another reason I bought this truck is because it doesn't have sunroofs. Like I said, it's a very "Entry Level" truck. No frills. I'll probably recover the headliner myself down the road. I'm not in a hurry since it's up there and thankfully not flapping around in my face.
I've been a long time forum member for my BMWs, and have generally found them excellent sources of information and how-tos.
Already on my list of "upgrades". I'm going to tag a three gauge cluster somewhere for Temp, Oil Pressure, and probably transmission temperature, I don't like idiot lights, or idiot gauges. Sure, the gauge says everything is in the "normal" range, but I never trust them.
LOL, I have a 2001 Jaguar XJ8, of course I have an OBDII reader, it's a requirement of ownership of a Naguar. Luckily the Rover didn't have any fault codes stored in the system when I checked. that doesn't necessarily mean it's never had any, but it's a good sign.
I've dealt with Chinese manufacturers for hoods for various BMWs, and several of them will make anything you send them, but the first batch is always ridiculously expensive, which as I understand it, is because of having to set up molds and dies, and the tolerances will always be way off on the first 100 or so. It takes a while to get them right, and to get the price down to competitive.

There are several sellers on ebay that make "body kits" and for what they are selling the prices are reasonable. I may get in touch with some of them, and clue them in to the need for these things.

Thanks.

 

It was a big selling point that the head gaskets, water pump and thermostat were replaced recently. He was going to replace the drive shaft before I came to pick up the truck, but had a stroke. While I was in the ER to have him sign the title, he made the joke that "It was killing him to sell the truck."

I spend a lot of time roaming through salvage yards. One can't be afraid of junk yards and drive older cars.

 

very nice truck always like that color, your truck is an SD model thro it is not labeled that way(strange).
No spider on NAS DII's so one less thing to worry about there, the improved alarm with give you enough problems.
rear door pop off the emblem and hit it with penetrating oil the lube after it start moving.


you should contact Paul Grant for some of these parts, no need to buy new, w/ 240k on it

 

I thought it was an SD, but the only emblem I could find was the "Series II" emblem beside Discovery on the tail gate, and the V8 emblem.

The rear door opens fine from inside or outside, but the power door lock actuator isn't locking or unlocking the door.

I'll probably be sending Paul a message about some parts.

 

looks great.....also you should focus any rust protection and prevention on the frame (especially the rear) instead of the body panels.... exterior of body panels are aluminum.....the thin frame likes to get moisture trapped inside

 

By the way, spongy brakes are pretty common, mine has them too, I just got used to them.
If you can, buy a FOUR gauge kit, and include an ammeter. Alternatively, there is an outfit that makes the Little Black Box here in South Africa, it monitors all those functions and sets off an alarm if the parameters are exceeded, be that over or under, in all those areas. When (not if) you overheat, it starts screaming immediately. I have one and it is great, but effectively it is only another idiot light (O.K., I am an idiot) albeit working reliably and very loudly, and is made specifically for Land Rovers. It demands attention when it is needed. Costs about 200 bucks, installation is easy. Google it if you wish. (www:littleblackbox.co.za)


You need one of those black plastic snorkel kits with a black roof rack to make it look really, really good! You can get a Safari knockoff snorkel kit for your car here for under 200 bucks plus shipping. You have to install it though....

 

Using the OBDII bluetooth connector, and my tablet running an app called Torque, it allows me to pull most of the information from the ECU, and display it on the tablet.

I thought about a roof rack, snorkel kit, and winch bumper but I don't really go off-road very often.