Disco 2000 - Build (fix) Log
 

Just bought a 2000 Discovery II today (5/25/2021) with 186.5k miles. New to Land Rovers so I've been digesting as much as possible and am starting a build log here to keep track / get advice.

No service history provided unfortunately. The fluids do look good, and apparently the head gasket, water pump, and power steering valves were replaced. Exterior looks good, and the interior is a little worse for wear. Will be posting up some pictures after I get it cleaned.

Buying a used car, especially one with this high mileage, it makes sense to do a complete fluid flush right? I'm talking, brakes, trans, coolant, oil, diff, power steering. Missing anything? Also it seems like the two "must do" mods are the PCV valve and the inline thermo by Extinct. Will be looking into doing those shortly.

I do have a rattling / clunking noise at idle and up to 35-40mph when it seems to stop. There seems to be tons of information and a bunch of different causes - from loose heat shields to the slipped liner issue. To me, it sounds like it's coming from the cat or the transmission. Other issues I've found so far is rear window that doesn't move (I hear motor noise - seen some threads on this with it potentially being the bushing). I had codes P0134, P0154, and P1884 - cleared the codes and have been driving around for a bit. Now I'm getting P0134, P0171, and P1174.

Also, some upgrades that I've seen (and am thinking about for the future, once I get this solid, mechanically):

• Trans dip stick mod - need parts from a D1
• Center diff lock - need parts from a D1 (2000 model should have the parts to make it work I believe)

"Land Rovers - turning owners into mechanics for 60+ years." Haha, looking forward to the journey.

Did an initial flush of my coolant using the Prestone Radiator Flush Cleaner. I'm following ChrisFix's super flush technique:
I'll continue to flush my radiator until it runs clear, and then install the inline thermo kit from Extinct which should arrive this week.

Also did an oil change. I saw a method for flushing out the oil on an Isuzu Trooper forums by Jerry Lemond. Here is a link to his comment. He recommends flushing the oil with an oil flush liquid (BG engine flush / seafoam), 5w30, and a cheap filter a couple times, then putting in the proper oil and filter (Rotella T4 15w30 and K&N HP-3001 in my case). I've also seen around that people don't recommend putting in oil cleaners if you don't know the service history, as it could dislodge all the crud that is in the system at once. So instead, I'm doing his method without the cleaner. After my second flush, I'll do another flush at 3000 miles to check how I'm doing and assuming everything looks good, resume a normal oil change schedule.

Pics coming soon! Getting my windshield replaced tomorrow and then I'll clean it up good.

Took a quick video of my knocking sound. I laid under the disco and narrowed it down to the cat or the back of the trans. I'm leaning more towards the cat due to the sound being muffled when I held the drivers side pipe. Need to research what this means and what to do about it. Video below:

Video of clunking sound

Starting to diagnose my slow start. Battery and alternator voltage look good (12.67v when off; 13.9v at idle). I'll check out the starter first, but if I don't seen anything wrong, I can get my battery and alternator tested at autozone.

My battery terminals have cracks, but the contact looks good.

Well, I spend time trying to diagnose my starter for nothing. Literally the easiest thing to check, and knowing I just bought this car used... My slow start problem was a dead/dying battery. That's one off the list at least.

Take a look at 'broken / cracked flex plate' videos on youtube. I hope it is simply an exhaust issue but you should probably pause to get a more definitive answer.

I was thinking that it could be the flex plate. I tried to watch as many videos as I could and the sound is a little different. Plus, when I held the cat in my hand, it sounded like that muted the noise. Going to go bang around with a rubber mallet today and see if I can hear any noise in the cat. If not, I suspect you're right.