Can The Disco 1 be made reliable?
Recovery Vehicle
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,081
Likes: 1
From: Punta Gorda, FL
You know with that kind of technology we could borrow one of those smart bombs and hit his disco. 
Then he can take the insurance money and start building from scratch and make sure it is reliable then. 
LOL. But really that would be sweet. Ok I am kidding.......kind of. 
Then he can take the insurance money and start building from scratch and make sure it is reliable then. LOL. But really that would be sweet. Ok I am kidding.......kind of. There are many days I would gladly volunteer my Disco for just that!!! Lets just say mine falls into the category of previous owner neglect. I dont think the word maintenece was in his vocablary.
My version of Disco reliability is 3 part: few hundred $ stashed for parts, know a couple parts people on a first name basis, and have a spare/second car to drive while waiting for the parts and doing repairs.
Rock Crawling
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
From: Fairfax, VA
Reliability
From what I've heard, the D2s have a worse rep for reliability. They have more problems with the ABS - three amigos, more engine problems - oil pumps, cylinder sleeves dropping. I haven't had much trouble at all, relatively speaking, over the last 10 years. Window regulator, dash curl, mirror drip, only big thing was head gasket which I did myself, and farmed out the actual valve job work. I'm pretty darn happy for a 14-15 year old truck with 150K on the odometer. It has never stranded me yet (touch wood).
Winching
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 749
Likes: 4
From: Briar, TX
The only thing major I have had with mine is an overheat problem for which I replaced my hoses, belt, t-stat, water pump, electric fans, fan clutch, and flushed the rad. Still overheating but not losing coolant so I believe it is a radiator blockage problem so I just need the time and money to pull the rad and rod it or rebuild it (or the good Lord forbid, replace it) and I believe it will probably be right as rain. I don't think the DI's are less reliable than anything else on the market. The DII is a whole different beast, I think what people mistake for unreliability on the DI is simply PO neglect and/or the fact that they are around 11-16 years old. I don't care what you drive, when it is that old it is gonna need things done to it, and PO neglect makes it 1000 X worse.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
From: Williamson, NY
ive had mine for a year now. had 95k on it. i thought hey a used truck with that low miles should last a couple years without doing anything major to it. i was wrong. the last year i had to change:
water pump
alternator
starter
tranny cooler
tranny cooler lines
this was ontop of having to buy new tires for it and all the standard things like brake pads, plugs, wires, cap & rotor, air filter. none of these is cheap either. and if your a person with very limited funds like myself your gonna want to sell a kidney in order to pay for that fuel pump it might need. which im absolutely dreading. and after all that the truck is now starting to stall out on startup every morning and run like its missfiring once in a while. plus the ABS light has been staring me in the face for 2 months.
regardless, i love the truck. even though im more of a sports car person. although it is nice being able to get out of your driveway in the winter without shoveling.
water pump
alternator
starter
tranny cooler
tranny cooler lines
this was ontop of having to buy new tires for it and all the standard things like brake pads, plugs, wires, cap & rotor, air filter. none of these is cheap either. and if your a person with very limited funds like myself your gonna want to sell a kidney in order to pay for that fuel pump it might need. which im absolutely dreading. and after all that the truck is now starting to stall out on startup every morning and run like its missfiring once in a while. plus the ABS light has been staring me in the face for 2 months.
regardless, i love the truck. even though im more of a sports car person. although it is nice being able to get out of your driveway in the winter without shoveling.
Mudding
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 125
Likes: 8
From: Montreal
Speaking of reliability , my wife works for the company that make electronic components for the military (jets , missiles , submarines ).Interesting thing is how they do testing.Once component is build they put it on the shaker machine for the week if it passes they keep throwing it on the ground to see if it brakes if it passes they put it in the salty water for the few days and if it works after that component is acceptable.I wish Land Rover would test their stuff this way.
Winching
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 598
Likes: 12
From: Swampy Sandbar, USA
One Word for ALL Land Rover owners
*** WARNING*** this is a pissy rant...just in that kind of mood
MAINTENANCE... and just for $#!ts and giggles I'll make this a two word answer to all (most all) LR problems.... Preventative Maintenance.
If you want a vehicle reputed to have the capability to take you most anywhere in the world YOU MUST take care of it or (as Tom 666 sez) you'll find yourself stuck there. If you want a commuter car and grocery fetcher then grab yourself a Toy.Hon.Maz.Baru and drive it till it's dead.
Those of us who really know what's up, know full well that an old-er Rover (ten years plus) is definitely not for everyone with a Mutual of Omaha Safari fantasy and you must either have an engineers mind or enough spare ca$h to hand over to someone else when you can't be bothered to at least reference RAVE and know exactly how the ECU's control the various systems.
It is damn near retarded to expect a mechanical thing, and especially a petroleum dependant machine controlled by computers, to take the abuse we generally throw at these trucks and not plan to replace certain, specific parts at specific intervals. Yeah it may be cool (lucky) to have certain components out-last their designed service life. But why wait until failure??? The LAW of Murphy clearly states that your fuel pump / drive belts / hoses / vac lines will NOT fail while you are safely parked in your driveway. Replace that crap once in a while!
I am not a member of the wait till it breaks crowd who live by the motto, " if it ain't broke don't fix it". These are very reliable vehicles if you know very specifically how they work and how to diagnose issues.
Having said all of that, I know it is impossible to predict certain failures, mostly due to inadequate repair but that is why we have PO's to blame...
Stay on top of it and it won't get out from under you.
(down from the 10' soap box now)
Sorry but after reading this thread I just had to say somethin'
MAINTENANCE... and just for $#!ts and giggles I'll make this a two word answer to all (most all) LR problems.... Preventative Maintenance.
If you want a vehicle reputed to have the capability to take you most anywhere in the world YOU MUST take care of it or (as Tom 666 sez) you'll find yourself stuck there. If you want a commuter car and grocery fetcher then grab yourself a Toy.Hon.Maz.Baru and drive it till it's dead.
Those of us who really know what's up, know full well that an old-er Rover (ten years plus) is definitely not for everyone with a Mutual of Omaha Safari fantasy and you must either have an engineers mind or enough spare ca$h to hand over to someone else when you can't be bothered to at least reference RAVE and know exactly how the ECU's control the various systems.
It is damn near retarded to expect a mechanical thing, and especially a petroleum dependant machine controlled by computers, to take the abuse we generally throw at these trucks and not plan to replace certain, specific parts at specific intervals. Yeah it may be cool (lucky) to have certain components out-last their designed service life. But why wait until failure??? The LAW of Murphy clearly states that your fuel pump / drive belts / hoses / vac lines will NOT fail while you are safely parked in your driveway. Replace that crap once in a while!
I am not a member of the wait till it breaks crowd who live by the motto, " if it ain't broke don't fix it". These are very reliable vehicles if you know very specifically how they work and how to diagnose issues.
Having said all of that, I know it is impossible to predict certain failures, mostly due to inadequate repair but that is why we have PO's to blame...
Stay on top of it and it won't get out from under you.
(down from the 10' soap box now)
Sorry but after reading this thread I just had to say somethin'
Last edited by Cosmic88; Sep 21, 2010 at 02:46 PM. Reason: cause it needed editing...
Mudding
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 159
Likes: 0
From: Big Island, HI
________
vaporgenie vaporizer
Last edited by Henrici; Jan 30, 2011 at 12:19 PM.
Recovery Vehicle
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 851
Likes: 0
From: Golden, CO
*** WARNING*** this is a pissy rant...just in that kind of mood
MAINTENANCE... and just for $#!ts and giggles I'll make this a two word answer to all (most all) LR problems.... Preventative Maintenance.
If you want a vehicle reputed to have the capability to take you most anywhere in the world YOU MUST take care of it or (as Tom 666 sez) you'll find yourself stuck there. If you want a commuter car and grocery fetcher then grab yourself a Toy.Hon.Maz.Baru and drive it till it's dead.
Those of us who really know what's up, know full well that an old-er Rover (ten years plus) is definitely not for everyone with a Mutual of Omaha Safari fantasy and you must either have an engineers mind or enough spare ca$h to hand over to someone else when you can't be bothered to at least reference RAVE and know exactly how the ECU's control the various systems.
It is damn near retarded to expect a mechanical thing, and especially a petroleum dependant machine controlled by computers, to take the abuse we generally throw at these trucks and not plan to replace certain, specific parts at specific intervals. Yeah it may be cool (lucky) to have certain components out-last their designed service life. But why wait until failure??? The LAW of Murphy clearly states that your fuel pump / drive belts / hoses / vac lines will NOT fail while you are safely parked in your driveway. Replace that crap once in a while!
I am not a member of the wait till it breaks crowd who live by the motto, " if it ain't broke don't fix it". These are very reliable vehicles if you know very specifically how they work and how to diagnose issues.
Having said all of that, I know it is impossible to predict certain failures, mostly due to inadequate repair but that is why we have PO's to blame...
Stay on top of it and it won't get out from under you.
(down from the 10' soap box now)
Sorry but after reading this thread I just had to say somethin'
MAINTENANCE... and just for $#!ts and giggles I'll make this a two word answer to all (most all) LR problems.... Preventative Maintenance.
If you want a vehicle reputed to have the capability to take you most anywhere in the world YOU MUST take care of it or (as Tom 666 sez) you'll find yourself stuck there. If you want a commuter car and grocery fetcher then grab yourself a Toy.Hon.Maz.Baru and drive it till it's dead.
Those of us who really know what's up, know full well that an old-er Rover (ten years plus) is definitely not for everyone with a Mutual of Omaha Safari fantasy and you must either have an engineers mind or enough spare ca$h to hand over to someone else when you can't be bothered to at least reference RAVE and know exactly how the ECU's control the various systems.
It is damn near retarded to expect a mechanical thing, and especially a petroleum dependant machine controlled by computers, to take the abuse we generally throw at these trucks and not plan to replace certain, specific parts at specific intervals. Yeah it may be cool (lucky) to have certain components out-last their designed service life. But why wait until failure??? The LAW of Murphy clearly states that your fuel pump / drive belts / hoses / vac lines will NOT fail while you are safely parked in your driveway. Replace that crap once in a while!
I am not a member of the wait till it breaks crowd who live by the motto, " if it ain't broke don't fix it". These are very reliable vehicles if you know very specifically how they work and how to diagnose issues.
Having said all of that, I know it is impossible to predict certain failures, mostly due to inadequate repair but that is why we have PO's to blame...
Stay on top of it and it won't get out from under you.
(down from the 10' soap box now)
Sorry but after reading this thread I just had to say somethin'
Mudding
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 134
Likes: 2
From:
I've had mine almost 14 years, 110K and the only problem that created a reliability issue was a ground problem that caused the battery to go dead. It took a while to find after being misdiagnosed and replacing the alternator and battery unnecessarily. That's it. So I guess mine was born reliable, it didn't have to be made that way.
As this vehicle gets long in the tooth small items fail that are nice to have but have nothing to do with reliability:
Cruise Control Failed - tried to fix it but no joy yet
Rear Washer Pump and check valve replaced
Headliner repaired
Auto Dim Mirror Replaced
Replaced Assorted Interior Plastic Trim Items including 3 door pockets, Overhead AC Vent, and Cargo Cover Mounting Tab
Replaced Rear Quarter and Tailgate Window Gaskets which dry rotted
Replacing lots of light bulbs including Clock, Gear Shift Console, Markers, Fogs, Aux Lights, etc.
Droopy Hood Insulation
Recently it was off the road for 2 1/2 months following a small fender bender waiting on a custom off road bumper. Usually not being driven regularly is the kiss of death, but, when it arrived, I put the bumper on and drove it for 7 hours with no problems. Obviously I consider my '97 SE-7 dead nuts reliable.
As this vehicle gets long in the tooth small items fail that are nice to have but have nothing to do with reliability:
Cruise Control Failed - tried to fix it but no joy yet
Rear Washer Pump and check valve replaced
Headliner repaired
Auto Dim Mirror Replaced
Replaced Assorted Interior Plastic Trim Items including 3 door pockets, Overhead AC Vent, and Cargo Cover Mounting Tab
Replaced Rear Quarter and Tailgate Window Gaskets which dry rotted
Replacing lots of light bulbs including Clock, Gear Shift Console, Markers, Fogs, Aux Lights, etc.
Droopy Hood Insulation
Recently it was off the road for 2 1/2 months following a small fender bender waiting on a custom off road bumper. Usually not being driven regularly is the kiss of death, but, when it arrived, I put the bumper on and drove it for 7 hours with no problems. Obviously I consider my '97 SE-7 dead nuts reliable.
Last edited by jigray3; Sep 21, 2010 at 04:20 PM.