Can The Disco 1 be made reliable?
Baja
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 5,584
Likes: 7
From: Pittsburgh PA suburbs.
Yeah, I agree, anybody that bought them thinking they were some wonderful fantasy vehicle that would allow you to abuse it forever and keep on chugging along is in for a rude awakening.
Their stoutness does make them pretty incredible in their own ways. If properly maintained and driven with some common sense they can be very impressive.
If you think you can buy one cheap and go anywhere you want without thoroughly maintaining it, then you deserve what you get and you should not whine about it and expect someone else to give you majic answers to your problems.
I recently saw a wonderful 1934 Chevrolet 4 door at a car cruise at the local American Legion. Look at my photo albums to see it. I later saw the gentleman cruising down the road after the show was over. Very impressive.
Their stoutness does make them pretty incredible in their own ways. If properly maintained and driven with some common sense they can be very impressive.
If you think you can buy one cheap and go anywhere you want without thoroughly maintaining it, then you deserve what you get and you should not whine about it and expect someone else to give you majic answers to your problems.
I recently saw a wonderful 1934 Chevrolet 4 door at a car cruise at the local American Legion. Look at my photo albums to see it. I later saw the gentleman cruising down the road after the show was over. Very impressive.
Winching
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 598
Likes: 12
From: Swampy Sandbar, USA
Kinda like a wife...Henrici---"I just wanna know what you decided to take out? ha ha. Need to delete some expletives?"
Yes, a few descriptive and choice words got edited... for the sake of those with delicate sensibilities.
I guess that rant was born of frustration with those who say these are un-reliable vehicles. They can certainly be unreliable if maintained poorly by unrelaible mechanics. And to Danny's point I say only this...EXACTLY!
Camel Trophy
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,959
Likes: 11
From: Tulsa, OK
Yup. People just buy the name and don't keep them up. That is why they get a bad rap. Upsets me as well, but when friends ask if they should buy them, I say no. I know they will just drive them and not fix stuff as needed. I want to keep my DD for one of my kids to drive. Think it would be a great car for a kid.
Cosmic- just yanking your chain. Actually I have only had 2 fuel pumps go out on me and they were both in the driveway... but point is that my truck has never stranded me and I have 200K on the ticker.
Cosmic- just yanking your chain. Actually I have only had 2 fuel pumps go out on me and they were both in the driveway... but point is that my truck has never stranded me and I have 200K on the ticker.
*** 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'
Its cheap insurance.
Listen to your truck, get to know it, know its quirks, she will tell you when something is not right but you must act on it and not keep driving until it grenades.
Winching
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 749
Likes: 4
From: Briar, TX
You guys are all making the same point I was trying to make only ya'll are saying it better. 
I too hope to get mine up to snuff (again thanks to PO neglect) and someday hand it off to my son for his first car. I think that would be awesome. My first car was my Dad's Jeep that he had been driving for 12 years. Something to be said for a dad handing down a neat vehicle like these.
I too hope to get mine up to snuff (again thanks to PO neglect) and someday hand it off to my son for his first car. I think that would be awesome. My first car was my Dad's Jeep that he had been driving for 12 years. Something to be said for a dad handing down a neat vehicle like these.
TReK
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,073
Likes: 6
From: Ketchikan, Alaska, USA
Un-reliable...?
A little history, I am a mechanic, and no, I don't work in the shade of a tree. I am always asked what would be a great, reliable, used vehicle to purchase. I always tell them the same thing. If the vehicle has been properly maintained and will continue to be properly maintained, chances are, it will last longer than you. But I also warn them of the required maintenance requirements and costs that different vehicles have. Any vehicle can be reliable. Some just require more preventive maintenance(which adds up in the dollar dept.) then others. The ones that seem to never die(like my '86 Dodge D250 that hasn't had the fluids changed in 2 years cause I hate the thing and want it to die) are merely mocking you and lulling you into a sense of false security so that they may die at the most in-oportune and embarassing moment.
A little history, I am a mechanic, and no, I don't work in the shade of a tree. I am always asked what would be a great, reliable, used vehicle to purchase. I always tell them the same thing. If the vehicle has been properly maintained and will continue to be properly maintained, chances are, it will last longer than you. But I also warn them of the required maintenance requirements and costs that different vehicles have. Any vehicle can be reliable. Some just require more preventive maintenance(which adds up in the dollar dept.) then others. The ones that seem to never die(like my '86 Dodge D250 that hasn't had the fluids changed in 2 years cause I hate the thing and want it to die) are merely mocking you and lulling you into a sense of false security so that they may die at the most in-oportune and embarassing moment.
Recovery Vehicle
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 851
Likes: 0
From: Golden, CO
I had a 81 2 door jetta with the 1.7 litre engine. I tried killing that engine for 6 months as I had a 1.8 16v waiting to go in. Couldnt do it. Gave it to a friend who put it in a rabbit, it still runs to this day.
Baja
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 5,584
Likes: 7
From: Pittsburgh PA suburbs.
I had a Datsun 280 ZX 2+2 that I got over 220k on it when the body started evaporating from rust thru underneath, traded it on a Volvo 240 which also ran 240K then went to a Mercedes 420SEL which after an initial major service ran steadily for years locally until one woman rammed into the rear end on a slick winter day right in front of my house about 200 feet after I pulled out. She came flying over the hill out of control on the ice.
There are a lot of stout vehicles out there, it's just finding the right one.
There are a lot of stout vehicles out there, it's just finding the right one.
Mudding
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 159
Likes: 0
From: Big Island, HI
My current DD is a little Yamaha enduro. The first motorcycle I've owned since I was 10 but man it it a trooper, can go anywhere. Pulls my *** from sea level to 1500ft everyday and runs as good now as it did when I bought it. Incredibly economical to maintain and operate. I'm putting a little $ into it to make sure it's tip top before I start in on my disco again...
________
AN400
________
AN400
Last edited by Henrici; Jan 30, 2011 at 12:21 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
bangkuaidiscovery04
Discovery II
17
Jul 12, 2011 01:06 PM
