Hey guys, I was wondering if any of you can help me pin down this issue I have had with my Disco. Honestly though, I'm not even sure if its a "problem"
I've owned my 97 D1 for 5 years now and shes really been great to me. No major issues, just maintenance. I'm at 150,000 now, bought it at 127,000.
She's always been a bit on the sluggish side. Now I know these trucks are very heavy and a bit underpowered so until a year ago or so I just wrote it off as the way they drove. Ive always felt that I have to really coax it to get it to go 75 down the highway, it definitely is not "effortless". Fuel economy has always been poor as well. The max I have ever gotten on the highway is 15, no matter the driving style, recently its a bit more like 14. City is 11 usually.
No CEL.
Until recently I just accepted this as a fact of life. About a year ago my friend and I picked up another 97 disco. This thing was beat to living crap. 180k and abused. It runs like a bat out of hell! It really has some POWER, passing is no problem at all. The kicker? We took a trip in her and averaged 20mpg going 70! That's hand calculated mileage over a 500 mile trip. I couldn't even believe it, had I read it on this forum I would have thought someone was lying to me.
So now I'm wondering what can be done to mine to give her a bit of a pep back. I've done the plugs, magnecore wires, new coils. Cleaned the intake out, seafoamed, new fuel filter, and fuel pump. Always run premium fuel and change the oil at 3k. Diffs and transfer case serviced recently. Good road tyres of the proper size. My motor has always been well taken care of, even before I have owned it.
The only thing I can think of is wheel bearings? But Im going to be servicing them this week.
Any ideas guys?
Thanks a bunch

 

Your friend effectively owns a unicorn. 20 MPG and power!???

Next you'll tell me it doesn't leak any fluids!

Sounds like you've done all the 'right' things to your truck. Do you have extra weight on the truck ala upgraded bumpers, racks, diff and/or steering guards?

 

That's what I told him! That thing had some POWER. Like really, you could pass people easily and it just wanted to run at 80mph on the highway. I was following him back on a trip one time and he was leaving me in the dust with my Powerstroke. It leaks like a sieve though, just like mine. Actually, we just pulled the motor and did a 4.6 swap so I'm hoping we slowed the leaking a bit with fresh gaskets. The unicorn may be dead now, only time will tell. That other motor was just so abused the swap made more sense than rebuilding.
I do have a heavy front bumper on her, its some home built job but I'm looking for a stock bumper to eliminate that possibility. I know that's a bit of drag on the fuel economy but no roof racks or anything else really. It does have a 2in lift from the PO. Do you think the lift makes a difference? Everything else is stock totally.
I'm going to check the brakes when I do the bearings, maybe one is dragging a bit.
OH I FORGOT- Both trucks had the upgraded 19lb Ford injectors.

 

Wow! 20 mpg? Well done. I'm lucky if mine gets 9 mpg average. (Combined highway and city). Land Rovers are just slow. I have the same problem getting mine to 70-80. They just need a little love getting them up to speed, and yes, getting them up to freeway speeds and beyond is a little push. I always figured it was just how the truck ran, and how light my foot was. Anyway, your not alone in thinking your Rover is a little slow. If there is any way to improve the engine performance on a teen budget, I'm interested.