Hi all, new to the forums and new to Land Rovers in general. I come here already possessing a decent set of tools, skills, and knowledge from having worked on vehicles before, albeit to a limited degree. I actually have been searching and scouring this and other forums (search tool, mostly) for advice and write-ups on recommended services and mods. I do understand that the '03 is perhaps the least-desirable model year, and I am also extremely pleased at how easy the Disco II is to service, how simple they are to understand, and how well the oil leaks have prevented the undercarriage from rusting away on my particular Disco.

Back in early June I bought this thing at auction. The previous owner unfortunately passed away in January, but I was told (and have made concurrent observations) that he did a lot of good work to the vehicle over the last three years. There's an aftermarket steel front bumper (the most basic one on Atlantic British, I believe), tow hitch, and it came with STI spark plug wires, too. That all being said I have no clue when this work was done, and really it doesn't matter much to me as by habit I do all of that stuff all over again whenever I buy a vehicle unless I know for a fact it was done recently. So when I brought the Disco II home, there was a brake light on and the Service Engine light was on as well. I added brake fluid, that made the light go away. I replaced all of the spark plugs with Autolites (only decent ones locally right now), Kingsborne wires, new coils, and intake gasket. That made the misfires go away and the engine light went off.

I saw only one grease zerk on the front drive shaft and plenty of rusty-orange grime, so I currently have the whole thing out because I don't want to risk having a medieval javelin harpooning through my transmission. I took it to a place that rebuilds driveshafts (thought it would be best to have it professionally done), but still haven't even gotten an estimate. I honestly have mixed feelings about the Tom Woods model, so I checked with Great Basin in Utah and when I called them, they told me they are having issues with suppliers. Lucky8 told me the same thing about their generic replacement. I'm in FDS limbo right now. Local parts stores aren't even sure if they can get the parts in any time soon even if I wanted to rebuild it myself.

I changed out the fluids in both diffs, and plan to do brakes soon as well. Tires are good all-terrains that look like they've been put on recently.

I rescued a 1993 Jeep ZJ that 250k miles on it last year and still drive it. I find the Disco II to be an even simpler machine. Some things on the ZJ are plain stupid.

I mainly wanted to inquire about monitoring the coolant temperature. I see the inline thermostat mod is popular, but I recall there being a few issues that some are having after they've installed it. Is it still a worthwhile mod? I'm not planning to go crazy with modding the Disco 2 for off-roading— I usually reserve that hobby for dirtbikes. And is there any decent write up on how to install a sensor to monitor the coolant temp? I seem to be unable to find a good one.

If I install the coolant temp sensor, should I forgo the Ultragauge/Scangauge? Or should I go with the electronic option and skip the coolant temp sensor gauge? Do both anyway? I hope to get all of the work done on this so that when I do someday sell it, it'll be a solid rig ripe for its next life.

Thanks.

 

You are on the right track with an inline thermostat and an Ultragauge. I've never heard of any issues with the inline thermostat on a healthy rig. With that being said it is not a silver bullet for all the cooling system issues that we can experience. I've had mine installed with an Ultragauge for well over a year and consider it to be the most important modification to any D2 full stop. It has significantly brought my coolant temp down and made them far more consistent. The only people I've heard of having issues after the installation of an inline thermostat had issues before they installed it. Clogged radiator, leaking hoses, etc. Get an Ultragauge and the inline thermostat it just that simple.

 

Tumbler, just to be clear- are you advocating that I add the inline thermostat mod plus the ultragauge, and forgo the external coolant temp sensor?

 

Yes.

I depend on my OE sensor that I independently verified with a temp gun. I'd do the same no need to overcomplicate things.

 

Appreciate it!

 

Seconded, I won't run a D2 without an inline thermostat any more. I like an old school mechanical temp gauge personally, but the ultragauge is just fine as well. Either/or is necessary, both are not.

As for your driveshaft issue, you should be able to order universal joints and a centering ball online and take all your parts to a local drive line shop. RockAuto has universal joints in stock, I'd run the DANA joints. They don't list centering *****, but my driveline guy said it's the same as the Jeep part. Should be pretty common and I'm sure someone can give you a part number to order.

As for '03 being less desirable, all of the '03s within the "Vin Range" died years ago before their first oil change. That's not an issue any more.

 

Ah I was mainly referring to the '03 being least desirable due to the lack of a CDL option short of swapping one in.

 

Is there a link to the inline thermostat mod? I also just bought an '03 Disco, also green actually. The cooling system seems to have been serviced, all of the hoses are new. The temp gauge is usually just a tad above the middle of the range. Almost at the middle.

 

Inline Thermostat Mod

I plan to do that very soon, myself.

 

Unfortunately, the temp gauge in the cluster is practically useless and will show normal until you're at 230+F and the head gaskets are done; you need an ultragauge, scangauge or some other type of coolant temp gauge for verification.