Hi all,

I'm a new member and have been a LR owner for the past 4 years. My husband and I have a 2002 Discovery II which we haven't driven for approximately 1 year. We love it but don't love the gas prices, had been driving a smaller vehicle hoping the price of gas would go down and we also needed new front brakes on the Discovery. Had the back brakes fixed prior to that. Question is: I wonder if our Discovery is worth fixing as I took it in today to a local shop (that typically doesn't deal with Land Rovers but seemed competent) with the intention of getting the front brakes done and also the power steering looked at (power steering has been leaking regularly and don't know what the cause is) and received a phone call. The mechanic asked me 'what is your intention for this vehicle?' and chuckled a bit. I said 'well that doesn't sound good - I wanted to get the front brakes looked at and also the power steering, why?' He then stated that they were 'just looking underneath the Land Rover and noticed quite a bit of rust' and that we have 3 coil springs that need replacing, that there is power steering fluid that has leaked all over and that we may need the back brakes done as well as the front. I reminded the mechanic that he fixed the back brakes approximately a year ago and that I didn't think they would have issues this soon. He said 'well we saw quite a bit of brake dust'.

I hate to be long winded but would you guys get a second opinion on this? Seems odd that 3 coil springs would be broken, we don't use the vehicle for off road purposes, we tote a lot of antiques with it but nothing too heavy. I haven't noticed anything too crazy with the suspension either. The ride may be a little bumpy but nothing out of control. I figured that Land Rovers had a little give and take seeing as they go off road and jostle around a bit. Anyway, the mechanic was stating that we're into the thousands and he wanted to know how far I wanted to go with this. Is this worth it? Love the car, it's great looking on the outside, has a whining noise upon start-up with the power steering, drives fairly well but I'm perplexed by this diagnosis. Can I drive the Rover for a while before fixing the coil springs and concentrate on the brakes and power steering first? There is no leaning that I see either.

2002 Land Rover Discovery II
110K miles

 

Brakes you can do yourself for dirt cheap, seriously, with a $15 socket set and a couple of screwdrivers and a C-clamp you can do the brakes.
Second the rear brakes are all rusted up because the truck sat for a year, thats what he see's and is calling brake dust, that is normal, cars do not like to sit for long periods unused.
Third, you can replace all four springs for under $500.
As for the leaking power steering, 90% of the time it is a bad $50 hose.

Performance Shock & Spring Kit - Super Gaz - Front & Rear - 1.6" Lift for Discovery Series II, Steering & Suspension Parts
or
Spring Kit - Front & Rear - Old Man Emu / ARB Coil Springs - Medium Duty for Discovery Series II, Steering & Suspension Parts
And he can install them for you, should take him about 2 hours, so whatever his labor rate is, negotiate that up front.

OEM brake pads.
Lockheed Brake Pads - Front | Brake Parts for Land Rover & Range Rover
Rotors and pads.
Land Rover Discovery II Front Brake Rebuilding Kit - Land Rover Brake Parts at Roverparts.com
Kit for all four wheels.
Brake Rebuild Kit - Front & Rear | Brake Parts for Land Rover & Range Rover

Power steering hoses.
Power Steering Hose Kit Disco II 99 for Discovery Series II, Steering & Suspension Parts

And just so we are on the same page, once the price of gas goes up it will NEVER come back down, ever.
So if you dont want to drive a premium gas guzzling SUV sell it without fixing it and buy a small utility trailer to pull behind your Subaru.

 

Hey Spike555, thanks for all of your tips - we truly appreciate it. I may actually find someone else to work on the LR and negotiate labor up front. Don't know how this mechanic will take to me suggesting parts, etc. I guess i need to find someone I trust, eh?

Brakes freak me out - $15 socket set and clamp sound easy enough but I wouldn't know if I needed new rotors or calipers, etc. Do you contract out? :-) We're in Traverse City... saw your photos earlier of East Bay - very pretty. You've given me hope that it isn't a lost cause. Am glad I joined this forum today and there are people like you out there that will give some advice!

And 'no' - have no plans of driving a Subaru in the near future so I'll cough up the cash for the extra gas - lol. Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes..

 

Follow up on the Power steering leak. Mechanic stated that it's a small leak from the gear box and doesn't think it's something that needs repair right now. He stated that a new box costs around $1700 + $185 labor. I noticed that there are refurbished steering boxes on ebay for $300. Anyone ever tried one?

 

Yeah dont buy a new steering box.
Buy either a rebuilt one or a used one, Gene's Auto Parts south of Chum's Corner had several Disco's in his back lot.
I have a friend who lives in TC (my wife is from there and we will be up for Thanksgiving with my truck but obviously I cant do work while eating turkey) who might be willing to work on your truck for you for cash.
He also has a Disco.
I will e-mail him a link to this thread and see if he can help you out, at least with the brakes, really, they are so easy to replace on a DII it is a crime that brake shops charge so much.
There are literally 2 bolts that hold the brakes on each wheel, hell, I dont even think you need to remove the calipers.
My brain is rusty but it might be just remove the brake hardware, removing the old pads and popping in the new ones, but I cant remember.
Anyway, I will send that e-mail in a short while, no promises though.

 

Spikey tells me your in the Traverse City area and I just happen to be a Disco owner myself. I would love to give an educated opinion without the BS. I have my own tools too. PM me if you'd like and I'll arrange to take a look and give you my honest opinion.

Doug

 

Thanks Scout!! See you on Thanksgiving Day!

 

NP, anytime. Wet sand season is upon us........I can't go anywhere without new skins.

 

I'd just throw stop leak in for the steering box leak. I was impressed with how well it worked on my 96.

 

You mechanic is quoting very high prices on that gear box, new ones are around $1200, rebuilt ones are around $650.
I would suggest a bottle of White Shepherds p/s stop leak, it has worked on a number of vehicles for me.
As for the brakes, for $60 or so you can buy a Great set of ceramic brake pads, if rotors were needed you can buy the in the $45 to $70 range a piece.