Hi folks. I have a 2000 LR Disco II that sat in the garage for 7 years with a blown engine. I replaced the engine recently and have been fixing other things. It is is amazing shape with the exception of the ball joints.

I need a little guidance. I have read every post and thread on every land rover site I can find, including this one, about lift springs/shocks, and my mind is truly boggled.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a mechanic and it is a fluke that I was able to replace the engine myself. But I can turn a socket and am patient and like to figure things out.

After so many years sitting, my shocks and springs are SHOT. Very uncomfortable ride. Unfortunately, my friend has a 2002 Disco II so I can make direct comparisons. His springs sag too, but his shocks are new and it rides like a champ. I currently have some 18 inch LR wheels on it with 255/60/18's, but I also have the original 16" alloys with out of round 275/70/16's on them that are out of round due to sitting too long. Neither of these configurations rub in my driving, but they are CLOSE.

So I am replacing the springs and shocks no matter what; I figured for the same money I could put a little lift on it to make it look different than my friend's and the two other Disco II's in town (all of which are the same blue color as mine). I watched the Terrafirm video on replacing the springs and shocks and it looks triflingly simple. I am ready to pull the trigger on the Terrafirm purchase. I did consider a body lift, but it is so much more difficult. I also considered simple spring spacers, but I have to replace the springs anyway.

Then I started researching what else might need to be done. That's where I need some help. My Disco has never seen anything more offroad than a dry dirt road or a curb at a parking lot, and probably never will. This lift would just be to replace the worn components and make it look a little different. Basically I am going for a nice version of a Jeep CJ7 I had in high school (sightly bowed up, tires stick out a little, tires make a nice hum as you drive around, tall enough to look down on lesser beings). Is this a bastardization of my Disco? Probably so, but it is basically a free car that I bought new, saw an ex-wife destroy the engine three weeks after last payment, and have saved, tucked away, for seven years so I figure I am due for some poetic license. I have some 33" mud tires (Toyo Open Country M/T) and Nato style steel wheels to put on it... 33x16x12.5 for the tires and 16x8 with 4.75 backset for the wheels. The tires are heavy and large, I know, but I already had them and I drive slow anyway. My hidden agenda is that my 5'0" wife, who kept telling me to get rid of the Disco because it was taking up a spot in the garage (next to the 30 year old Mercedes I was also fixing, next to the 4 Wheeler I was always fixing... hmm, I see her point now that it is all typed up), now wants to drive it full time. A lift would make that impossible (I removed the side steps shortly after buying it) and I could keep my little buggy to myself.

I normally drive a long crew cab pickup. The LR seems a little twitchy in stock configuration due to the short wheel base and probably a crappy steering dampener, and from what I am reading, I am going to need to add all kinds of things to keep it from being even more twitchy if not downright dangerous with a 3" lift. The adjustable panhard rod is no big deal. New Steering Dampener, no big deal. Longer brake lines... not sure I even need those because I will never flex the suspension entirely, but no big deal. Tru Trac? CDL? Lower gears in diffs or transfer case? Castor relocation? Sway bar removal? Get rid of spider gears? ... all big deals. I'd rather spend that money on a nice set of steel bumpers fore and aft and some sort of obnoxious LED light bar. I am building a redneck runway queen, not a Nordic battleaxe.

The Terrafirm video shows that the addition of the lift is a snap. Then some cute little brunette drives the truck away, happy as a clam. They do not suggest any other mods--not even the adjustable panhard rod. Are the mods I am reading about for offroad, serious, hard core use? Can I get by with just the 3" lift, adjustable panhard, and steering dampener for on road and occasional get_me_out_of_this_parking_lot/ jump_the_curb_and_park_on_the_grass use? I have reached information overload and would appreciate some advice.

If it makes any difference, the truck has 108K miles on it, probably 80 percent of which was truly cruising the highway from point A to point B. I've never had to replace the brakes. The two replacements are a rebuilt transmission (shop screwed me, or my ignorance did... it was a bad battery... I will KILL that guy if I ever find him) engine (recent replacement; I took a chance on a pull from a wreck with about 100K on it. Runs fine and makes no odd noises or vibrations; I replaced rear main seal, water pump, and oil pan gasket when I installed) and battery. The tires, which still have the factory rubber tips from manufacture but which have been sitting so long they are more rectangular than round, have to go . Other than scheduled maintenance up to the engine demise, tires, and the transmission/engine replacement it has never had anything done to it, and everything seems tight and in good shape.

Best,

Charlie_V

 

And adding to the previous, I homed in on a medium duty spring set. I will have steel bumpers fore and aft, but they are not huge, and I do tow a 16' tandem axle trailer occasionally to the hardware store (maybe once a month or less... not worth making any big configuration changes). I won't have a winch.

 

get the 2" terrafirma med lift shocks and springs and a terrafirma steering damper. that will net you 2 1/4" lift. then throw a set of 265/75/16 tires on. that will give you the look you want. you wont need adjustable panhard or anything else for that amount of lift. i would rebuild the drive shaft if you have not already done that and the only other thing you might want to change would be swapping the rotoflex to a u joint or at least replace the rotoflex if its cracked. the rotoflex will give you a smoother on-road ride but once it dries and cracks it can give a nasty wobble and eventually fail.

posted this before you posted a second time... if you going to tow i would put the HD springs in the rear.

 

You are the MAN! I was looking at the 2" to avoid all of the other complications. Does it? The towing is just occasional to get plywood and I have a couple of pickups for that, too. I keep a ball on the back of the LR so I don't back into things with the golden (priced) bumper. Would the Medium Duty be okay with steel bumpers fore and aft? I found some in the UK for pretty cheap (4Wheeln.net, DISCO 1/2 and 300-200 HEAVY DUTY REAR BUMPER, - £180.00 : Land Rover/Range Rover Parts Shop, Land Rover & Range Rover Parts shop back and DISCOVERY 1 or 2 NON WINCH BUMPER With DRL Lights - £245.00 : Land Rover/Range Rover Parts Shop, Land Rover & Range Rover Parts shop front).They don't look extraordinarily heavy but they will surely be heavier than the stock covers.

Appreciate your quick response!

 

I do plan to rebuild the driveshaft from the how-to on the forum and replace the u joints so I can grease them. The current ones look fine and don't wobble, but it has been sitting so long I imagine they need lubrication.

 

And one other question; I have read that a 1" spacer is needed in the back to avoid the squatty look with these lifts. As I understand it, the lifts make the Disco level, but it just looks squatty. Again, going for form over function here. Since I will have everything jacked up and unbolted should I get rear 1" spacers as well? I HATE the nose down look, and have put leveling (coil) spacers on all of my trucks to avoid it, but I think I might hate the squatty look even more.

 

looks like that rear bumper is a britpart. i had one on my d2. it didnt fit. my buddy had one his fit... so i dont think the manufacturing is up to par. not sure what that front bumper is, shows one pic of a defender and another of a disco... be careful of what you buy for bumpers.

you wont need spacers in the back i had the 2" HD TF lift with the +2" TF shocks and it looked damn level to me. if you plan on just driving it i would get the med springs because the HD I found stiff until i loaded it with front and rear bumpers, sliders, roof rack, sand ladders, and a belly skid. but if you dont plan on going off road and you dont really tow with it then why get steel bumpers in the first place? just camel cut the front get a brush guard if you want and get the med TF +2" shock and spring kit from Lucky 8.

 

A new shaft may be worth the money over a rebuild...just what I read

 

Those are brit parts and thanks for the caveats. For some reason the bumpers from England are much cheaper, even with shipping, and they are different than what I would expect to see here. That place modifies the brackets for whatever application (D1, D2, Defender). I've corresponded with the owner and he seems honest enough.

I am replacing the front bumper because my idiot ex wife decided a railroad transport van loaded with coddled railroad employees wasn't moving quickly enough when the light turned green. A stock bumper is more expensive than a steel one. The back one is just to complete the look.

The front bumper weighs about 90 pounds and the back weighs about 70. I am planning to order the MD kit from Lucky8. Does that sound about right?

My buddy is getting a similar setup for his 02 but he will have a heavier bumper and winch, so he is getting the HD springs on front. His is about 180 pounds on front.

 

In fact I was alarmed to read Lucky8's description of the actual springs (not the kit description) for the HD's, which basically stated that if you don't have the specified extra constant load on them, the truck will sit higher than 3 inches and put everything in a bind. As I have read, isee 3 inches already causes a bind and requires a lot of add on equipment to make a roadworthy vehicle. Makes perfect sense and put me to my calculator converting kilograms to pounds for new bumpers. I also assume the HD springs are pretty stiff and I want a comfortable ride.

I have driven poorly lifted vehicles (pickups, jeeps) before and only one was done correctly, at a cost of several thousand. The rest had incredibly harsh rides or wandered all over the road even at low speeds, or both--doesnt fit my plan.