Hi folks, I need a group "therapy" session to talk through some of the frustrations i'm having with my Disco 2 and to decide on my go forward plan with the truck.

First things first, I bought a 2004 SE7 (silver with black interior) sight unseen from a Rover "specialist" in L.A. and drove it home to Seattle. The truck has 128,000 miles on the chassis and despite having owned a wide variety of vehicles in the last 23 years (Hummer H2, TJ Wrangler, 89 4Runner, Land Rover 109, Audi TT, Subaru Outback) I have to say that this is the most i've ever liked a vehicle. The Rover's ability to carry 7 when necessary is a life saver as I'm always having to carry extra people plus car seats. I also really like the fact that in the 6 months i've owed "Alfred", I've been able to take on a couple of jobs myself, a far departure from more modern designs that deter such tinkering.

Ok so it's established that i love the car in fact when shopping for something to potentially replace it, the list is depressingly small if you want 7 seats, even more so when the only reason to change for me would be reliability and gas mileage.

Which brings me to the point of discussion. My truck was represented to be "sorted", meaning i paid top dollar for a fully serviced and reliable 2004 SE7. I knew something was wrong when i was picked up from the airport 3 hours late because the "specialist" had performed a last minute engine swap. I guess i should be thankful that i only broke down twice on the way home back to Seattle. (ps land Rover Rocklin, CA were absolutely AWESOME!) First time the quick connect blew off of the transmission cooler, second time the battery was completely dead.

Work done in the last 6 months:

• replace all the tires (cupped so badly the truck wouldn't drive in a straight line)
• replace the front driveshaft with a heavy duty one from Tom Woods as there was a distinct grumble from the old shaft at 40mph.
• replaced Airbox lid and clips(held on by duct tape)
• replaced MAF
• replaced rear door actuator
• replaced battery
• replaced transmission cooler and quick connect cables
• Fixed wiper and Light switch stalks. (thanks to the Forum!)

Work still to do:

• replace all brake pads
• flush/replace existing radiator and add 180T tstat (truck idles at 215.6 a little high in my book)
• remainder of the 120k service
• Either new engine OR head gasket job
• finally adding the rack and ARB "toys" that i wanted to add 6 months ago.

So here's my question for you guys that really like your Disco's. I planned on spending a set amount of money on maintenance and replacing parts this year. I also planned on having to do a certain amount of "catchup" on maintenance. What i didn't expect was for the Rover specialist to lie about the work that they'd done on the vehicle. Well they either lied or are incompetent, neither bodes well for them or for my truck So i figure that I've over spent on the truck by about $4k to this point, given that none of the important work had been carried out prior to me taking ownership.



I've been quoted at between $2k-$3k for a head gasket job on the motor that the "specialist" from LA had put into the truck (a 70K 4.6 Range Rover motor).



Do i spend the money on a Head Gasket job for a motor that is not original to the truck and has an unknown history OR do I double down and buy a new remanufactured engine ? I'd looked into replacing with a TDI, but my wife may want to return to California in the next few years, so the replacement option would be for a Rover V8. I need to be able to trust this vehicle when i'm miles from home, camping with my family in the desert


Thoughts ?

 

1. Order a new radiator (old one won't flush) and install a 180 thermostat (gray case). Add Ultra Gauge display/scanner to eyeball temps exactly.

2. Wait on HG until you need it. HG failure will still let you drive out of the desert as long as you have enough water. They start small.

3. Brake pads and other maintenance items.

 

I would agree with SB unless you know it needs gasket get caught up on the other stuff first

 

Keep the cooling system squared away and you might not need hg.

FWIW, hg don't typically fail catastrophically. You just start leaking coolant and can't figure out where it's going.

The things I would do If I were driving into the desert

1. buy a spare crankshaft position sensor and keep it and tools to swap it in the truck
2. buy a spare fuel pump relay and keep it in the truck
3. replace the starter
4. replace all hoses and the belt
5. replace thermo and fan clutch, check electric fan functionality

 

And in addition to extra water, carry a container of radiator stop leak (temporary fix).

 

I just returned from a couple days in the Nevada Desert. TOO MUCH FUN! I too am not worried about the Head Gaskets until it happens. I've got 96k on my '03 now and it purrs like it should. I've done the 180 T-Stat and coolant swap already, and as you can see in I was running about 190 degrees at 80 MPH on HWY 80 Saturday. I was about 30 mins past Auburn at that point and had been driving for about 1.5 hours. Sounds like we are neighbors... I'm in Placerville. The whole time I was in the desert and climbing, etc, it never got over 195 degrees.

I figure with the coolant and T-Stat change, I may get lucky and prevent the HG's from going as soon as they normally do. Less temp and pressure (or maybe just less temp).

Here's a link to my Desert Adventure Videos:
YouTube

 

My thoughts are mostly in line with the others posted in that I think you should wait until you need the job. At that point, if you can do it yourself (with the help of a local machine shop), do so. If not, put the money towards a top hat engine from AB, Cannibal, or GPR.

 

What 180 thermostat are you guys talking about?

 

Work still to do:

• replace all brake pads (Marks Automotive in Bellevue/ Kirkland will do this correctly allbeit you will pay dearly for it. The brake pads will probably squeal otherwise.)
• flush/replace existing radiator and add 180T tstat (truck idles at 215.6 a little high in my book) Radiator - Get one from RockAuto Parts Catalog for $320 shipped
• remainder of the 120k service
• Either new engine OR head gasket job Head gaskets will be $2,500 at least unless YOU do it yourself. July 5th Seattle will have summer until Aug 20. You'll have time.
• finally adding the rack and ARB "toys" that i wanted to add 6 months ago.

 

FlyingZebra34 -

see Product Details - Land Rover Parts | Rovers North for the 180 stat.