My first car is a 2000 Disco II and my dad and I are looking for some projects and mods to do to it. We already trimmed the front bumper because it was cracked on one side but we want to continue working on it. If there there any other ways to enhance the experience with this vehicle or any other ideas that would be great.

 

Your going to get a lot of the same reply:

Save your engine and tranny first! Swap the front driveshaft for maintainable one ASAP.

2). Get rid of dex cool from your radiator. Chances are it has gummed up the radiator, so you might as well budget a complete cooling system overhaul: rubber hoses, radiator, 180 deg T-Stat, viscous fan clutch, throttle body gasket, etc.

3). Ok, now have some fun. Get a CDL equipped T-case (not cheap for you) and install the CDL. Get a 2" lift and put on the 31.6" tires. True trac your front and rear axles, make sure you have a skid plated rear bumper and rock sliders and budget a trip to Moab.


Just noticed you have a 2000. You "may" already have the CDL case like me. That would be fortunate. You just saved yourself a couple of grand!! Best check tommorow to see of you do.

All of the above should cost anywhere from $2-6k depending on your material costs and how much work you and your dad do on your own. Getting a CDL equipped T-case could very well be your greatest expense, if you need to find one from a yard or purchase one.

 

X2 on cooling system and the front shaft. Also be aware that heat gauge is not accurate, it will point at 50% from about 130 - 240F. One mod is a $69 Ultra Gauge, which displays live data from the OBDII port, plus reads and resets codes. Pix of two trucks, two temps, same gauge reading. Also pix of the stub that you shift to make locking CDL. You may just have to add the shift linkage kit.

 

Don't worry about what it looks like, you need to deal with getting the maintanence current. How many miles on the Disco, do you have any of the old service information?
Might want to have you and your Dad to read my major service list at the top of the D2 section and do it all especially the front drive shaft inspection/rebuild or replacement based on if the 3 front u-joints each have a grease fitting.
You mentioned mods, what are you want to use this for?

 

We have a great local Land Rover specialist named Richard Duvall at Euro-Tek who takes care of all of our mechanical upgrades and maintenance and things like that. My dad and I like to do performance, sound, and cosmetic upgrades so anything like that would be cool. Also, the advice on the engine temp gauge always being at 1/2 was very helpful, if you still have any other advice on mechanical stuff, feel free to keep sending it my way.

 

Hey Mike. Thanks for the reply. Like I said, we have someone who handles all the major mechanical upgrades and inspections. We like doing performance, sound, and cosmetic upgrades. I go off-road here in NC pretty frequently. Also, any ideas for gadgets or anything, such as cb's(got one) or anything of that nature that would be cool to add to the truck would be appreciated.

 

I'd still print off the Major Maintenance list and hand it to Richard Duvall and tell him to do it all. There aren't many mechanics who recommend the amount of preventative maintenance required. Why? Because the average Joe, when he hears he needs to replace a driveshaft and an entire cooling system, thinks "This guy is pulling a fast one!" and never returns.

Truth is, you can't "really" diagnose your cooling system until it is too late, thanks to the stock gauge. It's the most critical component of your vehicle, or you are out a $2k head gasket at best and a $4k engine at worst when you liner slips. Considering the age of Disco IIs these days, it just makes good sense to overhaul the entire thing and put in a 180 degree T-state. Get the ultra-guage and monitor it (another cool gadget and "mod" that you and your dad will love), and with luck your cooling system will go for another 100k miles. Then you will most likely have to rinse and repeat.

Next, the drive shaft. It's sealed, the grease will burn up, and anywhere from 80-130k it will suddenly explode taking the transmission with it. That's another $2-4k in damage that could have been prevented with a $300 part. My Disco II had 99k miles on it, when I pulled it and compared it to the new GBR unit, you could tell the grease in the center ball was going (u-joints seemed fine). I probably had 10-15k left in it.

These are the two critical maintenance items that aren't recommended, but *must* be done on a recently purchased disco with questionable service and maintenance history.

My disco came with full service records with maintenance done at the GBR Utah shop. They are arguably one of the best Rover shops around, and still the previous owner hadn't done the driveshaft or T-stat mod, and I'm still running the stock radiator which appears to be gummed with old Dexcool (you can easily tell because in 105+F head my temp raises above level at idle). GBR stinkin' replaced a water pump, head gasket, upper radiator hose, but still didn't touch the radiator and T-stat because they weren't "broken" and the PO didn't do an preventative work.

So in short, make sure the Major Maintenance list is completed, if money is left over, grab yourself a Tactical Rover rear bumper. You'll need it, or something similar, if you intend to seriously wheel your machine or you'll smash your rear quarter panels due to the short wheelbase and long overhang:

Land Rover Discovery High Clearance Rear Bumper

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...-bumper-48364/

Keep us posted on everything. Many of us here are addicted to not only reading about the fun build-up mods but also maintenance experiences as well.

 

Pix of some of those issues.