Hello all. I am contemplating the purchase of an 01 Disco 2. I drove it yesterday (4-11-21) and it has some play in the steering. I looked at the Also the owner mentioned that the three amigos come on from time to time. But they clear it with going into neutral and turn the Rover of them back on and it clears. I need to look at the pan out & track rod, but I did look at the drag link and the bushings on it are completely shot. Bad thing is that the Disco2 is an hour or so away from me. I need to take another look to see if the tire are sticking out a tad on each side. But my concern is the play and the three amigos. Bushings are just normal wear and tear. Any advice from the minds here?

 

Top three things to be concerned about:

Front Drive Shaft
Cooling system, has it ever been overheated?
Head Gasket, when was it last done

All of this is routine maintenance on these, including three amigos.

You should take an OBD2 code reader like the UltraGauge with you on test drives to pull codes, You should own one if you are planning to own one of these... At the very least after about 15 minutes of test driving pull into an auto parts store and have them read the codes.

If you are not mechanically inclined plan on a maintenance budget of $1500 to $2000 per year. It will average out over several years so you can expect some years to be more and others to be less.

 

Dave,

Thanks for the reply. In the description. It says "New Tom woods driveshaft. Rear solid driveshaft conversion. " for the drive line. They said it has never overheated. Lady says her BF used to work for Rover and is a Rover Fanatic. He wasn't there for the test drive. I am watching a video on the maintenance now and the Drive shaft was mentioned 1st thing since it's by the cat. It has. anew battery, kingsborn wires and new alternator. They also say no oil leaks. I am hoping the next time I look at it that the BF will be there to answer answer any other questions I may have.

I am somewhat mechanically inclined. Don't mind getting dirty to work on a vehicle even when learning a new one. I need to buy and OBD2 as it is for the other cars as well.

 

Those are all good answers!

Good luck!

 

Play in the steering is easily adjusted out with the adjustment screw on the steering box, how many miles? If it is less than 200 almost no chance the play is from the steering end links.

Of course I know you already read the previous/sticky threads on what to look for. And of course I know you already checked out the frame for rust.

 

166k on it. Didn't see any undercarriage rust. But going to pill up the carpets not ehnext inspection on the drivers side to make sure it panels are good. It was stored in Houston. Not sure of the storage conditions thou. But the underside looked pretty clean except for obvious road grime and wear.

 

Be picky. I wish I had been when I bought mine. I ended up needing to replace the engine. Here I am $24k later. Don’t get me wrong - I enjoy the project and it is fun to tinker but these things can be expensive to get in good shape if you are using them like a daily driver like me.

plenty of good ones in Florida for 2500 to 5000 with no rust. Good luck!

 

@cvhyatt OUCH! You have looks to the ones there for sale or is it just local owners? Trying to avoid shipping if I can! But if not I will. Talked with someone on a FB group about one he has on the west coast but haven't heard back from him on the particulars of it yet. I am about to email the owner oft his one I have been talking with and get the VIN so I can run a carfax on it.

 

Carfax will not tell you the whole story. If I were buying again I would stick a borescope down each cylinder and check for steam cleaned piston heads. Also check for sweet smelling exhaust and any codes.

 

@derweissehai Let me do some checking in the area and I will post ones I find. I live in northeast Florida but these things are all over. If it’s close by, I can do an on-site inspection for you.

Find one you like, fly out and drive it home. One guy from Idaho picked up one for $3000 - one owner. He was at disney with his family. Probably drove it back.