These trucks are easy to work on. Most problems are no big deal. The few big deals revolve around overheating. Headgaskets and bearings seem to last 90,000 to 140,000 miles.

Look underneath your potential "new" truck before you test drive to see where your oil leaks come from. Repeat this step after your test drive. Small leaks are common. Avoid rusted frames.

Buy a truck that doesn't overheat on your test drive and that doesn't have rod knock when you rev at idle.

If you paid $4 for the ELM327 on eBay then you can install it and check engine codes and fluid temp during/after your test drive via your smartphone. No misfire codes is good. Other codes don't matter so much unless you are in an Emissions state.

There's some basic maintenance that you will want to do preventively once you do buy, such as replacing old drive shafts or at least the rubber Rotoflex joint, as well as check/refill diffs, transfer case, and transmission with appropriate fluids as they are typically ignored/neglected.

 

 

Well, the OEM head gaskets do fail, and you aren't going to be able to save the old ones even if you change out the fluid on your 1st day of ownership, so I wouldn't worry about if that's true or not since you have no control over it initially.

IF you can find records on your purchase that show low miles on the current set of headgaskets, great. Otherwise you'll simply drive enough that you will need to do a head gasket job eventually. Easy enough to do with simple hand tools. You can leave the motor in the truck and replace the head gaskets with the hood raised.

Heck, you can replace all of the rod bearings and main bearings with the motor still in the truck, connected to the transmission, as well... just by dropping the oil pan.

The only things that require pulling out the motor (pain in the butt) are the last cam bearings and crankshaft.


Also, there are lots of youtube videos showing how to do many Disco 2 jobs. You can use their knowledge and not have to reinvent the wheel everytime there is a prob.

 

After owning mine for 6 years and only putting 20,000 miles on it, I have to say that I'm not a fan of the vehicle. They don't have much power for how much gas they burn and they have really poor gearing for towing. I'd look for something newer with a V6 and prolly from a Japanese manufacturer if I were in the market.

 

Lol! You should definitely get one. Just for fun I looked up a newer V6 Japanese SUV. 2010 Toyota 4runner with a V6 makes 20 ft lbs of torque more but you have to rev it to 4400 rpm vs an 02 Disco at 2600 rpm. You think the Disco does not have the power for towing you should try that. That said, I do find the Disco a little short in the wheelbase department for towing heavy loads over 3000 lbs. I have known several 4runner owners and they rarely get over 17mpg on the highway. The good news is you won't have to work on it, the bad news is you could probably buy 4 discos in good running condition for what you will have to pay for a good 4runner.

Different strokes...

 

My 2001 Disco won't tow a 1,500 pound snowmobile trailer up a 6% grade and stay in 3rd gear. It has to shift to 2nd and rev the snot out of it. My 2000 Nissan Frontier (with 18 less HP and 50 ft.lbs less torque) tows the same trailer uphill better. The Nissan does have a 5 speed manual transmission though.

 

Find a high miler cheap and sit on the LS Swap. The best scenario may be a sleeved Rover V8 for ease, but for the money you can get a more modern engine with better power and torque. Depends on if you want to wrench though.