As much as I love our Disco's, one of the worst things about them is the crappy plastics used. Not only that, but why in the hell are some of them good and some of them terrible? The fender flares are borderline indestructible, but the cowl cracks just sitting there.

So this has me wondering, are they total crap even brand new? Anyone ever bought a new cowl/bumper cover/A pillar/etc.? If so were they glass fragile like all the old ones, or do they just get that way over time.

As an engineer that works in the plastics industry, I would like to have 15 minutes with the engineer and supply chain guy at LR that selected our plastics.

 

If it's a D2 they are at least 14+ years old so have seen plenty of hot sun and cold/snow which inevitably hardens them and obviously they then crack in places. Plastics 14-20 years ago were never designed to last that long and were never technologically robust in those days. IMO if any modern cars last as long as the D2 the plastic work will be well past it's sell by date. Many replacement plastic parts are aftermarket not the genuine article as these trucks are too old now.

 

Sounds like an almost lame apology for the LR's crappy selection on plastics. Ever tried to pull the fender flares off? You can twist them 180 degrees from molded state and they snap right back. Late nineties Chevy/Ford/BMW/etc don't shatter touched/crack just sitting there. A few do, but they are usually interior plastics - Nissan and chevy had some troubles with dash bezels. LR then decided to copy them with the LR3 dash

No good excuse, they could have easily copied best practices in the industry/used what works. It is possible their resin suppliers did a crappy job on the accelerated UV test and they experience more embrittlement than expected, but I doubt it. Was just curious if anyone knew what they were like new...

 

The heat from the south kills them & the heat from the engine kills them. LR shouldn’t have changed the cowl design from the D1. I’ll take crappy brittle plastic from the heat and a rust free frame vs perfect plastic and a total rust bucket for a body.

There are no new parts like that. It would be considered NOS (new old stock). Manufacturers only have to offer replacement parts for 10 years. After that it’s either aftermarket stuff or NOS.

There is a fiberglass cowling & A pillar’s on Ebay. I’d like to give them a go, but just haven’t needed a cowling or A pillar yet.

 

The rigid plastic in the cowl has a contributor to crack. Rain gets under, and when freezes, ice expands and pushes it with brutal force, cracking it.