After doing some research on this forum and others, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the following for my first line of repairs/upgrades to my new Disco II. Let me know what you think and if there is anything you think is a must have.

- Metal PCV Valve (Thanks to Best4x4 for the suggestion).
- 180F Thermostat from Lucky8Offroad
- ACDELCO U-Joints. (Current front driveshaft is serviceable so only got replacement U-Joints).
- Mobil 1-301 oil Filter and 15W-40 Rotella.
- FEL-PRO Valve Cover Gasket.
- MOOG Upper and lower front ball joints.
- MOOG Tie Rod End.
- Ultra-Gauge EM Plus V1.4.
- Vantop H612T Mirror Dashcam/rearview camera. (Thanks to MatthewMarkert on Reddit for this recommendation and the other great suggestions)

For those curious, all the mechanical parts with the exception of the thermostat (EBay) were bought through RockAuto, Vantop camera from Amazon, and Ultragauge direct from their website. All this set me back $467.87.

That’s it for now and I’m planning on posting progress pictures/videos once these all come in. Most of the mechanical parts were recommended to be replaced by a mechanic friend of mine that looked it over. The electronics were from recommendations on this forum.

The next planned upgrades will be fixing the sagging headliner, following Cosmic88’s guide (https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...ep-step-33276/). And swapping the current cabin lights with 5000k LED’s.

I just joined this forum yesterday and have been drinking from a fire hose. Thank you all for the great knowledge and experience you have provided me already!

 

Instead of the oddball OEM-style thermostat, perhaps consider Extinct's inline thermostat mod. You can put whatever off-the-shelf temperature thermostat you want in the housing, making replacement a much simpler job.
Drain and flush the cooling system while you're working on it, and switch to a green coolant if it still has Dexcool in it.

 

x2 on the inline thermostat and a metal bleeder screw setup. also do the coolant flush when you do the thermostat with green coolant as mentioned above.

I'd also just go ahead and change the diff and t case fluids. both are easy with a handheld pump. you could go ahead and do brass screws in the diff as well. those plastic ones round over really easily.

 

If you switch to the inline thermostat, there's no bleeder screw. You bleed the system using the thermostat housing.

 

depends, I suppose. I have both on mine but the previous owner didn't use Extinct's kit. If OP gets it from Extinct, then just go with whatever he supplies.

 

Check/change axle/transfer case/trans fluids. Especially the transfer case...all four of our Dll's were empty or nearly. Very overlooked for some reason. Check the front driveshaft for unusually play or rusty looking u-joints. If greaseable...grease it...regularly.

Welcome to the rover addiction group.

 

just got in touch with Extinct and think I’ll be going that route. It looks like a much more straight forward and reliable alternative to getting an aftermarket 180F from EBay.

 

I see you have the Ultra-Gauge but if you plan on keeping this beast, definitely invest in a Land Rover specific diagnostic tester like a Nanocom or Foxwell.
It'll pay for itself after a couple of uses.

 

2nd on checking the Transfer Case. while it can be awkward to access the fill hole on this don't skip it. as The Deputy said, these can often be low or even empty. an expensive oversight that i, unfortunately, experienced.

 

Other minor upgrades:

• D1 wiper arms (front only)
• Heated seats, if not equipped (you just have to buy a pair of switches, wiring and heating elements already in place)
• motors passenger seat (if you wish the seat height adjustment and lumbar support like on driver side)
• Window deflectors (reduces wind noise significantly)
• LEDs (if you buy quality, e.g. Superbrightleds)
  • climate control head unit, dashboard display
  • dome lights
  • exterior lights except low/high beam, fog