Now I understand some of these make it to the junk yard or can be purchased so cheap. I paid 4500 for my 2002 SE with 134000 miles, check engine light was on, and was leaking oil as all of them. I know i know to much money, but i tried, it was semi local, the correct color, i negotiated the price down but my heart beat my mind. I purchased this vehicle for fun, a project if you will. This is my second land rover, first was a new 2010 RRS Supercharged, it was my wifes daily driver and was a very good vehicle, no issues for the 3 years we owned it. I always loved the discovery's so this one just popped up for sale one day i was searching craigslist.

I'm located in West Virginia and very close to some great off-roading areas, its been to the hatfield-mccoy trail a few times, some other local 4x4 spots, i like to drive it every time i get a chance or its not in the garage being worked on. Im almost to the point that i don't get some sort of light every time it goes out. Its kinda a weird experience to go on a drive and not get some sort of CEL or Amigos. Ive been compiling the parts and cost associated with it, ive done all the work to it myself, and feel like a part time mechanic. Here is my cost to date.

1. Land Rover Discovery 09/03/13 Mike $4,500.00
2. Spark Plugs 09/03/13 Advanced Denso $60.00
3. Transmission Fluid 09/05/13 Amsoil ATF $40.00
4. Power Steering Fluid 09/05/13 Advanced Auto Preston $20.00
5. Brake Fluid 09/05/13 Advanced Valvoline DOT4 $30.00
6. Oil & Filter 09/05/13 Advanced Shell Rotella $80.00
7. Air Filter 09/05/13 Advanced STP $20.00
8. Transfer Case Oil 09/05/13 Advanced Mobil 1 $80.00
9. Tires 09/03/13 C Adam Toney $100.00
10. Waterpump & Bolt Kit 09/03/13 Rover Parts Airtex $160.00
11. Belt 09/03/13 Rover Parts Polyvee $27.00
12. Hose Stat to Waterpump 09/03/13 Rover Parts Land Rover $100.00
13. Power Steering Pump Gasket 09/10/13 Advanced Rubber Gasket $40.00
14. Drag Link, Rear Link & Damper 09/10/13 Lucky 8 OEM $200.00
15. Washer Sprayers Hood 09/19/13 Ebay Lrparts Land Rover $30.00
16. Arm Rest Driverside 09/19/13 Ebay Godfathers LR Land Rover $34.50
17. Cup Holder Rear 09/21/13 Ebay Buckhorn Imports Land Rover $22.00
18. Exhaust Gaskets & Bolts 09/24/13 Ebay Miami Rovers Land Rover $99.00
19. 2000 Locking Diff 10/01/13 Ebay Chris Land Rover $150.00
20. Crank Position Sensor 10/10/13 Ebay Miami Rovers Land Rover $100.00
21. Rear Door Subs 10/20/13 Walmart Speakers $40.00
22. Magnaflow Cats 10/21/13 Magnaflow Magnaflow $419.00
23. All gaskets for intake manifold & spark plugs 10/26/13 Atlantic British Land Rover $250.00
24. Transmission Filter & CDL Diff Gaskets also
25. Oil Seperater 10/29/13 Atlantic British Land Rover $10.00
26. Brake Manifold Intake Vacuum 10/29/13 Atlantic British Land Rover $40.00
27. Gas Cap 10/29/13 Atlantic British Land Rover $40.00
28. Rear Tail Lights 10/29/13 Chris OEM $50.00
29. Akebono Brake Pads Front & Rear 11/04/13 Amazon Akebono $140.00
30. Stoptech Rotors Front & Rear 11/04/13 Turn 14 Stoptech $240.00
31. OME Suspension 11/18/13 Transatlantic OME $760.00
32. 5 16x7 Steel Wheels, Caps & Lugs 11/20/13 Atlantic British OEM $800.00
33. 5 Goodyear Duratracs 11/20/13 C Adam Toney Goodyear $1,000.00
34. ABS Amigo V1 11/18/13 RSW Solutions LLC RSW Solutions LLC $200.00
35. ABS Pump 2004 11/20/13 Ebay OEM $160.00
37. Total Parts $5,541.50 Total $10,041.50

The motor runs strong and quite, and i hope it remains that way, the head gasket was done by the previous owner, im not sure what else ill do to it other than cosmetics and maintenance at this point. Its still below the cost of most side by side utv's and much more fun. My suspension and wheels/tires will be on as so as they come in this week, this disco has for sure had its life saved!

 

Didn't see $69 for an Ultra Gauge to keep an eye on things. Like coolant temp. Also resets codes. You have been busy. Now time for a few weekends off. After you install a 180F thermostat from Rover North for about $60.

How about some photos of your labors?

 

The good news it that with everything you've replaced you've almost got a new truck.

 

Ouch - that's a lot of dosh in total . But think of all the fun you can have instead of driving around in some boring compact but nobody promised LR's were cheap to run, financially and as an automotive they are a disaster but what else would you do with your spare cash - enjoy yourself? You've done most of the worst things so hopefully you'll get lucky and nothing more will go wrong - well - at least for a while.

 

 

Its been fun so far, i like tinkering so its a great vehicle for that. Im hoping the largest expense "engine" holds up for a while, so i can keep modding other parts.

 

Nice ride. Thanks for sharing. Saw the Dodge Viper in the background of one of your photos. Nice bad boy.

x2 on the t-stat. Just curious and before you replace the t-stat, have you encountered any engine ticking? Particularly when the engine is has been running for a good 20 minutes - enough time so that the engine is nice and hot? There was a recent thread about the engine tick and some guy posted a couple of vids about this. Check it out to get a sense of what it sounds like. Again, just curious.

 

Nice looking machine for nearly 12 years old. Mines 11 years this coming year and has been great but it's a TD5. Keep laughing and enjoying your rideouts offroad. I've always worked like you on the principle "there's no gain without pain" and Landrovers can deliver plenty of smiles but also some pain as well. Good luck, keep tinkering.