you got that right. I would have traded my D2 for this Sequoia 4X4 up here that another guy at work drives but his $hit is too beat up w/ severe lack of maint; I'd almost take an ugly a$$ Toyota 4x4 over a D2 if it was somewhat "kept"

 

I bought my '04 in August of last year with 203,000 miles on the clock. I've got around $3500 invested in its current condition and I would call it very close to "reliable" at this point.

It would seem that most discovery 2's require a substantial initial investment (mostly time not necessarily money) but are more than capable of returning to a reliable and adept off road vehicle. At their core they are very simple vehicles, not unlike any other full frame'd 4x4.

 

I paid $2500 for a 2000 disco 2 and that was with known sunroof leaks and various other obvious flaws (broken windscreen cowl, broken a pillar trim, driver's seat leather torn and wearing.) I didn't know there was blown head gasket and neither did the seller since he is a friend of mine. He disclosed everything he knew of. I have since had the front windscreen with a pillar trim and cowl compliments of insurance, did a top end overhaul myself and spent probally $850-$1000 on all of that because I put in new a new y pipe with cats, had everything heat related ceramic coated, everything else powder coated in black wrinkle, fuel injectors professionally serviced, gasket kits, new water pump, radiator, my time and effort and she is a reliable ride. There is tons more I want to do but it's all astetics and will come over time. The choice is yours to get what you want. You will either enjoy it or hate it. There is no middle ground with one of these. My wife hates it and I love it. I have a 2 year old that enjoys tinkering on it with me and that is worth it's weight in gold to me. As for the transmission issue, I'm in central Alabama and down south there are a lot avaliable from various scrap yards and even some forum members on here own some and will help you out in your endevours. They are fun vehicles and a joy to drive and have fun with and work on in my opinion but that's me personally.

 

the '03-04 are just that more work being standard-equipped with SAI, in most cases. I didn't have much trouble with it the first year but at some point all of these pieces will fail; none of them considered durable, whatsoever. At least if you replace everything of the cooling system, upgrade brittle pipes/hoses, run standard green antifreeze and renew the gaskets you can assume that is safe for a while so you then get on to the oil leaks, steering, brakes, hubs, bearings and everything else like drive-shafts and checking fluid levels. My suspension is shot @ 115K miles so now I have to figure out what i do with it. hate this truck.

 

Joe,
your like me man. If you didn't have bad luck, you would have no luck!

 

this has been the ongoing joke in my family for maybe 20-years now..

 

I removed all of my Sai equipment, problem solved.

As for common wear items, that's the cost of owning an automobile... these are Parts that wear out on every vehicle. There are cheap upgrades for pretty much all of the known failure points (front drive shaft, t-joint in upper radiator hose, etc) and the rest is just age related wear. Suspension bushings, tie rods, shocks, bearings, etc. Just wear out.

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at first, working on the truck wasn't half-bad. Then, I started getting aggravated. that's what I thought before the problems reached "mass-critical."
Finally, it seemed that every replacement part that I got was faulty or poorly manufactured so I was replacing the replacement parts. Now, I'm just at the point where I don't want someone else to have it with all brand new $hit so they can throw their lift kit and steel bumpers on it to go bee-bopping on their way in my $10,000 - valued @ $4,000 - ongoing nightmare. My friends & fam' know better than to inquire about the Disco nowadays.

 

Don't let people freak you out, a D2 is an awesome project and can provide plenty of reliable utility with the right maintenance, and if you make sure to buy the right truck. The advice I give to anyone who posts about getting into Discos is this: there are only two types of Land Rover owners; those who have endless amounts of money and can pay for all services and repairs without freaking out, and those who own a lot of tools and enjoy wrenching on their truck on a regular basis.

Also important to know:

1. Maintenance first, accessories and mods second. Before you spend a dime on bumpers and rook racks you should change every fluid in the vehicle (trans, diffs, engine oil, T-case, etc) and service the cooling system with fresh coolant and a genuine LR thermostat (most recommend 180 but 190 is also ok).

2. Make sure your transfer case works (both hi/lo and CDL) and make sure you don't have 3 amigos lights on. If you do, the guy should be selling it to you on the cheap because it's a project.

3. Don't buy from sketchy people who don't seem like they've maintained their truck well, check condition of all fluids during inspection and go on a very long and thorough test drive to make sure it's not overheating, etc.

4. Get familiar with all the web sources for parts and accessories: Atlantic British, Rovers North, Lucky8, etc. Also remember to utilize ebay to find parts on the cheap and get real familiar with your local salvage yards, as you'll find awesome stuff there without spending much money.

5. Never go to the LR dealership for any reason whatsoever (unless you're the aforementioned rich guy who can pay what they'll ask).

6. Don't pay too much on your Disco unless it's pristine and with service records. Assume it needs work and pay accordingly.

Other than that, have fun and looking forward to seeing more of you on this forum. And remember, #DiscoIsntDead

 

mine too man