A few days ago I purchased a 2003 Land Rover Discovery S.E. Sport Utility 4D for $3,000. I'm not super mechanical (yet) however I'm eager to learn and willing to spend time working on the Disco. I have a friend who's good with cars who's offered to help me though I'm seeking the help of the forum as our schedules don't coincide too often. Below I will list the details of my purchase and the Disco's current situation, any help/advice is welcome.

The Purchase
The Disco II had little to no frame rust, no surface rust, no exterior visual blemishes of any kind. The interior had a saggy headliner and a tear in each of the front two seats. The exhaust pipe showed the vehicle had clearly been burning oil as I rubbed my finger in it and it was totally black (Supposedly that's normal with these vehicles though?). The electronics worked just fine, cool A/C, warm heat, functional power windows/sun-roofs, functional power seats, working radio, working gauges, and working lights(interior and exterior). All of the fluids were full and were the correct color(except for the trans fluid, I didn't see anywhere to check that so it must be under the vehicle?). The owner was a nice guy who had purchased the vehicle over a year ago yet had to get rid of it due to a growing family. He was very blunt in his showing of the vehicle, explaining the poor reliability history of Land Rover and showing what he'd done to the vehicle in the time he'd owned it. The vehicle had a light layer of dust on it, like it hadn't been used for a few weeks, however, it seemed well taken care of. The owner only used 91 (premium) gas while he owned it. Most importantly, the vehicle only had 85k miles on it, though I'm beginning to learn that might not mean much for a Land Rover.

The test-drive was where the problems happened. My mechanically-inclined friend instantly noticed what sounded like "tappet clink" and the vehicle road very rough. It was making a chugging noise while going slow and while at idle, sounding as if it was going to die. Afterwards we scanned it with an OBD II and got 10 codes. P1300, P0172, P0303, P0300, P0303, P0130, P0139, P0305, P0305, P0307. (some of the same codes showed up twice) After being unable to get a tow-truck, I reluctantly drove it 2 hrs home where it rode nice while going highway speeds. After the drive it seemed really hot, though the temp gauge never moved above halfway, and it wasn't smoking or anything.

The previous owner threw in the following items with the vehicle:
- New Land Rover windshield wipers
- 6 bottles of Land Rover gear oil
- FRAM Racing Oil Filter
- 1 Powerstop Evolution Brakepad Brake Kit
- Auto Trans Kit (looks like a gasket and stuff, I can post pictures if requested)
- 7 Bottles of Pennzoil Auto Trans Fluid
- 1/2 Bottle of Shell Rotella Oil
- 2 Bottles of Valvoline Maxlife Full Synthetic Oil
- Bag of washers, plugs,etc.. (Atlantic British)
- 1x Foam Block (Britparts)
- oil-sump gasket
- old o2 sensors that'd been replaced, old MAF sensor that's been replaced
- some weird metal thing?
- 2 leather e-brake covers
- 1 keyfob, 2 uncut keyfobs, 1 cut key that's not attached to the fob
- original manuals
- service history detailing everything the previous owner had done to the car


This seems like a lot of stuff (especially fluids) to have in the back of a vehicle and I'm wondering if some of these items are hinting at an upcoming repair that's necessary for the welfare of the Disco II.

The previous owner put in over $5,000 worth of work (parts+labor) in the last $1,000 miles.
- 4 Continental Terrain A/T Tires
- 4 New Brake Pads
- 2 New (Rear) Rotors
- Valve cover gaskets
- Spark Plugs (walker products)
- Wires
- Ignition Coils
- MAF Sensor
- TPS Sensor
- Air Filter
- Cleaned the throttle body
- Cleaned the IAC valve
- Oil Change (Using Mobil1 301 Filter)

The engine runs rough so perhaps that's due to an incorrect installation of an o2 sensor or MAF sensor? Faulty parts? I noticed the spark plugs on Atlantic British were different from the ones he's had put it but I didn't think that should've mattered.

Current state of the vehicle, questions I'd like answered if anyone can help
On the advice of my mechanic friend I cleared the OBD II codes and drove it again to see what codes came back, and I noticed that while the ride was not perfect it was much better than that of the previous day.
- The tappet clinking noise still is going, it gets faster when I go faster and goes slower when I go slower- What does that mean?
- After the second drive, I got two codes: P0139(o2 sensor bank 1 sensor 2) and P0172 (fuel system too rich) - does that mean that the aforementioned o2 sensor is probably the cause of the engine running rich? Could it be something else?
- The vehicle is leaving large puddles of water, like way more than it should. - why?
- The vehicle is leaking oil in what appears to be small drips, but I'm pretty sure that's normal. (if not please tell me) The oil level didn't drop significantly.
- Do the extra fluids/parts in the back hint at something being wrong/in need of repair?
- The temp gauge says the temp is fine but the engine seems really hot when I open the hood. I'll come to check on it like 30 minutes after driving and the corners above the headlights will still be hot. Why?

Other important info
- My friend is the apprentice to a master mechanic who has worked on Land Rovers before. In a couple weeks his master mechanic agreed to look/listen to it, which is very kind of him, but I'd still like to figure out what I can while I wait.

- Any help/suggestions are welcome and appreciated, I'd prefer complete honesty so don't worry about being rude or blunt.

- $3,000 may have been too much for the vehicle, I know, but at the time I felt like given all that's been done to it, the seemingly honest owner, and that visually it's near perfect, I felt it wasn't a bad price. Even if I overpaid and am under qualified to fix it I'm still happy to own it and will do my best to repair and maintain it. I should mention I'm in High School and will be treating this as a project vehicle that'd I'd like to have ready by winter, as I live in rural Minnesota and need it to get places in bad weather.

- Sorry for not providing pictures, I was worried to post them because the new members thread mentioned if I post pictures in my first 10 posts it'll take the thread down.
Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum! $3000 is not too bad unless the engine is done then you over paid a bit. The ticking noise could just be a valve train issue or something more serious. I would get an Ultragauage ASAP to monitor engine temps as the dash gauge is useless. Use the search function to find out what that is. Oil leaks are normal. You should search this forum for the PVC mod and clean the engine off to track down any leaks. If you are losing coolant that is not a good sign. Lots of helpful folks on here. Sort out your codes and coolant issues first.

 

dont depend on temp gauge if you did any research at all you would know that
get a ultraguage ASAP to see what temps you are running at
tapping can be anything from exhaust leak to sleeves moving up and down with high coolant temps or other serious issues
new coils and plugs etc. Check the purge valve or just buy a new one. Research Hyundai purge valve
you may have paid to much. Only time will tell

 

Actual water on the ground under the area of the front row footwell is the AC condensation outlet tubes, one on each side.

Coolant in a puddle is an entirely different matter and you should be seeing the level go down in your expansion tank if that is the case.

 

Thanks for the response, I'll start what you've recommended immediately!

 

I've seen lots of YouTube videos mentioning the faults of the temp gauge and just wanted to reaffirm with others before disregarding it aha. I see all the responses suggesting an ultra-gauge so I've begun looking for one. As for the other suggestions I'll look into them ASAP. Thanks a ton!

 

The coolant level looks good and the water is exactly where you've described, thanks for the help!

 

02's rarely causs an issue, their job is to tell you when there's an issue (readings outside of predetermined parameters) and maintain fuel trim (clean/efficent running engine). If it's reading lean conditions, it sends that message to the ECU and the ECU sends a signal to increase fuel delivery to lean condition bank. Which, if it's lean condition is because of unmetered air entiring the intake or exhaust system...the engine isn't primarily..."running lean"...it just seems that way to 02...because it is reading higher than expected oxygen levels in exhaust system. So, when it reports lean condition, when there isn't "actually" an issue upstream of the 02 and it tells the ECU to deliver more fuel...then it does start running rich upstream (resulting in an issue in combustion), causing misfires at idle normally/rough idle.

So, l would look upstream of the 02, for intake (vacuum leak) or exhaust leak. Buy a good scan tool, so you can actually watch/read sensors and accuators performances. Plus, you will be able to monitor other systems; engine temps, etc.

Good luck.

 

I'll start looking for a leak and look for an Ultra Gauge or an equivalent OBDII, thanks for the help it's greatly appreciated.