It's what's on the inside that counts
 

Hello Enthusiasts,

Figuring out whether to buy a 2001 Land Rover Discovery Series II 4dr Wgn SE. It's priced at $2500, has 150,000 miles, body and interior are in BEAUTIFUL condition. It's what's under the hood that I'm worried about. Any advice on what I should be looking out for?

Thank you!
:disco:

I wanted a second one for my daughter. My thought was that anything with over 100K was at the end of its motor life without a whole bunch of money put into it. I got a 2003 w/ 97k miles, looked new inside and out. Asking price was 2500. I paid 1000 after laughing in the guys face at the asking price. As expected the motor was pretty much done but wanted to do a chevy swap anyway.

If I were going to buy another D2? I'd do the following:

1) Buy the ultraguage (or in my case, just bring one). They are $60 and will save you hundreds. Drive it around. If it hangs above 200F, then you'll need the 180 T-stat. Use this to talk the guy down $100 or so. If it goes up past 220F in typical driving, then walk-away. Your headgasket is going to go. Or your T-stat is just clogged. In either case, the safest thing to do is an entire system cooling overhaul ($600-1000). I'd talk him down and/or consider the rest of the rig before pulling the trigger.

2) Look underneath and check the drive shafts. The rear flex disk shouldn't have any sign of tears. Should be an easy fix (I have mine, but haven't done it yet) and a $100 or so. The front should have a servicable drive shaft, with a servicable centering ball. You can tell by the grease fittings for the U-joints and a small little fitting for the ball joint. Here is a pic of what you are looking for with the centering ball:

http://www.stu-offroad.com/misc/images/lube-6.jpg


A new shaft is $300-400.


After that, it's just about driving good and if the brakes work. If you have any ABS-Traction control lights it might be worth passing. I mean, honestly, most are in the $2-5k range right now, so why just jump at what appears to be the best deal?


I'm not trying to talk you out of D2 ownership. Honestly, my D2 has been the BEST used car I've ever bought and I use it hard on the trails. That said, a LOT of prevent maintenance before I put any miles on it has helped stave off the Land Rover demons: Cooling system, drive shaft, change the fluids, keep up on greasing the shaft, watching the temps with an ultraguage, etc.

These cars are heavy duty and won't let you down, but on the flip side they are NOT a drive and forget rig. They WILL require constant maintenance (usually easy) or they can get VERY expensive.

The problem with the <$3k rigs is that most have been ignored enough to have major issues: Either tranny (from a broken shaft) or head gaskets/slipped liners (the fault of an ignored cooling systems). These are the most common weaknesses....and the easiest to fix. The trick these days is finding a rig that isn't already destroyed..

If interested I would sell you mind. 2004 HSE. 75k miles. All Options except rear entertainment.
Photos available in the link in my sig.
Thanks.

Why are you selling your HSE?

IMHO buying a LR that doesn't have over 100K on it is a mistake lol. That means it sat for a reason..... LR engines can last way more than 100K. It all comes down to how the LR was maintained, driven, and kept.

Hell my 02 Kalahari had 221K on it when I bought it. Nothing besides a few cosmetic pieces needed attention. It's now been nearly a year and I've got nearly 227K on it now (not a daily driver as I have a company vehicle). Runs silky smooth with no CEL's no amigo's and it's my favorite LR.

Highway miles vs city miles = I'll take highway miles any day. From the sounds of this D2 you've found it sounds like it's been well kept during it's life. Take an OBDII tool like a Scanguage II or Ultragauge and let the D2 idle. Check for any pending codes, and while it's idling listen for any weird engine sounds, then check all the windows, locks, radio, HVAC, sun roofs, and 4WD operation. Then take it for a cruise down the street and listen for suspension/brake noise at the lower speeds. Then get it out onto a highway and get it up to speed. If the Temp's don't go over 205F during your test drive you've probably found a good running D2. Ask the owner if they have any service records or if they've had the head gaskets replaced. You can sometimes get lucky and find the head bolts marked (good sign the head gaskets were done) or look for a dent on the bulkhead down below the brake booster (another good sign it's had engine work). Maintenance records are great, but not always necessary. It's also very important to get a good vibe from the seller. If they seem shady and clueless move on. If they seem very sad to see it go (selling for a growing family or good reason), and very knowledgeable about it then it's probably a great LR.

If you purchase it I'd recommend an OEM 180F grey thermostat, changing over to the green coolant with a 50/50 mix, going with a larger oil filter like the Mobil1 M301, Bosch 3500 (the blue filter), or the K&N HP3001 and using some Shell Rotella 15/40w dino oil.

Then with ANY used car pull the wheels off, check brake pad/rotor condition, check front driveshaft for play (look for zerk fittings as a sign the shaft has been upgraded/repaired), and clean and inspect your battery & battery terminals.

Then sit back and enjoy your new to you unique and truly amazing Land Rover D2.

only thing i would do over again is buy one without ACE(a nice feature but not necessary and just another fancy, expensive system to fail/fix). maybe one day ill get into fixing it, but at the moment its an electrical fault on valve 1 and 2. its quieter without it too. most everything ells has been pretty easy to work on. lots of good knowledge on here as well.

I wanted an ACE D2 and my last one I bought (99 D2) has it. It works great and honestly all the junk yards around here normally always have one.

Grab the valve block for cheap at a junk yard. Or go back to a sway bar setup. I've got an 03 parts truck and if my ACE setup gets completely a money pit I'll switch over to the normal stuff. However besides the normal pump noise my ACE is great.

It is a bit too cumbersome for my wife to drive in Manhattan and the garage is killing us on the fees (they're charging a large suv surcharge because of the vehicle size.)

:disco:

When I bought my D2, I made sure to buy one without all the fancy extras. Mine doesn't have ACE, Rear air suspension, 3rd row, or rear A/C. Only options it has are heated seats, heated windscreen, and nav (which have never stopped working ).

I figured that I was buying a high maintenance car, so why not trim the fat and make it a bit simpler. Sure the features I don't have would be nice to use (better handling, more people capacity, more comfort, and no rear sag when towing heavy trailers), but now I don't have to deal with those systems failing.

This method of car buying doesn't apply to LRs only. All of my toyotas ('16 4Runner and '11 Sequoia) are base models. The only option on both is 4WD. This way I will never have to fix any features that aren't totally necessary.
JMHO