Hey guys,

Finally joined after scrolling through threads, and found a lot of great information in the buying tips thread. I am look at several discos, but had a few questions:

-What would be considered a "lot" of miles before a rebuild? One Im looking at has 158k mi. Also, the headgaskets have not been done, so somewhat worried about that.

-He has had the front driveshaft replaced by a local LR shop. I am going to confirm this, but if a LR repair shop replaced this, would it be safe to assume it actually has greasable u-joints? (or how could I confirm this myself? What would I look for)?

-Any general tips I can get for just looking at it in general (i.e. how to check the CDL -if its locked or seized, blown headgasket signs, a flat SLS, etc)

Thanks guys!

 

ahhh....I just realized I posted this in the Disco I forum lol...geez

Mods - can you please move this to the appropriate section. Thanks

 

sigh, it does feel good to have our own section.

 

The 2000 has CDL in the transfercase but it does not have a lever to engage it. There are levers or electric solinoids available to engage the CDL. I made my own lever for mine. Not all Discovery came with SLS, some have rear coil springs. Coils are more reliable then air bags but the SLS is nice for a heavy trailer. Some had ACE (active cornering enhancment) it levels the vehical in corners.

I get 13 mpg in mine, something to consider before buying a Discovery. My discovery is up to 183,000 miles now and I have replaced all of the common problems. It seems more reliable now then it did when I bought it at 75,000 mile.

Willie

 

My daughter got a 2000 DII about a year ago and has been typical for rovers so far.... I need to repace all the o2 sensor's, oil pan, valve cover gaskets. New wires, raditor, hoses among other stuff. Think of it as a guy turning fifty... think about fingers up the ***, peeing 6 times a day and taking asprin daily . It's not a 20 year old anymore...it 's pretty much ready for medicare...Well... make sure you can afford good health care as now when it falls it will really break a hip...

 

I have a 2000 and i've had two semi-expensive repairs in the three years i've owned it. One was in the first month of ownership.. typical of these to have issues the PO left behind. And the other was more from an offroading mistake. Other than that, ive replaces a few fuses, and changed some fluids.

It's either hit or miss with these things, just be sure the ones you consider have been well maintained, it will make all the difference. As you mentioned, bring it my a LR mechanic (not the stealership) and have them look over before you buy.

Test as as many as you can too.

 

thanks guys for the replies...they have been very helpful.

I will be looking at it today. The current owner (the past 3-4 years) has been consistently taking it to a local LR shop (not stealership) and can provide history of work. They have replaced the front driveshaft with greasable U-joints, but not a greasable center bushing? He said this could still fail, but you would hear it "chirping" before it would.

Any thoughts on this?

 

also, the current owner did not replace the head gasket, and is unsure if the PO did. Im hoping he did as it has 150k+ miles, so anyway or tips to verify the headgasket is ok? My basic run through is checking:
-coolant overflow tank (look for oily substance/milkshake)
-check oil
-watch for any smoke
-check block for any leaks
-constantly smell around the car and in engine bay for sweet burning smell. Anything else I should do?

 

take it for a drive and realize how sweet it is to have a LR!!!!

 

I changed my head gaskets at 180,000 miles. I had to top off the coolant tank every day. The leak just kept getting worse. I never overheated mine. Sometimes they will let go all at once then the temp guage will shoot up into the red causing the heads to warp. The new gaskets are improved to last longer.

Willie