Hello all,
Newbie here! My wife and I are seriously considering a very clean 02 Discovery S with 42 K. We are in need of a very capable 4wd for long trips on snowy roads for my wife, towing and maybe offroading if my wife allows it. I do currently own a 01 Xterra with mild mods and wheel with it when we can.

Is there any usual things I should look for and/or be aware of?

Does the Disco have LSD Diffs?

Thank you,
Dan

 

The 03 has a few things that would keep me away from recommending one to you. First, you don't have a locking transfer case like the older model's or the 04's have, and they had some oil pump issues that ate up a number of engines before the problem was corrected by Rover.
How much are they asking for the 03? If you can send between the high $18,000 to maybe $22,000 and take your time, you can buy an 04 that is a far better truck and able to more things then you or you wife will need.
Get back to me if you are open to an 04, I see them every so often.

 

Dan,

I just bought an '04 Discovery S with 35,000 miles on it at a Land Rover dealer for $20,300 in Denver. It came with the balance of the factory warranty and a certified pre-owned warranty.

The choice of the '04 was for the reasons Mike just pointed out. It seems they area more desirable as BMW got the kinks worked out for the 2nd year of the 4.6 engine.

Dave

 

Don't mean to rain on your parade, but BMW sold Land Rover to Ford in 2000. You have a Ford. Oh, and it is still the same basic motor, it is not a Ford 4.6.

 

Dan. All Rovers come with open diffs, thats why you want either an earlier model like a 99,2000 or early 2001 or an 04 so you get the locking t/case, then if you still want more traction you can dump in an ARB or a Detroit.

 

Thanks Disco Mike

They are asking $16,000 with 41K on it. It is has 2 scratches on the back hatch and a door ding, pretty clean. I have yet to drive it. The tires are cupped a bit. I did go and crawl underneath it looks good. The front diff bolts look new, maybe some work was done. The oil pan is weeping from the front, but is not the front seal. Said to say, It does not have the dual sunroofs[X(]

Locking transfer case,,,,,,,Excuse my ignorance is that where the transfer case directs more power to the axle depending what the driver selects?

Thanks again,
Dan

 

I wouldn't worry about new diff bolts, probably a good thing since originals were plastic. how rediculous, a plastic drain plug, so dumb.

 

It had a plastic fill plug and a cast iron drain plug with a magnet on it.

A locking t/case split and locked the total engine power so there was a 50/50 distribution instead of letting the electronic traction control where to send the power, which could leave you with one tire in the air spinning and 3 on the ground with no power.

 

Whoops, I goofed on the timeline for BMW's sale of the marque to Ford. Thanks for catching my error. Not to hijack the thread, but I think 2005 is the year that Ford decided to use the Jaguar V8 for the LR3, correct? If so, I think that's where my confusion came from.

I did know that the Rover V8 was still being used for the '04 Discovery, and not the OHC Ford 4.6 V8, however. That would have ruined the bloodline of the vehicle so I'm glad Ford restrained themselves

Dave

 

I know a few 03's had an oil pump failure, but my father-in-law has a friend who had a the same thing happen in his 99 model. My Rover mechanic who is a multi-year dealership veteran told me he's worked on a lot of 03's and never seen it happen to any of his customers. I'm just not worried about it, and I love my 03. It gets me in and out of very soft sand at the North Carolina Outer Banks and performs perfectly in the snow of the Appalachian Mountains. I've driven it almost 20,000 miles with minimal problems. Obviously, if you have the specific needs of the 04's features, then go with that, but I don't think the 03 is evil, either. Just anotherview froma satisfied03 owner.