Hello,
Just wanted to stop and say hello to everyone here. December of last year I found out I will be going to Alaska in August. Started looking and finally found my perfect Land Rover. It is a 04 Discovery II SE7 (see pictures) with only 57K miles. In a month it will go thru the adventure of it's lifetime as we drive from North Carolina to Fairbanks Alaska. The Disco seems to be pretty much stock and with All Terrain tires. What are some suggestions you would do to get the vehicle ready for this trip. Also, once I get to Alaska, what are the best lubricating oils for the drive train that will survive the -40 degree winter.







All I can say, It's a big step up from my VW GTI.

 

Do the full 60K service I posted at the top of the Discovery section, have your front drive shaft rebuilt if it does not have all 3 grease fittings and look at the tires, will they handle the drive and the road conditions.
How much weight will you be carrying?

 

We won't be carrying too much weight, just me and my wife, two weeks worth of luggage and some camping equipment. I wouldn't say much more than 400-550 lbs. Tires are new so those should not be much of a bother. About the 60K service would those oil weights hold up thru winter. I would hate to do the service only to do it all again with different weights once I get up there. It will be a 4000 mile trip.

 

Use 75w-90 full synthetic gear oil in both the diffs and the transfer case.
For the trip up I would use a full synthetic 10w-40 motor oil, once there you will want to use a 0w-40 full synthetic.
Are you going to be installing a block heater?
Do a complete cooling system flush and fill and make sure that you are protected to -40.
Also keep in mind that it is common pratice to leave your car running for days or weeks at a time when it gets so cold.
AK Rover used to live in Alaska, talk to him.
But your trip up it will still be summer time, so there is nothing special needed for that trip other than all the maintence being up to date.
You are going to change the engine oil the week before you leave and then again after you get there.

 

I actually grew up in Fairbanks. I haven't been to Fairbanks since 2005 but it has turned into a real city. Pretty much everything you need is available there. Are you going up there with the military? Be prepared for cold like you have probably never seen before. During the winter you will have at least a month where the temperature doesn't get above -40. Out of town -60 is common. Most of the winter the temperatures will hover around -20, sometimes warming up to above 0. It sounds crazy but 0 is t-shirt and shorts weather after -40 and colder. The good news is you won't have to deal with much wind chill or humidity since Fairbanks sits in a valley that is considered an arctic desert. Combine the harsh winter with no so great fishing in the summer and that's the bad part of Fairbanks. The good part is that the summers are gorgeous. Temperatures are usually in the high 70s and low 80s with 90s being common. I have seen 98 degrees in July in Fairbanks. The great weather and the beautiful scenery make summers up there incredible.

You will need a freeze plug heater (or 2) installed, a battery blanket or trickle charger, and oil pan heaters on both the engine and transmission. I personally prefer 2 freeze plug heaters but one will do the job. Full synthetics are the way to go anywhere you live and even more so in Alaska. I have run Royal Purple 15w40 at -40 without a problem so if you stay with 5w30 or 5w40 during the winter you will be fine. I don't like 0 weight oils but that's just me.

 

Its quite cold then LOL!!!!!!!

 

Once it hits -35 you don't notice it get any colder. At that point it's just so cold the actual temperature ceases to matter.

 

I cant wait to go and experience that for myself.

 

Just pretend you're driving a massive R32 I switched from a VR6 GTI to 4X4's 10 years ago in Tahoe. Disclaimer the Discovery doesn't handle on the road like an R32 as I have already crashed ours on the street(I only have 1 hand. Very safe vehicle if you're transporting the family. I also have to fess up that we have not completely broken the VAG addiction as there is a B5 S4 hiding in the garage under a cover;_)

 

Here are some shots up under the truck. They are of the front and rear of the front drive shaft. I also took a picture of the transfer case mount (passenger side). It looks kind of off center and the shroud looks bent. Is there any way to easily fix this by just jacking the transfer case up to take the weight off the mounts and move them or does this look ok? I did find one grease fitting on the front drive shaft and one on the back drive shaft. I greased both, should I really have the front drive shaft rebuilt before the trip or can it wait till after I get up there.