Greetings!

A few months ago I purchased a high-mileage 200 Disco II in Oxford Blue Pearl from a seller in Connecticut who had neglected it somewhat. I had the opportunity to buy a cleaner lower-mileage example but I chose this particular car because I thought it had great potential and feared it would end up scrapped if not bought by someone with an eye to restore it.

The truck has almost 270k miles on the clock right now, and it had just about 255k when I bought it back in January. Immediately upon purchase it had issues with the power steering pump, brakes, and starter motor, along with various cosmetic issues. But the motor sounded good, it had a very serviceable interior, no accidents, and no catastrophic frame rust.

The truck looked like it hadn't been washed (inside or out) in well over a year, so my first order of business was to undertake a comprehensive detail. I aggressively compounded and machine-polished the paint, acid-washed the wheels, and buffed the window pillar trim which had accumulated thick layers of grime over the years. When it was all done, I was very pleased with the results -- the paint itself came up really nicely, and the trim was about 85% improved, which was a huge step up from where it was originally. The wheels cleaned up well but had some nicks and scratches in the finish, nothing I was really upset about though as they still looked great. I fitted a set of new LR center caps as they were absent when I bought it. I also fitted a set of new headlights (well, pre-owned but in good shape) as the ones the car came with were cracked and yellowed. I was impressed by how quickly the lights could be swapped, and it made a huge improvement in the look of the truck.

I then cleaned out what was probably the dirtiest interior I've ever seen, shampooed the carpets and leather, scrubbed all the plastics with citrus degreaser and a Magic Eraser, got in every crevice with a soapy paintbrush, removed some cheesy aftermarket lighting in the wheel wells, and buffed the glass clean with glass polish. I fitted some custom rubber floor mats from Lloyds Mats and that was that. Total detail time for exterior and interior was about 18 hours.

From there it was onto the mechanicals. First thing on the list was brakes; full brake job including new stainless brake lines, new brake return lines, new pads and rotors all around, and rebuilt rear calipers. I was getting the Three Amigos also, so a rebuilt ABS pump was ordered, which took care of that problem (for now anyway LOL).

After that, the power steering pump was also replaced with a rebuilt unit, I had the all the fluids changed, new spark plugs and plug wires, and a new thermostat installed as a precaution. Immediately after all that work, the truck wouldn't start (of course) but that turned out to just be the starter motor, which I replaced with a rebuilt Bosch unit. From there I went on to replace the Watts linkage on recommendation of my mechanic, who saw some play in the bushings.

I'm still getting a CEL at the moment, and checked the codes which came back as a lambda sensor and adaptive mixture correction errors, so I'll have to look into those soon. I did also get an evap control leak code, which was remedied with a new fuel cap.

I purchased a new muffler to be installed at some point as well, however last night my catalytic converters were in fact stolen off the truck (go figure) so I just ordered a direct-fit catalytic converter kit which should arrive this week and I'll have the muffler done at the same time. Crazy.

Anyway, here are a few pictures. On my immediate list of things to do are also a set of steel bumpers (both the front and rear are cracked) and a set of all-terrain tires before the winter arrives. The truck has been very reliable overall and a blast to drive... I'm really glad I made the purchase. Looking forward to participating in the forum!

-Tom

 

very nice interior is very good for the miles-better condition than mine with 116,000.I would be interested to know what has been done to the engine-if proper attention has been given to the cooling system,air filter and oil changes,I suppose it could be possible for rover engine to go 270 k...Beware that the radiator fan design on '98-02 discos(with the ring around the blades) has been known to fly apart on occaision and make a big mess underhood-there are several suitable substitute fans that can replace the suspect design.

 

Better interior than mine with only 94k miles!

I'm curious what model your radio head unit says on it. I'm looking to upgrade mine soon.

 

Thank you! To be honest I'm unsure of the maintenance regimen the truck was held to throughout its life, it came with basically no records. I did figure the vehicle must have some kind of care taken of it to even reach this kind of mileage in the first place, so that's kinda the assumption I've been operating under thus far. The engine is strong and sounds great, uses very little oil, and doesn't seem to be burning coolant either. Minimal leaking too (but not zero of course).

No clue as to major service like head gaskets etc, but the oil looks good and coolant levels remain pretty steady so fingers crossed there. Cooling system seems fine also; as I mentioned, I replaced the thermostat just as a precaution and the truck has been driven frequently over this summer with no overheat scares, even on very hot days. I know the dash display isn't exactly accurate but I've been paying attention in general and it seems okay for now. I will definitely look into the radiator fan also, thanks for the advice on that.

The head unit was installed by the previous owner and it's a Chinese JOYING brand. I was really not thrilled by this when I first bought the truck, as I prefer an OEM dash and I especially didn't want some Chinese garbage electronics... BUT... I will say that after living with it for a while, I definitely appreciate it more now.

For one thing, the PO also installed a reverse camera, which is a pretty nice feature to have, and the display is big and sharp. The sound quality is good and it has handsfree bluetooth which is very convenient too. Integrated navigation is nice also. And aside from the big 'JOYING' logo on the bottom of the display, it looks very much at home on the dash, almost like it could be OEM. It even displays the Land Rover logo on the background of the screen when turned on.

It runs on Android, so it basically has all the web features and apps that go along with an Android phone and will integrate an Android phone seamlessly. Unfortunately, I use an iPhone so I'm not really taking advantage of about 90% of what the unit can do. And one of the biggest negatives is that I lost the steering wheel volume controls, and need to rely on small touch-screen buttons to raise/lower the volume which is a major peeve. I very much prefer ***** for that kind of thing.

It is a VERY Chinese product, which means a lot of weird quirks, instructions that are written with a poor translation, and basically zero customer support other than a few YouTube explainer videos.

But still, I'm more happy with it than I expected. I thought one of the first things I'd need to do was source an OEM head unit to replace it, but I no longer want to do that. I believe the previous owner paid about $400 for the unit, based on prices I've seen online. Not sure I'd have done that voluntarily (especially since I don't have an Android) but since it's here I'm keeping it. And comparable 'name brand' units seem to cost WAY more for the same form factor and features.

 

That paint is very good for the mileage, must have been parked in a garage when not driven. How's the rust under the back?

And congrats on soldiering on past 250k! Don't see many high mileage examples, proof these engines are not as bad as some like to infer.

 

Elbow grease and determination go a loooong way. Congrats!

 

Looks great! You do good work.

 

After reading your description, I realized you have the twin of my 2001 black Disco II. I have less than half your miles, but you're quickly making yours have fewer problems than mine has. Well done! Keep up the good work.

Also, what type of stereo or GPS or tablet adapter do you have in your rig? The photo of your dashboard is very intriguing.

Scott

 

i believe that there are small adapter units that will fit behind the stereo and allow you to retain the steering wheel controls. pretty sure that crutchfield make one. check the audio/video forum on here for specific model numbers.

 

I have an android head unit in my Rover and there is no need to buy an adapter to make the steering controls work. I have attached a YouTube video that will show you how to hook it up. I use this method on mine and I can tell you it works. Once you get it hooked up you will need to go into your settings and program each button. I have mine set where "Mode" actually turns on navigation.