I recently purchased an 01 Disco II (my first Land Rover) with 78,000 miles. It was sold new and owned locally in the Memphis area. I read several posts referencing u-joints, drive shafts, etc. and the damage that can occur after failure. What advice can you give to help me (someone that knows zero about a LR) guard against such costly breakdowns? Do I need to take to a dealer for inspection. BTW, my LR is city driven only.

 

Take it to a local driveline shop and have them replace the u-joints in your front driveshaft with greasable joints. Once the greasable u-joints are installed make sure they get greased every oil change and you'll be good to go. IT should cost you around $200 to have the new u-joints installed but that is cheap considering the alternative is a $7000 transmission if the stock u-joints fail.

Search this forum for the 60k service list and go through it all yourself or have your mechanic do it. It will bring your maintenance up to current and eliminate some of the potential problem points that come from lacking maintenance.

Stay away from the dealer. They will rip you off every chance they get. Find a good independent mechanic. I'm sure there are some people on this forum from you area that can help you find a mechanic.