We just got our 2001 Discovery II with 105k this evening. It's actually my boy's first car. He's excited as am I since I've always liked them. We looked around quite a bit and ended up finding this one a few hours away.

I've been reading and learning on this site for the past week or so. What a great resource and everybody seems so helpful. I'm not much of a mechanic but I'm pretty technical / handy / etc. So I have no doubt I can learn and the things I can't figure out I'll either learn from someone who does or as a last resort hire out things. But I'm hoping me and the boy can learn together, at least the basics.

This seems to be a pretty good Disco all-in-all. Appearance is very good, outside of the typical flare-fading. The guy we bought it from put new plugs/wires, gaskets, tie rods in.

On my immediate list to do / buy is...
- Ultra Gauge for temp monitoring
- 180 thermostat (is there a way to tell by looking if this has already been done?)
- Check the front drive shaft and rebuild with greasable u-joints if needed.

I have no doubt I'll find more issues as the next few days go on and I have time to really check things out but here are a couple questions I had off the bat.

I'm not sure if I should list any issues out individually or if they should all go in one thread. So if I'm "doing it wrong" please let me know.

- This evening was about 80 outside and I wanted to make sure the AC / fans were working correctly. I kicked on the AC on the highest setting and not on "econ". I did not notice the electric fan kick on - should it have or was it too cool out to do so?

- Also on the AC, the vents in the dash blow nice, cold air but the vents in the floor of the console blow warm air. Any specific thoughts?

- There is orange coolant in the engine now. I believe I've read that the green, Peak 50/50 is the way to go. So should I go ahead and drain / replace it?

- There appears to be a bit of slack / slop in the steering. It tracks straight but a little play side to side. Is this common or a concern? Is there a way to tighten that up?

- She does feel a little top heavy when driving and I can get her rocking pretty easily by pushing on her. I realize by the design she is a little top heavy and I don't really have much of gauge of Disco's so this may be normal. I just never noticed it on my previous 2001 Montero or my current 2007 Jeep Commander.

Is there anything else I should look for immediately? My main issues that I KNEW I needed to address ASAP where the front drive shaft and heat management.

Sorry for the long post and I really do appreciate you guys taking the time you do to help.

 

Welcome aboard!

I'm not an expert (yet) and they will soon reply but off the top I'd say your top heavy feeling is probably due to worn springs, shocks, and steering damper. You and your son can do those easily yourself. There are some good options to choose from and getting those fixed may also help your sloppy steering.

I made the mistake of putting new shocks on before addressing the springs and wore out a new set of Bilsteins in six months as a result of having worn springs. I would recommend doing them all at once.

Read up on the bleed process before changing the coolant...

The OEM LR 180 degree stat is grey in color. Yours is probably a burnt brown with tinges of the original pale yellow... It is located between the battery and the radiator right up front.

Most of all, HAVE FUN!

 

number one priority is your driveshaft.

you will want to replace the coolant, and t-stat.

I have 3 LR none of them put out any real heat on your feet, halfway up your leg yes, feet no.

part of your issue with your frontend could be if it was aliened after the tie rod was replaced.

as long as you fan is running and sucking in your doing better than most.

good luck with it

 

Thank you both!

I'm going to check the driveshaft to see if it has the grease fittings or not today. I'll also check the thermostat to see if its the 180. Both of those are on my immediate to-do for sure.

Are there any specific springs/shocks setups that I need to get (from one of the usual online retailers) or can I pick those up locally?

 

How many miles on your new Disco?
At the top of this section is a sticky for a major service, you and your son should plan on doing it all together.
If you are mechanical, I can send you a PDF file on rebuilding that front drive shaft.
If your shocks are black, your suspension is stock and will be more top heavy and soft, might want to install a new lift sometime and replace the springs and shocks with something like an OME lift.
Alway flush the coolant out with distilled water.
When your son has really learned how to handle the truck off road, we should talk about converting your current t/case to a locking case for around 50% more traction.

 

Who should I be calling about the driveshaft rebuild? I tried my local mechanic and tire shop and neither are familiar with "rebuilding" a driveshaft. Should I be trying transmission shops? Both the places I tried said they could replace the u-joints with greasable ones but I was thinking there was more to it than just that but maybe not...

 

DiscoMike: That would be awesome! I don't think I can send you a PM with my email through this mobile app for some reason so I'll need to login through the site real quick. We have just at 105k on her right now.

 

any mechanic should be able to do it, a local machine shop would also do it probably for less.

if you are doing it yourself the hardest and the most important part is replacing the centerball, just u-joints wound do it.

 

Thank you, Drowssp. So will they know they can do it most everyone acts like its unheard of. I'm going to try a few places. I'm not terrified of doing it but thought it'd be faster / safer to have it done.

 

Do not use any one who has never rebuilt this double cardon shaft or you will have problems.
Don not pay over $250 for a rebuild, you can buy a newly designed shaft for $350 to $400.