I been looking at a lot of d1 and d2's lately. I just looked at the cleanest 2000 d2 I've seen yet

The rig has full service logs, clean carfax, 135k.

Head gaskets replaced at 50k, water pump at ~70k, induction system cleaned at ~50k intervals, various new engine sensors, various accessories replaced, new front driveline with greasable zerks, new magnecor wires, etc

It has some typical squawks like passenger window regulator, sun roofs won't open, a couple minor trim details

Motor runs realy nice, no signs of overheating or leakage, and it runs out well, shifts good, xtr case works, handles fine, etc


It has 2 big hitters though: it has a pretty good vibration that feels like driveline, and it has sort of a clicking sound that I can't pin down. Maybe a bad cv, seems to vary with wheel speed.

I'm assuming I will be able to sort out the vibration and the clicking. Are there known big $ issues related to these symptoms?

I have a donor 03 to pull parts from

Also, does not appear as though this has a cdl xfr case

 

My guess is the front drive shaft. Not a deal breaker in my opinion. I rebuilt the one on our 2000 in about an hour and a half. Ours was making a chirping sound out of the front end and a vibration at highway speeds. It also made a clicking sound at low speeds in the front end. Hope this helps. Our front shaft had been replaced at some point but greasable joints do no good if your service man doesn't grease them.

 

What is a xtr or xfr case? And yeah there are lots of big issues with a vibration and the drive line chirping or clicking go to the search bar and explore. My question is why are you looking at so many trucks are you that picky or what? If you would listen and take the truck to the dealer or a Indy shop for a pre purchase inspection you would know exactly what it needs instead of guessing and from most of your posts it sounds like your doing alot of guessing.

 

The 2000 has a CDL case.
Sounds like you need to decide what you are going to use a Disco for before you decide on a D1 or D2.

 

Yes I am very picky.

If I'm going to take on one of these British vehicles, it must meet certain minimum criteria.

I've had my eyes on discoveries since mid nineties and have finally decided to get one.

You're right, I do a lot of guessing. I guess rust is not acceptable, I guess signs of no maintenance is a bad thing, I guess a solid cooling system and no foul symptoms is a good thing, I guess I have the right to choose a solid platform to build on. And I guess I have no problem scrutinizing these vehicles. Oh, and I guess my 03 for 400$ was a killer effing deal even with a burned motor. So I guessed I would have been foolish to pass it up regardless. I also guessed that taking advice off this forum would be worthwhile.

I will use my disco for part time driving around town, trips up into sw Utah, Az strip, local trails, hunting, etc. I've been 4x4ing Az for 30 years in various rigs, most of which were not comfy but seriously capable. Now I want something with a nice ride, robust chassis, cold air conditioning, and some abilities.

Xfr = transfer. Sorry, in my line of work we use that acronym all the time. My bad.

So I went ahead and bought the 2000 today. I spent an hour Thursday scrutinizing, and 2 hrs yesterday driving it, highway, street, ac full blast, in traffic, and a little bit of dirt road. I crawled under it and inspected it for 20 minutes. I saw new cats, a new front driveline with greasable zerks, some seepage at the rear main and some seepage at the transfer case. I carefully reviewed the logs, and I pulled a carfax and was pleased with what I found. There are no codes, no three amigos, etc. I know the ses works, as there were codes on Thursday when I inspected it. These were generated from the bad plug wires that just got replaced, #2 was damaged at the coil pack when I first found the vehicle. After driving it for 2 hrs as mentioned, no codes were generated.

It is clean, solid, rust free, runs like a top, runs out and drives great, no ace, no sls, but has some vibration. I will sort it out in the next couple weeks. I can't actually take delivery until next weekend though. I have a troubleshooting plan and the resources lined up to get er done. Keep in mind I have a complete donor that will cover parts such as trans, hubs, cv's, etc. I may have to round up a tcase or do some driveline work, but I am prepared for that.

I found D1's to be a dime a dozen, but mostly are too ratty inside from being sunbaked here in Phoenix. The one I was ready to pursue was a 99 and the owner came to his senses and decided to keep it.

And you are right, this 2000 does have the cdl which I expected, but I was told it did not have it by a "certified rover mechanic" whose knowledge is in question (we deliberated for some time and he was able to convince me there was no cdl). Yesterday when I was under it I could not reach the top of the tcase without getting fried because the rig was running and was fully heat soaked. Today I crawled under it again (cold this time) tugged, pulled, poked, and yes the cdl is there as it should be. The rotoflex looks questionable, I will replace it post haste as well as the u joint at the tcase.

Sorry to invade your forum, thanks for the advice. Hopefully moving forward I will be more a contributor than a nuisance to you as would seem I have become.

I guess I've been a little careless with my posts not being sensitive to the fact that you guys have no idea my overall thinking, my experience level or capabilities. But now I have chosen a path, so that part is over.

All said, this is a really educational forum. And thanks a lot so far. Sorry for the long post. I guess I should have introduced myself in that part of the forum. I still can.

Take care

Mike

 

Great deal bud! Sounds like you found your gem. I didn't mean any disrespect in any way just like you said we don't know you or your skill level. Finding a busted rover for under $500 is pretty common and most people end up getting frustrated and wanting it out of the driveway. There are all kinds of things that can cause vibration and sometimes finding it can be quite the search. But with time and patience you will find it!

Now explain the new cats and front drive shaft? To me sounds like it failed and wiped out the undercarriage and someone replaced some things so for the vibration you may want to look at the flange on the transfer case. Or possibly the transfer case itself from when the drive shaft failed it could have caused some damage in there and got over looked when the repairs were made and this vibration is the final straw as to why they are selling it? Who knows just some places to look. Good luck!


Also sounds like the "rover certified mechanic" is a tard monkey and so on.

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thoughts. The seller was a good guy, he acknowledged my concern that I could easily need to drop in a tcase or a trans, or a diff. or a hub, or a cv shaft..And I'm prepared for the worse. There are a few cdl t cases here in the valley I can get my mits on. I also have the one in the 03 that I cannibalize to make repairs to the cdl box in the 2000. The upside is fresh cats and a fresh front driveline, I looked closely at the trans and surrounding areas for grenade damage, but nothing. and the dirt all looks the same in that area except the cats and the front driveline (new).

I'll do some tests when I get it home, start the process of elimination by locking the cdl and testing with each shaft pulled. I have the tools to measure the runout at the tcase output shafts and the diffs. I havent found the specs in the rave yet, they should be there I suppose. I'd guess two though or so would be acceptable.

Sounds like BP utah is decent source for parts.

BTW, Is this the famous ultra-gauge?

UltraGauge Automotive Information Center and OBDII Scan Tool

just buy direct I guess?

I'll be hitting on the major service items right away. My goal is to have this rig adventure worthy by xmas and take it up to toroweap. (I have recovery options in that area in case it lets me down! so it's a good shake down run)

I'm pretty stoked about now~ Pulling parts from the 03 and getting them cleaned up and ready.

 

Yep that's it! And bp is a good source for parts

 

Drove her home tues night with the vibes. Vibration was severe in 35 to 45 mph range, then settled out over that, but I did not exceed 55 on the 6 mi trip to my garage. Jacked it up and did some checks. Popped off the front prop shaft and had me a cadillac! What a smooth running rig! I took the front shaft over to Arizona driveshaft, a well respected shop with a solid track record and 1 day and $133 later got a smooth awd ride out of her (no vibration up to a good Vne of 80).

I put 208 mi on the rig sans front prop shaft, logged 16 mpg, no issues, runs 190-194deg driving, the highest temp so far is 199 at idle with ac on ( ambient around 85 deg- not hot here in the des right now).

She just got serviced by the seller, but regardless, I am going to go through the disco mike 60k service. A few things won't be needed like wires since I witnessed the install and this thing runs nice.

Funny thing is the door locks sh*t the bed as soon as I took delivery! I performed exhaustive testing prior, and they worked fine (key fob is missing btw). I guess wore them out. I'm still chasing the issue, got a good idea what's up, but have had bigger fish to fry chasing down the overall health of this rig. I'll ask questions after she has her way with me, I get a new fob and get tired of banging my head on the wall..

Anyway, so far I am stoked, I think I landed a solid one that I can build on and use my blowed up 03 as a parts source ( so far haven't needed to cannibalize anything)


Thanks all for the help so far and I must say the content of this site combined with awesome documentation (rave) has really been a great help. I have all the goods loaded on my iPad which goes in the disco along with my coveralls, mechanic gloves, and a substantial complement of tools!

Oh, and ultra-gauge. Wow, very cool, very handy! Not a link ecu, but good stuff indeed!

I figure I'll wring her out for the remainder of the year after all maint items are done, and then commence on my build-up.

I have a lot of work to do in the next couple weeks.

Take care

Mike

 

You may also want the Bosch ECU manual, not part of the RAVE, links below.