Hello All:

I'm new to this forum and to Land Rovers in general. I'm in a situation where I need to buy a cheaper vehicle (from the monthly payment perspective). I currently have a '06 Jeep Commander Limited and will get rid of it soon. It's a great vehicle, except the monthly payment.

Regardless we were planning on buying a older Grand Cherokee, but have been unsuccessful finding one that hasn't have the crap beat out of it. Then I stumbled across an ad with a 2000 Land Rover Discovery II SD. I've always thought that year range Discos were beautiful vehicles and I always have had and loved euro cars (specifically German ones). So with that said and with me being used to higher maintenance with various S-class Mercedes', V12 BMW, A8 Audis, I'm not necessarily scared of the Disco, but want to go in this with my eyes open because I do need to tow my 4500 - 4800lb boat with it.

So, here's the deal: 2000 Disco, looks like it is in immaculate shape, 97,000 miles. The current owner said he kept up on all the maintenance and even spent over a grand on maintenance last year. Late last year and this year, he feels one of the cylinder sleeves start leaking coolant and he has stated very honestly it will definately need an engine rebuild. He says everything else in the vehicle is in perfect working order and I will check that out next weekend. He wants $2500.00 for it. I was thinking of talking him down to $2000.00. My brother is a euro car mechanic and can rebuild the engine for me with a reasonable to little labor cost. I was planning on buying the parts online from my various sources (OEM parts). What do you guys think about this? I have no problems whatsoever having it rebuilt, but isn't it strange if it was well taken care of this engine problem would occur to begin with? I sense no dishonesty on the owner's part. I'd love to hear your opnions and tap your knowledge about this. Thanks!

 

You come onto a LR enthusiasts forum and want to know if you should buy a Disco?
Thats asking if you should go to the strip club because you like women.

The cylinder liners dont just leak, it probably needs head gaskets.
They tend to go bad around 80+ thousand miles.
You MUST use premium gas, you will like the Disco alot better than the Jeep.
Talk the guy down as much as you can and if all else is well buy it, new head gaskets is a $1500 at a shop, ~$500 DIY.

 

2 weeks ago i bought almost a identical disco. my truck is a 2000 disco 2 98000 miles had a broken connecting rod everything else looks good clean interior and body i paid $1800 for it and the guy had the replacement engine for it and he sold it to me for $800. i decided to do the job right so i replaced every gasket and hose along the way i have spent over $1000 in parts (i am a mechanic so i get a discount on parts) but what i am trying to say here is just think really carefully about how much you will be putting into your truck before making the purchace if you do the job properly you will have a very reliable truck

also factor in rebuilding the front driveshaft it is due at 97K

 

Thank you for the input. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "head gaskets tend to go bad around 80k + miles"?? Head gaskets should last the life the vehicle. Is this a problem with LRs or did I not read that correctly?

PS: Title wrong, I meant 00 Disco

 

sterling, the head gasket does last the life of the vehicle..when it blows that's the end of your vehicles life seriously though, dex-cool eats gaskets if it's not changed regularly..usually causes a problem @ 80K miles on rovers if it hasn't been changed regularly.

 

No you read it correctly, DII's come from the factory with DexCool, DexCOol is corrosive IF it is not properly maintained, it can eat gaskets.
Second because the Land Rover V8 does NOT have a EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valve the combustion chamber temps are extremely high and this also shortens the life of the head gaskets.
(the EGR recirculates exhaust gas back into the combustion chambers to cool them)
However, the replacement gaskets are designed better and will last the rest of the trucks life.
That is why you MUST use premium gas, because of the extremely high combustion temps will kill the head gaskets and bake the engine oil that is in the valley pan and cylinder heads thus causing excessive sludge build up and destroying the engine in no time.
Also not using premium gas will reduce your MPG significantly.
HOWEVER, if you use premium gas and change the oil once in awhile these engines will last longer than the next ice age.
Seriously, 300,000 miles with no major repairs is not unheard of with a Land Rover driveline.
FYI-over 73% of ALL Land Rovers EVER built (60 years) are still being driven, and that is world wide, LR's are sold in EVERY country on earth.

 

Well, this is all very helpful information. Thank you very muchh. I have another question:

I'm looking at the Disco next week and if I buy it, I need to tow it home. The engine does start and run, but it will eventually overheat and we don't want any cracked cylinder heads...

So I plan to tow it home with a tow dolly. This means the rear tires will be rolling 60 miles. If I put the transfer case and transmission in neutral, I should be fine, right? I know some vehicles can have trouble if towed -- but I'd imagine with the transfer case in N I will be fine. Please advise. Thanks!

Sterlingheights

PS: Getting excited to join the LR family...

 

Do they know why it overheats?
Could be blown headgaskets, bad thermostat, low on coolant, bad water pump, could be any number of things.
If it overheats it wont crack a head it will drop a cylinder liner and then you will need a whole new engine, the entire engine, transmission, transfer case are aluminum.
Even the body is aluminum.
If you are going to tow it on a dolly you MUST remove the rear driveshaft, putting the transfer case in neutral will unhook the transfer case from the transmission but not from the front axle.
So the rear wheels will still be turing the rear driveshaft which will turn the t-case gears which will turn the front driveshaft.
If you tow it with a tow bar and all fours are on the ground then shifting the t-case into neutral is good enough.

 

Hmmm. From what the guy describes it sounds like head gasket but he said it might be a cracked cylinder sleeve. He's not a mechanical guy but did say that. Should I run away from it? Does that sound right? He says engine starts fine and runs, but does blow a little white smoke. I asked him if he overheated it and he said no.

Sterlingheights

 

Well blowing white smoke out the exhaust is one of two things, either you live in MI and it is April or a blown head gasket.
If it had a dropped sleeve it should knock really bad or not run at all because the sleeve would hit/stop a connecting rod from moving.
I would keep looking unless you can get this truck for $1000 and then you want to spend the time and money to fix it with the possibility of it needing a new engine.