Thanks. This makes sense. Verdict is in - I'm passing on this vehicle. I think you all saved me a lot of pain.

I have a few new leads that I'm working on. Will keep posted.

 

I quickly learned that those car lots were terrible places to buy. It's correct, they go along to car auctions and Hoover up all the ones that get put through there for having horrible issues.
I turned looking at them into a game of 'spot the problems'. I saw it as training for looking at ones I was really interested in. Good for spotting slipped sleeves or disappearing coolant.

Not worth a 3 hour trek though.

Keep an eye on the classifieds here. People sell all kinds for all kinds of reasons. The fact they are on here to start, can be a good thing.

 

Understood. And you've got to rely on your local guy.

But the heads are removable and contain the valves and rockers. They have the valve covers on them. I swapped my heads (both) last weekend with the engine in the truck and have done it before that, which is standard practice for forum members. It took all day but it is doable. Mechanics remove the engine because they have all of the fancy equipment and can charge a bunch. And it is easier off the truck. You could do it. I seek rovers with blown head gaskets because they are dirt cheap (because of mechanics' estimates) and usually not hard to repair. I'm not a mechanic, for sure.

 

Correction - this is coming from the dealer in Portland. The dealer had a mechanic look at it.

 

Ah. That explains the advice.

I have nothing against land Rover dealerships. But they are used to repairing range rovers not old Discos.

And, to be fair, when my head gaskets blew the first time I let my truck sit in my garage for five years before I decided to figure it out. Instead of fixing it I got a 1200 dollar engine and put it in myself. The first head gasket replacement took me three days. Now, less than a day. There are several forums members who could talk you through it in the phone but it is a big job.

 

I asked the dealer directly though about if it was a head gasket problem or something bigger, and he said it was definitely bigger... mechanic basically said new engine. I dunno. Could be a win, but logistically to get it from Portland to Seattle, plus taxes and shipping... not as good a deal anymore.

I'm looking at an '04 (correction; its an 03) right now with 139K, with a brand new engine put in by Land Rover 20k ago. Rebuilt tranny in 2015, new HID, new tires, 2" lift, 2nd owner, no mechanical issues, currently a daily driver, well maintained. The ask is 10k but its definitely negotiable... I'm thinking of feeling him out in the $7,500 range (or lower?) before the 2 hour trek to see him.

 

Oh that's no comparison. An 04 is the ultimate. Locking CDL, big engine, 20k engine. That's my dream Disco and I've suffered alot for my Disco addiction. If the engine was really new they probably spent 7500 buying and installing it. If you can get it for that, it would be a good buy, assuming the rest of the truck is in good shape, too. If it was close to me in Texas I'd race you to go look at it. You should have some price leverage there... It is a 12 year old car and most banks won't finance that; the pool of cash buyers is small when you get over 5 or 6 thousand.

But that's also dangerously close to LR3 territory, and if you can stand the body that is the next level of ultimate.

 

Cool. That gives me good confidence. Hopefully its still available when I check it out this weekend. Too bad it isn't black on black... it's beige on beige... but I'll take good mechanics over body color. There's another '04 listed in Portland with 152k, black on black (edit: the body is more of a gun-metal dark grey. Looks cool), rebuilt engine at 100k, for $6.2k. It's the se7 though, and I prefer the cargo bins. Anyway, looks like I have a decent pool of options here in the NW. Glad I didn't jump the gun on that '99 beater. I shall be a rover owner soon enough

 

Quick update. the '04 sounds really good. This is the one in Portland. When I asked about the moon roofs being fixable (they are sealed shut, motor in back one removed), he said:
- "Bad idea. Land rover made these roofs so poorly they will fail. If its not the motor its the rails. Then head liner. Then rust. Don't do it. Its hard to find a working discovery sunroof... over the years I've had a few discos"
- This one has 150k, engine rebuilt at 100k, with the pinned sleeves

Is this valid? I was planning to try and fix it.

 

The rails do get rattly over time but there are guides that fix it. The major problem is that the drains clog and the drain lines come apart (why most people seal them) and you have to take a good portion of the interior out to get to them.