So brought the truck to DAP today and had them look over everything. Good news is the MAF sensor is good, all 4 02 sensors are good. Both diffs are good and do not have any broken teeth or anything of the sort. Front diff fluid was over filled though and there was some silvery color in the liquid. So they changed the fluid. Both driveshafts are good and show no signs of failure. The cats appear to be in good shape to and theres no discoloring on them so they are not getting to hot. The delay in time it takes my truck to speed up to 70MPH is normal as are the RPM's.

The bad: the front drivers side wheel is missing the weights which were installed when I had them mounted and balanced. Plus the weights in the remaining three wheels are installed inside of the wheel rather than on the exterior of the wheel. The techs explained that installing them on the inside can potentially create slight alignment discrepancies and combined with the missing weights on the drivers wheel is more than likely the cause of the minor vibrations at high speeds on the highway. The transmission was pulling 2 codes, one for rough something (cant remember) the other related to the transfer case sensor of some sort. The tech explained that one of the 2 codes will only be triggered if there is another transmission/driveline related trouble code. For now he cleared both transmission codes. They believe a sensor somewhere in the drive train may be either loose or on its way out. They want me to drive the truck for awhile to see if the code comes back. Lastly they found a hole in the chassis up front next to the passenger cat. In the rear near the gas tank the surface rust is bubbling up to. He said the hole can easily be repaired by welding a piece of metal plate over it and adding rust preventive chemical.

Regarding the possible leak in the air system. Well I figured that out on my own the other day. 2 things were lose. One being the big plastic tube that connects the engine air box to the top of the engine. The fastener thing was lose and the tube was positioned in such a way that part of it was kinda off..... loosend it up positioned it back on firmly and re-tightened. The second lose connection was on the pentium on the right side. There is a small rubber hoose that connects directly below where the brake booster hose connects to the Pentium. It was almost completely off so I re-connected it. I then did the cigar smoke test and found no leaks. Cleared the codes and went through a cycle without the codes coming back.

Unrelated I hit a small snow bank last weekend. No major damage save a couple cracks in my front bumper. Sadly those cracks will not pass NH state inspection. Nor will the hole in the chassis. Be it I could get it welded and all and replace the bumper, than start thinking about a Great Basin engine and all new exhaust and toys. But Im beginning to see the light. The hole got me the most. I had a bad tendency to want to replace anything and everything that is worn even if its fixable. Im considering walking away selling my D2 and looking for another 2004 D2 that is totally rust free and already had a engine rebuild. What do you guys think?

Anyone know of a nice rust free 04 D2 for sale anywhere outside of New England?

 

There are not a lot of sensors in the drive train.


Many of us are driving a vehicle that is just one major expense away from logical transition to the boneyard.


Seems like Paul Grant might have a bumper for you and is in New England.


That silvery stuff in the diff fluid is not from overfilling. Metal soup is more likely.

 

So the break down of my options as I see them now:

My engine is still working alright and it has not overheated and no coolant leaks. Just need the 180 thermostat and eventually have to think about replacing all the cooling hoses before they do start leaking. But in all heres what she would need:

- repair the chassis by welding over the hole, scrapping off all the surface rust and apply tons of rust inhibbitor
- replace one of the exhaust silencers that has a leak
- replace whatever sensor which is triggering the tranny code
- have new weights installed on drivers front wheel
- fix drivers side rear window seal cause air draft comes in
- replace front bumper
- replace driver door hinge and cargo door swing piece
- new tires

or call it a day and find another D2 that has a mint chassis and already had an engine rebuild. That way I can focus on chassis undercoating, mods, toys, HD bumpers, brakes etc. The biggest discouragement about my D2 is that although the engine is running alright now, eventually it will have to be rebuilt or replaced. Than again eventually the chassis will have to be replaced. Say I do the engine this year, well i wont have enough money to do the chassis for another year or 2 so that means id have to pay more money between doing engine now which would be roughly 7k and the chassis swap later down the road which could be another 10k at DAP...... thats alot of investments for a old D2 and thats not even factoring in mods and toys. If I could get a rust free D2 with strong engine than i would not have to worry about the engine or chassis save oil changes and undercoatings often. I can deal with 3 amigos and driveshafts.

Sigh. I wish i had the bank to put in 12k all at once like the dude with the Trek who had a cannibal V8 put in his truck!

 

If your looking for a Disco and okay with a little travel I can maybe find a few over here on my side of the country, all are virtually rust free out here, some with relatively low mileage.

 

Dude, just relax! If you want perfection an old anything probably isn't the correct vehicle for you. Especially an old Land Rover.


I'd just get the holes in the frame patched. It won't be that expensive and if done correctly you should be good for some time. For the front bumper, I'm surprised you can't pass inspection with cracks but you can repair plastic bumpers. Or better yet, use this as an excuse to upgrade to a nice aftermarket one. Between the lift and the tires that's where you're headed anyway.


From the sounds of it, your engine is in decent shape so just keep up with the maintenance and run it. There are plenty of Rover V8's with 200k plus on them. Not everyone ends up needing to go the full rebuild route.

 

agreed ^^^^ patch her up and keep rolling. to dump her now would be a disservice, imo.
heal the bruises, stop the weight loss, take care of her, fix her when shes sick. when it no longer makes logical sense, then pull the cord.

 

If this is the same problem I had, try rolling down the window and checking the weather stripping in the channel on both sides of the door, I bet its starting to fall down. Easy fix.

 

I haz 04 disco for salee! I take money gram, you give me difference from check. I give you $10,000 and you give me back $4,000, deal?





No seriously though, you want mine? No rust.

 

Dude they basically told you your truck is fine. You gotta stop freaking out over every potential issue and assuming the worst. Get the rust patched, save for an ARB bumper, get some new wheel weights.

Another thing. You are at the point now where it could be more troublesome ditching your DII for another one. You know what's wrong with your truck. It has been inspected by professionals. You know what you have replaced. The same cannot be said on someones word of a new purchase.

This truck is a lot tougher than you give it credit for. I learned that a long time ago. Just keep oil in the engine and it will roll. Run it till the motor dies, have a couple grand saved for a turner v8. You could even keep the old motor and rebuild it yourself as a project.

 

OK - Tires - When you replace your tires for about 600 to 700 bucks have them balance the tires, that's what the weights do, second the balancer figures out where the weight goes. That is two off the check list.

Fix the exhust. That is three

Hold off on the tranny sensor until you have the tires on and see where that takes you.

Front bumper can always wait till later. Door Hinges, window seal and bumber can be gotten at your local junk yard if they have a Discovery. The hardest part to find is the front bumper cover.