Don't worry. You'll be fine with it as long as you keep the fluids fresh. I have 2 Disco 2's and love them. Both are daily drivers... mine a '99 and my wife a '04... We have had them for the last 5 to 6 years and haven't had any major issues to deal with.

One thing to check for sure is the front drive shaft. Look to see if the u-joints have grease zerks. If they don't, you may want to get it rebuilt and have some put in. Rebuilt runs a little under $200, a new replacement will cost a little more. But, it's a nice piece of mind to have. You'll enjoy it, don't worry too much.

 

Okay lets take a deep breathe and relax before we look at all the problems people have.
Once you are with it, you can find parts cheaper. Here is the perfect example: Genuine Land Rover Parts Online at Discount
They are a dealership in MI. Call them and they will tell you why they have an online store. I've personally bought items from them and all of which have came in perfect order.

Second of all, here are all the resource manuals for if something goes wrong: All are free to download.
land rover service factory manual RAVE download land rover resource, service manual, workshop factory manual, download, rave, vehicles including discovery, series, defender, range rover, freelander, LR3, Handbooks, Catalog, Catalogue, Land Rover Inte
The key to keeping problems at bay is proper maintenance. Also, if you don't feel confident doing work on your disco, thats okay, but search for a mechanic that won't screw you over. Example would be Great basin rovers in Utah or JC 4X4 in colorado. I'm sure you have rover techs in California and Washington.

Did you get a pre- purchase inspection done? Oh and do you have maintenance records to see if your 03 was in the bad block range??

Also, if you plan on keeping, many members will recommend getting an ultra gauge to monitor engine temps because the temp gauge does not really give an accurate temp.
UltraGauge OBDII Scan tool & Information Center

Best of luck, and don't over react.

 

In your case it might not be a bad idea to take it to a quality independent land rover specialist shop for a pre travel inspection. Tell them your situation and they will know what to look for.

Are there any warning lights on the dash? get the codes read just in case there are dead bulbs behind the idiot lights.

Rule #1: Stay the hell away from the Dealership. Unless it is for parts, sometimes they have common items at reasonable prices, but STAY OUT of the service dept.

Don't take it to a "foreign car shop" Subaru techs don't know beans about rovers and they tend to see you as a walking talking pile of $100 bills.

Look at the high mile service sticky on this forum and do some of the obvious stuff before the trip... like Rotella 15w40, 180 degree thermostat, etc.

Monitor your oil and coolant level daily, then weekly until you get a feel for if it is losing or using any.

Once you get up north give a shout out and we can point you to some good indy shops for when you do need the big stuff done and of course some nice places to play.

Have fun with it before you have a chance to hate it!!!

 

I bought my 04 SE7 with 55K mi on it, and put in a top hat liner engine (after which it's reliability has been 2nd to none) for the price of an equivalent Land Cruiser.

 

Out here in southern California, any mechanic that sees you coming in no matter what you drive sees dollar bills, and with the lr badge, im sure they see collage funds for there kids being paid.


I would say im fairly skilled at working on vehicles, im 33 and ive been doing it since I got my first car at 18, I never had a lot of spare money to take it to a mechanic.
The motor appears to be in great shape, no ticks, knocks, rattles, sputters or any other broken sound. all the hoses are in great shape, no wear or cracks.


Fluids are all at level, im still going to change the oil, plugs and wires this week.
I guess I was just in shock at all the bad reviews. Il still be in California for at least a month and a half, so I can become familiar with the truck.


Thank you all who are responding and helping m out with this. So I guess il keep the freeway beast and see how it goes.

 

So for oil change, I used Castrol gtx high mileage on my truck and was real happy with it, do I need some crazy special oil for the lr? besides the vesocity being 15/45?

 

Rotella 15W40 + Mobil-1 301 or K&N3001 filter according to Disco Mike. It's worked great in mine.

 

Ditto on the above, and just in case your budget tempts you not to... Do use the premium or supreme top tier 92 octane fuel as recommended by LR.

Some folks say they can't tell the diff, but I'm here to tell you I used to not be able to tell the difference but then I cleaned out my fuel rail... Now I have the most expensive gasoline quality meter in existence.

 

Do you blend the rotella with the motor oil? I know its used as a gear oil, I had to put it in my diesel work truck sometimes. I know its a dumb question, but ive never had a car that required such precise maint.


I have all the manuals for the truck, and skimmed through the owners manual. It came in a nice carrying case, same with a tool set in the rear door. after looking through it i find out after I filled it up with reg gas, that it takes premium.

 

The Rotella 15w40 is regular dinosaur motor oil with extra additives rated for use in diesel engines. Namely the ZDDP additive package rated for use in turbo diesels used by Audi/VW etc. It helps keep things clean inside and over time will help clean out (dissipate sludge inside) a block that hasn't had its oil changed every 3 - 4k.

$12.99/gal at Walmart.

Shell also sells Rotella in synthetic form in 5w but it's too thin for all but the most frozen climates.

The local LR shop in SEA uses nothing but 20w50 Swepco year round.