Hi everyone,


First post here, and my first Land Rover. I recently purchased a 2004 Disco SE on eBay. After asking the owner back and forth a bunch of questions I decided to take the plunge, however I have some questions. First let me describe the vehicle basics...


Link to vehicle - Land Rover : Discovery SE in Land Rover | eBay Motors


119k miles, no maintenance records, but recently went through a LR dealer inspection and needed nothing. Everything works. Owner described it as being a 9 inside and out. Has Had 2 previous owners, me making the third. It will arrive here at my house via transport Monday evening. When it gets here, what should I look for being new to the brand..?


I have been in the auto service industry for a while, 13 yrs...being a service advisor, service manager for Infiniti, to a fixed ops director...but never have been around these vehicles. I bought it primarily as a vehicle to take on camping trips, etc...so long story short Im comfortable around vehicles, not so much tech savvy as in hands on, but confident.


My gut tells me to get it inspected at a really good independent LR specialist when it arrives, change the oil etc. so to my questions...


1. Things that fail, ..? Need to be inspected closely when it goes to an independent..?
2. Recommended oil for vehicle..? What about the coolant, factory fluid..?
3. Things I need to do the moment it gets off the truck..? 4wd..? Etc...


Yes, I know simple yet stupid questions...but being new, I wanna cover the basics. Your answers and comments are greatly appreciated, hope to enjoy what is LR when it gets here.


Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum and to land rovers!!!!


Have you read my sticky at the top of the d II page?

Coolant= you need to flush out the system and use green coolant and ad a bottle of water wetter.

Oil= alot of us run rotella 15w40 in our trucks.


Read disco Mike's major service & get on it he list all fluids that should be used.


Now your front prop shaft/ drive shaft needs to be serviceable i sell them for $300 shipped and it comes with ny-lock nuts. ( high failure item sending your truck to junk yard).


There is a very helpful sticky on (how to) it will save you lots of money at dealer if you do the work yourself.

 

On rotella, is this the conventional or synthetic 15w/40..?


Thanks

 

Nice looking truck! Your shop foreman could most likely make a good dent into Disco Mikes 60k list after hours?At a minimum: new brake fluid,new coolant,new engine oil and new front/rear diff and transfer case oil. Degrease and clean undercarriage and then go drive it for a few hundred miles.Clean sunroof drains and make sure the carpets are dry. Dry carpets will give you comfort in moving forward with other repairs. Then you can determine if you have new current leaks and how to best get a baseline for repairs. Scan it and "GET READY" to search the archives here for all the most common repairs that happen with new ownership.
Its going to be a fun experience for you. Great trucks and lots of access to good quality parts. Just do yourself a favor and avoid the cheap junky parts. Its tempting, as your list will mushroom in the first yeat of ownership. However, stick to the quality parts and you will pave the way for years of troubel free driving. No need to do certain repairs twice.
Good luck with everything. Post up some pictures when you get things settled.

 

Thanks, appreciate the comments. Do y'all think I should use the synthetic or Dino rotella 15w/40..? Not to turn this into an oil thread...just want to start off great.

 

I think the two big gotchas are the front drive shaft and cooling system.

If the front shaft goes, it can take the transmission with it. So I'd have it rebuilt just to be sure, then lubed religiously every 5000 miles.

These trucks are notorious for blown head gaskets. The stock temp gauge is literally useless, so I suspect they are frequently overheated til the gasket goes. So I'd change the coolant and thermostat, check the hoses and fan clutch, and then get an aftermarket gauge so you can closely and accurately monitor the temp. In fact, I just did all this.

Also, buy a crankshaft position sensor and read up on replacing it. When they let go, you're stranded. I wouldn't actually replace it til it needs it, but I'd keep the sensor and tools with the truck at all times.

I'd also replace the fuel pump relay, which went on my truck (and some others I've read about) and left me stranded. It's a cheap part that's 8 years old and waiting to fail.

I will add that I think it's a great truck, and the odds and ends really aren't super expensive if you shop around. My Volvo has been more expensive to keep on the road.

 

Great info all, keep it coming by all means!

 

BTW, there's a big thread on oil in the recent past (just look at my post history for it). This WILL turn into a dino vs. syn thread if we get into that here.

 

I use the synthetic Rotella 5w40 in my DII. Next summer I may try the conventional 15w40.