What's going on Land Rover enthusiasts. I have been doing lots of lerking in the last few weeks and have already gotten tons of info from this forum. I am looking for a 2002-2004 Discovery 2 for me and the family to go play off road with. I plan on lifting the vehicle 2"or 3" and running a 32" or 33" tire. I do have a couple of questions that I have not found the answers to yet.

-On a Disco with SLS can I go back to a regular spring and shock setup without lots of lights on the dash?

-What is this I hear about a the "crap vin #s'"?

I am a mechanic by trade and good fabricator. I am looking forward to having a vehicle that is great off road that my young family will enjoy. I'm sure more questions will come and thanks for your help.

 

The VIN numbers refer to a batch of D2's made with misaligned pins that locate the front cover, causing oil pump to stress and fail early. The VIN range is all 2003 Discoverys ending with 3A771801 - “ 3A808362. Many owners post that while they have a truck in this era, they have not had a problem, so issue was some, not all. Buying one of these units would make you want to add an oil psi gauge. Also check out the Ultra Gauge, which does a great job of keeping an eyeball (and monitoring alarm) on other things, like coolant temp. Rover gauges are "broad average", not precise.

Also consider a download of the shop manuals set, free link below, called the RAVE.

And you can use www.statewidelist.com to search all of craigslist fro your state, just put in Rover and it sorts by metro area.

 

Here's the TSB

 

Personally I went with a 2004 Disco. IMHO it's best out of all the D2's if not Disco's in general but that is only my opinion. The main reason I like the 2004 is because that year LR put the centre diff lock back into the D2 so you don't have to worry about dropping $500 to add the linkage.

 

my linkage cost about $25.

 

Then I stand corrected , where did you pick up the linkage? I was just going on what I found on Atlantic British, Differentials & Other Land Rover Parts | Center Differential Lock Kit 99-00 Disco II

 

i made mine out of a universal impact socket and a 1/2" extension.

you can get a d1 setup for about $100. i sold one on here a few months ago with an extra nipple and everything.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I am going to try and look at a 2004 with 120k miles on it on sunday they are asking $5500 obo and have already disclosed that the head gaskets have been done. hopefully they have some good receipts to back everything up and there is no lights on in the dash. Question, are these things reliable enough to put my wife in it as a daily driver. She has a 2005 Yukon Denali right now and I figure that the d2 will get about the same fuel milage. Silly question i know, though I am very handy and maintain things before they fail I do not have alott of time for emergency repairs.

 

I took a ride in the 2004 this morning and I liked it allot. I do really want a 2004 discovery but not that one. The previous owner had never used the diff lock and had never had it in low range. when I put it through the 4wd test there was lots of popping and clicking when the wheels were cut. I am pretty sure it needs the CV joints in the front end not something I want to do as soon as I bring it home. So the hunt continues.

 

if you had the CDL locked on dry pavement and turned the wheel, that popping and clicking was the truck imploding.