Hi everyone. Just bought my 15 year old daughter a 2001 Discovery II SE with 108K on it for what seems like a good price. She wanted something unique and this caught her eye. It needs some TLC but is otherwise in good shape. Looking forward to learning a lot from the forum and can hopefully contribute in return in the future. Haven't had a Land Rover in the family since my dad's old '60.

 

Welcome. First thing is to review the high miles service list in this forum. Also check front drive shaft for multiple grease fittings. Stock unit had some sealed areas, and they cause it to snap, and spear hole in transmission. You'll find write up on rebuilding shaft in our tech area. Beware of any gurgle sounds under the dash, could be air bubbles in coolant, but could also be exhaust gas (head gasket). That heat gauge on the dash has "cold-normal-toast" settings. Anything above 50% should be suspect. Look into an Ultra Gauge or similar to monitor temps and read and reset codes (Ultra Gauge has alarm points so you can warn a young driver about driving over heated). I bought my daughter a D1 for her first car / college ride. But my reasoning was weighted toward protection. Discos tip the scales at more than my old F250. Another forum member posted about a fatal crash in Vegas where his Disco was T-boned at a red light by a Toyota going 50 mph. The other driver did not survive. But these vehicles are heavy, ponderous, and high center of gravity. Not to be driven with wreckless abandon around mountain curves like a small BMW.

 

Buzz, thanks for the tips. I'll difinitely check out the high mileage maint. list and the details on the shaft. The u-joint I replaced yesterday was bone dry and it looked like one other joint had been replaced with one with grease fittings.

 

Have fun with the gas, I hope she has a job to pay for that premium gas. It will eat you alive.

 

Make sure she is trained on how to drive the vehicle. I mean trained, seriously. Kids don't know squat and more importantly if you think her driving is good trust me it will shock you when she crashes it in the winter. You have to remind her that it takes a lot longer to stop, it might be an offroad vehicle but in the snow it can flip. You have to drive appropriately in bad weather. If she does go offroad make sure she knows how to get out. Make sure no one else drives it or else they will damage it.

 

Just so you know, if both the u-joints and the centering ball were not replaced at the same time, it will be short lived.
This section is not for questions so please start a thread in the D2 section and lets get your Disco ready to go.