I am looking at land rovers 99-2002 ish 150K ish i have read about all the big issues over heating and front drive shaft failure. I need a rig I can get around town in but i need to be able to take it on road trips for family vacations say 1500 mi round trip. If i stay up on fluid changes and small maintenance like plugs and filters and what-not is it un-reasonable to expect a regular driver for around town? I love the way land rovers look I am just wondering if i am going to have a catastrophic failure on a family vacation that will leave me completely dead on the side of the road with something like a blown tranny or differential or am I more likely to find myself with a leaking head gasket that I can limp my way back to town with. I don’t hear many complaints of tranny or diff failure are these solid rigs aside from small electrical incontinence's (bad sensors and what-not) and regular fluid changes? I usually only put 8-10K miles on my rigs annually, am I asking to much from a Disco? I have done full rebuilds on engines and have a 78 land cruiser that keeps me tinkering in general so I can handle nearly any maintenance, I just don’t want to be dead 500 mi from town with nothing I can do this would be my family car. Should I wait until I can have a Disco as a secondary and use it like a 4 wheeler to go camping out of and play in with the family. Any input please.

 

Full shop manual is called the RAVE, free download below. If you are servicing the vehicle you will notice problems before they become a big issue. Swap out front drive shaft to grease-able. Or it will snap and bash hole in tranny. Install new LR brand 180F thermostat. Replace radiator because it will be gunked up on lower rows. Overheating (and not knowing it because you trusted the dash gauge) leads to head gaskets and worse. Many at your stated miles will need head gaskets (from years of mild overheating), water pump will be wobbly, and oil pump will be on the way out.

Carry a CKP sensor which can kill ignition when it wants to. Plenty of guys on here with over 150K, and our 200K+ club continues to grow. 191 K on my D1, heads done twice (once by PO and once by me).

They are like any other vehicle - don't take care of them and they will leave you stranded. They are not a vehicle for the 30K oil change whether it needs it or not crowd.

If you DIY it can become an addictive hobby.

 

Thanks for the reply your input is exactly what I was looking for. When would you recommend replacing the oil and water pumps? Could I just remove the radiator and have it rebuilt? And what do you mean by the 30k oil Change I usually do oil in my current car at 5k max? Would I be better off with an older pre-98 or not? And do you have any recommendations for self diagnostics equipment that will read and reset all the codes I love working on cars and tinkering hence the 78 land cruiser but it I pre-computer required for function days.