You ask him how many f50 engines he’s nuked?

 

Saying it's stock except for the billet block is funny, because it's the billet block that makes it custom.

Over the decades I've heard conflicting info on how worn the engine toweling is, from LR didn't give a crap to the auctioned tooling, after production was over, was new.

But it doesn't matter, as a general rule, we are not trying to get more HP out of our vehicles but to make the more reliable, especially on when off road. That's where experience comes in because people have seen failures and how the combine to cause other issues.

There are known weak parts on Discoveries, front drive shaft, standard cooling layout, throttle heater plate (that damn, useless outside of freezing Temps, $30 part has likely caused more severe issues than any, as it leaks and goes unnoticed and can cause coolant clogs in the block)

Fortunately, there is now plenty of information and availablity of parts to fix all these weak areas and make a very reliable vehicle.

People new to Discoveries may bring some outside the box thinking, but the experienced people have a wealth of knowledge gained by witnessing and fixing issues. Trust me, when I first purchased my 2004 Discovery in 2004, I had no idea that breather tubes could come loose and melt. Nobody knew that back then, but it happens now.

 

I’ve always heard about the tooling wear going into the 03-04 blocks. I’ve even passed along the same info myself. But really I know nothing of how long tooling lasts or even if they used the same castings for the 4.6 blocks. Could it be possible that moving the engine from 4.0 to 4.6 was enough to cause the cracking / overheating issues? I know nothing about how the engine changed to the 4.6. Was it just in the heads or the entire block?

 

There is a lot you can do to help out a Disco in terms of reliability. My experience lays with D2s, so what I say doesn't necessarily apply to D1s, but in my eyes even if you make the mechanicals tip top you are still going to get stranded one day in a snow storm with a bad Crank Position Sensor.

In my eyes, the only way to truly "bulletproof" a D2 is to do an LS swap (or r2.8 cummins looks awfully nice, but pricy), and to do so using the ACE Kit so that you are running totally off of the Chevy ECU for engine controls.

Now, if you're just looking for something to drive a while and flip, this is not going to be the route to take. Your best bet is to find one with a good body and frame that needs minor work or maybe head gaskets, do the work yourself, and make money that way. A little "sweat equity" is the most consistent way to make money on one.

If you're patient, the right deals come around. My current D2 that actually runs I picked up for $400 and all I had to do was go through the cooling system, so the deals are out there. I would say, generally, you're not looking to sell one at this premium prices in order to turn a profit.

As for the lean tune rumor, complete hogwash. You can pull the spark plugs to read them and tell it's a stoich burn. Making a motor run lean is not the way to pass emissions anyway, especially if you push it to the point of detonation. At a certain point you are not getting enough fuel to get a complete burn and emissions are getting worse again.

And if anyone on this forum knows their stuff in terms of Land Rovers, it's Best.

 

I agree with you Alex, aside from I'd run a chevy 6spd trans and adapt the lt230. If going through all that hassle might as well go with a stronger trans and add 2 more gears. Sure it's more work but would be totally worth it imo. Also, I know one of the local shops here has done a handful of cummins 2.8 swaps and they have been less than enthused with them for all the hype around them. The international 2.8 (I think it is, it's the ford version of the 300tdi thats been modernized somewhat) is a far better motor option from what I understand if looking to go diesel.

 

One thing I didn't hear about is fuel injectors, has anyone checked to see if the 4.6 fuel injectors are big enough to provide enough fuel in all RPM's? Just an idea... if they aren't big enough or don't provide enough fuel then that could be a reason why the 4.6 is claimed to run lean in some RPM's. If they skimped on engine blocks as some of you say then they might have just used the left over fuel injectors from the smaller bore engines and therefore they might not be getting enough fuel for the bigger 4.6 bore engine, etc...

So it seems like what you guys call a top hat liner system and a lower thermostat and a working coolant system is what makes these engines reliable.

So if I bought a nice Discovery with a blown engine I could do those things and have a reliable car... could a fully rebuilt engine with a top hat liner in a near perfect interior/exterior Discovery 2 sell easily for $20k? What would be the easily sell price point for a non-Discovery fanatic? (not one of you guys who know everything about them...)

 

@discoveringlandrover Even with top hatted engine, sorted cooling system, you will still no get anywhere near 20k in most cases. You need to stop and face 3 facts :

1. These are at least 17 years only
2. They have a brutal reputation of lack for a lack of reliability with a V8 in them
3. Fuel economy is non existent, it is a 25 gallon tank, in a vehicle that wants 91 octane fuel,and gets less than 300 miles to a tank.

To get above 15k you are looking to sell to collectors, or someone who wants a Discovery really badly. Since 2017 about 30 have sold north of 10000 and a 3rd of those are rare versions (G4's) and most with under 100000 miles. Most Discovey's in good shape that are well sorted out are between 5000 and 10000 at best, and a top hatted long block will run you 4000 - 6000 dollars.

I love mine warts and all and if I was sell I would ask 8000 CDN, but I expect realistically to get 6000 at best unless I was lucky, and I have a bunch ton of spares.

Mine is well sorted, but at 17 years stuff will fail, there are 4 computers in there sunroofs, roof rails,power windows, power seats seat heats the list endless.

 

That's what I thought, I like the way they look. Their look and exterior is one of the best, and I like what I've seen about their traction control, but I see prices from basically free up to to this one that's going for over $21,990 in LA and this one going for $19,500 in LA

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sf...302709912.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/ws...303472553.html

One has 77k miles the other has over 170,000 miles on it. Both are going for basically $20,000.

If I could sell my possible future Discover for $15k or up I might invest in one, otherwise I'll stick with more reliable Jeeps, Fords, and Chevy trucks.

I still feel DIscovery 1/2 prices will rise, but that might be far into the future.

 

Also, if it wants 91 octane, fuel that means it tends to run lean... I think someone said they run rich (which is not the case if they do better on higher octane fuel.)

 

Do Range Rovers have better flip prices? Which year did they go to independent front suspension? Any car can be made reliable, IMO. The typical costs don't apply to me since I don't drive a lot and I do my own work. But I would like to be able to use a vehicle that I own and not fear it will break on a long road-trip.