2003 Disco: what to look for

[Z O O R O P A]

I'd consider 11,900 high for a 2003 Disco

be sure to get a thorough inspection from more than one place

A really nice HSE7 2004 with the same miles sold on ebay last night for 10 something last I looked - they are nice trucks

you could find a 2003 for a lot less and if you have any friends in the car biz they could get you one dirt cheap, like 6K at auction - check out 2002 Range Rovers as well - might be worth considering but a whole different bag

a friend of mine got a nice RR with 120K on it nav and all for like 3K this summer lol with a replaced suspension

 

[Bayou Boy]

I passed on it. The mechanic said it had a ton of slack in the rear diff. New ring and pinion plus install: ~$1500
I hadn't noticed it before but noticed it on the way to drop the truck back off.

 

[MattScott]

Ring and pinion slack isn't that uncommon. Seriously, get a 2004. It's worth it.

 

[proper4wd]

Thats very suspect to me.

I have never seen a rear diff with so much play in it that warranted replacement. Yes, they have backlash. Yes, it might be more than what you are used to from other vehicles. But it is not a problem and does not constitute replacement.

What you felt on the way home was drive lash. Is this the only Disco you've driven? They all have it. It is inherent in the design of the transfer case/diffs and fulltime 4wd system. Do not be surprised when it is at least as bad in the next one. What types of vehicles are you used to driving?

 

[R_Lefebvre]

The floors will not be rusty.

Excuse me? How can you make that statement?

The floors on my 2004 are rusty.

 

[MattScott]

It all depends on where the vehicle is from, I know of 1994 DI's that have no rust anywhere, But I also know of 2006 LR3's that have rust.

 

[Bayou Boy]

Thats very suspect to me.

I have never seen a rear diff with so much play in it that warranted replacement. Yes, they have backlash. Yes, it might be more than what you are used to from other vehicles. But it is not a problem and does not constitute replacement.

What you felt on the way home was drive lash. Is this the only Disco you've driven? They all have it. It is inherent in the design of the transfer case/diffs and fulltime 4wd system. Do not be surprised when it is at least as bad in the next one. What types of vehicles are you used to driving?

The mechanic said that when he put it on the lift and rotated the tires there was slack in the rear diff.
This is the first Disco that I've driven. But remember, it was the mechanic that advised me of the problem. He has driven them before. My current vehicle is a 2007 Wrangler. My father-in-law has an FJ80 that I've driven quite a bit as well.

I don't know. The dealer is a customer of mine. He wasn't there when I dropped the truck back off. He just called and when I explained the situation, offered to drop the price by the $1500 to $10,400.

 

[proper4wd]

I have had the carpets out of quite a few of these trucks and have never come across much, if any rust. If your floors are rusty, first of all we much determine what each of us considers the threshold for calling something rusty. My background is in Range Rover Classics and Series Land Rovers and my judgement of "rustiness" may be tainted by that! Do you have pictures of your floor?

Back to the topic here, if there is a specialized Land Rover shop near you or even a dealer they might have a better idea about whats going on. Not to detract from your mechanic, I have worked in small garages, but these vehicles are somewhat quirky and without exposure to a lot of them it can be easy to see things that are in normal/good condition as problematic when compared to more precisely manufactured vehicles!

 

[MattScott]

You could have the diff replaced, but you'd be stuipid to do that for $1500. You'll have the same problem after. If anything, go ARB.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I have had the carpets out of quite a few of these trucks and have never come across much, if any rust. If your floors are rusty, first of all we much determine what each of us considers the threshold for calling something rusty. My background is in Range Rover Classics and Series Land Rovers and my judgement of "rustiness" may be tainted by that! Do you have pictures of your floor?

Not being a Rover guy, I consider *any* rust on the inside of the floor to be "rusty". Rust is supposed to start on the outside, not the inside.

When I removed my tread plates, all the screws were seized in, and had to be drilled out. Then, the area directly under the tread plate had a 100% rusty appearance. Removed the carpets, and the rust extended several inches inside. Basically, it was all over the low spots. The carpet was soaking wet. I wire wheeled the whole thing, dried the carpets, attempted to fix the leaks, rustoleumed the floor and put the carpets back.

 

[Bayou Boy]

I think that I'm going to just pass on the Disco. It's just too much of an unknown to me. The wife wants an SUV, I want something that can do mild trails when we travel: trails in Big Bend NP, Alpine Loop in CO, etc. The shop that looked at the truck is the only specialist european shop in the area. The nearest Land Rover dealer is an hour away in New Orleans.

I'm going to keep my eye out for a 100 series cruiser. I've got a local Toyota dealer and... it's a toyota as far a dependability. Not close to as cool as the DiscoII though.

 

[proper4wd]

That is interesting. What leaks did you find? They usually leak from a poorly sealed windshield, and from behind the exterior A-pillar trims. The sunroof drains can plug and cause water to back up into the interior.

LR3s are much worse! All I can say is DON'T buy a 2005 LR3. Especially a early 2005. Ever.

Not being a Rover guy, I consider *any* rust on the inside of the floor to be "rusty". Rust is supposed to start on the outside, not the inside.

When I removed my tread plates, all the screws were seized in, and had to be drilled out. Then, the area directly under the tread plate had a 100% rusty appearance. Removed the carpets, and the rust extended several inches inside. Basically, it was all over the low spots. The carpet was soaking wet. I wire wheeled the whole thing, dried the carpets, attempted to fix the leaks, rustoleumed the floor and put the carpets back.

 

[Z O O R O P A]

I went around a right turn once with my 04 full of girls in mid July so they were all wearing sun dresses and bikini straps. For some unknown reason, I read on D-web that if you leave your disco at a slight incline it will retain water in the sunroof; well that turned out to be true because a full glass of water shot right out of the sunroof on the inside and went right down my front passengers dress perfectly between here breasts - it was priceless! It never did it again and I couldn't figure out what happened in the first place

Rob, it's clearly a result of crumbs from all those saltines you eat while adventuring - yeah I see you on muddyoval brotha!


oh Land Rover Discovery stories .... should right a book - hasn't everyone figured out that DWEB is so maniacal because of the Discovery model?

lol just teasing

 

[MattScott]

that's an awesome story, one you wouldn't get with a toyota.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

That is interesting. What leaks did you find? They usually leak from a poorly sealed windshield, and from behind the exterior A-pillar trims. The sunroof drains can plug and cause water to back up into the interior.

LR3s are much worse! All I can say is DON'T buy a 2005 LR3. Especially a early 2005. Ever.

I ended up gutting the entire car. I found that both sunroofs had been leaking at both front corners, as evidenced by staining on the top surface of the headliner. The dealer had attempted to do a crappy TSB on them, by goobering a bunch of silicone in the area. It was clear they had only slightly dropped the headliner, not totally removed it for an effective repair. One of the corners was still leaking. Furthermore, I found that a gross leak was still possible in the event that a lot of water should "flood" the the tray. It can go between the sunroof tray and the roof, which is completely unsealed.

I think what may be happening, is if you park nose-up, the water can leak and collect in the rear section of the tray, since the drains are at the front. Then soon as the car decelerates or slants nose-down the first time, the water rushes forward, overwhelming the drains, and then it floods out onto the headliner.

I attempted to seal the drain tube that was still leaking, I'm not sure how successful it was. I know I still have a leak.

I also found the front windshield was leaking due to a really crappy replacement windshield job. I attempted to seal that, but I don't know if it worked. I'll probably gut the car again at some point to assess the situation. What else...

Oh yeah, I've also had the plugged AC drain problem. Twice, within a few weeks or months of cleaing them the first time. I'm not sure how it can manifest itself that fast.

So yeah, my carpets have been in a constant state of wetness, thus the rust.

That being said, it's really the ONLY problem the truck has caused me. That is, other than a few issues due to fording water 36+" deep.

Rob, it's clearly a result of crumbs from all those saltines you eat while adventuring - yeah I see you on muddyoval brotha!

Have no idea what you're talking about. I'm no on Muddy Oval.