Land Rover Discovery - Purchasing Guide

michog

New member
I would like to get very specific about Land Rover Discoveries. Where I am from they are all around me and I am sure that just about everything that I am asking has been mentioned in one place or another. Please be patient! We know that Discoveries have some inherent problems. Are there any years that are better than others, or when Ford took them over in 2000 is that when their problems started. Which is the better motor, they seem to have had several depending on who has owned Land Rover. Lets build a purchasing guide for Discoveries specifically.
 

BirchHill

goat farmer
99 thru mid 01 have internals for cdl and just need cable to hook up. Late 01-03 need front snout on transfer case to enable cdl. All years had headgasket issues, if your at 100k they may have been replaced or it will be happening soon. All years had issues with oil pumps cracking with the worst being 03/04, this being a separate issue from the misaligned dowel issue on certain 03s. The front driveshaft will need to be rebuild with grease able joints or replaced, it will fail at some point and bust your trans to smithereens. The 03/04 are susceptible more so then others for the liners to become loose and jiggle around at temp making an annoying tap. The liners cannot drop into the bottom of the engines like the d1 but, they can develop a crack behind the liner in the thin wall of the cylinder into the water jacket and the block is toast. Bottom line they have issues, if you like one pay cash for it and budget for repairs, if your not mechanically inclined you probably cant afford one. They can be a reliable vehicle when proactively maintained and there are a steady number of D2s that are making it north of 200k miles.
 

Colin Hughes

Explorer
The link to the guide above is pretty accurate. Maintenance and regular oil changes go a long way. My first was a 1995 D1 and I had 440,000 kms on it when it went to the next owner - original engine and never had to replace the head gaskets. My 2003 D2 was purchased cheap with a dead engine - 4 dropped liners - which I replaced. I sold it to buy my current 1997 D1 300TDi diesel. Now I'm learning all the in and outs of old Ford tractor engines :)
 

michog

New member
I am assuming from you reply that when you say that "All years had headgasket issues" you are referring to the 4.0L, 3.9L and 3.5L. Motors or was one better than the others.
 

ZG

Busy Fly Fishing
I am assuming from you reply that when you say that "All years had headgasket issues" you are referring to the 4.0L, 3.9L and 3.5L. Motors or was one better than the others.

He's referring to Discovery IIs, all years of the DII have HG failures, 4.0L bosch and 4.6L bosch.
 

bdp1978

Adventurer
Im going to test drive a couple '04 D2's tomorrow......and Im beginning to think Im a dumb S.O.B. for even considering buying one. I love the style and interior etc. But btwn all the horrible reviews, advice from all the owners that mechanically they are ****boxes, and the premium/dismal fuel economy.....wait, maybe I just talked myself out of those test drives.
 

czenkov

Adventurer
Im going to test drive a couple '04 D2's tomorrow......and Im beginning to think Im a dumb S.O.B. for even considering buying one. I love the style and interior etc. But btwn all the horrible reviews, advice from all the owners that mechanically they are ****boxes, and the premium/dismal fuel economy.....wait, maybe I just talked myself out of those test drives.

Probably a wise move. My LR mechanic buddy makes a living off DII's.
 

keoni004

Observer
It's all about what you want, and what you don't want. Fuel economy is a disaster, so be prepared to pay for your miles. Any reason why you're set on D2s vs D1s? Early discos can be had for a song, often in decent condition. If you really want to get into a Disco, don't go into it blindly. Hop on the forums and poke around to find out. This is a great expedition website, but the specific LR forums can be much more helpful.
 

bdp1978

Adventurer
Not to hijack michog's thread.....but Im only interested in the '04 D2. Ive don a TON of research and reading. I was hot and heavy to get a Disco about 6 months ago and talked myself out of it but they never left my head. Now Im considering them again but the hesitation is still there. Ive been wrenching my whole life and have a thoroughly setup garage, but head gaskets etc at 80-90k miles seems ridiculous to me.

BUT, I also realize that you typically only hear about the bad ones which is why Im still considering a Rover. Im supposed to look at an '04 SE tomorrow, Zambezi Silver/Black Interior - super clean with tow pkg and 72,000 miles for $8g's.....not sure whether to go through with the test drive or not at this point.
 

michog

New member
Right now I am driving a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. It has a unibody construction which to me is a weak point in an off-road vehicle. The 4.0 L inline six was a workhorse of a motor but the fuel economy sucks. The exhaust manifold is prone to cracking and if you change to headers you can't torque some of the bolts properly which leads to exhaust leaks. If I need to tow a trailer my towing capacity is just over 2000lbs. So I cant tow much. It has weak differentials which if you are going to do anything strenuous need to be upgraded and if you are going off road most jeep owners upgrade the suspension. If I want to sleep in the back it is about 6" too short for me. (Please correct me if I am wrong). The Discovery has a towing capacity which is over 5000lbs. A full frame which lends itself to abuse over and above the normal. The suspension needs to be upgraded which you may want to do anyway especially on an expedition type vehicle. The motor seems to be an issue but if you do your maintenance there should be minimal problems. Or change it to a better power plant. There also seems to be electrical gremlins which lead to worries, however this could be becouse in a discovery there seems to be a lot of electronics. I think the question is not if you have to do maintenance but when you do maintenance what type of vehicle would you rather put your money into. I usually buy vehicles for under $5000.00 and drive them for a few years playing around with the maintenance and then letting them go. I'm looking on Kijiji and there are multiple Discoveries, Range Rovers and Freelanders for under $5000.00, at that price I know that I am going to have to do something. The Discovery II for 2004 is one of the top 10 expedition vehicles suggested by Expedition Portal http://www.expeditionportal.com/resources/91-guide/351-top-10-used-overland-vehicles.html. The way I look at it if you are going to drive yourself into harms way there must be a way to make these vehicles reliable.
 

SouthPawXJ

Observer
Right now I am driving a 2000 Jeep Cherokee. It has a unibody construction which to me is a weak point in an off-road vehicle. The 4.0 L inline six was a workhorse of a motor but the fuel economy sucks. The exhaust manifold is prone to cracking and if you change to headers you can't torque some of the bolts properly which leads to exhaust leaks. If I need to tow a trailer my towing capacity is just over 2000lbs. So I cant tow much. It has weak differentials which if you are going to do anything strenuous need to be upgraded and if you are going off road most jeep owners upgrade the suspension. If I want to sleep in the back it is about 6" too short for me. (Please correct me if I am wrong). The Discovery has a towing capacity which is over 5000lbs. A full frame which lends itself to abuse over and above the normal. The suspension needs to be upgraded which you may want to do anyway especially on an expedition type vehicle. The motor seems to be an issue but if you do your maintenance there should be minimal problems. Or change it to a better power plant. There also seems to be electrical gremlins which lead to worries, however this could be becouse in a discovery there seems to be a lot of electronics. I think the question is not if you have to do maintenance but when you do maintenance what type of vehicle would you rather put your money into. I usually buy vehicles for under $5000.00 and drive them for a few years playing around with the maintenance and then letting them go. I'm looking on Kijiji and there are multiple Discoveries, Range Rovers and Freelanders for under $5000.00, at that price I know that I am going to have to do something. The Discovery II for 2004 is one of the top 10 expedition vehicles suggested by Expedition Portal http://www.expeditionportal.com/resources/91-guide/351-top-10-used-overland-vehicles.html. The way I look at it if you are going to drive yourself into harms way there must be a way to make these vehicles reliable.

Just make sure you go in with eyes wide open. The XJ gets better fuel economy. How tall are you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm 5'11", and I can just fit, but that is with the rear seat bottom pulled out and the front seats all the way forward. Some people have trouble with their XJ unibody being floppy, but there are ways to stiffen it in the aftermarket for cheap. I spent a week in the UP of Michigan driving down fire roads and and two tracks with the stock suspension and had no difficulty. Also, if you are upgrading your suspension either way, the XJ is going to be far cheaper to upgrade.

I'm just as tempted by the Disco IIs as you are... They are really neat platforms. However, the engine issues and electrical gremlins would keep me from getting one. Just my opinion. We're actually looking at getting my wife a 7-seat SUV right now, and we're looking at LR3s and LR4s along with 100-series LCs and Jeep Commanders.

Just make sure you get what you want and can afford.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,540
Messages
2,875,670
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top