NitroRoo
New member
Hey everyone... new to this place, getting lots of ideas...
We've got a '99 Series 1 Discovery that isn't doing so well and I'm not sure what to do with it. We've had the truck for about 4 years and it's been super reliable up until the last year or so when it started having overheating problems (pretty common from what I hear). I replaced the water pump and fan clutch and flushed the system and that seemed to really help. We drove it from Florida to Texas back in August and no problems at all, even stuck in rush hour traffic in Dallas. Well a few months later and I think the head gasket has gone. No oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil, but definitely not running on all 8 cylinders and lots of white smoke coming out the exhaust. My wife was driving when this first happened and it got really hot (like needle all the way to the H), of course it had lost a ton of coolant.
It has about 155k miles on it and we've always said that when it started to become less reliable it would become more of a fun vehicle... sooo, time for the real fun to begin! First things first, I need to sort out the engine woes.
I've read about the cylinder liner issue and since ours has gotten so hot, I'm worried about that - plus the engine has over 150k miles on it. So I'm thinking I either need to completely rebuild, or buy a new engine.
I'm fairly mechanically inclined but I've never rebuilt an engine. I'm wondering what the best option is at this point... rebuilt, used engine, brand new engine, diesel conversion? Obviously money is a factor - I don't want to dump more money into this than I could just go out and buy a good truck for... but I also hear that the TDi conversion is well worth it, but $$$
The good thing is we've already purchased another family vehicle so time isn't a concern, although it would be nice to have it up and running for next summer. If possible, I'd like to do the work myself and learn the truck along the way. After I get the motor sorted out the mods will begin (she's completely stock now).
So.. for the engine issue, if I'm doing it myself, what's the most cost effective solution that would provide long term reliability and not completely break the bank? What would you do?
Should I just sell it and buy a jeep? :lurk:
We've got a '99 Series 1 Discovery that isn't doing so well and I'm not sure what to do with it. We've had the truck for about 4 years and it's been super reliable up until the last year or so when it started having overheating problems (pretty common from what I hear). I replaced the water pump and fan clutch and flushed the system and that seemed to really help. We drove it from Florida to Texas back in August and no problems at all, even stuck in rush hour traffic in Dallas. Well a few months later and I think the head gasket has gone. No oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil, but definitely not running on all 8 cylinders and lots of white smoke coming out the exhaust. My wife was driving when this first happened and it got really hot (like needle all the way to the H), of course it had lost a ton of coolant.
It has about 155k miles on it and we've always said that when it started to become less reliable it would become more of a fun vehicle... sooo, time for the real fun to begin! First things first, I need to sort out the engine woes.
I've read about the cylinder liner issue and since ours has gotten so hot, I'm worried about that - plus the engine has over 150k miles on it. So I'm thinking I either need to completely rebuild, or buy a new engine.
I'm fairly mechanically inclined but I've never rebuilt an engine. I'm wondering what the best option is at this point... rebuilt, used engine, brand new engine, diesel conversion? Obviously money is a factor - I don't want to dump more money into this than I could just go out and buy a good truck for... but I also hear that the TDi conversion is well worth it, but $$$
The good thing is we've already purchased another family vehicle so time isn't a concern, although it would be nice to have it up and running for next summer. If possible, I'd like to do the work myself and learn the truck along the way. After I get the motor sorted out the mods will begin (she's completely stock now).
So.. for the engine issue, if I'm doing it myself, what's the most cost effective solution that would provide long term reliability and not completely break the bank? What would you do?
Should I just sell it and buy a jeep? :lurk:
(how do I know this ?)