Disco II owners: What can I do to "desert-proof" my truck?

[New User Name]

I live in the south east now, but will be moving to the high desert of California later this year. I've read about inline thermostats and various bits of armor, but what would you guys recommend? Mind you that this will be more of a camping/expedition rig than a rockcrawler, so while I am investing in rocksliders and diff guards I'm not sure if I need much beyond that. Furthermore, how would you prioritize the build?

Lastly, I love the look of 235/85/r16's, but would I be screwing myself? Most of what I've seen out there is closer to gravel than to sand, but I'd still rather build the truck to task than build it to fashion.

 

[ZG]

This thermostat will help keep the temps lower.

It'll be helpful to read this great writeup by Scott Brady http://www.expeditionswest.com/research/white_papers/tire_selection_rev1.html

 

[LR Max]

I would pull the radiator and have it rodded out. I don't care what anyone says, after 100k, EVERY vehicle will benefit from this.

Also I hear reports of the stock temp gauge not reading accurately. I don't know how to fix this, but this is something you can read up on. If you don't know what your temps are, then you can't judge what you ACTUALLY need to do.

I taped a meat thermometer to my top radiator tube. Considering they have to be pretty accurate, I feel confident reading temps off if it. That said, my truck seems to stay around medium rare to medium.

When driving, have the air recirculate going in the truck. Will keep dust and sand out of it.

How old is your fan clutch? If that is crap, then you are going to have issues. Top tip: if you are SOL in the middle of nowhere and your fan clutch craps out, you can wrap a ton of duct tape around it, effectively jamming it engaged.

While you are in there, what is your water pump like?

How new are your catalytic converters? If they are blocked, that is going to cause you all kinds of issues.

Armor is never a bad idea. I'd go with RTE weld-on diff covers. Seems like any kind of diff cover that clamps on doesn't really work or kills your ground clearance.

Lastly, its a 10 year old truck at least. Replace your transmission coolant lines so they don't burst and catch your truck on fire.

That is all I have.

 

[EricTyrrell]

Ultragauge. The stock temp gauge is nearly worthless. An ultragauge will let you see live readout of much engine data, including the actual engine temperature. You can even set alarms if it gets too high, an invaluable feature where it's hot.

There are alternatives to the typical 50/50 water/antifreeze coolant mixture (from best to worst cooling):
Water + water wetter (ONLY if there's zero chance of the area reaching freezing temperatures, or you change it before winter)
30/70 antifreeze/water + water wetter
30/70 antifreeze/water
50/50 antifreeze/water + water wetter

Water must be distilled!

Make sure your fan clutch it working. Carry a spare.

Have your radiator flushed or replaced.

Make sure the engine is in good running condition.

 

[bigreen505]

+1 to everything posted so far.

265/75-16 is a nice tire size for a Disco2 with a 2" OME lift.

 

[LR Max]

Good tip on the scangauge. If that helps in that department, go for it.

I forgot about water wetter. It is good for dropping operating temps by like, 10F. Doesn't seem like much but would be one more thing helping. I also thought about the "going straight water". That is a tough call.

 

[tacr2man]

With a standard cooling system in good condition the vehicle will handle the likes of 40C + , as advised important with rover V8 to have rad physically rodded out to get rid of the calc build up . I used to do this to vehicles in australia . Dont run without antifreeze or inhibitor , with antifreeze 25% is usually considered hot climate spec. and going beyond 50% is counter productive with most antifreezes. If you want a bit of extra safety margin if auto fit an upgraded cooler, and use something like Redline full synthetic fluid. The rover V8 is a relatively low oil pressure engine, an engine oil cooler eg 13 row mocal works well. Re thermostats, standard is best , if the system is in good condition you dont need to start trying to outdo LR engineering development dept . The fuel injection system is et up to work with a specific engine temp , and the cooling system is designed to provide that over a considerable ambient temperature range. A large part of LR exports are to Middle east eg saudi Arabia . HTSH