Entertaining a switch from Jeep to Land Rover. Have questions.

[Jeepinaaron]

I ran across this 2004 Disco II, pretty local to me.

https://boone.craigslist.org/ctd/5796370188.html

I'm going to go drive it and see what I think. It has more miles than I wanted so I don't know if I would ever go for this one or not.

 

[454]

That Boone D1 is way too expensive.

 

[Jeepinaaron]

With the miles, agreed.

 

[ColoDisco]

That has to be the worst ad for selling a LR. They didn't describe anything about the truck for sale, just selling themselves.

 

[Jeepinaaron]

That has to be the worst ad for selling a LR. They didn't describe anything about the truck for sale, just selling themselves.

Yes, I'm not saying I will buy this truck. It is just a close by specimen to test drive.

 

[Jeepinaaron]

Wow, you don't realize how expensive premium gas is until you are thinking of buying a vehicle which uses it. .50 more a gallon!

So I've been doing more research into which years I would want to purchase, etc etc. Originally I wanted to go old school with a Disco I, but have been looking at the Disco II's as well.

After reading this website:

http://www.robisonservice.com/servicedep/buying-a-land-rover.asp#classic

After reading that it seems that maybe a Disco II with the 4.0, early model which just needs the CDL linkage, would be the best.

 

[Ray_G]

Just keep this in mind, from his blog:
Land Rover reduced the frame thickness in the Discovery II trucks, and they are now prone to early rust failure in snow belt areas. They are also prone to develop cracks by the right side catalyst. The cure for this is a new frame, at $5,000 and 100+ hours of labor.

 

[Blueboy]

I bought my 1996 D1 from Rover Classic while living in Switzerland and will give you a few comments:

1. As the vehicle had low miles and came from the Southern part of the US, knew the body would be in good condition - the pics on the site confirmed this.
2. However, they also didn't show the slight scrape in the back where the truck rubbed up against something scratching the paint vertically about 6".
3. Asked numerous times if radio code was in the truck - assured it was. It wasn't which could have been a huge problem if it was not initially registered at a dealer. I lucked out and got the code from a dealer.
4. CEL on - was told this is due to low gas which we all know is BS. Where I live no emmissions test so not a problem, yet, the code being thrown has become almost impossible to fix and clear.
5. Engine nicely steamed cleaned which hid the fact the crankshaft seal is leaking and the oil pan was sealed with goop also leaking. Plus at least one stud holding the pan is stripped.

Now all of this to me can be repaired or isn't a concern as the paramont criteria was a rust free D1 which this is.

However, you need to be careful and if I were to do it again, I would for sure go there and inspect first hand what you're buying.

I usually follow my own advice, yet, low mileage, unfaded red (Disco is my wife's and she wanted red), SD level, no sunroofs, leather interior vs cloth, Southern driven D1s do not come up for sale often so I bought sight unseen.

They are not spacious and with the wheelbase, not a lot of leg room in the back. I have to move the front seat forward to get the Labs in the back.

However, put a decent rack on the roof and with the cargo area you can carry a fair amount of camping stuff for your family.

I wouldn't buy a DII - along with what Ray mentioned above, the engines are a crap shoot.

Good luck.

 

[ColoDisco]

I have never seen a frame failure. Perhaps more in the rust belt.

 

[spikemd]

The D2 had a decent amount more cargo space than a D1. The LR3 probabky has more than twice the cargo space of a D1. A 5 speed gets better gas mileage but harder to drive offroad.

Solid axles are great if you are building a rock crawler but you can't come close to comparing the ride quality of a D1 to an LR3. It generations ahead in comfort, stability and road manners.

To everyone's amusement, I will throw out the benefits of a P38 range rover...4.6l engine, solid axles, better interior, 4 wheel traction control (99 and newer), Bosch electronics (99+), and can fit 33s without changing every suspension component.

 

[Blueboy]

To everyone's amusement, I will throw out the benefits of a P38 range rover...4.6l engine, solid axles, better interior, 4 wheel traction control (99 and newer), Bosch electronics (99+), and can fit 33s without changing every suspension component.

yes. No doubt I'm lol!! There are no benefits to a P38 for off highway use let alone on highway.

 

[zelatore]

yes. No doubt I'm lol!! There are no benefits to a P38 for off highway use let alone on highway.

You say that, and I never took them seriously either, but I'm beginning to see more and more of them on the trail.

 

[Colin Hughes]

yes. No doubt I'm lol!! There are no benefits to a P38 for off highway use let alone on highway.

My P38 was an awesome beast, supper comfy on the highway, amazing on the trails. I never had any real issues with it except replacing both front door locks. And the 4.0 got very good fuel economy too.

 

[kcabpilot]

...After reading that it seems that maybe a Disco II with the 4.0, early model which just needs the CDL linkage, would be the best.

We bought an '01 back in 2007, it was an early build so had the CDL that I enabled with a D1 shift lever. One of the head gaskets started to leak around the 100k mark so I did a top end refresh that included valve and seat grinds. Around 180k after a long hard trip it began to overheat when climbing hills - ran fine around town and could idle at a stand still all day. Because of the mileage I figured it was due for an overhaul but in the interim I was able to get a fairly low mileage 4.6 and dropped it in. So far it's been great and to be honest the 4 liter was struggling across the passes with the load I was carrying.

As far as the CDL goes it will be much more difficult to incorporate with a late '01 to '03 because they don't have it and you'd have to replace the nose section of the transfer case. An '04 has the CDL with the more favorable cable shift and also the 4.6 and if you view this in the light of the fact that you're probably going to eventually want to do an engine rebuild with flanged liners you'd want to have the 4.6 crank and rods because these trucks all are probably pushing the 200k mark now and are due for this. The good news is that you can get them cheap. Six grand to build a completely new engine and you're still way under what you're going to pay for a beat up Land Cruiser with a quarter million miles on it. You gotta be able to turn a wrench though.

 

[Kgh]

Wow, you don't realize how expensive premium gas is until you are thinking of buying a vehicle which uses it. .50 more a gallon!

So I've been doing more research into which years I would want to purchase, etc etc. Originally I wanted to go old school with a Disco I, but have been looking at the Disco II's as well.

After reading this website:

http://www.robisonservice.com/servicedep/buying-a-land-rover.asp#classic

After reading that it seems that maybe a Disco II with the 4.0, early model which just needs the CDL linkage, would be the best.

Some think the 2004 was the best ever of the DiscoI or II.

I got CDL linkage from a boneyard for $14.00. You read that right.

We have had 4 Jeeps (3 of them JKUs, one of which was a Rubicon)
We have had 2 DiscoI, 1 DiscoII, one LR4 (Still have), and have two Defender 110s (1995 and 2013).

By far best storage space: Defender
By far best manners: JKU Rubicon
By far best mileage: Defender 300TDi
Worst MPG: DiscoI
By far best comfort: LR4 HSE Lux
Best off road: Toss up!
Required most work and upkeep: DiscoI's followed by DiscoII (V8 DiscoI, always kept spare cap and rotor, they would crap out every couple thousand miles for some reason)

By far most fun to drive: Defender 110

Now looking for a 130 to build a true overloading vehicle.

Out of all of them I like the Defenders best. Not trying to push you away from a Disco, just sharing what my experience is.

If you go Disco, google "DiscoMike" and "Forum". That guy has links to lots of Disco related tech.

Good luck!