Getting Sick of the Rover...

[MattScott]

I'm getting sick of my rover. It's costing me 300 a month in parts to keep it running, and it still needs all new ball joints, rotoflex, brakes, the list goes on.

I've tried to set it up for overland travel, but the fact is the vehicle is not reliable going to the mall, and wouldnt be for the other side of the country. I'm constantly working on it; I've simply had enough.

I've been looking at a new rig. Expo has opened me up to alot of non-land rover ideas. Ideally I'd like a 05-09 taco, but, properly outfitted they get expensive.

I'm leaving it to you guys, throw some ideas at me. Something that is really reliable, gets above 15. Has a fair amount of room. Decent resale value. I'm looking to spend around 15-18k

 

[SeaRubi]

hey welcome to the club. where you begin from rover ashes and start anew is a highly personal choice. decide what it is you don't like most about your current vehicle, separating the whole mystic thing of the rover brand aside. for me, I didn't like continually bashing up body panels in the tight, tree lined trails of WA state, so that pushed me towards the smaller dimensions of a jeep wrangler.

If your decision is just hinged on reliability, you have lots to choose from. In my mind, the Land Cruiser FJ80 stands out above the rest. I'm not ready to give up my JK for one, I love it, but the FJ80 is a strong runner-up. You can score a clean FJ80 for not a lot of money and get a whole lot of truck in return.

fwiw.

 

[cjmitchell5]

About two years ago I was reading a post on a Rover club forum. A fella was looking for about 10 trucks to caravan with him in his 110 on a humanitarian mission to Guatemala. I look out my window at the Disco I had at the time and chuckled to myself; there would be no way, no how, that I would trust a modern gas Rover to make that drive. However, sitting right next to the Disco was my Diesel F250 XL and I realized I wouldn't hesitate to take it on the same trip. I've had five jeeps now (77 CJ5, 94 YJ, 95 YJ, 96 XJ, 99 TJ) and I've had five rovers now (87 RR, 96 Disco, 60 SII, 95 Disco, 71 SIIa) and I loved all of them.
The Ford was built to be a work truck, bench seat, crank windows, nothing superfluous. It supports livelihood, if it breaks people aren't inconvenienced, they lose money. It would get beat to death on the Rubicon but that's not what I'm interested in. I want something that will travel vast expanses of primitive roads (not no roads).
Anyhow, SeaRubi has it right. Figure out what you like about the Disco, what you want it to do better. I'll second the vote for a Toyota, I've never owned one but I'll admit a diesel, solid axle Toyota is the finest overland vehicle you can get. (Why don't I have one? I bought my Ford to tow horses. And I don't want to hear how a Tundra could do it, they don't have diesel Tundras w/ crank windows and rubber floors )

 

[Schattenjager]

I too am a long time Rover man (3X RRC's and a DII) - it was only when I moved from Alaska to Colorado that I had to think about the REAL overland possibilities of the DII, and decided to sell it and get the Tacoma.

As a result of my love affair with Rovers, my good friend in Denver decided to take advantage of a great buy on a green RRC with ARB front and rear, OME suspension and an overheating motor. His approach is typical, but he is trying to upgrade everything he can as he moves forward with repairs and updates. He estimates that in 30 years she will be good as new.:costumed-smiley-007

I think that if you research all you do on your Disco, you will find there are many superior replacement parts or fixes to common problems. It becomes a matter of how long do you want it to be before she is more reliable, are you willing to invest in a diesel for the long haul? and are you willing to invest FAR more than you could ever get out of selling it.

Rovers are not unlike relationships - you can to the mall and see other things you think you would rather be with, but when cared for well, they are faithful, heavily depreciating friends worth their weight in repair bills.

If you are attached to your Rover, can you get something else to drive while you go through the Disco and bring her up to snuff?

If not - I can you that ExPo is responsible for me going to the 05 Tacoma I have now - a decision I do not remotely regret.

 

[UnfrozenCaveman]

So where is this worthless Disco, and how rusty / corroded is it?

I either need to get the 109 back on the road / trail or find a replacement Disco to put all my "good stuff" on

 

[eleblanc]

TLC FZJ80.........or better HDJ81

 

[mtnbike28]

I feel your pain!

I would say for the $ you posted look at a 01-04 Tacoma. I have had several trucks that I "loved" but didn't trust them to go far (FJ40, SII, Dodge Raider) all great trucks, but just needed too much time from me. I love my Tacoma and the 91 Toyota PU it replaced... I have/would have taken either anywhere. The '91 did several week long trips with over 200k and I never even considered if I would get home : ) Good luck!

 

[cruiser guy]

If you are travelling outside of the US I'd strongly suggest a Toyota and if possible a diesel.

We are from Canada and drive a BJ60 (factory diesel model of the FJ60) with a turbo. The engine is common to the Toyota Dyna and Coaster buses of the same era so I can get those parts here if necessary. Front end stuff is common to all solid axle Toyotas. There is NO computer to give you grief when it gets wet or fails.

The best part of all is about 25mpg on diesel.

The truck currently has 535,000 kms on the clock and we still will drive it from Central America to Canada and back without significant issues (something that I gather the Rover won't do).

 

[SeaRubi]

quick counterpoint: if you get down the road of looking for replacement, and decide you're on the fence about getting rid of the Disco - think about sending it away for a little maintenance work with a good mechanic. If you've got the money to buy a whole new rig, maintaining the one you have on the stuff that ain't fun to do - ball joints, etc. - might restore your faith in it. And to echo some comments above, getting rid of known weaknesses like the rotoflex joint is a good investment. The Disco is a great truck with the right maintenance. If nothing else, you'll be able to hold out for a higher resale with some work done to it ... not to mention, a clear conscience.

fwiw

 

[kellymoe]

I have a 94 Disco and a 1988 Defender. There is no way I would take my Disco somewhere where I need reliable truck. I would take it on the Rubicon only because I dont consider the Rubicon isolated or remote and I could hike out in a day to get parts if need be. On the other hand i would take my 88 Defender anywhere. It has been the pinnacle of reliability. It is easy to work on if needed. It's carburated with no computer stuff that makes my head spin. I know others are comfortable with modern electrics but I have not reached that level of comfort.

If you do want to stick with a Rover you may consider an older Rover, maybe even a series Rover. I had a 1969 88" that I drove all over the Mojave for years and it never left me stranded. I think your best bet is a Tacoma. Good luck.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Every vehicle will reach the point where it needs major work. That point mainly has to do with how the vehicle was maintained and how it was designed. Your tolerance for that vehicle once it reaches that point is entirely a personal thing. If it no longer meets your requirements, perhaps it is time for a change.

I think you know that Disco is going to be worth relatively little on the resale market. That train left the station last spring, if not earlier, when gas prices shot through the roof. Even before that they weren't commanding the greatest of prices. Not a reflection of the basic vehicle as much as the tastes of the buying public.

If you are a do-it yourself kind of guy, the Disco would make a great platform for all sorts of modifications to increase reliability. Everything from rotoflex replacements to engine swaps are within the realm of possibilities, depending on your stomach and budget for the project. Once you start down that path, you are pretty much committed to retaining the vehicle for the long term.

On the other hand, a new-ish Toyota (or other brand) probably would net you better gas mileage and increased reliability. There would be some trade-offs, but that's for you to decide.

If it were me, I'd hold on to the Disco and buy another vehicle to fill the daily driver/grocery getter function. I'd build the Disco (mildly) and take care of all of the pending maintenance issues on my own timeframe.

 

[cjmitchell5]

And to add more to what everyone has been mentioning. To me, the EFI was the scariest part of my Disco. Everything else is fairly reasonable with enough research. You mentioned needing brake work. I had a front caliper leaking on my Disco. A rebuild kit was nearly $60 with pistons. I ended up finding entire refurbished calipers for $70something through rockauto.com There's also a diesel swap using an Isuzu diesel (better than Tdi or 2.8 powerstroke) that can be done within reason. (I'll find the links and info tomorrow if anyone is interested.)

 

[01001010]

I had a Disco that was a Hand-me down. I started upgrading while I should have been repairing. Then I moved up to hill-filled GA and began working an hour and a half away from home. I now drive a Mini Cooper and miss the HELL out of my Disco. I've had two Series IIa's in the last year and I absolutely loved how easy the engines are to work on. I sold the first one because I needed to take care of a family emergency and the second I'm selling because I'm just not feeling it (even though I got the engine to run).

The moral of the story is that you'll miss your Disco pretty bad after everything you've been through with it! (if you did get rid of it)

 

[SeaRubi]

EFI - this seems to cause the most angst.

On my rangies (had two - an SWB and an LWB) I got pretty comfortable with the 14cux system and knew all the sensors pretty well. After replacing everything but the MAF sensor I thought I had it pretty much nailed. The two sensors most overlooked on the older rigs are the coolant and fuel temperature sensors. these played all kinds of havoc with my rig, causing all kinds of gremlins with idling. It later suffered a failure of the ignition amplifier, which ended up being my last straw. I had a GM ignition amp. out in the garage ready to do make the swap out of the distributor, but lost my gumption to do so.

The GEMS OBDII system seems much better, to me. The coil packs aren't nearly as finicky as the ignition amplifier. They can survive a splash whereas I'd often be out spraying my distributor cap with WD40 after a run through a puddle. The o2 sensors seem to last longer, because fuel metering is more efficient. The scan tools also give you a lot more information than the 14cux system did with the numeric code readout.

I think a lot of it comes down to how comfortable you are with digging in and learning the whole enchilada vs. wanting to turn the key and be done with it. obviously i made my choice! A large part of that choice had to do with knowing I was going to be selling my house and moving into a high-rise apartment, with no more garage. The other big part of it,for me, was reducing the cost of maintenance items. If I have the JK long enough to wear out, I know that I won't be looking at the possibility of a $400 fuel pump.

getting back on track, I don't know of any D1's that couldn't make a trip or got stranded due to some issue with the engine management system (GEMS and all it's electrickery!). I think folks have a fear of the unknown and blow this part of the truck out of proportion. It's really not that bad. If you want bad, we can talk about a 1996 P38a range rover :sombrero: / ducking / running

cheers
-isaac

 

[ntsqd]

Assuming that you'd be making payments on a Taco, would that amount per month fix the Rover's woes?
Or, if not making payments, would putting the purchase price of a Taco towards the Rover fix it's woes?

By "fix it's woes" I mean fix/upgrade to the point where you would trust it to take you where you wish to go.