Land Rover Discovery - Purchasing Guide

[brushogger]

You will love the D2 until it stabs you in the back. As long as you have a spare motor at the ready, you should be good. When they go, they go big. Ask me how I know. This can happen even with meticulous maintenance, and no overheating. LR even issued a service bulletin on the 03's about the oil pump issue and admitted the only fix was to replace the block, but no recall. Other than the motor, they are amazing. If someone could come up with a way to swap in a 4.3l vortec, you would have the perfect truck, but no one has figured out a good way to integrate all the electronics. You could run regular, be pushing 20mpg, have the same HP and DEPEND on it.

 

[michog]

Speaking of that. If you had to replace the motor what would you replace it with? If the Vortech is not viable then what will work?




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[David Harris]

Speaking of that. If you had to replace the motor what would you replace it with? If the Vortech is not viable then what will work?


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The short answer is that there are adapters for GM V6's/V8's available from Mark's adapters in Australia. As far as the electronics go, you just have to run two ecu's, the original one which is fed some inputs from the new engine to keep the BCU and security system happy, and the new one to run the engine. It has been done before and just requires some tinkering to get it to work. The same can be done with just about any diesel you want, depending on how much you are willing to swap transmissions. The original transmission can be used with the GM 6.2L or 6.5L diesel if you use a stand alone electronic controller for the transmission.

David

 

[michog]

Would it not be easier to scrap the computers and go with a complete aftermarket system. Where is the security system housed.

 

[BirchHill]

There are a number of aftermarket options that address the factory short comings. One option is a turner built engine or one of the pricy attlantic British remanufactured units, both options use flanged liners and utilize other fixes to known problems.

 

[Colin Hughes]

Whatever you do, stay away from Freelanders! If you are buying a vehicle for under $5K, what does it matter if it gives up the ghost a year or two down the road.

 

[David Harris]

Would it not be easier to scrap the computers and go with a complete aftermarket system. Where is the security system housed.

Everything is integrated. If you wanted to completely rewire the truck then you could scrap all of that. This would also mean new gauges, etc. A guy on another forum put an Isuzu 4BD1t into his truck and by the time it was done he was into it for around 30K. As BirchHill says below, the best option is a good Rover V8 rebuilt with top hat liners. That would be a reliable engine for around a 6K investment and bolts right in.

 

[michog]

The problem is not if it will give up the ghost but where.


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[Dendy Jarrett]

Michog:
Wow, I don't want to be negative, cause I have known folks with great experiences with DII's, but by and large, ... MOST I KNOW WITH ONE, have had bad experiences.
My sister and her husband both had 04's - both white/tan one an SE7 the other an SE. BOTH had head gasket issues at 74K miles. One had a brand new LR crated 4.6 installed and never did do right after that.
I sold a DII to someone on Expo here after mine had a slipped liner (more in a moment on that). It had a brand new motor with warranty from Land Rover North America installed. Two months after the warranty, his motor blew ... and he basically took a HUGE bath trading it on an LR3.
You may consider exploring the LR3 as early ones can be had almost as inexpensively as an 04 DII (which have lately seen an increase in price).

The secondary challenge with a DII outside of the Head Gasket is a slipped liner. (even more common). The sleeves on the cylinder walls are made of steel. The block is aluminum. If you even slightly overheat that engine, the aluminum expands, the steel sleeve does not, and drops. Hence, you have toasted a motor. The later 4.6's (if you can A) find one and B) afford one, had corrections made to them with a "ledge" to hold the sleeve in place in case of overheating, but that inventory of replacement motors is dwindling.
If you buy a used motor (even a low miles one), know that you are in for the Head Gasket replacement or a dropped liner at some point in the future, and start your repair savings account now.

FYI- The truck that I sold that had the new crated 4.6 motor in it, ... the replacement motor installed cost $9800.00!!! (almost the value of the truck).

D

 

[michog]

So it seems to me that the Land Rover Platform cant be beat but it needs a heart transplant. What are some of the problems that seem to be showing up with the LR3's and 4's. I understand that the maintenance issues have dramatically dropped.

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

michog:
Truly, there are not many issues with the LR3 until you get well up into over 100K miles. Bushings can wear. There is always the very remote possibility that you might loose an airbag on a rough trail, but there are some ways around that. (new tool that overrides the system and the ability to add a secondary compressor to the bags).
You may also have to replace the air lift compressor a few times in the life of the truck.

All those concerns (really remotely concerns) aside, the LR3/LR4 can hardly be beat. The biggest complaint (if any) if heard is that they are not very much of a challenge on the trail as the trucks simply do most of the work. (takes out some of the human skill).

D

 

[David Harris]

Michog:
One had a brand new LR crated 4.6 installed and never did do right after that.
I sold a DII to someone on Expo here after mine had a slipped liner (more in a moment on that). It had a brand new motor with warranty from Land Rover North America installed. Two months after the warranty, his motor blew ... and he basically took a HUGE bath trading it on an LR3.

FYI- The truck that I sold that had the new crated 4.6 motor in it, ... the replacement motor installed cost $9800.00!!! (almost the value of the truck).

D

Lesson: Never buy a new motor with the same problem design as the original. . .

Honestly, the slipped liner problem can be fixed with flanged liners by specialists such as Mark at D&D for 2500.00 in parts and labor. Rebuild the engine on that and you are out the door for 5000.00 plus labor to install it. The engine will be better than the new ones LR produced, and with more power if you cam it while you're in there.

 

[David Harris]

michog:
Truly, there are not many issues with the LR3 until you get well up into over 100K miles. Bushings can wear. There is always the very remote possibility that you might loose an airbag on a rough trail, but there are some ways around that. (new tool that overrides the system and the ability to add a secondary compressor to the bags).
You may also have to replace the air lift compressor a few times in the life of the truck.
D

Doesn't this really depend on the year? I've heard of quite a few diff failures in earlier models. Also, the long term durability of these is still to be seen, since most of them are just hitting 100K which should be easy for any newer car. The Jag engines are a good design. The 4.0L AJ-V8 in my 2001 XJ8 has 170K on it and going strong. Parts are also a lot more expensive than the earlier Land Rovers.

 

[MedicalCowboy]

I guess I'll throw my 2 cents in. My 97 disco as it sits right now is reading 191783 on the odometer. I've replaced the head gaskets once. My truck runs strong with no problems. Primitive maintenance is the key with these trucks. I've realized that for the most part if you take good care of it, it will take good care of you.

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

Doesn't this really depend on the year? I've heard of quite a few diff failures in earlier models. Also, the long term durability of these is still to be seen, since most of them are just hitting 100K which should be easy for any newer car. The Jag engines are a good design. The 4.0L AJ-V8 in my 2001 XJ8 has 170K on it and going strong. Parts are also a lot more expensive than the earlier Land Rovers.

Yes, I got my threads confused, as we had discussed on one of the threads in here to avoid 05/06 if that is a possibility with your budget. The 07's and up have a much better reputation.
D