Please talk me out of my irrational desire for a Disco

[Longtallsally]

OK, now this is just plain funny. I've enjoyed the heck out of driving the Disco for a week or so. What's my reward?

Looks like O2 sensors are in my future. I cleared the codes, so we'll see if I kill it in the morning. It really is hilarious to me at this point.

On a positive note, I also finished (or re-finished it as it were) the step for climbing in the back and put a new shock and it looks and works great now.

 

[Roncar]

I had that same exact feeling you did pre-purchase - especially after watching a two hour long Camel Trophy special on YouTube. Like 6 times.

Did my homework and ended up in a 55k mile '04 D2 that needed a headliner installed and not much else. Came with a 2" OME lift and ARB front bumper.

In 2+ years of ownership and 30,000 miles, all I've replaced on it is a single 02 sensor, and installed a lower temp thermostat from a diesel Freelander + an OB2 scangauge to keep an eye on temps. It's earned the nickname "unicorn Disco" because of its lack of issues.

She's taken me to Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, Moab, Zion, Goblin Valley, and countless trips to the Uintas. I love this truck and can't imagine not adventuring in it.

That all being said, I'm sure it'll set on fire on my commute tomorrow :********:

 

[RandyC]

Glad you've made your choice! They're a lovable PITA sometimes, but it's worth it!

 

[Longtallsally]

Well I rewarded the Disco for being mostly good to me by taking off the goofy looking light bar (and of course putting it on the Jeep) and mounting some more appropriate Ebay special lights. I also wired in an OEM switch to clean it up.

GBR is hammered right now, so I won't get it back to them for a couple weeks, but I may actually have plates on it by the end of the year! Only a year later.

The only issues I'm seeing right now are the speakers up front on the left are cutting out from time to time. I'm attributing this to I had to really stuff everything in there when I did the stereo install, so I'm going to pull the head unit out and program the steering wheel controls (now that the clock spring is functioning again) and see if I can tuck the wires up in there better.

The only other issue is that it is starting to run a few degrees hotter despite significantly colder weather. I think I might be lowish on oil (oh yeah, it has the wrong dipstick in it so I really can't check it as it reads high- I think it has a 4.6l dipstick). I've got about a thousand miles before the next oil change and I think I'm going to try the Rotella cool aid and see if that changes anything. Otherwise it's been a hoot to drive and is doing just fine keeping up with traffic.

 

[Ray_G]

Check your fan clutch and see if it is worn out (when does it run hot; i.e. what speed?)

 

[Longtallsally]

Good call, but the clutch- albeit a cheese ball autozone or whatever one- is only 6 months or so old and probably less than 1k miles.

It's not speed sensitive or even load sensitive but I'm starting to think either I've got a weak water pump, or the 180 t stat I put in is sticking a bit despite being brand new. It's topped out at 201 but only for a few seconds and generally hovers at 194-195 but is spending more time at 197 than I'd like with all the crap I've done to the cooling system (radiator, both temp sensors!, meticulous bleed, etc).

 

[Ray_G]

Good call, but the clutch- albeit a cheese ball autozone or whatever one- is only 6 months or so old and probably less than 1k miles.

It's not speed sensitive or even load sensitive but I'm starting to think either I've got a weak water pump, or the 180 t stat I put in is sticking a bit despite being brand new. It's topped out at 201 but only for a few seconds and generally hovers at 194-195 but is spending more time at 197 than I'd like with all the crap I've done to the cooling system (radiator, both temp sensors!, meticulous bleed, etc).

Have you done the sniff test of the coolant....i.e. is it green and clean, or is it streaked and smelling of oil?

 

[Longtallsally]

Have you done the sniff test of the coolant....i.e. is it green and clean, or is it streaked and smelling of oil?

I have not. I've been looking at the expansion tank and it looks clean and green and I've not added- nor needed to- since I last bled the system, so I assumed nothing is getting where it's not supposed to.

Am I wrong? And how do I do the sniff test? I will say this, I do smell burned oil after it has run at temp for a while outside the truck. I always attributed that to the oil leak just dripping on another hot part and I'm smelling it.

I should have the correct dipstick to me shortly so I can see just how low I am, and the next oil change may change things a scoshe.

 

[Ray_G]

When the top end of my 4.6 let go (in this case slipped sleeve), exhaust and coolant started mixing-it was apparent in the expansion tank. If yours is still clean then it lessons the likelihood that your head gasket is on its way our or something similar.
Doesn't explain your higher temps though.

 

[Howski]

I would investigate the thermostat. I had a similar issue when cold weather began last year where it wouldn't open all the way. Not sure if the longer time to warm up causes an issue or what. Mind you I've converted to an inline thermostat, but drilling a small hole remedied the issue. Keep an eye on temps and the coolant level until you can take a look at it

Didn't see you mention it earlier, what size tire are you running?

 

[Longtallsally]

When the top end of my 4.6 let go (in this case slipped sleeve), exhaust and coolant started mixing-it was apparent in the expansion tank. If yours is still clean then it lessons the likelihood that your head gasket is on its way our or something similar.
Doesn't explain your higher temps though.

Yup, this is what I would expect as well. The head gaskets and valley pan were all done just prior to my purchase and actually I think it's not even the original engine in it and they did the gaskets as a preventative measure before installing.

Do you think the temps are too high? They aren't appproaching the danger zone, but with the level of trust I have in the cooling system, any changes always set off the Jason Bourne bells...

 

[Longtallsally]

I would investigate the thermostat. I had a similar issue when cold weather began last year where it wouldn't open all the way. Not sure if the longer time to warm up causes an issue or what. Mind you I've converted to an inline thermostat, but drilling a small hole remedied the issue. Keep an eye on temps and the coolant level until you can take a look at it

Didn't see you mention it earlier, what size tire are you running?

Yeah, this was my thought too. Now I'm understanding why folks get that BMW soft spring 180 t stat I've read about. I also did verify at the time of install that the t stat did say “180”.

Can you think of a way to confirm the T stat might be sticking? I was thinking that maybe I would do a new water pump as maybe it's not pumping well enough?

EDIT: Forgot to add tire size- 265/60/18

 

[Howski]

With a traditional t stat you can put it and bring water to a boil to see if it opens fully. Don't see why it wouldn't work on a Rover t stat

That tire size looks great at factory height

 

[Longtallsally]

Agreed, but I thought I read somewhere that didn't work with this particular type of T stat. Plus, with it being in the housing, it probably would be harder to see if in fact it opened fully.

I might be being hyper sensitive as it really isn't fluctuating that much. It basically goes from 194-197.6 with occasional 199 and 190 mixed in. It just seems to be hovering closer to 195.8 more regularly, though, and then even 197.6 for a couple minutes more often lately.

I ran the phone application deal in the Jeep as I've never done a whole lot of “real time” temp monitoring in a vehicle- other than the gauge- and I was really surprised at how dramatic the fluctuations in the Jeep were (like 20+ degrees) without the gauge moving a bit from dead center.

That tells me a couple things: the gauge in the Jeep is just as useless as the one in the Disco, and 2 maybe I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill?

The only time the temp has ever gotten over 200F for an appreciable amount of time was when it was 100F outside and I was running both AC units and not driving at freeway speeds. Maybe I'm just being a nut...

 

[DailyJeep]

Methinks you have nothing to worry about. I'll say it now, I don't run real-time ODBII data because I'm already paranoid enough. My needle never moves past halfway *knock on wood* so I'll refrain letting my mind worry over 197 versus 202.

For reference: https://discoweb.org/showthread.php?t=96090