Shopping for a Disco
- Thread starter IdahoAndrew
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99Discovery
Adventurer
To the OP, be sure to download the RAVE, which is essentially an electronic copy of Land Rover's shop manual. Lots of good, good stuff in there. It's free from a multitude of sites. A good search will bring up a few sources.
It is there that you can read up on Land Rover's oil specs and when and where to put what type of oil in.
Rotella and Delo 400 15w40 "do" make Land Rover's recommendation, but Chazz is right, it depends on climate factors. It's great for the USA's southwest deserts during the warm seasons. I run it when ambients are around 50F to 100F. In the fall I switch to the 5w30 because I"m too cheap to pay more for the synthetic 5w40 and 0w40, which are also good choices.
What you DON'T want to do is just blindly put in oil without reading the spec. When I got my disco I saw a quart of "high-mileage" 0w20 in the back that the previous owner was using to top-off the engine. That viscocity was good for -40 to 0F..... Not too great for Utah summers!
The history of the Rover V8's oil types is quite crazy and a lot of it is based off of internet hype (as Chazz eluded too), there are more important things to worry about than your brand of oil: The cooling system is far more critical, followed by your non-servicable front shaft.
The other issues are hit-and-miss depending on how the vehicle is driven.
I also have to comment on the other poster who said "don't worry about the CDL". He's absolutely correct. If you are doing mild stuff, it's overkill, which is why Land Rover took it out. My target was a mild build that could take on Moab's Golden Spike (obstacle bypasses-allowed), and a CDL would be a better mod than say a roof-rack for that type of build. If you are just camping, you could find better uses for your $$.
Good luck! Discoverys are awesome rigs! Take your time and get a good one!
It is there that you can read up on Land Rover's oil specs and when and where to put what type of oil in.
Rotella and Delo 400 15w40 "do" make Land Rover's recommendation, but Chazz is right, it depends on climate factors. It's great for the USA's southwest deserts during the warm seasons. I run it when ambients are around 50F to 100F. In the fall I switch to the 5w30 because I"m too cheap to pay more for the synthetic 5w40 and 0w40, which are also good choices.
What you DON'T want to do is just blindly put in oil without reading the spec. When I got my disco I saw a quart of "high-mileage" 0w20 in the back that the previous owner was using to top-off the engine. That viscocity was good for -40 to 0F..... Not too great for Utah summers!
The history of the Rover V8's oil types is quite crazy and a lot of it is based off of internet hype (as Chazz eluded too), there are more important things to worry about than your brand of oil: The cooling system is far more critical, followed by your non-servicable front shaft.
The other issues are hit-and-miss depending on how the vehicle is driven.
I also have to comment on the other poster who said "don't worry about the CDL". He's absolutely correct. If you are doing mild stuff, it's overkill, which is why Land Rover took it out. My target was a mild build that could take on Moab's Golden Spike (obstacle bypasses-allowed), and a CDL would be a better mod than say a roof-rack for that type of build. If you are just camping, you could find better uses for your $$.
Good luck! Discoverys are awesome rigs! Take your time and get a good one!
brushogger
Explorer
#1 is good news. Do you know what the vin range was when Ford got involved?
99Discovery
Adventurer
This is what Land Rover recommends, so naturally the motor loves it.
II was one of these folks, and was overjoyed when my flat tappet noise magically disappeared by pouring Rotella into the motor. Surely the Land Rover techs were peddling the wrong weights to us so they could sell us that extra bottle of goo at every oil change, and new motors when that watery stuff failed to protect the parts, right? In the long run the noise came back, the truck became a little harder to start, and there was a noticeable sluggishness which many were quick to blame on the motor being "tired" because I drive "fast."
Chazz,
At the expense of hijacking the thread (and I do NOT want to turn this into yet another Rover V8 oil debate, I would like you to expound on what went wrong with your 15w40 experience.
Was it because you were running it year round?
You are spot on that 5W40 and 0W40 are the "best" weights for the Rover V8 according to their own shop manual. So it seems the choice is pretty much:
-0w40 or 5w40 for year-round protection (generally pricey oils)
-Swap between 5w30 (winter) and 10w40 (summer)
I went with swapping 5w30 and 15w40, ending up with the Rotella mostly based on price rather than all of the rumor and innuendo (I actually tried the Chevron Delo-400 first, because I hadn't yet stumbled on all the Disco-Rotella threads yet). Rotella was cheaper, so I went with it after the Delo. I could easily swap back to a 5w30/10w40 rotation if there is something inherently wrong with Rotella in the Rover V8. 15w40 should be fine in warmer climates, no?
---Edit: Got it now, just finished scanning your oil-link. I had originally thought I had read it before, but hadn't. So you're banking on the 15w being crappier on startup, even in hotter climates, because of it's thickness at ambient. That's a fair assumption. The 0w40 IS going to be the best, all considered. Maybe I ought to re-check the price. Have you seen any MPG gains swapping from 15w to 0?
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Chazz Layne
Administrator
Yep, it's all more or less the same* once it's warm in a modern engine.
* not counting racing use, of course, different demands there.
I can't speak to the possibility of MPG gains since I made other changes that benefited MPG at the same time. I can say that my 4.6 Disco is hitting 15MPG on the highway with 3-inches of lift, 33-inch tires, and a roof rack/awning. It's great having a solid 300-350 mile range again.
EricTyrrell
Expo God
You can have your cold starting performance and your oil film protection in a 5w-50 synthetic oil:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058WKOUQ/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C43BR2G/
In the later P38 years LR recommended up to 60w oil for hot climates.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058WKOUQ/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C43BR2G/
In the later P38 years LR recommended up to 60w oil for hot climates.
getlost4x4
Expedition Leader
I've been running Rotella in cars for years including BMW's, Mercedes, and Land Rover's.
tim_beeson26
New member
Why haven't you considerd a later model Discovery 1 ? Newer isn't always better especially when buying a disco .Disco 1s can be found for far less than $5000 . And there is no end of mods you can do . another thing to consider is weather you do your own maintaince ? That alone can save you lots $$$ of money !
tim_beeson26
New member
Try looking around the Portland area , they usually have some pretty good discos around there like this one https://portland.craigslist.org/grg/cto/5252180925.html
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