What's wth those Disco's anyways?

[4Rescue]

...they could have also had the bad apples folks have already mentioned. Either or, definitely take those opinions into account.

Thats one of the things that makes me shaky on Rovers... And honestly you don't hear or see that about Cruisers, plain and simple. are there Lemon Cruisers? Yes, are they even 1/50th as common as with Rovers. I don't think so

You make a great point about cost though, with the way Disco Prices are droping, You can almost afford to fix/change anything that's giving you trouble and come out with one sweet rig for well under what it costs to get into an older Cruiser. It's just hard to think of a Rover as being low priced, I'm just not used to it.

Actually, you are right on in this thought. I wouldn't call it a mess, just a one-off built exactly the way you want it - which is what we are all after, right?:Mechanic:

Touche sir... Touche

Cheers

Dave

 

[Green96D1]

This thread looks familiar eepwall:

I agree

I'll say this. My father had a Land Cruiser 2 of them a 76 Fj40 and a 95 Fj80 locked and loaded. when I was younger I thought that truck was the baddest thing on the street. I say this with caution "I used to hate Land Rovers" but I was very ignorant to the fact that I knew nothing about them. That all Changed in 1998 when my mother bought her a 97 D1. Talk about a reliable Land Rover that truck never gave my mother any problems and she kept it for 4 years until she traded it in on her current 2000 D2. We could go on forever on how much more reliable or robust one is than the other however it doesn't solve anything and. To tell the truth I feel one is no better or more robust than the other we buy what we like and what we feel is best for us. Any vehicle yota ,rover etc will become a pig if it receive no attention I don't care how tough they may apper to be nothing is indestructable. BTW I showed my Dad how it's done with a unlocked Land Rover hehehehe. lol

 

[TeriAnn]

Personally I think you should find a Series truck ... but that's just the black and silver in me talking!

I hesitate to recommend the purchase of a Series LR to someone I don't know well. I don't think most people would be happy with them. I suspect it is easier to find folks that would be happier with a Land Rover coiler than a leafer. A leafer appeals more the kind of person who would be likely to join the society for creative anachronisms. Series rigs are an anachronism in today's urban and suburban areas, almost as out of place as a horse. Land Rover coilers are equally at home on city streets and the road up to the ski lodge. They have a broader base of appeal.

I like to make sport of coilers but when push comes to shove they are a better fit for modern times and places. Leafers tend to fit better with people who don't fit well in modern suburban or urban environments and don't mind learning how to maintain machinery that frequently requires preventative maintenance.

 

[EricWS]

I hesitate to recommend the purchase of a Series LR to someone I don't know well. I don't think most people would be happy with them. I suspect it is easier to find folks that would be happier with a Land Rover coiler than a leafer. A leafer appeals more the kind of person who would be likely to join the society for creative anachronisms. Series rigs are an anachronism in today's urban and suburban areas, almost as out of place as a horse. Land Rover coilers are equally at home on city streets and the road up to the ski lodge. They have a broader base of appeal.

I like to make sport of coilers but when push comes to shove they are a better fit for modern times and places. Leafers tend to fit better with people who don't fit well in modern suburban or urban environments and don't mind learning how to maintain machinery that frequently requires preventative maintenance.

Huh? I haven't noticed anything unsual about series owners aside from the fact that most are cheap. Further I have no issues with modern environments and I own a series. I love and live in Chicago. No need to even have a car. Sold the guzzler and saved a series. Just looking at it as a fun resto project. Like almost every other series owner I have run into.

 

[LRNAD90]

You make a great point about cost though, with the way Disco Prices are droping, You can almost afford to fix/change anything that's giving you trouble and come out with one sweet rig for well under what it costs to get into an older Cruiser. It's just hard to think of a Rover as being low priced, I'm just not used to it.


Touche sir... Touche

Cheers

Dave

Even Cruiser prices are dropping considerably in this time of increasing gas prices even Cruisers are getting hard to find buyers for. IF you want to purchase and go, try this...

http://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-tr...-450-locked-161k-lancaster-pa-area-$6900.html

$6,250 for a clean, locked LX450 (Cruiser), but it is stock. Preferable in my book, but everyone is different..

 

[TeriAnn]

And that person suggesting the Cruiser is usually a former or current Rover owner. Myself included...

I don't know why people assume that someone who knows their way around a Series Land Rover is an expert on all the newer crops of SUV. I got requests for advise fairly frequently. Or at least I did before the sudden rise in fuel prices. When people come up to me and ask me what kind of SUV they should buy I generally say an Xterra. Why? Just because I liked the slogan that used a few years back "Everything you need and Nothing more".

My level of expertise on Land Rovers drops off sharply starting at the 1983 model year. My expertise beyond then is pretty much limited to what Defender parts can fit a Series rig.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Huh? I haven't noticed anything unsual about series owners aside from the fact that most are cheap.

I guess this is a perception thing. The last thing I'd call most Series owners I've met is cheap. They might fabricate things like bumpers instead of buy them, but for the most part a Series Rover isn't the cheapest vehicle to keep moving.

 

[EricWS]

I guess this is a perception thing. The last thing I'd call most Series owners I've met is cheap. They might fabricate things like bumpers instead of buy them, but for the most part a Series Rover isn't the cheapest vehicle to keep moving.

Guess I am brainwashed from the Defender parts pricepoint! Those doubled from the time I bought my truck until I sold it. The best peice of advice I ever got concerning cars was to keep them serviced. If you couldn't do it then find a good mechanic and follow his advice. I did. That 90 was running sweet


I will agree with you if you are facing replacement of major systems. You can easily blow the bank if you have to replace the entire braking system, engine, transmission, etc.

But that all goes back to day one. If you bought a good truck then things aren't that bad. If you bought a bad truck, then 30k isn't out of the question to get it safely running.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Guess I am brainwashed from the Defender parts pricepoint! Those doubled from the time I bought my truck until I sold it. The best peice of advice I ever got concerning cars was to keep them serviced. If you couldn't do it then find a good mechanic and follow his advice. I did. That 90 was running sweet


I will agree with you if you are facing replacement of major systems. You can easily blow the bank if you have to replace the entire braking system, engine, transmission, etc.

But that all goes back to day one. If you bought a good truck then things aren't that bad. If you bought a bad truck, then 30k isn't out of the question to get it safely running.

Unfortunately many of the Series rigs are at the point where major surgery is required. Let's say you need to replace the frame and start removing parts to do so. If you're paying attention, you'll find 60 gazillion bolts, seals, and other small parts that will need to be replaced. Nothing comes cheap, even if you're replacing them with non-genuine stuff. Going "cheap" is the only way many people can afford to drive such old, "inexpensive" rigs. The Defenders and Discos will get there one day, if they aren't crushed first.

 

[dlbrunner]

After Doing the Trans NV, I am really liking the DII. It was way more comfy than my 4runner would be.

I have driven an 80 series once (Thanks Ali176!) but it was only a short distance. So I have no reference point there. The overall comfort factor in the DII really kept me alert for longer sessions behind the wheel. the seating position is slightly different than the 4runner and I don't get fatigued as quickly in the DII.

The neat part was after a few days, I got really in tune with the truck, you could really tell when the suspension warmed up, the truck preformed flawlessly. The auto trans was also something I am not all that used to, but I really started to like it.

 

[Christophe Noel]

For me, owning a Land Rover is a lot like owning a Ducati. I've owned many Ducati motorcycles, and no matter where I was if two people approached me in a parking lot, one guy would be drooling over my bike and the other would be blathering on about the virtues of a Honda and why Italian bikes sucked. I'm amazed by people who go out of their way to personally knock your choice of transport.

 

[revor]

My Series trucks where maintained to a T, never a problem. My Disco (the black one) get's so little attention it scares me to think about what could happen the next time it's driven but it has never left me or my wife stranded. It's been a test bed for everything I could think of to produce for Rovers, the front diff was built, broke, built, broke, built, broke all testing, the rear diff was a similar situation but after the front problems I figured I'd drop a sals in there to test axles and such, broke two detroits in that sals (breaking axles under load) before I switched to 35 spline. more brake, t case, engine, power steering etc mods have been done to this car that it amazes me everytime it starts and drives around safely and with authority, it's ready to hit the trail! But it does, it motors along it's merry way occasionally deciding that it doesn't like rain in the ECU (perhaps I should put that cover back on?) The roof leaks because I haven't sealed those plugs for the roof rack rails like I should, it's flown 5' up in the air, it's done what it shouldn't have done when I forgot to put it in Diff Loc.
Generally a truck that has been through the wringer. I would still trust it to drive to La Paz and back.
It's a 97 (the worst year relative to quality) I ignore it, beat it and generally have messed with it since I bought it.
It is a reliable car!
My wife's is a 97 too. It's also very been reliable even thought she drives it (you really need to see the way Karen drives! She's posessed!)

Disco 1's easy cheap and reliable, well at least in my case.

 

[gordo]

Well started reading the posts but couldnt make it all the way through. But heres my 2 cents.
Ive owned/own several rovers, a 66 rhd series, 89 RRC, 92 RRC, 94 D1, a 73 series coiler, and a 00 P38 Rangie. I prefer the Range Rover Classic myself (that is based on your requirements...I love my homebuilt coiler but wouldnt want to DD it) but the 94 and 95 D1s are right up there. The 3.9 motor is a wonderful engine. Sure they were all based on the same block but the 3.9 is a true soldier and the EFI system is fairly easy to work on. The 96 and 97 4.0s had a tendency to get stuck valves due to tight tolerances so I would avoid them. Any Disco 2 or P38 is out of the picture as the electronics are too complex, in my opinion for a reliable trail rig. I wont knock the series either, great truck, incredibly simple, but not a highway cruiser.

If oil leaks bother you and you dont want to ruin your driveway, stop now. If you arent mechanical, stop now. These trucks like the wrench if you wheel them, but what truck doesnt? The weakest link is the drivetrain...toothpick axles and weak cross shafts in the diffs. Second weakest is the electronic windows, seats, etc. Third is the Fuel Injection but more because it's tricky to figure out sometimes. On the other hand, the drivetrain (minus axles) is tough. My 89 has over 300k on it. The trans was replaced at one point but the original engine still runs strong. Just DONT overheat them... They are also overbuilt with very sturdy frames and good suspension articulation.

Ive never owned a Yota but I would pencil them as overall more reliable. The axles are stronger too and they come with locking diffs. Hard to compare that to the Disco or the RRC. The LC with diff lock is extremely capable. A locked/axled D1/RRC is also extremely capable, but is it any better. I cant say it is. Just drive a few of each and get the one that suits you best.

Would I drive a Toy, oh hell yeah, but I had to have that damn 66 series RHD 12 yrs ago and since then logic was tossed out the window! Cheers Gordo

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Out of curiousity, I looked for LC for sale in Ontario to compare them to Discos. I found only one likely candidate. IIRC, it was a 1996, with 180,000km. They wanted $18,000. I got my 2004 Disco with 76,000km for $19,000. I can't imagine the LC would have been a better vehicle. I mean, I know it's a Toyota, but come on.

It also emphasizes the point that, at least in Canada, LC's are VERY rare which makes them even harder to get parts for.

And as for the fear of electrickery... I just don't get it. 2 weeks ago, my wife's Focus auto trans stopped shifting, it was stuck in 4th, and it clunked hard into gear. Sounds like fun trying to figure that out. Then the CEL came on. I used a $30 scanner. It told my the Transmission Range Sensor was out of range. I bought a new sensor for $80, and bolted it on without even having to lift the vehicle.

How could it POSSIBLY get any easier than that? If this was a pre-OBDII vehicle, I'd be totally screwed with a bum transmission.

The only problem with modern electronics is that the gubmint needs to pass a law, similar to OBDII, which makes body control functions use a common language so that cheap generic code readers can be developed. OBDII only applies to powertrain functions. Then need to make an OBDIII law that encompasses all electronic functions so we don't need to go to the dealer to buy a new computerized cigarette lighter everything you lose one.

 

[AndrewClarke]

The ZF is a rock solid autobox, and it is an OBD I system, which controls much less of the car systems.

Just to set the records straight, all vehicles sold in the US in 1996 and after had mandated OBD-II connectors. Your '95 had OBD-I. A '96+ Discovery has OBD-II.

- Andrew.