What's wth those Disco's anyways?

[77blazerchalet]

Wow. Near 100% ignorance on these for me, a quick eBay & Craigslist search shows Discos I & IIs going for 5 to 9 grand, they look more expensive. Prompts three questions: What kind of mileage do they get, how easy it it to remove the back seats, and can either handle a receiver hitch carrier on the back holding 225 lbs worth of weight?

Some of you might have noticed I'm selling the Chalet, gas prices and practicality (a Chalet actually isn't - oops) has me rethinking smaller in general. And I ultimately have this crazy idea of a Westfalia-style tilt up roof on some kind of smallish SUV to have standup space, and modular/removable RV appliances. Motorhome-in-a-phone booth, for lack of better description... I'm a right-brain, left-brain guy, practical and artsy. An SUV would be more practical for the mild offroading I want to do, various Landcruisers supposedly have bulletproof Toyota reliability, and they look ok to me. But Discos look really...... spiffy!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I use a motorcycle carrier on my Disco which weighs about 40lbs by itself, and with a 230lb WR250 on it, no problems. Quite a bit of sag with the stock springs, but with HD OME's no problem at all.

Interestingly I did my first extreme off roading last weekend. Had to do a couple 36" water crossings. My electronic mumbo-jumbo had absolutely no issues. The only people who had trouble were old Jeeps with distributors. :snorkel:

 

[jeffzx9]

Put simply, Rovers do not suffer neglected maintenance and/or fools with no tools. That pretty much eliminates (IMHO) 95% of the population and is why LR gets such a bad reputation.

However, if you know ****** you are doing (to be blunt), you probably will find a Rover to be your new best friend.

 

[aka rover]

now this is an old thread !!

 

[jeffzx9]

aka...yeah; slow day at work.

 

[brushogger]

oh geez, here we go down this trail again. (I say that sarcastically and light heartedly). Rovers are all about scheduled and preventative maintenance. The things that break on other vehicles never break on rovers and the things that never break on other vehicles always break on rovers. it truly is a love/hate relationship with the key word: relationship. The electronics suck big time. But rover did make a few things bullet proof, like their transfer cases and salsbury axles. Stock vs. stock, nothing compares to what they can do. They really are/were the most traveled vehicles on the planet. I will always own and drive a rover. I have had a rover as my DD for over 6 years now. Rarely has it failed me and it was always an easy fix.

My advice? Run away. Once Lucas gets a hold of you, you're toast. Seriously. I'm not joking. I didn't understand it until I had one. Now I'm hooked. It courses through my veins. I now bleed green. Hopefully, one day, I'll bleed black too - only real roverphiles will understand that one.

I agree some what, but I just had to get rid of an '04 D2 that had been meticulously maintained with 71k on it. No electrical issues or CEL. That didn't stop the cylinder liners from starting to slip (yes it was definitely verifed). Check out the Youtube video where the guy warms his block on a grill to 185 degrees and pulls the liners out with his hands. If these vehicles came with a decent dependable engine they would bring twice the price and be worth it. I loved the thing, but to repair this problem correctly, you're looking to spend 4-5k$.
That's why the resale is what it is. Everyone is scared to death of them and Land Rover refuses to back them up. There is a VIN range for the '03 Discos with misaligned oil pump locating dowels that eventually causes the oil pump to go to pieces and take out the engine. Land rover has documented this in a service bulletin saying the only fix is a new engine, but refused to recall them. If someone engineered a 4.3 Chevy V6 swap I'd have kept it forever. The hardware is out there, but no one has worked out integrating it with all the electronics (warning lights, transmission, cruise, etc.). Whoever figures this out will be a rich man because there are a lot of great Discos out there to be had for a pittance just needing a good motor. No other vehicle has the great combination of on road manners and off road capability. It will be missed.

 

[cdm]

If they came with a decent engine, we wouldnt be offroading them. They would be delegated to the mall like most of the LCs and lexuses out there. Not to say there arent plenty LRs right alongside them but you know what i am trying to say. People DO NOT wheel/trash expensive rides. Contrary to what a few people with money to burn may lead you to believe.

 

[The Rover Shop]

And the problem with the liners is really only limited to the 2003 up 4.6 versions....and its not that they slip..the problem is that the liner to block gap leaks...it is also believed to be a result of the dexcool (also believed to be the cause of premature head gasket failure or weeping from the front and rear of the head to block seal)...In the 25 years or so I have been doing this I have only ever seen the problem on late disco 4.6 engines..and they also suffer from a noise which sounds terribly like lifter noise but we believe it to be a result of lifter bore ovality..I have had luck in sealing the block sleeves with a block sealer and switching over to prestone (green coolant).. (usually manifests itself with a misfire on one cylinder.. due to coolant ingress and causing plug to misfire).. Late disco 2's were getting too far away from being a real land rover anyway....you cant go wrong with a good D1...(up to 99).. Done wayyyy more head gaskets on d2's than d1's.... D1's had green coolant and other than that there was really no difference between the engines from D1 to D2 (not talking about the fuel injection system)...so it adds validity to the belief that dexcool is the culprit..

 

[The Rover Shop]

and as far as the guy pulling the liner out after heating on a grill...have we not heard of different rates of expansion..try it in the real world where the coolant is there to keep the whole block at an even temperature...its called thermal conductivity...its an engine block...not a freaking steak...LOL...

 

[toylandcruiser]

"Glorified"??? You sure that's what she said

Oh, and 150k miles on the '94 and not a drop of "premium" anywhere near it.....knock wood as I type that...

KAA

Unimogs are glorified tractors. Not land rovers.

 

[MoGas]

I had an '04 also. Fortunately, I was able to sell it while it still had warranty remaining. It spent no less than 3 months total at Rover North Scottsdale for different issues while I got the luxury of driving a Ford Taurus pos rental car.

All it really takes is a look at the comps.
My Disco new was around 40k.
When I sold it in '07, I was lucky to get 21.5.
Now they are worth around 7,500.

A 2004 Land Cruiser was around 48k new.
Today they are still around 20k.

 

[brushogger]

and as far as the guy pulling the liner out after heating on a grill...have we not heard of different rates of expansion..try it in the real world where the coolant is there to keep the whole block at an even temperature...its called thermal conductivity...its an engine block...not a freaking steak...LOL...

Come on man. Watch the video. It is heated evenly and at a low enough temp he can put his bare hands on it. The noise is the liner slipping. On mine it actually "cookie cuttered " the head gasket in number 3 cylinder. That was the knocking. And the coolant leak wasn't on that cylinder. I pressurized the block to 45psi for 2 days and never lost a pound of pressure. You're right about '03,'04 though. I think LR got sloppy with their tooling. If it was Toyota, Nissan, GM, or Ford it would have been taken care of rather than ignored like LR.



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[RoverDude]

Landcruisers should not be compared to a Discovery. A better comparison would be.....
Range Rover Classics to FJ60/62
P38 to FJ80
Discovery to 4Runner
Etc

 

[MoGas]

Landcruisers should not be compared to a Discovery. A better comparison would be.....
Range Rover Classics to FJ60/62
P38 to FJ80
Discovery to 4Runner
Etc

Really? OK.

1988 Range Rover MSRP was $33.400. Today, the 2 that I found on Auto Trader were both priced at $3,300 and one had 112k miles and the other 114k.

1988 Land Cruiser FJ62 MSRP was $20,398. Today on Auto Trader, I found 4 for sale. 210k miles: $6,800, 180k miles: $1,820, 191k miles: $11,900, and 192k miles: $4,500.

Which was the better initial investment? Which lasted longer (higher miles)? Which has retained value better?



1995 Range Rover P38 4.0 SE Base MSRP was $54625. On the Blue Book today, private seller , very good condition, $3,749 with average of 10k miles per year (170,000).
1995 Range Rover Classic Base MSRP was $45,000. Today the Blue book, private seller, VG condition, 170k miles: $2,330.
1995 Discovery base MSRP was $29,900 Today, KBB, private seller, vg condition, 170k miles: $1,168.

1995 Land Cruiser FZJ80 Base MSRP was $34,268. On KBB, private seller, vg cond with 170k miles: $5,402.
1995 4Runner Base MSRP was (4cyl) $21,838, (V6) $23,958. On KBB, private seller, vg cond with 170k miles: (4cyl, 5sp, Power steering and no other options) $2,698 (V6, auto and air only) $3,233.

Let's go with one last comp in this millenium.

2001 Range Rover 4.6HSE, Fully loaded MSRP was $68,000. On KBB, fully loaded, private seller, vg cond with 120k miles: $8,415

2001 Land Cruiser UZJ100, Full boat MSRP $61,200. On KBB, private seller, vg cond with 120k miles and no options checked: $13,032


I could keep going, but I'm sure you are already depressed enough....


Cheers.

 

[The Rover Shop]

Its a truck...not a savings account or a stocks and bonds portfolio...if you need to worry about the money you can't afford a land rover...A land rover is bought or acquired because you are passionate about the product...If it needs to be explained to you ...you probably wouldn't get it.. If we all bought a vehicle based on sensibility we all would be driving a honda civic...be a shepherd... not a sheep... Take a look at a couple of the comparisons done by top gear and see for yourself. There must be a reason why land rovers are synonomous with long distance off the beaten track expeditions...granted, so are land cruisers...but sadly those vehicles are not released here...and even sadder still neither are the legendary expedition worthy Land Rovers such as the defender 110's 90's and 130's.. Like they say...
LAND ROVER...the best 4x4xfar...
Jeeps and Landcruisers are famous...Land Rovers are legendary..
but of course that's just my opinion...