Advice and questions

Well folks after years of hankering after a 110 CSW which was going to be overland prepared ( just because I could not for actual overland) I have reasoned that I do not have the room to do it ( yet) s. So after looking at 90's and 110's for so long I am tempted to the disco side. It's very much apparent that I'll get 1/2 the age of car with twice as much comfort and toys for the same money.
To that end I'm hoping to look at an Xplate ( guy has it listed as a 99 plate??) tomorrow.
He has not a lot of car knowledge and can't tell me what model it is so here's the first question. Whats it likely to be?
spec so far is 87K miles 1years test and 6 month tax with all new discs and pads. Its a 7 seater,, leather interior,, twin sunroofs and multi cd player ( faulty) the rear door has a Ladder and the whole front has been facelifted ( prior to him owning it).

Car will be used for towing at times and as a rally support vehicle. Ideally i'd want a winch but we will see what happens.

What sort of mpg?

So what to look for in the way of corrosion when I view it?
Mechanicals ( timing belt? intervals ) any usual faults/recalls to check for?

Are these motors canbus electrics or old style wiring ( my day job is arctic trailers and general vehicle wiring ) and what if any systems need software for checking/programming. Is the software/hardware available if so where and at what price.

Pics to follow if I buy it and thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Td5 or v8? if its a diesel expect around 25mpg, That mileage is very low. The diesel has a timing chain not a belt, I'm sure these are old style wiring. Diagnostics for DIY are Nanocom or Hawkeye at about £300, pro tools like the Snap On Solus Pro cover them quite well if you have access to them. Great tow cars, if you fit a winch you will need a winch bumper too but the front bumpers on disco2's are like hens teeth so you could easily sell your original one for good money. Look for rot in the rear chassis. Best of luck let us know how you get on.
Kev

Do a search for the three amigos - ABS, TC and HDC warning lights should not be illuminated on your test drive (after the self test when you turn the ignition on..) favourite is a dodgy ABS sensor in one of the hubs...or indeed a wobbly hub. On a Disco 2 the hubs ARE the wheel bearings

Sunroofs will probably leak, but to what extent depends upon the individual Disco

ACE might have been bypassed and it might have had coil conversion instead of airbag suspension on the back (check for SLS warning lights)

cant see how its x reg, on a 99, Id be checking that first

Apart from the engines, the rest of the car is the same for TD5 or V8,

There are a lot of electronics on the D2, but mostly pretty reliable as long as decent batteries are fitted and you keep connections clean.

TD5's are good sloggers, most of the early faults are ironed out now, but still a few to trip you up. DMF is one thing that goes, oil on the injection control ECU loom and plugs is another, there are still instances of engines running away due to cracked heads filling the sump with oil.

Mechanically the transmission is pretty good and you'll get 100K+ with care. The auto ZF box is very good indeed, the R380 manual box is also good, with pumped lubrication and five speeds against the four on the auto.

Axles run to long mileages, as do steering joints etc etc.

ACE system suffers eventually from corroded pipes, usually best to convert to Non-ACE.

Rear chassis syffer from corrosion but bodies are very good, the reverse of the Disco 1.

As Kev says, Hawkeye/Nanocom are woth buying if you are keeping the car or find a friend with one to borrow.

If a seller cannot tell you what model it is, I'd walk away.

Peter

Wise words!! Punch in the reg plate for DVLA check.

Disco 2s were 1999-on he "might" be ok with the reg - my 2001 TD5 XS is on a Y

My D2 ES TD5 W reg (2000) gets an average of 33.4 miles to the gallon. It is now on 219,000+ miles and I've had it from new. I had to have it re-chassised at 212,000 miles as the rear part - by the fuel tank, went into lacework! It rots from the inside out. Mine has been garaged maintained throughout its long life and its service history file is very thick!! But I love it!

johnlad said:

cant see how its x reg, on a 99, Id be checking that first

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Mine is a W reg and was first registered in may 2000.

OK here's more info and pics. It will me me assuming its a disco 2 advert doesn't say its a 2. Its a TD5 Manual. Just as a coincidence my mate has just bought an older one and I'm just back from a run in it. Does the disco not have a diff lock?? is had high low box but no diff lock ( that I could see) sorry if thats a daft question. OK so here's a couple of pics (hope this works)





Thanks for the repilies so far guys. After the run I think I might just be sold on the car.

The back's been facelifted too! and has the rear light gaurds!

No difflock - D2 relies on traction control although early ones - up to sometime in 2001 still have the gubbins in the transfer box and the spigot on the outside so a centre difflock can be retrofitted (various methods) I have found on my green laning trips so far that TC alone is bloody awesome for a newby land rover owner like me who only got the D2 back in June last year!

Ours is a Nov 1998 build, but not registered until June 1999, T reg. Land Rover were the first owners, it was registered to them.

I've got the factory build sheet for it from Land Rover, in the days when they would do that sort of thing.

Peter

X752FFS doesn't come up with a valid VIN number on Microcat.

That might not mean anything, but it is unusual.

Number may have been changed in the past.

Comes up OK on DVLA search.

Peter

I just done a dvla check its what it is and insured.

cheers guys. Any ideas on what model it would be?

it could be any, with it being facelifted front and rear, who knows about the interior?
GS7, XS7 etc, important thing is how it drives and the rear chassis, check carpets in the front for wetness, sunroof leaks etc then if some service history, if not you will have to do it yourself, easy to work on!

good luck!

derwendolly said:

My D2 ES TD5 W reg (2000) gets an average of 33.4 miles to the gallon. It is now on 219,000+ miles and I've had it from new. I had to have it re-chassised at 212,000 miles as the rear part - by the fuel tank, went into lacework! It rots from the inside out. Mine has been garaged maintained throughout its long life and its service history file is very thick!! But I love it!

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That's good mpg! is yours a manual or auto?
Kev

I second what has been said already, all good advice.

My '99 GS had grey cloth trim which I swapped out for cream leather with black plastics/doorcards - anything is possible so what you see now isn't necessarily how it started out!





Yes, its the same D2

Re the difflock, the early manual gearboxes had the gubbins in the gearbox, it just wasn't connected up. You can retrospectively fit the connection which involves a bracket around the CDL engagement spigot on the top of the gearbox, a cable and the H action lever.



You can get a kit on eBay for £250 or very occassionally a genuine one will be advertised. Alternatively you can fit the activation levers from a 300Tdi gearbox (see www.discovery2.co.uk / Disco 1 CDL into a Disco 2 ) .

Weak spots for the Td5 include:

• injector loom leaks oil from cylinderhead back to ECU
• injector o-rings fail causing lost performance
• steering box leaks causing MoT failure
• PAS pipe that runs in front of radiator corrodes
• starter motor solenoid contacts wear causing intermittent non start (easy cheap fix but getting starter out is a PITA)
• ACE system leaks throughout, cure is to either replace it all or fit conventional antiroll bars
• airbag suspension can leak causing compressor to run full time and fail
• rear chassis can corrode spectacularly from axle line back
• DMF flywheel can fail - just replaced mine (and clutch at cost of £700 inc labour)
• transfer box can leak at input shaft - requires new input shaft and seal
• gearchange castellated bush can wear/snap causing gear change problems (cheap part, easy fix)
• heated seat elements can fail on early D2s - the elements crack and can cause a fire in the seat foam
• wheel bearing wear requires hub replacement at £200 a pop
• facelift headlamps are frequently stolen. I mean I hear of someone losing a set on a weekly basis, its that bad
• sunroofs frequently leak. Sometimes cured by replacing rubber seals, sometimes requires headling out to remove cassette so that you can repair drain channels and reassemble correctly
• central locking/alarm receivers can fail due to water ingress from leaky sunroofs
• regarding ECUs, manual D2s have conventional ECUs, autos get CANBUS engine and gearbox ECUs
• some parts are very expensive (alternator £200+, front bumper £250-500 secondhand)

Having said that, the D2 is a pretty reliable vehicle if looked after correctly. I've had mine 3 years now and it has never left us stranded. We get 25-28mpg out of our remapped Td5 manual - but thats on 265/75 tyres with a roofrack and rooftent permanently attached. Before that, when it was a std D2, we used to get around 30mpg which isn't bad for a 2+ ton 4x4

HTH

EDIT - there is also a recall for the rear rubber propshaft donut coupling. Needs to be replaced with new one asap if not already replaced in last 2 years. refer to http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/default.asp

beerdude said:

That's good mpg! is yours a manual or auto?
Kev

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Manual.

It would be unusual to have the rear facelifted as well, due to the work involved. Take the chassis number (or log book) to a dealer. It may have a private plate on there from a previous owner.

It is actually a 2004 model according to my dvla lookup, auto.