Buying A 2004 Discovery TD5

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RustySkull

RustySkull

Active Member
Posts
166
Location
Stanford-Le-Hope, Essex
Hey, I'm new here, I'm buying a 2004 discovery what should I be looking for in these?

My 1995 300TDI is a pile of rust haha I'm always welding her up, are the 2004's the same?
 
Ahhh so the boot floor? The boor floor completely fell out of my 300 haha.

So I should still check the boot floor, and the cab support brackets...

What about Engine wise? My 300 was on 90k when the rings went, I've just done a complete engine rebuild, are the 2's the same? The one I am looking at is on 140k, obviously I know what to look for, smoke etc but do they wear out as fast?
 
RustySkull said:
Ahhh so the boot floor? The boor floor completely fell out of my 300 haha.

So I should still check the boot floor, and the cab support brackets...

What about Engine wise? My 300 was on 90k when the rings went, I've just done a complete engine rebuild, are the 2's the same? The one I am looking at is on 140k, obviously I know what to look for, smoke etc but do they wear out as fast?
Click to expand...

Not the floor but the rear cross members around the fuel tank
 
chassis on arse end, sun roof's leak, oil in ecu, diesel in oil (cracked head),air sus not looked after (even 7 seater put on springs not insurance cleared), bulbs missing in dash from 3 amigo's, ace pipes rusted threw, or even taken off. There are loads of threads on here about td5 and buying. Get a good one, well done. Get a pig in a poke and it will bankrupt you. Dip oil in box if auto if its red great if dark or black ask questions.
 
thought it was mine! said:
chassis on arse end, sun roof's leak, oil in ecu, diesel in oil (cracked head),air sus not looked after (even 7 seater put on springs not insurance cleared), bulbs missing in dash from 3 amigo's, ace pipes rusted threw, or even taken off. There are loads of threads on here about td5 and buying. Get a good one, well done. Get a pig in a poke and it will bankrupt you. Dip oil in box if auto if its red great if dark or black ask questions.
Click to expand...


Thanks, nah it'll be manual lol, no auto crap...

What do you mean by
(even 7 seater put on springs not insurance cleared)
Click to expand...

And oil in the ECU? How does that happen?
 
Ah - that will be from the loom that goes under the rocker cover. I bought a 2004 TD5. 130K. So far it has cost me an additional £3k odd on top of the purchase price to keep this money pit on the road in the last 10 months. Started with leaky sunroof (sealed shut), window mechanisms (replaced), ECU loom, fuel pump, injector seals, ACE pipes, suspension airbags, front calipers, ignition switch falling to bits. I wont bore you with all the niggly bits that have packed up or fallen off, but now the ACE block is leaking, looks like a need even more money, just so that I can get rid of it with a (fairly)clear conscience. I bought a Pajero to run around in whilst this was in for repairs - it cost me £900 and hasn't missed a beat.
 
Decepticon said:
Ah - that will be from the loom that goes under the rocker cover. I bought a 2004 TD5. 130K. So far it has cost me an additional £3k odd on top of the purchase price to keep this money pit on the road in the last 10 months. Started with leaky sunroof (sealed shut), window mechanisms (replaced), ECU loom, fuel pump, injector seals, ACE pipes, suspension airbags, front calipers, ignition switch falling to bits. I wont bore you with all the niggly bits that have packed up or fallen off, but now the ACE block is leaking, looks like a need even more money, just so that I can get rid of it with a (fairly)clear conscience. I bought a Pajero to run around in whilst this was in for repairs - it cost me £900 and hasn't missed a beat.
Click to expand...

Oh right haha, where is the ECU on these models? I'll make sure I check that :)
 
If there is oil in the ecu, it's not really a reason not to buy it though.
It's an easy job, and even if you don't fancy doing it yourself, if you stay away from main dealers it should still only cost £100-150.

You should be able to get a bit knocked off though.
 
Ahh right okey, the only things that would cause worry is clutch judder, smoke, electrics not working, and rust then....

Same as most cars really haha... Thanks for all your replies hopefully this one is in alright shape as it seems to be in the photos and the dealer is meant to be a good one, he has all high value cars like range rovers, farraries and stuff :)
 
RustySkull said:
Thanks, nah it'll be manual lol, no auto crap...

What do you mean by


And oil in the ECU? How does that happen?
Click to expand...

Mŷ understanding about the 7 seater is that it was designed to be used with the air bags in the rear, set up for the potential extra load. Many people seem to forget, or ignore this and replace the rear air bags with springs. This is NOT what the design is about and consequently it can fall foul of insurance companies, ie, not safe. I've seen quite a few people flogging them on eBay and announcing the fact that they have swapped out the rear airbags, almost as a good sales point! Do check, a 7 seater should have the rear air bags intact.

I think this is correct. Someone will be along shortly if I a wrong.
 
Ahh right!

Well I will check, are they visible from just looking underneath?

This one hasn't been played with, just used for school runs and stuff I believe so I hope it's all as it was when it left the factory lol.
 
The only problem with a td5 that would cause me a major worry is a cracked cylinder head. It's much more common on older ones, I think that post 2002 the heads were strengthened , so less of a problem. But your looking at well over a grand to fix.
The symptoms are the same as a head gasket failure , or the oil level will be high on the dipstick where diesel has leaked into the oil ways .
 
Oh right, yeah same as a gasket falier so possible smoking, hard to start, derv in the oil like you say, oh sweet so if it seems to run alright and drives alright I'm most likely in the green zone then :)
 
Air suspension was put in due to EU laws and regulations about 7 seatera need air suspension apparently makes no odds if its on coils my insurance company dont seem bothered
 
The biggest thing I have done on my 2004 is xyz switch and bottom pulley sunroof as an easy fix as it was leaking and one rear parking sensor not bad in 5 years
 
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