Buying a Disco II

Hi,

I'm probably about to join the elite group of Land Rover owners with
the purchase of a 3 year old, LR Approved, Disco TD5 ES series II.
I've dug about fairly extensively on the net trying to find
information on their common faults but to no avail. The alf FAQ has
nothing. B-(

I was hoping to have taken it for a test drive this morning but arrive
to hear that it's in the workshop (Land Rover dealer) sans turbo as it
is "sticking". I presume that means the EGR or dump valve rather than
the hi-speed rotational bits... Is this an indication to walk away?

It's previous life was one lady owner (yes really, I've seen the V5)
in an urban area. So take heart in that if I do buy it it'll be out in
sticks getting it's feet muddy and definately snowy, though unlikely
to do any serious mud plugging. B-)

Where are the common rust spots? What really needs a good look at? The
common faults etc...

Thanks in advance.

--
Cheers [email protected]
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Unless it comes with some sort of motor plan I would be very weary of the
high spec models. The air suspension tends to go after a while and is
expensive to fix.

I am not too sure about the other problems but with so much to go wrong you
need to be careful. If you are covered by some sort of motorplan for the
time you expect to own the vehicle then go for it.

Regards
Stephen

"Dave Liquorice" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> I'm probably about to join the elite group of Land Rover owners with
> the purchase of a 3 year old, LR Approved, Disco TD5 ES series II.
> I've dug about fairly extensively on the net trying to find
> information on their common faults but to no avail. The alf FAQ has
> nothing. B-(
>
> I was hoping to have taken it for a test drive this morning but arrive
> to hear that it's in the workshop (Land Rover dealer) sans turbo as it
> is "sticking". I presume that means the EGR or dump valve rather than
> the hi-speed rotational bits... Is this an indication to walk away?
>
> It's previous life was one lady owner (yes really, I've seen the V5)
> in an urban area. So take heart in that if I do buy it it'll be out in
> sticks getting it's feet muddy and definately snowy, though unlikely
> to do any serious mud plugging. B-)
>
> Where are the common rust spots? What really needs a good look at? The
> common faults etc...
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> --
> Cheers [email protected]
> Dave. pam is missing e-mail
>
>
>

Dave Liquorice wrote:

> It's previous life was one lady owner (yes really, I've seen the V5)
> in an urban area.

That could be good, or it could mean it's done all short runs without
the engine and gearbox warming up properly and the clutch has had a
hammering in town traffic all it's life.

Sometimes a higher milage one is better!

Might explain the sticking <whatever> if it's never gone fast enough
for the turbo to really kick in. Look for shopping trolly damage and
check the suspension after it's spent it's life rock-crawling over
speed humps.

On or around Tue, 09 Nov 2004 23:02:40 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>I was hoping to have taken it for a test drive this morning but arrive
>to hear that it's in the workshop (Land Rover dealer) sans turbo as it
>is "sticking". I presume that means the EGR or dump valve rather than
>the hi-speed rotational bits... Is this an indication to walk away?

if it's been driven slowly around town, it could well be something like EGR.
I'm not sure if the TD5 *has* and EGR valve, mind. I blanked off the one on
the TDi here

"Dave Liquorice" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Hi,
>
> I'm probably about to join the elite group of Land Rover owners with
> the purchase of a 3 year old, LR Approved, Disco TD5 ES series II.
> I've dug about fairly extensively on the net trying to find
> information on their common faults but to no avail. The alf FAQ has
> nothing. B-(
>
> I was hoping to have taken it for a test drive this morning but arrive
> to hear that it's in the workshop (Land Rover dealer) sans turbo as it
> is "sticking". I presume that means the EGR or dump valve rather than
> the hi-speed rotational bits... Is this an indication to walk away?
>
> It's previous life was one lady owner (yes really, I've seen the V5)
> in an urban area. So take heart in that if I do buy it it'll be out in
> sticks getting it's feet muddy and definately snowy, though unlikely
> to do any serious mud plugging. B-)
>
> Where are the common rust spots? What really needs a good look at? The
> common faults etc...
>
> Thanks in advance.

Hi Dave

Plenty of people love 'em. I had the 2001 model and found it not
suited to my needs - gutless at low revs with the turning circle of an
oil tanker - so I got rid. This model and these issues have been
covered in this group at least twice in the last 12 months - try a
Google search.

There is an excellent website devoted to the Disco II:

http://www.disco2.com/

and many others (Google for "Disco2"). Opinion seems to be that the
Td5 is pretty bulletproof if looked after, and the bodywork fairly
rust-resistant.

HTH

Rich

Austin Shackles wrote:

> On or around Tue, 09 Nov 2004 23:02:40 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
>>I was hoping to have taken it for a test drive this morning but arrive
>>to hear that it's in the workshop (Land Rover dealer) sans turbo as it
>>is "sticking". I presume that means the EGR or dump valve rather than
>>the hi-speed rotational bits... Is this an indication to walk away?
>
> if it's been driven slowly around town, it could well be something like
> EGR.
> I'm not sure if the TD5 *has* and EGR valve, mind. I blanked off the one
> on the TDi here

I had one of the first (99 model) TD5s, and at one point the oil feed line
split causing the turbo undergo "sudden and catastrophic failure to rotate"
as the service person told me.

A turbo with bearings which have disintegrated due to lack of lubrication
could be defined as "sticking"

Things to look out for:

Has it had the clutch flywheel recall done?
Has it had the brake ECU recall done?
Has it had the transfer box end seal recall done?

Has it had every other damn recall done?

These things are *dangerous* without all the recalls done.

P.
--
If Mind over Matter is a Matter of Course
Does it Matter if Nobody Minds?

In message <[email protected]>, Dave
Liquorice <[email protected]> writes
>Hi,
>
>I'm probably about to join the elite group of Land Rover owners with
>the purchase of a 3 year old, LR Approved, Disco TD5 ES series II.
>I've dug about fairly extensively on the net trying to find
>information on their common faults but to no avail. The alf FAQ has
>nothing. B-(
[Snip]

Brilliant vehicle. I've had mine (Td5 ES auto) for nearly 5 years and
it's much, much better than the two Discovery Tdis I had previously.

Try a few to get to know what they should feel like before you buy.
There are plenty of them standing around at LR dealers, who will be only
too pleased to let you drive them if they think you might be a buyer.
Now that the Discovery 3 has been launched, series II prices should be
coming down.

I'm not aware of common faults - and I've seen no sign of rust on mine -
but they are mechanically and electronically complex, so make sure that
you get a 12 months Land Rover Approved Warranty and not some lesser
form of warranty.
--
Peter

On 10 Nov 2004 02:35:54 -0800, Richard Brookman wrote:

> Plenty of people love 'em. I had the 2001 model and found it not
> suited to my needs - gutless at low revs ...

My go faster days are over. I just like to get there in reasonable
comfort and time. I suspect I might make a few pulling out and not
away misjudgements to begin with. I drove an auto last week and unless
you booted it definately didn't get up and go.

> ...with the turning circle of an oil tanker

Though that applied to all (long wheel base) Land Rovers. B-) With
the 110s I've driven you do need remember that you do need a lot of
space. Mind you the turning circle on my Mondeo (ex Mondeo, hit grease
or black ice last week, followed by a drystone wall and a flip on to
it's roof...) was on the large side around 11m.

> This model and these issues have been covered in this group at least
> twice in the last 12 months - try a Google search.

Apologies, I did have a google but obviously couldn't come up with the
right keywords.

> There is an excellent website devoted to the Disco II:
>
> http://www.disco2.com/

Thanks hadn't found that site, found one for the Range Rover and
several general ones. The FAQ there will keep me quiet for a while.

> (Google for "Disco2").

Not a search term I used, "discovery", "disco" and "ii" along with
"land" and "rover" etc...

--
Cheers [email protected]
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 12:01:47 +0000, Peter wrote:

> Now that the Discovery 3 has been launched, series II prices should
> be coming down.

Looking around at what is available as "Land Rover Approved", most are
3 years old (end of warranty, odd that) with a range of mileages from
30k to 90k. The Disco II demonstrators have mostly been snapped up and
anyway ex demos with the must have toys(*) are over budget.

> but they are mechanically and electronically complex, so make sure
> that you get a 12 months Land Rover Approved Warranty and not some
> lesser form of warranty.

Oh, yes. Lots of toys means lots to go wrong. I tend to keep motors
until I either write 'em off (see other post) or they start to cost
more than routine servicing/fuel etc to keep on the road. Hopefully
the nasty, expensive, faults happen later rather than sooner.

(*)Like heated windscreen. Ice on the inside is a right PITA. Living
at 1400' hard frosts and several inches of snow are not uncommon, even
with our currently mild winters.

--
Cheers [email protected]
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 11:21:13 +0000, Paul S. Brown wrote:

> Things to look out for:
>
> Has it had the clutch flywheel recall done?
R2000/038 ?

> Has it had the brake ECU recall done?
R2001/169 ?

> Has it had the transfer box end seal recall done?
Can't find that listed on the AA website list of recalls. The VINs of
affected units are there, so at least I can check.

--
Cheers [email protected]
Dave. pam is missing e-mail