Going to look at a 2002 TD5, What do you think?

Hi guys
Finally looking to get a grown up Landy to replace one of my Freelanders and have agreed to view this one tomorrow.







I saw this Disco on Gumtree a couple of weeks ago advertised at £1695 as it has a coolant leak and the guy wasn't sure where it was leaking from. I thought about it for a day or two and even saved the ad to my laptop but then the ad was taken down. Having seen a few threads here where leaks were traced to hoses and header tanks, I decided to contact him today. He says he has traced the leak to a hose on the header tank so took the ad down while sorting the leak and is now asking £2000 as he is confident it isn't the head gasket. He says it also some scratches on the bonnet and a small hole in the chassis and planned to get all the issues fixed before putting it up for sale again at a higher price (higher than £2000).
It looks like a nice motor and as it will not be a daily driver (I plan to use it for a bit of off roading and weekend cruising) I'm not worried about scratches, I can weld too so not too worried about the chassis so long as it isn't terminal and the car is MOT'd til March next year.

Any thoughts?
Does it sound like it's worth a punt so long as no other major issues?

Thanks in advance

Here is the original listing.

2002 Discovery, facelift model
TD5 2.5 DIESEL
MOT'D to MARCH 2017
154000 miles
Full leather heated seats
7 seater
Electric sunroofs x 2
Harman Kardon sound system with Kenwood head unit, original radio supplied.
18 inch alloys
Air con just re-gased last week
Rear step, tow bar and rear privacy glass.
ACE pump removed due to a leak underneath so a new bypass idler pulley and new belt installed.

This jeep is losing water, I'm no mechanic but could be water pump/head gasket problem hence low price.

Switching teams @Alibro ?
Definitely worth a look.
Shame about ACE. 2 sunroofs to check for leaks. Does it still have rear air suspension?

davidsmith1307 said:

Switching teams @Alibro ?
Definitely worth a look.
Shame about ACE. 2 sunroofs to check for leaks. Does it still have rear air suspension?

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Lol, Only loosing one of 'em. No mention of ACE so not sure. Will see when I get there.
As for leaks, yes it probably does. It's a Landy after all, Sh1te build quality comes as standard.

Alibro said:

Lol, Only loosing one of 'em. No mention of ACE so not sure. Will see when I get there.
As for leaks, yes it probably does. It's a Landy after all, Sh1te build quality comes as standard.

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...ACE pump removed......

Ah, yes I forgot about that bit. What does that mean then? Can it still have air suspension with it removed? Is the ACE pump only for levelling with a heavy load?

ACE is the pump that acts on the ARBs to improve cornering.

Oh, I suppose it could be reinstated if it were an issue. If it acts on the ARB then I guess it only operates if you are going too fast?
Edit: just read up on it and I think if I bought the car I would look into reinstating it. I don't like too much body roll.

Apparently the pipework can be pricey to sort out. The D2 isn't too bad without ACE tbh.

Pipes can be replaced, I am waiting on a modded block and will be putting flexible hoses on the back

Alibro said:

Ah, yes I forgot about that bit. What does that mean then? Can it still have air suspension with it removed? Is the ACE pump only for levelling with a heavy load?

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ACE and air suspension are two different systems. "Windy springs" can be fitted with or without ACE, ACE can be fitted on coil or air bags.
ACE uses hydraulic active anti-roll bars, operated by the ACE ECU comparing the outputs from two accelerometers, one in the roof and one in the floor and then pumping the ARB to reduce the roll so that the two outputs balance again. Nothing to do with the speed of the vehicle,but the effect will undoubtedly be more noticeable at higher speeds.
Air suspension is the self-levelling system which is to all intents fore-aft.
I can see why ACE and Air suspension can be confused, since both have some influence on the levelling of the vehicle on the road; air levels front to back, ACE can be thought of as "levelling" side to side.

brian47 said:

ACE and air suspension are two different systems. "Windy springs" can be fitted with or without ACE, ACE can be fitted on coil or air bags.
ACE uses hydraulic active anti-roll bars, operated by the ACE ECU comparing the outputs from two accelerometers, one in the roof and one in the floor and then pumping the ARB to reduce the roll so that the two outputs balance again. Nothing to do with the speed of the vehicle,but the effect will undoubtedly be more noticeable at higher speeds.
Air suspension is the self-levelling system which is to all intents fore-aft.
I can see why ACE and Air suspension can be confused, since both have some influence on the levelling of the vehicle on the road; air levels front to back, ACE can be thought of as "levelling" side to side.

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Thanks for the replies guys. Will still have a look as I think it is a good price if the rest of the car is good.

Alibro said:

Thanks for the replies guys. Will still have a look as I think it is a good price if the rest of the car is good.

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Looks a good buy, sold my d2 2002 1 year ago for 4.000 pounds, to next door neighbor .

Alibro said:

This jeep is losing water, I'm no mechanic but could be water pump/head gasket problem hence low price.

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Are they selling a Jeep as well?!
The spec is (almost) irrelevant, condition is the most important thing.
Sounds like it needs some work but if you can handle welding and its not your daily drive, that shouldnt be a problem.
Similar spec D2s with known faults are selling on ebay for under £1k.

markomate2 said:

Are they selling a Jeep as well?!
The spec is (almost) irrelevant, condition is the most important thing.
Sounds like it needs some work but if you can handle welding and its not your daily drive, that shouldnt be a problem.
Similar spec D2s with known faults are selling on ebay for under £1k.

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Not in these parts they aren't. For under 1k here you'd get a knackered 95-97 D1 with 200k miles and enough holes to compete with a collander.
Oh and calling it a Jeep is a local thing, everything off road here is a jeep. It's a bit like calling a vacuum cleaner a hoover regardless of who made it.

Cool now I know where Im going top sell mine when the time comes!
Funny how geography can make such a difference in car prices!
A mate of mine bought an XJR from the USA for €2K incl shipping to mainland Europe! After a bit (actually a fair bit!) of work its now worth €9K
Mark

OK, went to see it today and didn't like it.
I've never driven an ordinary automatic before, only my company Skoda DSG and they are worlds apart. The Disco felt like the clutch was slipping the entire time and the revs sat at 3500 rpm every time I tried to accelerate.
Apart from that the car was dog rough inside and out so I walked away.

The hunt continues but now unsure if I want a Disco. It has the turning circle of a barge and (sorry Disco guys) to be honest as far as comfort is concerned I'd rather be in my Freelander any day.
If only a Freelander could have low box and a lot more ground clearance it would be perfect. Mmmmmmmm

Alibro said:

It has the turning circle of a barge

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I don't recall anybody saying that the turning circle of a Disco was anything less than that of a battleship!
Sorry to hear that you might have been put off buying a Disco.

brian47 said:

I don't recall anybody saying that the turning circle of a Disco was anything less than that of a battleship!
Sorry to hear that you might have been put off buying a Disco.

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I stand corrected.
I guess it is a personal taste thing but every time I get into my Freelander (either of them) I love it. I didn't feel that when I got in the Disco today.
Maybe it was because the car was much rougher than I expected, my 02 Freelander is mint by comparison.

The Disco auto box is very revvy. I did have a go in a remapped one though and it was tons better, a pleasure to drive (or sail...).

davidsmith1307 said:

The Disco auto box is very revvy. I did have a go in a remapped one though and it was tons better, a pleasure to drive (or sail...).

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LOL, very apt.

I don't know yet whether I'll buy a Disco or not but if I do it will certainly not be an auto. Watch this space.