Looked at a cheap Disco 2 and walked away. But should I reconsider?

Discokids said:

Somebody came to my house not long back in an auto diesel d2, had to floor it to pull off, I thought "that's not very good' and came on here for a look. It seems some people think that the td5 engine and the auto box fitted don't form a very good partnership.

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Mine seems ok

My TD5 is auto and has upgraded torque converter and is chipped.It goes like stink-blip the throttle and you are off-never floored it as not needed.All gears change between 1.5 k and 2.1k revs.Can join traffic from a stand still doing 30 mph without the guy I pull out on having to brake.Very quick away from lights-beats most if I try-If I want to try harder ,select sports mode and the thing hangs in gear to about 3k revs-eating up a lot of road like that straight up to 40 or 50 mph.
Steady 30 mph at 1.5k revs so not particularly noisy
Cannot compare to std auto,as never driven one-also running homebrew bio 100%.
A real pleasure to drive

Sounds like you have a winning combo there with your setup fella.

Getting back to the one I looked at if the gearbox just needs a service then all good. I'm worried if it's something more sinister.
Also anyone know how much of a ball ache it is to reinstall air suspension?
Appears to still have the compressor and the lines run down the car to the axle and then have been cut.

Co-Pang-Yang said:

Sounds like you have a winning combo there with your setup fella.

.

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If you are ever down on South coast,give me a shout ,you can have a go

Cheers dude. Often round that way but usually in my lorry lol

I bought a TD5 auto a few weeks back (04 model) and its totally standard with 1 lady owner from new and to me it goes like a rocket after my 300tdi auto. I keep having to check my speed.

I am well happy

More and more sounds like the one I looked at had a gearbox problem.
How the hell do I work out if it needs a service or a refurb lol

Td5 with auto is total **** and 24mpg.

I can only think it is the same tc for v8 as that it would be suited to.

So my advice would be v8 auto LPG 13mpg at 65p per litre and a bit more go

cooltide said:

Td5 with auto is total **** and 24mpg.

I can only think it is the same tc for v8 as that it would be suited to.

So my advice would be v8 auto LPG 13mpg at 65p per litre and a bit more go

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No it's not the same TC in the TD5 and the V8. The stall speed on the TD5 version is 2600-2800rpm whereas the v8 one is 2200-2400rpm.

In other words the v8 TC controls the engine revs much better.

Dave

Been told by the better half that I'm not getting a V8 as a daily lol.

Can't you get the price down regarding box?

Well was advertised for £1895.
Price was dropped to £1700 within half an hour of me being there and looking round it.
After test drive and me mentioning gearbox and chassis cover up was told would drop to £1625 as other buyer was part exing a car.
Other thing is was on the road when I came to view not outside a house. Seller was a self employed trader who also delivered cars with his 4x4 and trailer. Not a problem I guess as long as I cult sign paperwork in his house.
But does mean might not be in his name. I'm not sure how it works with traders on logbook.

Co-Pang-Yang said:

Well was advertised for £1895.
Price was dropped to £1700 within half an hour of me being there and looking round it.
After test drive and me mentioning gearbox and chassis cover up was told would drop to £1625 as other buyer was part exing a car.
Other thing is was on the road when I came to view not outside a house. Seller was a self employed trader who also delivered cars with his 4x4 and trailer. Not a problem I guess as long as I cult sign paperwork in his house.
But does mean might not be in his name. I'm not sure how it works with traders on logbook.

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He obviously wants to get rid of this vehicle, so it could be a pain in the arse or it could be a bargain. Unfortunately only you can decide that.

1. Re the chassis rust :you can buy prepared repair panels and sensible money, just clean up the old section and weld the new one over the top, job done.

2. Re the autobox : Once the engine is up to temp; to get the auto "off the line" you really do need to give it a good bootful. Once it's up to maybe 25mph progressively let the throttle down a bit and you'll find - assuming the autobox is ok - that you get good running from 30mph upwards and it should go into Torque Converter lock-up at approx 55mph, on a light, 'cruising' throttle. If it doesn't go into lock-up (feels like another gear) at about 55 on a light throttle, something is wrong.

Is this a good car for you? Well first and foremost are you happy 'on the tools'? If you are not an enthusiastic DIY-er, walk away.

If all the windows/mirrors/central locking works as it should, I would offer him £1400 cash and then fix whatever needs fixing - but that's just me.

Servicing:

1. Change all oils (engine, autobox, tranny box, and both diffs) and all filters;

2. Change brake fluid and coolant ( these won't have been done !!!)

3. Clean the MAP sensor on the inlet manifold with brake & clutch cleaner;

4. Remove all brake pads, clean caliper pistons and re-fit;

5. Grease all prop nipples;

6. Check the functioning of all sensors using Hawkeye or Nano Evo.

Now you have a baseline to evaluate the performance of this car. It is essential to do the above first.

It will be improved by:

Modifications:

1. Removing the EGR valve - not just blocking it off, full removal;

2. If the exhaust downpipe still has a cat in it, buy and fit a De-cat downpipe;

3. Run tyres at these pressures: 33psi front; 36psi rear;

4. Clean out the intercooler;

5. Get a Dynachip Tuning re-map. Mike is a first class bloke and comes to your premises to do the job. It costs between £225 and £250 depending on ECU type but it'll be the best motoring money you've ever spent.


There's some food for thought. But in general, if you have the cash, take readies with you - it will make negotiating much better.

Re the paperwork, if this guy is not the registered keeper, he needs to have some method of proof that he has the right to sell it - or you could be buying a knocked-off motor. ENSURE that the registered keeper has signed at the bottom of page 2 of the V5.

On the top of page 3 there is a section for traders selling cars. Also you need to get a paper receipt, here is one I always have with me:

"Sale contract, car – 21 November 2014

Seller: ????????????????????????????????

Buyer: M. JEBSON David, 2 Le Puy Cesset, 23350 La Cellette, France.





2000 Green Land Rover Discovery TD5 ES

Reg no: µ*********

VIN: *******************



I, ??????????????? the undersigned, being the legal owner of the above vehicle, sell it to

Mr. David JEBSON, for the sum of £ **** this day the ???????????? 2014.


Paid in full.





Seller..................................................................Buyer:......................................................




Signature..............................................................Signature:................................................



at:.......................................................................... at:..........................................................



Date: .......................................................................Date:

Brilliant info Dave thanks very much.

Yes he admitted he wanted it gone which is why it was cheap, said he doesn't like keeping cars for long.

Gonna call him today and see if he still has it and go have another look at the weekend.
Will have another look at he chassis try and see how much is needed.
Was only town driving on the test drive so nothing above 40 mph unfortunately so will have to get it on a A road and see what it's like.
I don't mind getting my hands dirty though was hoping more maintain during ownership with the initial work.

Yes £1400 seems fair. Everything worked inside except the drivers headed seat.

Servicing sounds fine I could handle that over a weekend. Don't have Hawkeye but mate has a snap on scanner so hopefully that would cover it.

Cheers for the heads up on the seller part. Will print off a copy of that receipt that will help no end. Also wanna go to his place to do the deal.

Cheers again dave

Co-Pang-Yang said:

Brilliant info Dave thanks very much.

Yes he admitted he wanted it gone which is why it was cheap, said he doesn't like keeping cars for long.

Gonna call him today and see if he still has it and go have another look at the weekend.
Will have another look at he chassis try and see how much is needed.
Was only town driving on the test drive so nothing above 40 mph unfortunately so will have to get it on a A road and see what it's like.
I don't mind getting my hands dirty though was hoping more maintain during ownership with the initial work.

Yes £1400 seems fair. Everything worked inside except the drivers headed seat.

Servicing sounds fine I could handle that over a weekend. Don't have Hawkeye but mate has a snap on scanner so hopefully that would cover it.

Cheers for the heads up on the seller part. Will print off a copy of that receipt that will help no end. Also wanna go to his place to do the deal.

Cheers again dave

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Unfortunately the snap-on kit will be almost useless. Land Rover products were not OBD-compliant until the arrival of DIII.

You really need to own or have access to either Hawkeye, Nano Evo or Lynx dedicated diagnostic tools. Budget about £250-£300 but will pay for itself XXXXX over.

Dave

Co-Pang-Yang said:

Yes he admitted he wanted it gone which is why it was cheap, said he doesn't like keeping cars for long.

Gonna call him today and see if he still has it and go have another look at the weekend.

Cheers again dave

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Why don't you go and look at a couple of others instead, even if they are too much they will help make a more informed decision.

If it hasnt got to be auto, try a manual, you may like it better and more mpg.

This one does sound like a headache

Cheers guys. Found out tonight it has sold so back to the drawing board.
Ebay is showing nothing under £2.5k except for a tidy looked p38 dse auto for £1800. Hole can of worms no doubt but still tempted.

thebiglad said:

Unfortunately the snap-on kit will be almost useless.

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We have snap on at work, can talk to everything, code injectors etc, only thing it won't do is keys or bcu programming, it is like a dedicated tool for 90% of vehicles,
Sam