New Discovery Owner

Just picked up a Discovery 2 after a lot of searching. Its a Sept 03 so I assume 2004 MY. 51,000 with two owners. Adriatic Blue, black leather. Not sure which model this is. ES? ES Premium?

Seems to be very good and so just going through it now and it will get a good service with the local specialist. It broke down on the day I was collecting it and the dealer had to fit a new XYZ switch at some cost but now appears to be running well. Sagging on the nearside rear if it's left for 48hrs so assume it will need a new airbag.

Anyway no doubt there will be stuff to do but hopefully it will be a good vehicle for the future!
Be grateful if anyone has suggestions about what should be checked on a new acquisition particularly as regards the rust situation.
Hello Everyone

Looks nice! Do both airbags asap, they are service items that don’t last forever. If you ignore it there’s every chance you’ll burn out the compressor.

Should I do both rather than the one that seems to be faulty?

Yeah replace both

Tomgc61 said:

Should I do both rather than the one that seems to be faulty?

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Do one today and pay the garage bills and then pay it all again in a few months time when the other one goes
You're 75% there in labour costs to do one, the other is the same age and then you end up paying twice if you don't mate

Thanks - I will do the pair!

They are simple to do yourself if you’re so inclined. Buy the best you can, I carry a cheap one as a just in case mesure in case I have an issue while out laning. Lots of people convert to springs but personally I really like the SLS system so am happy to look after it.

I think this time I will let the garage do it but would like to have a go at some point. Hopefully it won't be too long in hours!

Congrats it looks really tidy. Don't say the r word without 3 hail Mary's.

Perhaps make that three bloody Mary's!

Not done them myself but the RAVE manual makes it look very simple.

http://www.landroverresource.com/docs/D2_Workshop_Manual.pdf

Looks lovely. If you did not do it at the time you bought it, go over the underside cm by cm looking for rust. Bear in mind that many have had rust problems disguised with waxoyl, so don't be afraid to press hard with something solid, if there is an issue it will feel soft. In particular, check the rear chassis and don't forget to check the inaccessible tops of the chassis members. No sign of rust problems in the MOT history though, so you are probably fine.
I do note that it has only done 2800 miles since Aug 2015. So it is probably overdue a good service. I would change all the fluids, check the universal joints for rust/wear, replace/grease them and the prop shafts as required and look hard for any fluid leaks. Cars generally like to be driven and you may find that rubber seals/bushes/hoses etc have perished through inactivity and may fail once you start using the car properly.
Looks like a good 'un though!

Thanks for your comment and I hope you are right that the absence of MOT issues means that things are under control. There is a general rusty appearance underneath and there is no wayoxl so that may be a good sign - or not! Anyway my intention is to go through it and hopefully the underneath will end up as good as the top half. I don't think the previous owner ever used it with passengers and the whole interior is as new so it is worth putting in the effort even if it is at some expense.

Sound advice above tom. I think d2 are more chassis than body for rust issues. Rear of chassis goes if not looked after. As above you need to have a prod around. Have a look at my build thread if you want some ideas on treatment but if you want a short and quick reccomendation, you need to find rust, brush back or remove said rust to clean metal. Paint with a rust converter or stabilising primer then prime. Coat with something such as corroless (have a look at arc rite site). Fill chassis with cavity wax such as dinitrol or dynax s50.

Bilt hamber do a rust converter (hydrate 80) and also do an epoxy resin paint. They also do dynax s50 which is cavity wax. It stops it rusting from inside out.

I used bonda primer on top of clean metal then I went over the top with corroless glass reinforced top coat. Leave the hammerite and waxoyl on the shelf

That's great information thank you and I will get some Hydrate 50 in the first instance. Can you get to all the bits that need brushing back before treatment? It will be up on a ramp next week and I will know at that point what needs doing. Aside from that I noticed that the underside of the spring step looks very rusted. Not sure if that is better replaced than repaired. I see they are sold a s a unit with the return arm.

OP - that does look nice indeed - you lucky sod

As @resto_d1 says, leave the waxoyl and Hammerite on the shelf - they used to be good products, but are no so safe they are next to useless - Dinitrol & Bilt Hamber do exellent products full of goodness, which IME are bl@@dy fantastic ... I have treated our two D1's much as Mr resto says, and there is very little rust - it's almost scary ....

Rear chassis can be a major weakness on D2 - shock mounts are quite well known for, er, "coming loose" - a search on here will show you .......

Tomgc61 said:

That's great information thank you and I will get some Hydrate 50 in the first instance. Can you get to all the bits that need brushing back before treatment? It will be up on a ramp next week and I will know at that point what needs doing. Aside from that I noticed that the underside of the spring step looks very rusted. Not sure if that is better replaced than repaired. I see they are sold a s a unit with the return arm.

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You can get to most - you want an angle grinder and a wire wheel mate to clean it all up.

Many of the problems that occur on the D2, if you read the various websites fall into a number of general areas:-

• Chassis rust or rot
• Suspension, particularly the rear
• Electronics.

The chassis tends to give out on the rear half, especially around the rear cross member. Other forum members have already mentioned getting the underside cleaned off and using something like Dinitrol or Bilt Hamber treatments to protect both the insides and the outside of the chassis.

The rear suspension on many D2's is an air operated Self Levelling System. OK, it can throw up some strange behaviour but on the whole it's a good system. Remember that the air springs or bags should be regarded as "service items", so expect them to last something like 5 to 7 years, give or take. If you do get a problem with the SLS dropping, my advice would be to replace the bags first off before diving any deeper into the system, at least then you'll be 100% certain that any fault is in some other part of the system. If the system starts over-inflating then you'd need to look at the ride height sensors.

There's a fair amount of electronic on the D2, much of which is controlled by Electronic Control Units (ECU's) located up behind the passenger's glove box. Provided the electronics and fuse boards are kept dry there's usually no real problems. You might come across the odd broken wire or bad joint in a connector somewhere. There is a known problem with the cabling to the engine ECU, located behind the battery in that oil can find its way from the injector harness all the way back to the red plug on the ECU. This can give rise to all sorts of odd behaviour from the engine. There's plenty about that job on the forum and elsewhere on the web.
Another problem which raises its ugly head occasionally is known as the "3 Amigos", the ABS, HDC and TC lights all come on together. There are a number of different causes for this, but it's only by reading the fault codes can you be sure what exactly is going on.

That brings me to the subject of code readers. The diesel Disco 2 is not fully OBDII compatable, so while you might get some readings from cheaper code readers, the only ones known to tell the truth so to speak are the Nanocom, Hawkeye, Lynx (the older version) or the Foxwell N510. Sadly none of them are that cheap.

Thanks again for the information. I'm replacing both suspension airbags next week as one dropped momentarily over the week end so they are probably due for it as you say, they are service items. Hopefully that will be it and all other components of that system are good. The rust I'm very keen to get on with particularly as I want to be able to use it in the poor weather. Do you have to get it up on a lift to do the work? I just restored a very rusty mower deck with an angle grinder and that was a filthy job but easy to get to. Doing the same thing lying on my back is quite another matter! Any advice on that process would be appreciated. I am determined to get it straight underneath though so whatever it takes.

I've only driven it a few miles and while it is not exactly quick it is the most engaging machine to drive. Fantastic viewpoint with the windscreen design which puts the dash quite low and just supremely comfortable and really not in the least out of date in terms of the way its laid out. I was split between this and a more recent l322 but so glad I went for the Discovery.

Tomgc61 said:

Thanks for your comment and I hope you are right that the absence of MOT issues means that things are under control. There is a general rusty appearance underneath and there is no wayoxl so that may be a good sign - or not! Anyway my intention is to go through it and hopefully the underneath will end up as good as the top half. I don't think the previous owner ever used it with passengers and the whole interior is as new so it is worth putting in the effort even if it is at some expense.

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No waxoyl can be also a good sign. If it was not done on time it only hides problems (many car dealers in Hungary advertise the cars with fresh underseal coating). I have purchased mine also with no underseal protection, I prefer to see what is the real condition of the frame.
Mine had surface rust on the back 3rd of the chassis. brushed off, passivated and painted. Pay attantion between the fuel tank and the chassis (left side). I have removed the tank and found this area the most critical. The mud can stay there which help corrosion.