V8 Disco 2 issues

Hi All

Just bought a V8 Disco 'Y' reg with 105k miles.

It had a leaky sunroof which was supposed to be fixed before we picked it up. It still leaks, so I sent it into our local Landrover Specialist to have a look at. Now, I was expecting them to come up with a long list of ailments, so I wasn't all that surprised by their findings....but:

They are saying I need a new sunroof and motor (£1300 parts + Labour) as it's all bunged up with silicone.
"Major engine oil leaks" - can't see anything on the driveway to back this up, but I'll have a good look around. They mentioned rocker covers which I'm happy to tackle.
They mentioned the waterpump is leaking - what sort of a job is that to do?
Excessive play in nearside hub. This is one I need to investigate, as it passed an MOT with no advisories just 7 days and 100 miles ago. Also, front to rear break lines excessive corrosion - need to take this up with the MOT people too.

Anyway - I'm happy to have the sunroof sealed up for ever more if they can do that. Is there a chance it could be coming in from the roof bars? The water only leaks from the control unit for the rear sunroof. Front is dry.

The car in general is fine. I do wonder about the engine though. Have a made a boob by buying the V8?
How much of the above do you think the Garage that sold me the car is responsible for, or is it down to me to have checked more thoroughly?

Changing the water pump is pretty straight forward. Getting the fan off is sometimes an issue. Just keep all the bolts in order as they are different sizes and you don't want to mix them up and make sure you give each one a dose of copper grease before you put them back in. Also make sure the old gasket remnants are all gone and the face of the pump housing is nice and clean. I used a plastic scraper to get the last bits off so as not to bung up the aluminum surface and perhaps cause problems for the new gasket.

Many thanks - I'll price a new one. Is it a common (expected) fault?

It was the first thing I had to do after buying my RRC, maybe 2 months after purchase.

Edit: Make sure the new pump has a metal impeller. The cheapos have plastic impellers and are crap.

I'm seeing the waterpump on ebay for 30 ish quid on ebay.

Does that sound about right?

I'm in the USA, so I'm not sure. Mine cost $100 Merkin.

There's a few second hand sunroofs + motors on e-bay if required, I helped my mate clean and re seal his sunroofs without any problems didn't even need a workshop manual, so easy. Just remove 14 screws after removing a bit of trim but that depends on your skill level I suspect
Water pump is also easy, after removing the fan complete with the viscous coupling with a 36mm spanner, I just used my big adjustable, the hardest part for me was removing the old gasket from the block using an alloy scraper a blade and paint thinners, it took nearly an hour to get it clean.

The bearing failed on my old pump but as yours is leaking then you will see coolent dripping from a small hole below the pump, I purchased an OEM pump on e-bay at £51 delivered next day from Stratton Land Rovers.

You will require a tube of thread lock/sealant as three of the screws go through the water jacket into the block.
The pics show my engine with out the pump and old an new.

Well, right now I'd settle for a watertight vehicle - so it's going back to the selling garage to see what they can do. If they can seal it up, then I'm fine with that.

The list of faults was not as scary as I first thought. On chatting to the mechanic, a lot of it was advisory rather than terminal.

Just quote fitness for purpose and sale of goods act mate, that'll shift em !!

oil leaks come as standard on a land rover

basher79 said:

oil leaks come as standard on a land rover

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It's how they mark their territory.

West Slope Rover said:

It's how they mark their territory.

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if that's the case mine has annexed most of dorset ,the m5,m6 and wolves in the last fortnight

Yip, if it ain't leaking, it ain't got any oil init. It's a thing Landrover designed on purpose to let you know it's leaking. Straight forward British engineering at it's best really.

Well, thanks to all of you for responding.

The garage that sold it to me didn't make a fuss - they just said to bring it back in. So long as it's sealed, I don't care.
I think the mistake I made when taking it to the "specialist" is that they are geared up to replacing all worn/faulty part for new. I should have taken it to my usual mechanic who deals with my older cars - he's a "fixer". To give you an idea, the specialist had a W plate disco - same colour and spec as mine (only a td5, and mines a Y plate) for sale. They wanted 8 grand. I think if I had unlimited funds and I wanted restoration, I'd send it to them - but that's just ot what this car is all about for me.

Anyway - a couple of other questions:

It seems the rear airbags have been replaced with coils. Is this an issue?
Engine misfire: Plugs are pretty new, but it splutters a bit coming off idle.
Valley Gasket leaking: Big job?

Cheers all - thanks for your help.

trick202 said:

.


Anyway - a couple of other questions:

It seems the rear airbags have been replaced with coils. Is this an issue?
Engine misfire: Plugs are pretty new, but it splutters a bit coming off idle.
Valley Gasket leaking: Big job?

Cheers all - thanks for your help.

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1. Issues? NO but what have u in mind.
2. Get it hooked up to Land-Rover specific diagnostic equipment, changing parts at random to try and cure a fault is an expensive exercise which may not find the fault.
3. Big-ish for what it is, a D2 V8 workshop manual will tell u whats involved

trick202 said:

Well, thanks to all of you for responding.

The garage that sold it to me didn't make a fuss - they just said to bring it back in. So long as it's sealed, I don't care.
I think the mistake I made when taking it to the "specialist" is that they are geared up to replacing all worn/faulty part for new. I should have taken it to my usual mechanic who deals with my older cars - he's a "fixer". To give you an idea, the specialist had a W plate disco - same colour and spec as mine (only a td5, and mines a Y plate) for sale. They wanted 8 grand. I think if I had unlimited funds and I wanted restoration, I'd send it to them - but that's just ot what this car is all about for me.

Anyway - a couple of other questions:

It seems the rear airbags have been replaced with coils. Is this an issue?
Engine misfire: Plugs are pretty new, but it splutters a bit coming off idle.
Valley Gasket leaking: Big job?

Cheers all - thanks for your help.

Click to expand...

I'm just about to "attempt" valley gasket and rocker cover gaskets, if you've got the "RAVE" manual on CD it's on there, looks an involved job TBH, i've been quoted £250 + VAT to have this done by my landrover specialist, which isn't that bad, if I fail I will give it to them to sort - in comparison its circa 5/6 hours for them to sort, double that I guess if you attempt it yourself, but that depends on your experience i guess.

Good luck though

I'll second Basher79... if it ain't leaking there's nothing in it!

Rear springs are usually put in place when the old air bags go.. some perfer bags if you do allot of towing.
The missfire could be so many things! Diagnostics are a good idea.
The valey gasket isn't too bad at all, just try not to drop crud in the engine!
The sunroof can be sealed up with some sealant that is designed to seal body panels together.