So... I think I've had enough

[Bravado440]

After 2 engines and three years of blood, sweat, tears and my far share of swear words. I'm (pretty sure) gonna give my P38a 4.6 HSE the boot.
I'd like to stick with the Land Rover maque though because I'm a glutton for punishment. I've had an Series 1 Disco with a 3.5 V8 which I loved, but know every little about the Series 2 and 3.9/4.0 V8s.
I am considering a 2001 Discovery with around 240,000ks. So far I have found out that it has had both head gaskets done in 2016 (losing coolant not overheating) and it has been converted to springs.

What are the truck like off road?
How do they handle with the spring conversion?
Any major engine problems that I should be looking for? I understand that the 3.9/ 4.0 engines are far more reliable that the than a 4.6.

I'd appreciate any comments from others about there Disco experiences.

Cheers

[Pedro_The_Swift]

ok,, 3.9 refers to a ( D1) GEMS engine,, 4L is a (D2) thor,, quite different
if anything its proven the other way around,, the standard 4L engines will fail,, and if you just replace gaskets,, they will just fail again..
The 4.6's out of the Thor RR are built with the best LR blocks,, any that didnt meet the quality requirement were made into 4L's,,,
thats not to say the RR4.6's were in any way bullet proof.... just built on a better quality block.


Springs to carry loads are always a compromise,, even if you do standardise on one loadout weight and buy springs to suit, you are literally stuck with that setup,,

D2's off road will go most places any other beam axle 4wd will.

[Bravado440]

Thanks Pedro for clearing up my 3.9 4.0 confusion.
I had thought that they were basically the same block and bore just the intake and injection were different.
Am I correct in thinking that the D2 a the BMW engine in it?

[ozscott]

No the engine is all LR x bolt mains and all but the fuel injection on the D2 is BMW derived German Bosch Motronic (modified 8 series V8 BMW).

D2 is excellent off road with 4 wheel traction control and Centre Diff Lock (They didn't all have CDL).

CHEERS

[Darren]

the D2 V8's are OK.... 240k on a V8 and you will have a tired engine. carefull with this head gasket busines and it could well be slipped liners even if only minor and only leaking a little.

pull the plugs and see if you can detect any wash on the plugs or in the pots....easy enough with a probe and a lap top to have a poke inside the pots...its how i 95% diagnosed my D2 with slipped liners.....the last 5 % was when i pulled the heads and the gaskets were good.

i went down the path of top hats .... will cost between $800 and $1k on top of a normal rebuild depending on what you have done.

other wise the D2 is a landrover ........ a machine of unrealised potential.

if not done recently you can expect to do what is in a recent post of mine from a few days ago.

all good

Darren

[rar110]

Buy a 2006 facelift 4.2SC L322. If you like v8 petrols you will get a buz. Lots of other pluses too.

[ozscott]

D2 base models are very simple and very reliable. Liner shift isn't all that common. Usually head gaskets. Easy fix and a long term one if you use ARP Head Studs too. Cheers

[trout1105]

After 2 engines and three years of blood, sweat, tears and my far share of swear words. I'm (pretty sure) gonna give my P38a 4.6 HSE the boot.
I'd like to stick with the Land Rover maque though because I'm a glutton for punishment. I've had an Series 1 Disco with a 3.5 V8 which I loved, but know every little about the Series 2 and 3.9/4.0 V8s.
I am considering a 2001 Discovery with around 240,000ks. So far I have found out that it has had both head gaskets done in 2016 (losing coolant not overheating) and it has been converted to springs.

What are the truck like off road?
How do they handle with the spring conversion?
Any major engine problems that I should be looking for? I understand that the 3.9/ 4.0 engines are far more reliable that the than a 4.6.

I'd appreciate any comments from others about there Disco experiences.

Cheers

If you are hoping that you will get a problem free run from an 18year old D2 that has already done 240k then you are dreaming my friend.
Having said that I bought my 2004 D2a 4 years ago for $9000 and have spent about $20,000 since on repairs and mods But I now DO have a reliable go anywhere and comfortable 4WD, It just depends on your level of commitment that will determine just how well your D2 will run[thumbsupbig]

[rar110]

Trout illustrates my point about an upgrade. There are virtues to d2a. But I think go for a much more advanced (and complicated I admit but you’ve not got that far to go in NZ) series 2 L322.

[trout1105]

I kind of like the fact that the D2a doesn't have the same leval of complexity its newer counterparts do (especially with a spring conversion) and have found it to be very VERY capable and comfortable both on an off road.
I won't be getting rid of mine anytime soon[thumbsupbig]

[ozscott]

RAR with your experience are you able to do a nutshell summary for the OP of the best RR in terms of reliability Inc trans and motors?

Cheers

[ozscott]

Plenty of info on AULRO about the L322 but here also is a buying guide

Used buying guide: Land Rover Range Rover L322 (2002-12) | Autocar (https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/used-car-buying-guides/used-buying-guide-range-rover-l322)

Also the D2 has bucket loads of after market, quality, off road gear that RR does not have available. If you are keen on doing a lor of offloading and hitting really rugged areas etc then D2 is the choice.

Cheers

[rar110]

I like the mechanics summing up about 1/2 way through.

“The L322 is the best Range Rover. It’s a ‘proper’ one – a full-blown off-road vehicle but with luxurious on-road manners.”

I have to say as a 50 something 110 Perentie owner, this is true. I have a MY08 3.6 Ford built tdv8. I love it.

I can drive Brisbane to Sydney in a day and not be exhausted. In the 110 I can get to Port Macquarie and be knackered. That’s the on road experience. Just to add, not long ago I did a road trip to Victoria. I drove the whole way and back easy. The R&P steering plus the quite comfort make it so less tiring.

Off road: Done a trip to lightning Ridge, some corruptions, very easy. Done plenty of beach drives to Fraser, Moreton, Bribie and Straddy. Not much of a comparison I know BUT, on Moreton my BIL in his NP Paj & us were touring around Moreton. We decided to explore the dune look outs. He took the lead and got about 3-4 metres up the dune track before digging himself in. I decided to have a go in the L322. This think pretty much idled up without hesitation. We just disappeared up the track. My MIL was worried and then amazed, a nice moment. On another trip we had to pull him out.

EAS: a great bit of kit. But from what I’ve read it took the experience of the classic, P38 and early L322, before they finally got the bugs out in the MY07/08 L322 and maybe MY07 D3 & L320. From my reading the L322 front air suspension has a life of about 10 years. That’s when I replaced mine. I love how I can drop the height in a car park & in a off road situation get a lift. My EAS as been faultless. I like the L322 rear EAS over the D3/L320 as the on the L322 the shock is outside the air spring. Also the air compressor is fully protected.

Engines/Trans: the L322 (2000-2005) started with the BMW X5 set up. I personally would go the next generation.
MY06-09 had the ZF6HP26, like the D3/4s and next gen transfer box. These really need an oil change every 100k km to mid 08, an every 50k for the 08/09 models.

The 6hp26 is a very nice trans. Some L322/D3/RRS transmissions output shaft (like on my L322) didn’t get greased, and just wore away. The car is so smooth that a worn output shaft is impossible to detect on a test drive. I found a low cost/km trans & case for cheap.

The Jag 4.4 & 4.2SC are both very well regarded motors.

[INter674]

My D2A was a bargain at 10k but since has cost me closer to 20K. It is now virtually a new car mechanically and is still a cheap car even tho resale value is prolly 12k or less. Some costs were due to misfortune (dusted engine) and preventative maintenance eg new auto for the big trip.

As a comparo..my sons TD42 GU Patrol cost him 5k with a knackered engine and the engine rebuild is costing @10k..much more than i paid to reco the TD5 (4500).

BUT he could get 25k for the Patrol/fork lift powered truck now😐

And yes I would definetely take the disco over a Patrol for comfort and safety every time and it can tow 3500kgs whereas the Patrol can't. .legally.

Mmm there's winners n there's losers in every game!

[ozscott]

Yep I don't worry about resale. I have owned my D2 since new so 17 years and replaced engine due overheating - my fault. I have reconditioned the 5 speed and replaced the transfer case (knew it was leaking but took it to Cape York...where oil gets out water gets in...replacement TC with 20,000k on it for $450...).

I insure it for what it would cost me to return a good D2 bare to what I have now and just enjoy the vehicle which is very reliable and very competent at a variety of duties.

Cheers

[ozscott]

Found what I was looking for. I saw this a while ago when I was looking at L322. A good guide if you go that way. Cheers

MkIII L322 Range Rover Remedies (https://www.rangerovers.net/rrmkiiiremedies.html)

[rar110]

A lot of that relates to the early L322s (2000-2005).

The FFRR UK site also has some useful info.

Main Page - fullfatrr.com Wiki (https://www.fullfatrr.com/wiki/Main_Page)

[CraigE]

Bought my son a D2 4 litre 2 and a bit years ago for $3k and it has been great, the only downside is fuel use but looking at others his is quite good getting around 14 litres per 100kms. It is a little rough but a great vehicle. Only real issue we have had is an alternator failure and air con clutch failure. Building on it as we go. Does need new rocker cover gaskets and will likely do the head gaskets when we do them as a matter of course. Very underated vehicle.

[Andrew D]

I'm a glutton for punishment.

Hell yeah.

Sleep on it and then if you still want to buy one have another nap.

They are tractors so unless you are ploughing a field, bush bashing, pigging or some other form of a questionably civilised contemporary hobby I would recommend cutting your loses.

Pros
Relatively easy to work on.
Excuse to buy more tools for repairs

Cons
You will spend a lot of time working on the vehicle.
You will need to buy tools for repairs
Fuel economy is very high relative new/er cars.
Old - cars are almost driving themselves these days.

[ozscott]

Hell yeah.

Sleep on it and then if you still want to buy one have another nap.

They are tractors so unless you are ploughing a field, bush bashing, pigging or some other form of a questionably civilised contemporary hobby I would recommend cutting your loses.

Pros
Relatively easy to work on.
Excuse to buy more tools for repairs

Cons
You will spend a lot of time working on the vehicle.
You will need to buy tools for repairs
Fuel economy is very high relative new/er cars.
Old - cars are almost driving themselves these days.

Re Tractor reference...I took him to mean Series 2 Discovery not Series 2 Land Rover. LOL.

Cheers

[Pedro_The_Swift]

isnt the TD5 out of a british tractor?? [bigwhistle][bighmmm][tonguewink]

[Bravado440]

Thanks to everyone who has commented so far, there is a lot of great info hear to absorb.

To elaborate a little on what I intend to do with the truck, I'd mainly like to go off road. Camping in hard to reach places (not that there a many in the North Island of NZ), and overland trekking. Not so much mud bogging and rock jumping.
I haven't really had the opportunity of doing so as my D1 was stolen just after I'd started to prepare it for off road and my p38 was a lemon from when I first purchased it.
I'm not worried about little minor issues that are relatively easy to repair, what I don't want is to have to replace the engine every year or every 5000ks as I've done so far.
I am a big fan of how simple the D2s seem compared to a P38 and understand the the 4.0 and 3.9 engines are less prone to liner slippage that the 4.6s are.

Am I correct in thinking that the D2 share a similar drive line to the P38s? Are the stud pasterns and PCDs the same?

Thank you to all again.

T

[AK83]

....
Am I correct in thinking that the D2 share a similar drive line to the P38s? Are the stud pasterns and PCDs the same?

Thank you to all again.

T

Yep!