Thread: new to four wheel drives

I love my TD5 manual its economical, powerful, great off road, and good around town. dont worry about what others say or what you see here the 3 amigos etc is all very simple stuff. My mates all thought i was mad but I laugh when they have to replace gearboxes in there L/cruisers ever 110,000ks at $3500 a pop. I just crossed 200,000ks and have had a very good run. I have replaced front drive shaft this week at 200,065 ks I replaced the fuel distributer thingy at 130,000ks other than that I have had a dream run. I tow a glider trailer across the Nullabour regularly and give the old girl a bit of stick. I suppose it all depends what you intend to do with it, if you dont want to get off the beaten track go back to a ford 2wd. If you want to be able to go anywhere in a deal of luxury and comfort then love your landrover.
Mike

Do you always listen to your friends?

Do YOU like it, does it drive well and does everything you want it to?

Did you get a Landrover mechanic to check it out?

It seems to have low km's at a pretty good price, so get it serviced and see how it shapes up. Than, see if you are near anyone on here and take it offroad and you will be amazed, a 99 model has a centre diff lock, use it and enjoy.
With fuel consumption, its relative on how you use the right foot.
They are heavy cars not little fiat 500's.
So, at the lights take off slowly and since you now have good forward vision use it to plan better and ease off and coast, ease off earlier if you know a red light is coming up etc and you will probably get 18-20l/100.

I had most of my V8's on gas, they are great on gas and if you get a good fitter will present no problem.
Come to SA for a holiday and get Bee Utey to fit it for you, with the rebate you will not be much out of pocket and will experience very little difference and I had no problems at all.

!2 years ago your car was $65-70k when new, they are a complex car but they are worth it, their ride, poise and general experience is so much more rewarding than anything the other makes have to offer.

It looks like I am parting company with my Disco now as i am getting a Navar company car but I will be getting a SWB series vehicle for week ends for sure.
Once bitten, its hard to stay away.

Mate...

Listen to your wife plus the BIG GUY and read up on these issues that scare you. They are for the most part things that can be fixed D.Y.I. and it would have to be a pretty unique problem for it not to have a fix or answer on these pages. I have had my D2a for twelve months now and after being in a Hilux for 13 years these are worlds apart. You don't say which state your in but as BIG GUY indicated use this forum to locate some Landy owners that live near by (they are always up for a little fun) or even some mates that have 4WD's and go for a play. Doesn't have to be hardcore. I kept an eye on these pages locked on to a trip and took mine out for the first time with a small group which happened to include 2 of the local ROVACRAFT Comp Landys, thought I was in for it but the guys helped out and we had the best day. I went places on that trip that I would probably still be trying to get through in the Hilux. As for fuel economy, if it is a daily driver then you will quickly adapt your driving to get better economy but if it is a weekender/holidays like mine mostly is then there is not a question of economy. I have returned as low as 13 and when the wife drives it is up in the high 19's per 100 km. Drive It & Love It

Cheers,

Peter.

Ditto what everyone else has said but also, remember that forums such as this one are a place for people to get answers to problems they are having. Thus, it will look to a newcomer like you as if Disco's have more than their fair share of problems, in actual fact they don't.

I wrote a D2 off late last year and I bought another one without hesitation. They are the most capable off-roader 'out of the box' you can buy. In my opinion (and many others you'll find here), they are far in away more comfortable than any other 'dinkum' fourby out there. We drive to Qld a couple of times a year and can put in a solid 12 hours on the road and get out fresh as a daisy, show me another vehicle for the price that you can do that in.

Drive it, enjoy it and next time you see a trip with the guys from AULRO in your state, get out there with them and USE it

Hi northiam,
Well I can certainly share your intital hebegebes about a 99 disco 2.

You see 5 years ago we bought our 2nd landrover a 2003 disco 2 TD5. It was bought to be my wifes car. That car has now done 198000kms and has had only one thing go wrong.... ABS "3 amigos", which I have fixed myself for $20 permanently under the advice and encouragement from members of this forum. This "3 amigos" thing is not just a LR problem, Hummer H3's have the same problem, same ABS unit!

Anyway, that's the good side of our story,,,,now the bad,,,9 months ago I replaced a 3 door disco 1 TDI which was my car with a 1999 Disco 2 TD5 that is now also my car. As a result, I think I now know most things that can go wrong with disco 2's, just from this 99 model. Two of these things that can go wrong ended up in it being towed twice, once for a engine oil pump bolt failure (not applicable to your V8 petrol) and once because a auto cooler hose blew apart and emptied the trans in seconds leaving us with no drive. One of tows cost a lot of money too. At that time I thought I was mad not to mention my wife (she paid the tow, I paid the repairs). I still have the car and I still want to keep it as those are things that can happen with any cars over ten years old. Toyotas and Nissans have their problems. My dad headed to the Cape early this year in his 3L diesel Hilux only to have the engine destroy itself on the way up and a 1 month wait to have a exchange engine put in. My uncle owns a 3L diesel Patrol, he spends most of his time worrying that the engine will self destruct, because they do. You don't hear much about LR engine total failures , petrol or diesel.

Your wife will come around, mine did. Just wait till she gets to see somewhere she has never been before and she'll thank you because she got there in comfort and ease, rather than a bone jarring made in Japan 4x4 ride. Welcome to landrovers.

Northiam, dont sweat. I too had 2nd thoughts when I bought my 1999 D2 , 319,000 km's on the clock. It had issues with oil in the harness, front drive shaft, perished hoses, needed new shocks and springs, but when sorted, and when I started to get a better understanding of the vehicle, mainly thru this forum and the knowledge of the members on it, I fell in love with the D2. What I did, I took it to our local independant Land Rover dealer, asked them to do a major service, dropped all oils, report on diff oil condition, etc., asked for an inspection and report on the mechanical condition of the vehicle. From here, I had a good idea what was required to get it ready for a trip to the Gulf.Took it to the Gulf, Karumba, over 4,000 km's round trip, didn't,miss a beat. The best vehicle for touring I've ever driven.Over time ,as you get more experience working on the D2, you will do most of the work yourself, the cost will go down.It's like any vehicle - look after it, it will look after you. I also must thank the local independent dealer for doing such a good job. Bob.