Thread: Disovery 2 thoughts

Gday Tristan,

Go into the Discovery 2 section and do a search and you will find endless threads with all the answers you seek.

I had 1 for years and found it a great car, but they do have some well documented faults, but there are plenty of "how to" threads on the fixes as well.

enjoy the reading

Cheers Ean

Hi Tristan,

I recently bought a D2a TD5 HSE (18 months ago), to replace a 1988 Range Rover Classic. My other car is a Defender, which replaced a SIII, so I do have a bias toward the brand.

Coming from a V8 to a Diesel, I would not go back to petrol again - the diesel is worth the extra in both economy and range.

My main reason for the change was to get a 7 seater, and it happened that the HSE was cheaper at auction than an S or SE model. However many lower models were specced up by buyers. The HSE loses the rear storage bin in exchange for a 2nd rear A/C unit, it also has the 11 speaker Harmon Cardon radio, but has a CD stacker and DVD player under the seat and a tape deck on the console. The lower spec models had a single CD player on the console, which makes better sense in 2012. Prices vary from 10K to 30K for a diesel, depending on accessories, spec level, private / dealer sale, milage. I'd recommend the update (late 02 - 04) as these have the pocket headlights (which look nicer) and a programmable ECU, should you want to chip it.

The vehicle I bought was off a winery and didn't have service records - it had some incomplete repairs to the front (R) inner guard, which were repaired for under $100 with replacement parts. The XY switch on the auto went, it's an easy repair, but can be an expensive part - basically an electrical glitch puts you into limp home mode, (stuck in 3rd gear).

The head gasket blew and I replaced that myself. Total cost about $100, but a workshop will charge about $2,000. I didn't get the head tested, as I figured I'd risk the $100 repair before escalating costs unnecessarily.

I replaced both air spring - $80ea ex-UK, as one developed a slow leak. An easy DIY 15-30 min job, now I have a spare air spring in the travel kit.

I installed a head temp & coolant alarm when I replaced the head gasket (about $350) for future cost avoidance.

I got the ABS faults, these require a new earth wire on the ABS modulator. It's about a 2 hour job that costs about 50 cents in parts. A strep by step photo tutorial is available online.

The car drives well, though with the ACE the turning circle is worse than the Range Rover was.

Around town the 300Tdi Defender uses less fuel than the TD5 Disco, though on the highway, the Disco leans out and gets great economy. This according to my wife had got more to do with our driving style than anything else. The disco also cruises easier / faster and overtakes faster than the Tdi.

I swapped the 18" alloys for 16" alloys the week I bought it, this makes tyre purchases a lot cheaper and tyres less likely to get damaged off road.

Service costs are ccheap - a service kit (air filter, 2 oil filters and fuel filter) can be airfreighted from the UK to your front door for under $30 total.

I just did a 12,000km trip to WA - Ningaloo & Pilbara in both the Defender and the Disco. The only issue was a transmission fault code on the dash when I left the D2 open with the ignition on acc for awhile. I reset it with the Hawkeye, and it didn't recur. I would recommend you factor in some sort of diagnostic equipment to the purchase of the vehicle to keep costs and down time down.

I chose the D2 as all the issues were well know, well documented and repair shortcuts (such as the ABS modulator) were all easily available on line.

- Michael

Hi Tristan.

I love my d2. They do have a few problems but they are well documented and if you dont mind working on the car yourself - not too expensive. I'm still better off financially after fixing a lot of the issues and doing a few offroad mods then if I bought a stock prado or patrol of the same year and spec.

If you want send me a PM and you can come around an have a look / drive of mine and I can talk you through some more in person.

Matt

Originally Posted by Michael2

The head gasket blew and I replaced that myself. Total cost about $100, but a workshop will charge about $2,000. I didn't get the head tested, as I figured I'd risk the $100 repair before escalating costs unnecessarily.

I'm assuming for that price you reused the original head bolts, injector clamp bolts, rocker shaft bolts and changed nothing other than the gasket?

Not sure I would be brave enough to do that esp with the head bolts but fair enough if it worked!

we are on our secound D2a and its great, works for us well.

only thinkg that frustrates me is oil filter change. the drain line from the turbo isn't quite low enough and so it makes getting the filter out tricky and can be a bit messy.

other than, teh regular problems are all documented wiht plenty of tutorials and EVEN MORE HELP on this forum

thanks

Hay Ewe

Originally Posted by Michael2

The car drives well, though with the ACE the turning circle is worse than the Range Rover was.

I'd be interested to know if you can explain how a roll bar makes the turning circle worse?

maybe his car has ACE and 18's,,
its the cars with 18's that have boat size turning circles.
but its easily fixed