Thread: Fifth year of Discovery 2 Ownership

Damm another year gone. It doesn’t seem like 5 years, so time for Charlie’s yearly update.

This year he’s travelled a more respectable 9,000km and has just passed 180,000km. The additional kms were mainly due to a resumption daily driver duties, along with a couple of reasonable touring trips. Mechanically there has been nothing out of the ordinary to report, which is great (touch wood!!). As a result the savings account was raided and a few accessories and upgrades were fitted which have been on the wish list for a few years.

• First was an ARB Winch Bar. Due to age, the front bumper started getting cracks in the plastic. The price of a new bumper and repainting the end caps was only a few hundred dollars different to fitting a bull bar so I placed an order at the 4WD show, at 10% off. I also went for the upgraded LED indicators, which means no trailer lamp indicator flashing on the dash when turning.
• Next up was an APT steering guard and front diff protector.
• After all of this I discovered the front suspension had dropped 10-15mm, so I bit the bullet and got a set of standard King springs for the front and Bilstein shocks all round. He sits a lot higher now. I was surprised how much the standard springs had sagged and how much better the ride is now, so I’m looking forward to see how he handles on the dirt.

This weekend I’m off with friends to Central Australia, travelling the Great Central Road to Alice Springs, then down to Coober Pedy, Gawler Ranges and back across the Nullabour. Time permitting we may also do a detour or two on the Nullarbor. All up it will be about 7,500km. In preparation for the trip and securing the load, I bought a Safeguard Cargo net and fitted another 3 tie down D loops on the rear mounting points of the second row seats. Depending on the number of securing straps used, the net has an SWL rating of between 1- 4 tonnes, so even though it’s not a cargo barrier, it will be much safer than having the load unsecured or just using a few straps across the big items.When I get back I’ll put some pics of the setup as a bit of a “how to” as it’s a reasonably cost effective cargo restraint solution.

Looking forward I may get around to fitting the side strips in the spares box, paint is starting to oxidise on the bonnet so there will a respray in a couple of years time when the clear coat goes, Ashcroft ATB's and start saving for a trans rebuild when we get near 250k.

Cheers

Steve

Originally Posted by Pippin

Steve it is still a youngster at 180K, mine has reached 474K with the 1/2 million tantalisingly close, but to be on the safe side I now have a reserve with 200K on the clock. "Paragon of reliability" dangerous words before a trip, just keep your fingers crossed.

Nick

Thanks Nick.

Indeed he's a youngster and there's lots of life left in him yet, based on your experience .

Cheers

Steve