Thread: Parts Availability for D2 up North

Even with a Toyota you can be stuck for days waiting on parts. Just depends on what goes wrong and where you are. Several of us live in remote areas and have Td5's or now in my case the new Defender. You can airbag parts from any of the Land Rover parts places around australia overnight to any major centre (2 days at the worst for some places). I've actually got parts in quicker than friends with Toyotas or Nissans and there is a dealer for them in town.

Also there's not a lot on a Td5 Disco that needs electronic diagnostics for the routine maintenance, but if you wanted to, get yourself a Nanocom unit to clear any faults with ABS or ECU for extra piece of mind. If you take along the RAVE CD this has all the workshop manuals and the electrical diagrams so then you can provide vehicle specific information to a mechanic even if they aren't familiar with the vehicle.

The main thing is to make sure the vehicle is in the best possible nick before you leave and to check it daily underneath and under the bonnet, that applies to any vehicle on a long trip.

........The main thing is to make sure the vehicle is in the best possible nick before you leave and to check it daily underneath and under the bonnet, that applies to any vehicle on a long trip.

IMHO this has got to be the best piece of advice you can get. Lets face it the TD5 is a complex little puppy but it is well designed and built. Your mate is right about the Landcruiser though, up north is definitely the land of the "Long White Landcruiser" and spare part availability and mechanical expertise for Land Rovers is virtually non existant. You don't have to be a rocket scientist but basic vehicle skills, common sense, and sensible driving are your best assets in ensuring your trips success.
I've travelled regularly through the centre, North and Kimberley areas in both Toyotas and Land Rovers over the years and can't over emphasise the importance of vehicle preparation. It is a hell of a lot easier and ultimately cheaper to get it set up right before you go than to try and fix it on the side of the road or away from your own garage.

A few tips.

1/. Don't buy obscure brand or size tyres as it will be virtually impossible to get a like replacement if you break one. Stick to a known brand and steer away from cheap stuff. There is no such thing as a good cheap tyre. If your camper has the same wheels as your 4WD you don't need to carry a second spare for the car.

2/. Sort out your battery setup and if your wallet can stand it start out with 2 brand new marine type batterys, one high CCA start battery and one deep cycle auxiluary battery. Marine batterys are far more robust than normal batterys. Outback dirt roads are very corrugated and batterys can be the first casualty. A new battery in the outback, if you can get one, can be twice as expensive as one in the city. If money is no object go for Optima batterys, the ones that look like a six pack, but they are hellishly expensive. It's cheaper to get it right before you go.

3/. Fit new good quality shockers before you go as they will get a hammering on outback roads, don't stint get good ones. I favour Pedders Foam Cell Shocks and suspension in general. The quality is good and their after sales and warranty support is second to none. Carry your old ones and rubbers as spares. dm_td5 is right about flying stuff in if you're near civilisation but its still a pain. Last August I was at Mitchell River Station off the Gibb River Road on the Kalumburu road and there were several travellers stuck there waiting for replacement shockers to arrive. Shockers as they are gas filled, were not allowed to be flown in as they held compressed gas. The average wait was 5 days. Don't drive fast on corrugated roads.

4/. Whatever spares you carry you won't need, whatever spare parts you need you won't be carrying. "The Law according to Murphy". Even so spare filters, hoses, tyre plugs, lubricants basic tools and whatever quirky things your vehicle needs is a good starting point. You will have no hope of getting a replacement air filter outside of a major town so either carry several or use an after market cleanable one.

5/. If you don't need a roof rack, don't get one. They waste fuel, create noise and increase your height. Get a bull bar, they can save you a fortune when you hit that 'big red'. Avoid driving at dusk and dawn. Thats when its hard to see and animals are moving around. Even a good bull bar won't save you from a hereford. Get a VHF radio, it lets you talk to other travellers and is useful for picking up road and traffic information. Don't let the kids use it as a toy. Carry plenty of water and always carry water when you go sightseeing. Get the kids into the habit of carrying their own.

6/. Always carry a shovel, its an essential part of your recovery kit. It also comes in handy when you need to go to the toilet, the roll of paper fits neatly over the handle.

Sorry if I sound a bit pedantic, I'm just trying to fit a lot in a small space.

As far as TD5 reliability is concerned, I can only talk from my own experience. The Disco is basically factory stock and we've done 160,000 Km since new in 2004, a lot of it on corrugated (and worse) outback roads, and have had no trouble. We're pretty fussy about maintenance and don't do stupid things with it. Neither do we 'molly coddle' it. A Toorak tractor it is not.

The most important thing is take the family and have a ball.

For successful outback travelling the bottom line is this. There is no substitute for a well maintained vehicle; new or old doesn't matter as long as you drive it to the conditions.

So go out there and enjoy.

I had a radiator overnighted into Weipa.

Thanks Everyone for the advice and the great info Deanoh. I now own a 2003 D2 TD5 and have already been on first trip with van in tow. Travelled 800k half with van and returned 11.2 L/100 very happy . It sat on 100k happily.

Read a lot of threads which helped make my decision. Will now get to know my D2 and prepare for the many trips

I suggest you get into the habit of checking the electrical plug at the front of the head for oil contamination a couple of weeks before setting out on a trip. Early detection and replacement of the injector loom can save a lot of problems but nothing is gained if its not leaking as some never leak.

I live in Darwin my best advise is find some good part supplies in VIC NSW or QLD because if anything goes wrong in the outback most good part supplies will bend over backwoods to help you out.

When I did a transfer case this web site and britsh auto in QLD helped me no end get to know your part supplier the help can be the differents between it being a small cost and being ripped off.

good travels