Discovery II - A Let Down

Geez Fellas - I know what I've been doing wrong.

Silly me! Nobody told me that:

* I had to put oil in the engine.
* I had to put Diesel in the tank - isn't petrol cheaper?
* I had to put air in the tyres
* I had to change oil filters
* I had to change fuel filters
* I had to change air filters
* I had to check the battery
* I had to grease it
* I had to top-up the coolant? Any old mixture of colour will do!
* I had to put oil in the diffs
* Fan belts don't work when broken!

I'm slow - but learning!

Geez those replies will get you tagged as:
Grumpy Grey Ghost:wasntme:

It is just your tales of woe could seem minor to some members when compared to those who have paid big bucks for a new vehicle and suffered greatly at the hands of non-caring dealers and warranty repairs.:mad:

Me? Gumpy! :D

Not at all - probably just venting my frustrations. Sorry if I've offended anybody, I'm just not used to forking out so much on repairs, that's all.

I feel sorry for anybody that has had problems with their rig.

Especially if it's new or under some kind of warranty that the dealer isn't coming to the party on!

Grrr... Dealers & warranties aren't always worth the paper that they are written on.

Or talk to a P38 owner:)

My dads just hit 220,000ks in his.. has spent easily 20k on repairs in the last 100,000ks..

He must love the car as he hasn't bothered to sell it...or maybe the fact that no one would ever buy it:cool:

Camo

If it's any consolation - in my youth many years ago I owned horses, and competed. At the time I was driving a ten year old 1978 Kingswood with a 6 cyl 202. Over the years I spent $10-15,000 repairing and fixing issues caused by the heavy towing of a double float with two horses. New radiators, a rebuilt engine twice, several starter motors, etc etc.. In the end it was bullet proof with upgraded and heavily tuned 202, modded gearbox, hd radiator, oil coolers, special suspension and Class A hitch...

So I can see it is possible to sink a lot of money into this sort of endeavor. I think any vehicle when you operate it at the upper edge of it's capabilities is going to start popping things. In my experience, Most vehicles go through a round of expensive repairs at 150+ k's. Then you'll invest the money, and get another 150,000 out of it before the next round. It's just wear and tear. I am surprised you have not seen that in your other vehicles.

The question is - Is it worth it? You could argue that that kingswood was not worth the cost, but after doing 660,000 k's in it, and after it had towed it's bum off it was still running well. And it was a Great car to drive. So in my books - worth it.

The right tool for the job in hindsight would have been a proper horse truck. I could have afforded one with the repair costs... But easy to say with hindsight.

I'd also add that a Manual gearbox is not what I would use for towing. Automatics with a appropriate cooling and servicing are far more robust for this. Clutches are a consequence of this.

The head issues you have had are an unfortunate TD5 issue with that era TD5. It's fixed now, so as long as it was fixed decently should last for a long time.

I'm sorry, Grey ghost, but I'm not sure what your point was in posting your thread. Are you saying all Land Rovers are" rubbish"? Is it just the D2? Why do you persist with mechanics who seem suss to me. Any " Land Rover " mechanic who would fit an after market [ Chinese?] fuel pump instead of the genuine part doesn't deserve the title. How much have you educated yourself about your Rover? Do you just leave it in the hands of the " mechanic", no questions asked.Have you heard of the RAVE dvd?

A 2.5 ltr. turbo will not give the same towing performance as a 4.2 ltr. turbo [Patrol?], and buying the D2 because it was a" nice little 4wd", and not taking that into account , could be part of the problem. I'm not trying to be nasty, far from it, but get yourself a decent LR mechanic, get hands on yourself as much as you can, treat the D2 with respect, and you will find it is a great little 4wd. Cheers, Bob. :BigThumb:

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Originally Posted by grey_ghost

Well - I've certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons and upset a few people here... Which wasn't my intention. Precious lot!

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Welcome to the Land Rover community...where it is forbidden to speak any negative words regarding anything made by Land Rover. People here (and on other LR forums) seam to have an inferiority complex that doesn't allow them to take criticisms towards Land Rover despite Land Rovers very well documented reliability issues.

I still love old Land Rovers...and I'm willing to admit Land Rovers can be terribly unreliable vehicles when compared to other 4WD makers such as Toyota. I'm willing to admit and accept that...so many people here just can't live with it. They even get offended when someone suggests and downfalls in Land Rover vehicles...which is just pathetic.

I'm with you. If I had to spend $7000 on REPAIRS alone over a period of 130,000km then I to wouldn't be terribly impressed. Ofcourse, the same could happen with many different makes of vehicle. But this is YOUR experience with YOUR piece of crap DII. You should more than welcome to convey your feelings and opinions in an OPEN DISCUSSION forum which this is suppose to be.

I bet if you came on here praising your car everyone would be singing, dancing and holding hands. Instead you gave an honest account of the shortfalls of your LR vehicle and everyone here is having a little cry about it. Good old AULRO.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by grey_ghost

Me? Gumpy! :D

Not at all - probably just venting my frustrations. Sorry if I've offended anybody, I'm just not used to forking out so much on repairs, that's all.

I feel sorry for anybody that has had problems with their rig.

Especially if it's new or under some kind of warranty that the dealer isn't coming to the party on!

Grrr... Dealers & warranties aren't always worth the paper that they are written on.

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I just had to have my 2 bob's worth, I would not recommend to a friend to buy a landrover "IF" they had no mechanical knowledge or expertise and anyone who thinks everything can be fixed by a "Specialist" because they have no mechanical nouse, must have a big bank account. Grey Ghost is the "preferred Customer" that specialist LR repairers rely on to stay in business, if you can't tell what is wrong/broken on your LR be prepared to pay BIG BUCKS to have it fixed, maybe you should buy a 4wd that doesn't break down or wear out parts, I'm sure someone on this Forum can tell you the brand name, as it seems to have slipped out of my memory bank. Grey Ghost don't take this personally, you certainly are not alone, Regards Frank.

Funny, I have a friend with a VW Jetta diesel ( bought new 2-3 years ago)who has had to replace the DSG just out of warranty and generous VW paid part but he ended with a bill for over 2K. Was talking to him 2 weeks ago and another bill for 3K for the emissions "pump" something to do with the diesel filter. ( he didn't know any more about it)

Yet people even on this and other forums sing praises of VW.

Another friend had the Jetta predecessor 2003 ? and ran out of oil because of consumption of 1L per 1000Kms and VW told her to take a hike as she hadn't checked it. This was a well known problem for VW and I believe there was a class action in USA over it.

So Land Rover are not alone with problems, but I am surprised that if you knew of Land Rover unreliability at the time of buying, that you bought it. Lets face it, if you want reliability buy Japanese or now Korean. If you want comfort and character buy European and put up with the hassles.

Was it that it was 20K cheaper than a cruiser? If so you are still at least 13K ahead.LOL
Regards Philip A

Hi All

I am new to this - so please excuse any mistakes in etiquette or otherwise.

I have a TD5 D2 – I bought it with 116000 Kilos and now have 180 000kMs. I have always wanted a D2 – and 3 years ago took the plunge.

Since i have had it:

Changed 2 X Air Bags at the rear.
Repaired the driver’s window – it started to fall out of position and make a terrible sound when moving up or down. The left side is doing the same.
Change the ABS modulator.
Change the Alternator.
Changed the Fuel pump or regulator. I have had two items replaced with the fuel.
Changed FL Ball joint.
Replaced front shocks.
Repaired many oil leaks.
And other little things to small to mention.

When I send the rig in for service – it gets whatever is requested – I do not skimp on maintenance as this is my only vehicle.

I love the car – it is great to drive – but I have spent almost $10 K on repairs in almost 3 years. Almost everything is a $1000. Admittedly – I take the vehicle to a LR dealer as I don’t have the knowledge or the time to repair myself.

I now have a problem with the transfer case. Every time I take my foot off the accelerator I get a big clunk – and it is not backlash. So I am not sure what this will cost me.

I am planning on going to the Cape later this year – but am truly worried about the reliability of the D2.

Sadly – if I know three years ago what I know today – I would never have purchased a Land Rover.

Can anyone help with advice about the clunking noise which is the reason that I am on the site.

Cheers

Matt