Thread: TD5 with the highest k's!

2000 model D2 td5
Auto
Basic and pretty much stock, no ace or air suspension to worry about.

311,000k's and counting. Well counting again after I replace the battery that just packed it in. It looks like it was there for at least 5 years though so can't really complain.

* Leaking coolant. Pretty sure refreshing hoses will end that. Considering an EGR blanking at the same time.

* Very minor oil leak from...well somewhere, but can you really trust a disco that doesn't like to mark its territory?

* She had the 'angry sparrows' when I got her so she got replacement universal joints with nipples rather than the optimistic 'sealed for life' factory solution.

* Had oil in the ECU/plugs which took a couple serious scrubbing sessions and is now pretty much a maintenance task I check on when I'm doing an oil change, at least til I bother doing something more permanent about it.

Christened her 'Petra' because you're a little petrified what is going to break next, but she has actually been rather well mannered and with the forums as a guide, easy enough to diagnose and fix/maintain. Knock on wood.

2000 T5 Disco, auto, basic, but chipped and EGR blanked. Coming up on 310K. Had around 230 on it when I got it. Did the head gasket about three weeks after I bought it, was fixed under a 'warranty'.
Has done an alternator, starter motor, fuel pressure reg, warped manifold, and, most recently, an auto.
But, it starts every time, uses NO oil between changes. I've only changed it three times in that time, with the spin on filter each time, but the centrifugal one only once.
One fuel filter as well, but the air filter gets done often. No belts or hoses yet.
I will have to take the head off soon to fix a botched ( by me ) stud repair, so it will get hoses, a radiator and a belt change then. Should I do the harmonic balancer as well? People seem to be saying it's a potential problem.

Great thread, by the way. Thanks for bumping it.

As an aside, when mine did the head gasket, the guys at Ritters said to replace the plastic dowells with plastic dowells, as the service bulletins said to do so.
Glenn from RoverLand, who did the job, said to replace them with steel ones, which he did.

So, a couple of schools for thought. I agree with Llandro ( back in 2008, post #38 ) about the head not being sufficiently clamped if it's walking around. What is the general consensus?

Originally Posted by Tombie

Warming up is hurting it more than just driving.
5k oil changes are wasting oil and burning money and resources.
Fuel filter will go 10k without a problem unless you fuel from a Bunker

WHY??? Do people continue to treat these things like a Model T...
Oil is not cheap insurance, proper effective and timely maintenance is cheap insurance.

My D2 (now the sons) has been highly modified since new (MY0.5) is at 150,000km and serviced to oil sampling methodology...
No wasteful unnecessary oil use here.

Couldn't agree more. Modern oils protect at almost any temp, fast warmup thermostats are designed for just that. Modern cars are designed to be driven to warm up, mainly to reduce emissions.
Make sure the warning lights go out and drive off.

Why would you renew the engine oil more often than the manufacturer recommends?
They designed it, after all. In fact, they designed it more than 15 years ago, and oil technology today would be unrecognisable to those guys back then.
Sure, I'd pay attention more often in harsh conditions, but they were considered by the designers as well.

An aside. My 'daily driver' is a 730HP Scania V8 prime mover. Because we carry mainly lighter loads than the truck is rated for,
Scania themselves have extended our service intervals by 10K km. I have done 150K in this truck since April. I know it's not a Land Rover, but the principle is the same.