RE: Shed Buying Guide: Land Rover Discovery 3
Discussion
My old man has one, had 40k on it when he bought it and now has has now racked up 180k. He’s one of those people that always took it to guy salmons etc and maintained it regardless of cost but there always seems to be something expensive going wrong with it last couple of years and I’d guess he’s throwing £1500-2000 a year at it . Always liked it though but wouldn’t own one personally
PIstonHeads said:
Land Rover's earlier Discos 1 and 2 were very competent, but in their design philosophy they were nearer to the Defender than they were to the Range Rover.
The Disco 1 is essentially a Range Rover. Uses RR doors and windscreen and almost everything under the body is Range Rover. Krikkit said:
Johnnytheboy said:
Anyway, a mechanic once told me changing the clutch involves removing the entire body, or else cutting a hole in the floor.
Because they're a body-on-chassis the easiest thing to do for serious transmission work is to lift the body off. A couple of hours work and needs a 4-post lift, but it gives you excellent access to the rolling chassis then.
Great article and bang-on. I've a 55 Disco 3. Love it, and so far.
- warning light chritsmas tree twice. Once a damaged wheel speed sensor wire, other time a brake wear sensor wire damaged.
- jacking is a pain in the arse (change my wheels for winter)
- Tranny judder at 144k. New tranny fluid and filter sorted it.
- mate's D3 three the oil pump and he lost his engine and turbo.
- mine leaked from the roof and pollen filter when I bought it and the passenger footwell filled with water :-)
- mine wont' start at 0 degrees or less. Known fault. Cured by pouring hot water on temp sensor!
Still love it. Great work horse. I use it off road a lot. If I didn't I'd not own one mind you. Just too much expense
- warning light chritsmas tree twice. Once a damaged wheel speed sensor wire, other time a brake wear sensor wire damaged.
- jacking is a pain in the arse (change my wheels for winter)
- Tranny judder at 144k. New tranny fluid and filter sorted it.
- mate's D3 three the oil pump and he lost his engine and turbo.
- mine leaked from the roof and pollen filter when I bought it and the passenger footwell filled with water :-)
- mine wont' start at 0 degrees or less. Known fault. Cured by pouring hot water on temp sensor!
Still love it. Great work horse. I use it off road a lot. If I didn't I'd not own one mind you. Just too much expense
Kierkegaard said:
Krikkit said:
Johnnytheboy said:
Anyway, a mechanic once told me changing the clutch involves removing the entire body, or else cutting a hole in the floor.
Because they're a body-on-chassis the easiest thing to do for serious transmission work is to lift the body off. A couple of hours work and needs a 4-post lift, but it gives you excellent access to the rolling chassis then.
Hub said:
S100HP said:
Oh this thread doesn't make good reading for someone interested in owning one.
. You could get one for £3k when the article was written. Now down to £1k already! 
Kierkegaard said:
Krikkit said:
Johnnytheboy said:
Anyway, a mechanic once told me changing the clutch involves removing the entire body, or else cutting a hole in the floor.
Because they're a body-on-chassis the easiest thing to do for serious transmission work is to lift the body off. A couple of hours work and needs a 4-post lift, but it gives you excellent access to the rolling chassis then.A trader recently picked-up what appeared (to him) to be a tidy 56-plate TDV6 at auction which just a few 'issues' which he asked us to take a look at.
It was RAMMED with codes - most of which wouldn't clear - air suspension offline, gearbox in limp, no VDM (terrain/hill descent etc.) - it barely drives and it sounds like death when you try.
Good news is that the (Peugeot - how many LR owners know that?) engine seems in fine fettle.
Bad news is most other things are not - it needs a New ABS Pump/Module (dealer-only part) and there's something NASTY amiss in the gearbox (I suspect it has little or no fluid of any sort within it - it certainly sounds like that - but that's mechanical and I do electrical!)
I'm not sure it was a good punt at this point - remember kids, everyone sells cars for a reason ;0
p.s. This is really the only LR product I'd own - billy-basic spec and make sure you buy one which has been maintained rather than driven-to-death (which given their age now will be tricky)
It was RAMMED with codes - most of which wouldn't clear - air suspension offline, gearbox in limp, no VDM (terrain/hill descent etc.) - it barely drives and it sounds like death when you try.
Good news is that the (Peugeot - how many LR owners know that?) engine seems in fine fettle.
Bad news is most other things are not - it needs a New ABS Pump/Module (dealer-only part) and there's something NASTY amiss in the gearbox (I suspect it has little or no fluid of any sort within it - it certainly sounds like that - but that's mechanical and I do electrical!)
I'm not sure it was a good punt at this point - remember kids, everyone sells cars for a reason ;0
p.s. This is really the only LR product I'd own - billy-basic spec and make sure you buy one which has been maintained rather than driven-to-death (which given their age now will be tricky)
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Like most older 4x4s, I think they're very spec dependent. I have a dark blue one with cream leather, completely standard and sitting on the original silver wheels, and whilst the design hasn't aged very well, I don't think it looks very chavvy. We won't talk about how I drive it though. The D3 has aged quite a bit better than the RRS: there's several of the 4.4 V8 ones for sale incredibly cheaply around where I live. I'd have thought that with that particular engine, you'd avoid the myriad of issues that seem to come with the diesel models, but I'm not brave enough to put my money where my mouth is: owning two older JLR products is tempting fate just a bit too much.
Other than fuel economy, I’m not sure why the 4.4 V8 was discounted so quickly in the article. The D3 is the only 4x4 in my price bracket that I had any amount of ‘love’ for but the general diesel issues with my driving pattern and the more specific TDV6 issues had put me off. The V8 engine doesn’t really suffer from reliability issues and my annual mileage means I that the mpg isn’t too much of a concern. I picked one up in January and so far I’m really pleased.
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