My new baby - Discovery 2 TD5
Discussion
So, after a lot of umming and ahh-ing, I finally decided to bite the bullet and take my faithful old Series 3 Landy (thread coming soon) off the road for an overhaul/rebuild this winter before several vital structural elements rust any further.
The upshot of this was that I needed some new wheels for daily driver duties, which began a whole new round of umming and ahh-ing! I needed something 4wd with low-range and capable of carrying all the crap associated with rallying a traction engine (http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=159&t=1136992), and it needed to be diesel as I was fed up of getting 15mpg
After looking at some decidedly shonky Jeep Cherokees, coming to my senses, rejecting a Pajero due to the shocking price of Mitsubishi spares, deciding a fourtrak was too small and that a trooper would be too thirsty, I finally settled back at the green oval
So began the hunt for a Discovery 2, D1's and Classic Rangies out due to rust, and P38's out due to me not being a total masochist for electrical faults! Even then I had specifics - not only does the pre-facelift look better, but it also avoids the changed tax bands based on emissions. And if I was getting D2 then I might as well aim high and get an ES with full cow and electronic everything
Eventually, I found the following beauty at a used luxury car dealer fairly local to me:
it's a 2000 "X" TD5 ES model with 117,700 miles, sold with a fresh MOT and a 3-month electrical and mechanical warranty. The rear air suspension had already undergone the popular conversion to coilsprings (Disco and Rangie airbags are notorious for perishing and breaking compressors) and the vulnerable rear chassis had already been solidly welded up and undersealed.
After 4 years of driving a Series this is such a revelation! A beautifully quiet, smooth and refined engine with a seemingly huge reserve of power and torque, soft, supportive seats, brakes that actually stop the vehicle and the piece de resistance - fantastic handling due to the magic of the ACE system. I just need to get used to the fact its about 4 feet longer and I cant see out of the back window to reverse like I could in the 88"....
Alas, not all was well. I bought the vehicle just before going on holiday, giving the garage a week to MOT it and prepare it for me picking it up whilst I positively burst with excitement. However, in the week after collecting it I noticed the coolant was so low it was barely in the expansion tank, the PAS fluid was on minimum, the steering was 15 or so degrees off the corresponding wheel position due to a badly adjusted track rod, and during a period of torrential rain I discovered a leak above the rear view mirror, either from the new windscreen or possibly the usual D2 ailment of a leaky sunroof. So much for this particular garage's "Porsche standard PDI checks".
Suddenly, I was incredibly glad for the warranty I had negotiated, and as such I'm currently waiting for them to finish rectifying it before I can once again get back to driving the beast!
And here's a little video of just what a D2 can do, and explaining some of the gadgets on it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9pP4Jnk6H4
The upshot of this was that I needed some new wheels for daily driver duties, which began a whole new round of umming and ahh-ing! I needed something 4wd with low-range and capable of carrying all the crap associated with rallying a traction engine (http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=159&t=1136992), and it needed to be diesel as I was fed up of getting 15mpg
After looking at some decidedly shonky Jeep Cherokees, coming to my senses, rejecting a Pajero due to the shocking price of Mitsubishi spares, deciding a fourtrak was too small and that a trooper would be too thirsty, I finally settled back at the green oval
So began the hunt for a Discovery 2, D1's and Classic Rangies out due to rust, and P38's out due to me not being a total masochist for electrical faults! Even then I had specifics - not only does the pre-facelift look better, but it also avoids the changed tax bands based on emissions. And if I was getting D2 then I might as well aim high and get an ES with full cow and electronic everything
Eventually, I found the following beauty at a used luxury car dealer fairly local to me:
it's a 2000 "X" TD5 ES model with 117,700 miles, sold with a fresh MOT and a 3-month electrical and mechanical warranty. The rear air suspension had already undergone the popular conversion to coilsprings (Disco and Rangie airbags are notorious for perishing and breaking compressors) and the vulnerable rear chassis had already been solidly welded up and undersealed.
After 4 years of driving a Series this is such a revelation! A beautifully quiet, smooth and refined engine with a seemingly huge reserve of power and torque, soft, supportive seats, brakes that actually stop the vehicle and the piece de resistance - fantastic handling due to the magic of the ACE system. I just need to get used to the fact its about 4 feet longer and I cant see out of the back window to reverse like I could in the 88"....
Alas, not all was well. I bought the vehicle just before going on holiday, giving the garage a week to MOT it and prepare it for me picking it up whilst I positively burst with excitement. However, in the week after collecting it I noticed the coolant was so low it was barely in the expansion tank, the PAS fluid was on minimum, the steering was 15 or so degrees off the corresponding wheel position due to a badly adjusted track rod, and during a period of torrential rain I discovered a leak above the rear view mirror, either from the new windscreen or possibly the usual D2 ailment of a leaky sunroof. So much for this particular garage's "Porsche standard PDI checks".
Suddenly, I was incredibly glad for the warranty I had negotiated, and as such I'm currently waiting for them to finish rectifying it before I can once again get back to driving the beast!
And here's a little video of just what a D2 can do, and explaining some of the gadgets on it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9pP4Jnk6H4
Edited by mat777 on Tuesday 2nd April 16:41
Very nice!
I've always fancies one of these, albeit the Disco 2.5 (facelift), but haven't had the balls to take the plunge! Mainly due to what, luckily, has already been done on yours (coils, rear beam etc.)
How do you find the fuel consumption? I often hear tales of horiffyingly low consumption for a Derv.
I've always fancies one of these, albeit the Disco 2.5 (facelift), but haven't had the balls to take the plunge! Mainly due to what, luckily, has already been done on yours (coils, rear beam etc.)
How do you find the fuel consumption? I often hear tales of horiffyingly low consumption for a Derv.
Mikey - you only live once! My advice would be to have a very good look on eBay and autotrader, make sure you buy from a dealer not privately and negotiate a warranty, then you'll be laughing!
As for thirst - £50 worth of diesel took it from red zone to just about half a tank, and in the 80 miles I have done so far it has used 1/8 of a tank. I make that roughly 29.5 mpg and that was with some less than economical driving to explore the power band
As for thirst - £50 worth of diesel took it from red zone to just about half a tank, and in the 80 miles I have done so far it has used 1/8 of a tank. I make that roughly 29.5 mpg and that was with some less than economical driving to explore the power band
Off the top of my head, I think the off road mode on the air suspension gave another few inches of rear ground clearance to tackle the achilles heel of that huge rear overhang by slightly increasing the allowable angle for steep slope departures. However, as mine has an enormous Dixon Bate towbar ground plough on the back for heavy duty towing, departure angles are a bit academic!
Minor update:
I've done a few jobs to smarten up the truck inside and out. First job was a tyre cover to protect the spare from UV degradation, and this being me, any normal UK dealer cover just wouldnt do.... Having looked at the stainless steeel band/plastic disc type ones (£130!!!), I stumbled across a stock of incredibly rare new old stock NAS (Land Rover North American Spec) tyre covers, imported and for sale on ebay uk. I just had to have one
Next step was to replace the cracked, faded, mismatched and delaminating numberplates with some nice shiny new ones. Cue a nice parcel delivery from a road and show plates site (uk legal font and spacing, uk legal reflective background before anyone asks). Of course, this being a Land Rover, the job wasnt as simple as it sounds. The screws holding the front one on had crumbly blobs of rust for heads and needed gently winding out with a pair of gripping pliers. The back however.... someone had fixed the old plate in with woodscrews into rawlplugs through the holes in the door!!! After persuading them out in bits and going through every single rawlplug in my toolbox, I eventually found some plugs big enough on the outside to fit the hole snugly and not turn with the screw, but small enough inside for the new plate screws to bite.
It looks good though, especially as I had the new plates customised slightly:
Yes, I am sad
I also got busy with stickers too (including the all important smiley!):
After a damn good hoovering inside where the garage valeter missed (twice!) and putting the mats back in the right way up so they actually fit, the next job inside is going to be some leather feed to combat the slight wear on driver and passenger seat bolsters. The outside is now looking pretty smart, the only thing I am missing is a new set of silver insert strips for the black side cappings. The cappings are fine, but the silver strips look awful as the chrome finish is flaking off. New ones are only availabe as a set of cappings and strips, even though the strips were a factory option and standard cappings just have a plain indent! Don'tcha just love it. Methinks I might be prowling ebay and scrapyards for a while....
Also high on the agenda is a complete set of rear light guards - the main lights look better with the guards on, and the bumper lights *need* guards as the lenses are stupidly exposed in that position and easily broken. Once again though... £120 for genuine or £50 for a set of pattern part ones... ffs they're just 4 injection moulded plastic outlines!!
I've done a few jobs to smarten up the truck inside and out. First job was a tyre cover to protect the spare from UV degradation, and this being me, any normal UK dealer cover just wouldnt do.... Having looked at the stainless steeel band/plastic disc type ones (£130!!!), I stumbled across a stock of incredibly rare new old stock NAS (Land Rover North American Spec) tyre covers, imported and for sale on ebay uk. I just had to have one
Next step was to replace the cracked, faded, mismatched and delaminating numberplates with some nice shiny new ones. Cue a nice parcel delivery from a road and show plates site (uk legal font and spacing, uk legal reflective background before anyone asks). Of course, this being a Land Rover, the job wasnt as simple as it sounds. The screws holding the front one on had crumbly blobs of rust for heads and needed gently winding out with a pair of gripping pliers. The back however.... someone had fixed the old plate in with woodscrews into rawlplugs through the holes in the door!!! After persuading them out in bits and going through every single rawlplug in my toolbox, I eventually found some plugs big enough on the outside to fit the hole snugly and not turn with the screw, but small enough inside for the new plate screws to bite.
It looks good though, especially as I had the new plates customised slightly:
Yes, I am sad
I also got busy with stickers too (including the all important smiley!):
After a damn good hoovering inside where the garage valeter missed (twice!) and putting the mats back in the right way up so they actually fit, the next job inside is going to be some leather feed to combat the slight wear on driver and passenger seat bolsters. The outside is now looking pretty smart, the only thing I am missing is a new set of silver insert strips for the black side cappings. The cappings are fine, but the silver strips look awful as the chrome finish is flaking off. New ones are only availabe as a set of cappings and strips, even though the strips were a factory option and standard cappings just have a plain indent! Don'tcha just love it. Methinks I might be prowling ebay and scrapyards for a while....
Also high on the agenda is a complete set of rear light guards - the main lights look better with the guards on, and the bumper lights *need* guards as the lenses are stupidly exposed in that position and easily broken. Once again though... £120 for genuine or £50 for a set of pattern part ones... ffs they're just 4 injection moulded plastic outlines!!
Edited by mat777 on Wednesday 19th September 02:03
Looks very clean OP - From what I can see its not a massive job to upgrade these to facelift look is it as the light units are all the same shape, http://simmonites.com/DISCOVERY%20LIGHTING.htm
ETA: just realised you said you preferred the pre-facelift look
ETA: just realised you said you preferred the pre-facelift look
Edited by Remagel2507 on Thursday 20th September 21:56
My soon to be father in law has offered me a reasonably tidy disco. I'll find out more details it's a 99 plate. Little visible rust though I'm sure it lurking some where and roof doesn't leak!
Can I ask other than being a heavy old car what is the likely running costs for one of these like everyday mpg, servicing from specialists? I haven't owned a classic/ old car for a while so don't know whether I should be accepting with open arms. Btw I don't need such a big car as I learnt when I drove a 2006 disco but this change really appeals.
Can I ask other than being a heavy old car what is the likely running costs for one of these like everyday mpg, servicing from specialists? I haven't owned a classic/ old car for a while so don't know whether I should be accepting with open arms. Btw I don't need such a big car as I learnt when I drove a 2006 disco but this change really appeals.
Well, how times have changed!
Nearly 3 years on, and I've done a lot of miles and had a lot of fun in the Disco, and done a lot of upgrades too.
An EGR delete and some slightly chavvy new silicon turbo hoses helped give it a bit more oomph.
At the same time, the engine cover gained a new mascot.. Timmmy the Turbo Snail
Here's the truck meeting the ancestors at my old gliding club in Bristol - an MOT failure 200tdi D1 that is used as an airfield hack
I also took the wise step of removing and selling the cumbersome sidesteps BEFORE my first venture off road (in the extremely picturesque hills of Bala), which went extremely well. In the meantime however, I nearly had a heart attack when one of the windscreen pillar trims made a big for freedom in the outside lane of the M56. Investigation on the remaining trim revealed that neither one had been refitted properly, with single-use punch rivets just being stuffed back in the holes by Autoglass when they replaced the windscreen (the original having been damaged whilst for sale at dealer I bought the vehicle from ). Some scouring of the parts manual later identified the fixings I needed, and a visit to a friend breaking his D2 provided a replacement bit of trim.
One thing I did learn from the Bala trip was why the HD towbar fitted to mine is commonly referred to as "the plough", after single handedly dredging most of Wales
Shortly after buying the car, I got in and was greeted by a feeble click from the starter motor. TD5 solenoids are notorious for failing as the contacts are very easy to misalign when assembling them, causing them to wear unevenly and burn out. Guess what? They arent a shoddy Rover design, but in fact are designed and made by Nippon Denso. Luckily, my helpful local spanner man, PHer Buzzy Bee, came to the rescue and perfectly refitted a new set of contacts from a genuine rebuild kit.
The big 18" alloys and slick road tyres were soon replaced with a set of the legendary BFGoodrich All Terrains on 16" black steel modulars for the bargain of the century. £300 bought me the set of 5 with just 1000 miles on them, after the vendor had had a change of heart soon after fitting them to his vehicle. I then managed to sell the Mondials to a "f
king dubber" (as I would normally refer to such people) who wanted them for his Golf, for £250. So, all new boots for the grand outlay of 50 quid!
Next up was the purchase of a set of diff guards, again in used condition from a fellow D2 owner. I'm not one for majorly extreme off roading, but as the lowest and one of the most vulnerable points on any beam axled 4x4, you'd be a fool not to protect your diffs from a hidden rock or tree stump even in light off roading. Having clean up and painted the guards a nice suitable colour, I managed to fit them with only a small amount of personal injury and shocking profanities. As you can see, I also took the opportunity to de-rust and repaint the diff pans before fitting the guards, with the intention of completing the rest of the axles at some point
As you can probably tell, the Disco had slowly descended from being my baby to being a general workhorse that I didnt mind giving the odd battle scar in the line of duty!
The next big upgrade was a conversion to centre diff lock. Discovery 2s use the same transfer box as the original Disco 1. However, when the original (prefacelift) D2 came out, Land Rover was so confident in its new off road traction control system that it deemed a manual diff lock to be unnecessary. As such, the locking mechanism on the high-lo lever was deleted - but because the same transfer box was being used, the actual internals were still present until about 2001 when LR used up its stock of D1 spec boxes. Subsequent customer feedback suggested that, actually, the difflock was required for proper off roading, and so it was reinstated as a special order cost-option for the 2004 facelift. To find a genuine factory D2 hi-lo lever for sale from a breaker with the difflock mechanism built into it is therefore extremely rare and expensive. However, the good news is that several people have taken to set up businesses modifying standard levers. This is what I went for, when I managed to snap up one for £150.
Fitting it was particularly "fun", as it required basically taking the entire centre console to pieces and drilling out part of the transmission tunnel. However, myself and a friend got there in the end after a day's work, head scratching and swearing.
At present, it now looks much leaner, and much meaner than when I first got it:
Unfortunately, in the last 6 months I have had a few problems with what was supposed to be a reliable daily drive. The much-vaunted ACE anti-roll system uses high pressure steel pipes slung along the chassis rails, which reached the end of their life last month by depositing the contents of the system all over the entrance to Hawkstone Park. Several hundred pounds later, and the afflicted push-fit pipes have been replaced with union-fit high pressure hydraulic machinery hose - this is a common mod in the D2 fraternity and is the way Land Rover should have done it in the first place.
Another expense was a tiny water leak that had been bugging me for months, which was eventually traced to a split seam on the bottom of the radiator. Even if it has been a small enough hole to be repaired with stop-leak, I'm not the kind of person who likes bodges and especially not where engine water or oil are concerned. Cue another £200 for a new radiator.
Another couple of small niggles and PO's bodges have also been rectified at great expense and the car is now better and fitter than ever in my ownership. However, for me it has lost its charm and the time has come to move it on. I'm hoping it goes to a fellow enthusiast who recognises the time and effort I have put into systematically eradicating all the major D2 trouble spots.
As for me? Well, I've just taken the plunge major style, with a V8 Range Rover
Nearly 3 years on, and I've done a lot of miles and had a lot of fun in the Disco, and done a lot of upgrades too.
An EGR delete and some slightly chavvy new silicon turbo hoses helped give it a bit more oomph.
At the same time, the engine cover gained a new mascot.. Timmmy the Turbo Snail
Here's the truck meeting the ancestors at my old gliding club in Bristol - an MOT failure 200tdi D1 that is used as an airfield hack
I also took the wise step of removing and selling the cumbersome sidesteps BEFORE my first venture off road (in the extremely picturesque hills of Bala), which went extremely well. In the meantime however, I nearly had a heart attack when one of the windscreen pillar trims made a big for freedom in the outside lane of the M56. Investigation on the remaining trim revealed that neither one had been refitted properly, with single-use punch rivets just being stuffed back in the holes by Autoglass when they replaced the windscreen (the original having been damaged whilst for sale at dealer I bought the vehicle from ). Some scouring of the parts manual later identified the fixings I needed, and a visit to a friend breaking his D2 provided a replacement bit of trim.
One thing I did learn from the Bala trip was why the HD towbar fitted to mine is commonly referred to as "the plough", after single handedly dredging most of Wales
Shortly after buying the car, I got in and was greeted by a feeble click from the starter motor. TD5 solenoids are notorious for failing as the contacts are very easy to misalign when assembling them, causing them to wear unevenly and burn out. Guess what? They arent a shoddy Rover design, but in fact are designed and made by Nippon Denso. Luckily, my helpful local spanner man, PHer Buzzy Bee, came to the rescue and perfectly refitted a new set of contacts from a genuine rebuild kit.
The big 18" alloys and slick road tyres were soon replaced with a set of the legendary BFGoodrich All Terrains on 16" black steel modulars for the bargain of the century. £300 bought me the set of 5 with just 1000 miles on them, after the vendor had had a change of heart soon after fitting them to his vehicle. I then managed to sell the Mondials to a "f
king dubber" (as I would normally refer to such people) who wanted them for his Golf, for £250. So, all new boots for the grand outlay of 50 quid! Next up was the purchase of a set of diff guards, again in used condition from a fellow D2 owner. I'm not one for majorly extreme off roading, but as the lowest and one of the most vulnerable points on any beam axled 4x4, you'd be a fool not to protect your diffs from a hidden rock or tree stump even in light off roading. Having clean up and painted the guards a nice suitable colour, I managed to fit them with only a small amount of personal injury and shocking profanities. As you can see, I also took the opportunity to de-rust and repaint the diff pans before fitting the guards, with the intention of completing the rest of the axles at some point
As you can probably tell, the Disco had slowly descended from being my baby to being a general workhorse that I didnt mind giving the odd battle scar in the line of duty!
The next big upgrade was a conversion to centre diff lock. Discovery 2s use the same transfer box as the original Disco 1. However, when the original (prefacelift) D2 came out, Land Rover was so confident in its new off road traction control system that it deemed a manual diff lock to be unnecessary. As such, the locking mechanism on the high-lo lever was deleted - but because the same transfer box was being used, the actual internals were still present until about 2001 when LR used up its stock of D1 spec boxes. Subsequent customer feedback suggested that, actually, the difflock was required for proper off roading, and so it was reinstated as a special order cost-option for the 2004 facelift. To find a genuine factory D2 hi-lo lever for sale from a breaker with the difflock mechanism built into it is therefore extremely rare and expensive. However, the good news is that several people have taken to set up businesses modifying standard levers. This is what I went for, when I managed to snap up one for £150.
Fitting it was particularly "fun", as it required basically taking the entire centre console to pieces and drilling out part of the transmission tunnel. However, myself and a friend got there in the end after a day's work, head scratching and swearing.
At present, it now looks much leaner, and much meaner than when I first got it:
Unfortunately, in the last 6 months I have had a few problems with what was supposed to be a reliable daily drive. The much-vaunted ACE anti-roll system uses high pressure steel pipes slung along the chassis rails, which reached the end of their life last month by depositing the contents of the system all over the entrance to Hawkstone Park. Several hundred pounds later, and the afflicted push-fit pipes have been replaced with union-fit high pressure hydraulic machinery hose - this is a common mod in the D2 fraternity and is the way Land Rover should have done it in the first place.
Another expense was a tiny water leak that had been bugging me for months, which was eventually traced to a split seam on the bottom of the radiator. Even if it has been a small enough hole to be repaired with stop-leak, I'm not the kind of person who likes bodges and especially not where engine water or oil are concerned. Cue another £200 for a new radiator.
Another couple of small niggles and PO's bodges have also been rectified at great expense and the car is now better and fitter than ever in my ownership. However, for me it has lost its charm and the time has come to move it on. I'm hoping it goes to a fellow enthusiast who recognises the time and effort I have put into systematically eradicating all the major D2 trouble spots.
As for me? Well, I've just taken the plunge major style, with a V8 Range Rover
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