School me: 98-04 Land Rover Series II (Disco 2)

[sugarwood]

No, I'm not going to buy one, I already have a truck, but what do you guys know about these trucks? They are typically around $2k to $7k. Are they maintenance nightmares? Are they good hobbyist cars? (Easy parts, DIY friendly/online support, plentiful supply of cars)

[Scott R]

You want one that's had the head gaskets and the front drive shaft upgraded at a minimum. Also nice if the three amigos have been permanently addressed. And don't even consider an 04, many have a machining issue with the oil pump drive that grenades the engine.

[crustychief]

I had an 03, loved it except for the constant attention it needed. a great hobby car though, can't beat it in an accident tough as hell. I have parts if anyone wants them. p.m. me

[sugarwood]

Some comments by a friend who owns one:

What's that adage? There's nothing more expensive than a cheap [name your car].

The Disco is a money pit. I'm not going to argue that. But, it has been a tremendously fun and rewarding hobby of a money pit. I know so much more about wrenching cars than I did three or even one year ago thanks to the Rover. And now that's sorted, it really is fun to take off road and go camping.

A sorted Disco is definitely stout enough to be a DD -- I drive mine to work every day more or less. The challenge is getting, and keeping, it sorted. I can send you my maintenance spreadsheet. It will make you angry. (But, I'm also hyper-vigilant about replacing stuff.)

I think the main challenge with these Rovers is that they are high maintenance, and they don't tolerate being less-than-sorted for very long. Seemingly minor problems can spiral into big headaches quickly. That's what kills a lot of these trucks. People buy them because they're cheap up front, then the engine dies because they don't fix the coolant leaks, for example. It's not like a Jap truck where you can drive around with half the parts falling off but it will still run for another 50K miles.

I would be very wary of any Disco that "needs a transmission." The transmission is one of the few nearly bulletproof parts of the truck. No one complains about the ZF tranny, so if it died, it's probably because they never maintained it, which means that the rest of the truck wasn't maintained either.

Everyone complains about the motors, but they're really not that bad if you maintain them. Mine is at 142K and still going strong. The big gotcha is the head gaskets (and all the other gaskets like to leak too). All Rover 4.0 and 4.6 motors need the head gaskets replaced every 90K or so, maybe earlier to be safe. Just a fact of life, no getting around it. $3500 job if you get it done by a indy pro. The gaskets themselves are maybe $200, but it's a lot of work taking it apart and bolting it back together correctly. Once the gasket starts going, it can go downhill really quickly, then the motor overheats and its done. The aluminum doesn't tolerate overheating, so it cracks or warps, then it's done.


The Rover doesn't have any insane repairs. Anyone used to working on a Euro car shouldn't be too scared by it. There are just lots of hoses and crap in the way of whatever it is you want to access.

Weak spots are the gaskets. Forum guys claim head gaskets are a DIY job, but I'm scared by it. Fortunately I won't need to do them again for a long time. Other gaskets like to leak. Need to stay on top of that. Also need to run good quality synthetic fluids. (It's a flat tappet engine, so lots of forum talk about ZDDP, but I'm not convinced it's needed.)

Other weak spot is the ABS system. It freaks out and does this fault called the "three amigos" that scares the hell out of everyone because lights up three indicators on the dash and beeps, so people think it's about to explore. There's actually a simple fix that costs almost nothing, but you need to be handy.

I guess it partially depends on what your definition of reliable is. The Disco has never left me stranded or needed a tow, but I am hyper-vigilant about checking fluids and always have coolant and oil on hand. Someone less OCD than me might have more problems on the road.

Some of the pricey stuff is optional off-road upgrades and mods. Like the center diff install -- totally unnecessary for a DD. And those goddamn Goodyear tires. Way overpriced. I regret buying those. And the first tune-up done by that overpriced weirdo mechanic. He used Original Rover plug wires, which are crap and cost $250 a set. I did it myself recently with $25 NGK wires. Horrible job to do, but the parts are cheap.

I can't think of any part for the Rover that you wouldn't be able to get. Fortunately, they built enough of these trucks that there is good OEM and aftermarket support, and it seems that there's an active owner community that likes working on these and replacing stuff. Between

www.roverparts.com
www.roversnorth.com
www.lucky8llc.com

you sYould be able to get anything. And lots of used parts on Ebay. If I needed something super expensive like an ABS controller block I'd probably go used.

You have to be a little savvy sometimes if you want to save money. Some OEM parts are inexplicably expensive, but there's usually a homegrown or aftermarket alternative. Like this pipe from the secondary air injection pump

[HHI944]

Originally Posted by crustychief

I had an 03, loved it except for the constant attention it needed. a great hobby car though, can't beat it in an accident tough as hell. I have parts if anyone wants them. p.m. me

A few years ago, I had someone slam into the back of mine at a red light doing about 30. Once the tow truck pulled their Honda out from under the rear end, I drove home without a problem.

Front driveshaft is a big one, the will fail and can damage the transmission.
Coils/spark plug wires are a full day project that requires removing the the intake plenum. Cooling parts are all plastic and like to fail. Some have an issue with a ground for the AC that can be a bit of a pain to sort. I bought my 04 with 110k and have 240k on it now, been through a front shaft, 2 radiators, water pump, several hoses and 3 coolant reservoirs along with two plug and wire jobs and a coil replacement.

[sugarwood]

Besides the front shaft, seems like all in a day's work for driving any vehicle that's over 10 years old.

[stealthn]

Rust buckets