Originally Posted by sugarwood
A friend was telling me about his truck, so I'm adding it here
Here's the deal with the Discovery 2:
I don't consider it an "unreliable" vehicle. Mine has never left me stranded, and I've taken it through seriously rugged terrain in all seasons. The closest it got to stranding me was when the crank position sensor went bad. Truck wouldn't start. I called a tow truck, but before it got there, I tried to start it again, and it worked. Once the sensor cooled off, it worked. It was a $30 part. I panicked and paid my Rover garage to fix it, but I could have easily done it myself.
The Disco 2 is not necessarily unreliable, but it is not a low maintenance vehicle. It needs a vigilant owner who stays on top of things. Always check fluid levels. Changes in levels can mean something is going wrong, and once the problems start, they can rapidly turn into major issues. I think that's a difference between a Euro truck like the Disco and a Jap truck like a Land Cruiser. Both need maintenance, but the Cruiser is more tolerant of bad treatment and will limp along for longer without completely failing. The Disco needs an owner who fixes thing quickly, and doesn't wait around hoping it might get better on its own. When a part goes bad, you swap it out immediately.
A good thing about the Disco is that its weak points are well known at this point, and there are fixes out there for all of them:
Head gaskets. These should be considered a regular maintenance item. They go bad by 90-110K miles, maybe sooner, maybe later. Mine lasted until 122K miles, but that seems to be an outlier. When they start to fail the engine will consume coolant and pressurize the recovery tank. It needs to be fixed or it will kill the engine. The gaskets themselves are not that expensive, but it's a lot of labor to take the heads off and get in there. Usually the front engine cover gaskets and valve gaskets are replaced at that time too. The decks should also be machined to ensure they're true. It cost me $3,500 for the job at a not cheap but good indy shop. It's possible to do it yourself, but it's definitely a big job.
A lot of Discos died an early death because their owners didn't expect their trucks to need head gaskets or were oblivious to the signs of the gaskets failing, and kept driving until the engines grenaded.
Being leaky. The Rover 4.0/4.6L V8 is notorious for being leaky, as in, it leaks oil all the time. That reputation is not really deserved. My '03 has 154K miles and it doesn't leak a drop. Most of the leaks come from valve cover bolts that get loose (it's easy to tighten them, though you need a 12-point socket). I also used Liqui Moly Oil Saver gasket treatment that did an awesome job of sealing any tiny leaks. It's been bone dry ever since
Front driveshaft. The original driveshaft as provided by the factory is a sealed unit that has no nipples for greasing it. The problem is that it's next to the exhaust and it gets hot, which cooks out the grease, which can cause the driveshaft to fail. If it fails it will snap and can puncture the transmission housing while the truck is in motion. The fix is installing an aftermarket shaft that has greasable zerk fittings, and greasing it at every oil change. My aftermarket shaft cost $350 and was an easy install. Been fine for years.
The "three amigos." That's the internet forum term for a fault in the ABS sensors that causes three warning lights on the dash to light up and a chime to sound. The sensors are hyper-sensitive and go off if they get contaminated with dust, and when the lights go off it makes it seem like the world is ending, but nothing is actually wrong. The fix is a $58 shuttle valve and a well-publicized rewiring. I did this years ago and they haven't gone off since (and the ABS still works fine).
The rest is just replacing sensors and parts when they fail, and being vigilant about replacing fluids with quality synthetics. Don't cheap out on the fluids. I use Castrol 5W-50 high-zinc synthetic (same as the 944) which the truck seems to like. There are also some longevity tricks like replacing the thermostat with a 180 degree one and using Amsoil heavy duty coolant.
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