Intro post, new D2 owner

LandyBobandy

Active member
Jul 8, 2021
34
8
Colorado
Hi all,

I just bought my first Land Rover, second off-roader. In all honesty, I didn't do much four-wheeling with the first one (an FJ60 I regret selling to this day).

I came from a MK7 GTI which I loved, but not even the fuel consumption can offset the lack of car payment and reduced insurance costs.

I'm well aware of the reputation that LR/RR have regarding reliability. It was probably unwise to break all the rules of buying used cars with a Discovery II.

It's a 2001 with 223k on the chassis and (suppposedly) 110k on the motor. It does not leak any fluids despite being full and has an Eaton locker in it, with a coil spring conversion all the way around. Clean title, both key fobs that work, and it even came with the window sticker!

I have named it Landy Bobandy.

IMG_20210706_180203.jpgIMG_20210706_190345_01.jpgIMG_20210706_194528.jpg

Pros so far:
Reminds me of my FJ
It's not a Jeep
Built like a tank
Can finally follow my brother into the mountains for camping
No leaks (yet!)

Cons so far:
Not happy above 70-75
Thirsty
Little voice in my head reminding me something will break soon

Any tips and feedback would be appreciated, so far I honestly love this thing. Not great for a 14-mile one way daily commute, but I'll probably get a daily eventually.

Glad to be a part of the forum!
 

LandyBobandy

Active member
Jul 8, 2021
34
8
Colorado
Welcome! Love the photo at the fuel pump.....LOL....get used to it!
Thanks! The manual and lid says premium is required, but the people I bought it from said regular was fine. I filled it up with premium, does it make $10 worth of difference every tank, or is it just cheap insurance?
 

donniefitz2

Well-known member
Sep 15, 2020
138
56
Scottsdale, AZ
fitzventure.com
Welcome. Nice looking D2. They're not as bad as people say if you're handy with a wrench and do preventative maintenance. Over the past few months, I've driven mine on an 824 mile trip 3 separate times without an issue. Also, they're great off-road.
 
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jastutte

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2009
461
71
Thanks! The manual and lid says premium is required, but the people I bought it from said regular was fine. I filled it up with premium, does it make $10 worth of difference every tank, or is it just cheap insurance?
personally, i run Premium in mine. lot's of other owners do not.

it is important to drive it like you stole it every once in a while regardless of the fuel you run.

hard accelerations to 4,000 RPMs and the like.
 

Howski

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2009
1,483
209
Alabama
personally, i run Premium in mine. lot's of other owners do not.

it is important to drive it like you stole it every once in a while regardless of the fuel you run.

hard accelerations to 4,000 RPMs and the like.
X2. The RV8 loves regular Italian tuneups
 
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LandyBobandy

Active member
Jul 8, 2021
34
8
Colorado
personally, i run Premium in mine. lot's of other owners do not.

it is important to drive it like you stole it every once in a while regardless of the fuel you run.

hard accelerations to 4,000 RPMs and the like.
X2. The RV8 loves regular Italian tuneups
Oh, yeah. Here at altitude, my foot is to the floor more often than not. Where is a good resource for fluid change intervals (transmission, diffs, etc.) and does the D2 come stock with a transmission cooler? My passenger noticed it was getting pretty warm in the passenger footwell.

EDIT: it looks like I should peek underneath to see if any insulation has fallen off.
 

LandyBobandy

Active member
Jul 8, 2021
34
8
Colorado
I’d also recommend a 180 thermostat and ditching the DexCool for standard coolant
One of the mistakes I made buying this was not getting a PPI. I have a post-purchase scheduled for next week, but this weekend I am going to try and poke around under the hood to see what mods (if any!) have been done. The seller bought it from a reputable LR indy with a lot of stuff done, but the indy isn't returning my calls so I'm basically on my own.

If the inline t-stat mod hasn't been done, it's pretty high on my to-do list. I'll make sure to choose the 180 deg option.
 

Howski

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2009
1,483
209
Alabama
The in-line mod isn’t necessary, IMO. There is a plug-play 180 option with factory hoses that most Rover vendors carry now. I ran both setups and ultimately went back with the factory setup. Had trouble building heat in the winter with the in-line occasionally.
 

LandyBobandy

Active member
Jul 8, 2021
34
8
Colorado
The in-line mod isn’t necessary, IMO. There is a plug-play 180 option with factory hoses that most Rover vendors carry now. I ran both setups and ultimately went back with the factory setup. Had trouble building heat in the winter with the in-line occasionally.
Thanks for the heads up. Are there external markings on the t-stat that would tell me what I currently have?
 

joneschris

Well-known member
Aug 25, 2019
167
32
The Woodlands, TX
Hi all,

I just bought my first Land Rover, second off-roader. In all honesty, I didn't do much four-wheeling with the first one (an FJ60 I regret selling to this day).

I came from a MK7 GTI which I loved, but not even the fuel consumption can offset the lack of car payment and reduced insurance costs.

I'm well aware of the reputation that LR/RR have regarding reliability. It was probably unwise to break all the rules of buying used cars with a Discovery II.

It's a 2001 with 223k on the chassis and (suppposedly) 110k on the motor. It does not leak any fluids despite being full and has an Eaton locker in it, with a coil spring conversion all the way around. Clean title, both key fobs that work, and it even came with the window sticker!

I have named it Landy Bobandy.

View attachment 61389View attachment 61390View attachment 61391

Pros so far:
Reminds me of my FJ
It's not a Jeep
Built like a tank
Can finally follow my brother into the mountains for camping
No leaks (yet!)

Cons so far:
Not happy above 70-75
Thirsty
Little voice in my head reminding me something will break soon

Any tips and feedback would be appreciated, so far I honestly love this thing. Not great for a 14-mile one way daily commute, but I'll probably get a daily eventually.

Glad to be a part of the forum!
welcome! MK7gti + discovery owner here ;)
 
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Batrover

Member
Jan 17, 2016
11
2
Houston
For some reason mine didn’t used to like above 70. Check balancer; check tire balance. Mine has 254K—about half on new short lock. I switched to a 4.0 (4.6 cam was moving in the block) upgraded cam because the rover cam was very soft. She’s European and likes attention. But she ain’t going anywhere soon. 04 D2
 
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LandyBobandy

Active member
Jul 8, 2021
34
8
Colorado
For some reason mine didn’t used to like above 70. Check balancer; check tire balance. Mine has 254K—about half on new short lock. I switched to a 4.0 (4.6 cam was moving in the block) upgraded cam because the rover cam was very soft. She’s European and likes attention. But she ain’t going anywhere soon. 04 D2

What kind of behavior did it have at speed? This one is floaty and super vague, not so much vibrations and death wobble. I attributed it to the lift and the large tires, but I'm getting it checked out next week so I'll ask the guys looking at it what they think.
 

jastutte

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2009
461
71
The in-line mod isn’t necessary, IMO. There is a plug-play 180 option with factory hoses that most Rover vendors carry now. I ran both setups and ultimately went back with the factory setup. Had trouble building heat in the winter with the in-line occasionally.
one nice thing the In-line Mod does is eliminate the plastic T which at its current age on any D2 is bound to be old and degraded.

the T's can leak at check screw and/or simply disintegrate and fall apart at the molded joints.
 

LandyBobandy

Active member
Jul 8, 2021
34
8
Colorado
I knew the tire carrier was only held on by four bolts, but it felt like it wasn't going anywhere, so I was going to wait until it was cooler outside to replace it.

The D2 thought differently. Don't know how or when, but I noticed my spare moving around when pulling into the driveway.

Drats.
IMG_20210711_090215.jpg

IMG_20210711_090228.jpg

The spare and carrier had to come off immediately.

IMG_20210711_091620.jpg
IMG_20210711_103515.jpg


It's naked now. When I'm not tending the smoker today, I'll search locally. If I haven't found something local in the next couple days, I'll order one. I don't need the whole hardware kit, but one nut+bolt is missing. I also broke three of the hatch panel clips 😓 so I need to get a bunch of those, probably won't be the last time I break one.

On a positive note, the spacer for larger tires was already installed and the interior seems really easy to service.

The PK is calling me but if any of you are in the Boulder/Flatirons area and have an extra carrier/bolts/clips, I would gladly throw some beer or cash your way.