Discovery lifespan.. considering a high mileage disco

Lake_Bueller

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2004
2,105
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Beloit, WI
Sorry to bring this old thread back but it was the closest I could find in the search.

Looking at a 2004 G4 edition with 195k miles. I'm familiar with the problems (I have a G4 in the shop right now getting a rebuilt engine installed). It's a southwest car with no rust. But DAMN those are some high miles. Especially in that 4.6 engine.


The guy won't take less than $3500 for the truck. I'm I crazy to even consider buying this at that price?
 

1920SF

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2007
2,705
1
NoVA
That's a lot of miles, the other side of it is you should be able to tell in an instant if it has been taken care of-or if it is clapped out.

May be worth getting just so you have 2 to make 1 down the road if the Tangier Orange is your thing, you know?
 

stu454

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2004
5,407
61
Atlanta, GA
Ray (1920SF) is right. If it's even remotely well taken care of and you want those Tangiers Orange panels, I say go for it.
 

p m

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 19, 2004
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La Jolla, CA
www.3rj.org
Don't 2003 and 2004 D2s have frames made out steel about 30% thinner than earlier D2s? That would be a deciding factor by itself.
To top it off, in 2003 LR reportedly implemented some serious cost-saving measures in the corrosion protection department.
 

squirt

Well-known member
Nov 13, 2008
824
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Los Angeles
Don't 2003 and 2004 D2s have frames made out steel about 30% thinner than earlier D2s? That would be a deciding factor by itself.
To top it off, in 2003 LR reportedly implemented some serious cost-saving measures in the corrosion protection department.

I'd be very interested to see a credible source on this. I've heard these before, but it seems to be 100% internet rumor from what I've seen.
 

alpinacsi

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2011
139
0
Atlanta
I'd trust John Robison on that.

To quote John Robison:

"Now we get to the hidden part of the problem . . . I took this situation to our Land Rover tech support contacts, who told me something pretty surprising. It turns out Land Rover reduced the frame thickness of Discovery II models by more than 30% as compared to the Defender and earlier models. So the frame in these vehicles is significantly lighter than the frames of earlier Rovers, which were themselves no paragons of corrosion resistance. This was done to save weight and gas but it has had the result of making them weaker and less durable."

So even your source does not say the 03-04 frame is reduced by 30% from the previous 99-02 D2 but does say it is reduced from the Defender and earlier models. With earlier models meaning D1.
 

alpinacsi

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2011
139
0
Atlanta
Here is another direct quote from John as a response to a question about 99-02 vs. 03-04. And notice the second part of the response is an assumption or observation and not necessarily fact.

"Hendrik, I was told all the DII models have the thinner frames. But something changed for the worse in 2003, both with respect to frames and engines - both suffered a marked drop in quality/durability. At least that's what we see in our service dept."
 

salvvia

Well-known member
May 28, 2005
990
39
BIG WHEEL ROVN IN KNOXVEGAS TN.
Reliability, is directly related to your patience and cash you are willing to give it and of course love, but what has love got to do with it anyway you should be getting dirty anyhow.
I would look for that rust free d2 unicorn, or a d1 with minimall rust is tolerable

By the way ef the spelling police:eek:
 

the deputy

Well-known member
Sep 20, 2017
86
0
michigan
I just hate mine right back.

Guess we're in a kind of "hate, hate relationship". But truth be told...as unhealthy as it is......it seems to be working...lol.

Brian,
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
If your thinking about doing this you need to educate yourself on the difference between a Disco1 and Disco2. Those trucks are so different that it's like talking about 2 different trucks. Like Ford and Chevy literally. I personally think you should be looking at a Disco1. Unless your a big fan of pain and suffering.

BMW fucked up a perfectly good truck when they built the Disco2. You can't keep coolant in them, Most of them don't have a center diff lock. They usually end up with the three amigos (abs ,traction control,hill disent control) because of shuttle valve problems in the brake modulator. The wheel bearings on a Disco2 are like the ones on your grampa"s Buick instead of a semi floating axle bearing assembly like you get in a Disco1. Semi floating axles are what you see when you move into 2500 series trucks with GM. Think bigger stronger. Disco1 has a military swivel ball setup instead of plastic CV boots.

You should look on all the car sites in the west for a solid rust free unit and think about having it shipped home. I paid a grand to have one shipped from Norther Cal. to Chicago a couple years ago. You should be able to find a really nice truck for 4 grand. If your going to pay 6 grand it better be a really nice truck. Somebodies selling a willow green 96 with a standard trans in the vehicles for sale section. That truck is worth what hes asking from looking at the pictures. If I was looking for a truck I would be all over that thing. It's got a lot going for it to raise it's value over the rest of them. It's a rare and desirable color and it's a manual trans truck. And I don't know the guy selling it, so I don't have a horse in that race.
 

mgreenspan

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2005
4,723
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Briggs's Back Yard
If you guys are paying more than $5k for a Disco you should be importing an early 90s 200tdi 3 door or 5 door from the UK or Europe. They are cheap and you are already throwing down a lot unless you buy a trail rig that has good maintenance, shit body, shit interior, and good offroad bits. Don't buy a stock US Disco that isn't mint for more than $1300.
 

KyleT

Well-known member
Mar 28, 2007
6,059
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Fort Worth, TEXAS
If you guys are paying more than $5k for a Disco you should be importing an early 90s 200tdi 3 door or 5 door from the UK or Europe. They are cheap and you are already throwing down a lot unless you buy a trail rig that has good maintenance, shit body, shit interior, and good offroad bits. Don't buy a stock US Disco that isn't mint for more than $1300.

They have to be stock to import.
 

Howski

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2009
1,483
209
Alabama
The Defender/Disco argument is apples to oranges. A 5k RoW Defender is going to be a hell of a lot more likely to have any rust issues in the frame than any 5k D1 or D2
 

1920SF

Well-known member
Jan 6, 2007
2,705
1
NoVA
If you guys are paying more than $5k for a Disco you should be importing an early 90s 200tdi 3 door or 5 door from the UK or Europe. They are cheap and you are already throwing down a lot unless you buy a trail rig that has good maintenance, shit body, shit interior, and good offroad bits. Don't buy a stock US Disco that isn't mint for more than $1300.

^This.
A really compelling idea to be honest-especially because as noted, they have to be stock to import.

Which means then you can start from scratch, and do as little as possible since every mod deviates from a damn good platform out of the box so long as it has decent tires.
 

mgreenspan

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2005
4,723
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Briggs's Back Yard
Maybe I made a confusing post. $5k for a Disco in the US only makes sense if it is completely kitted out with tons of offroad goodies. Otherwise, if you're paying that much, get an early Disco from Europe or the UK. What I meant was that if you're paying that much you're over paying for a stock one in the US unless you're getting a pre-built offroad truck. At that point, why wouldn't you import a diesel 3 or 5 door?