Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Is there any reason why i should buy a landrover disco 1994-96 over a 60/80 series landcruiser or a gq patrol? Can they go everywhere they do?How reliable and tough are the discos?Are the parts more expensive?Thanks and hope to hear from you guys soon

Cruisers and patrols are more popular so prices are higher. So you save money on a disco.

IME most parts are comparably priced (or even a lot cheaper for the rovers if you buy from FWD at fairfield or import from the UK).

Diesel disco is much more economical tyhan a diesel cruiser or GQ. 8-10 l/100 for the disco compared to 11-15 for the others.

Cruiser and GQ have stronger axles, but if you do want to run big tyres on a disco, there are lots of upgrades available (usually done at the same time as fitting lockers).

Disco suspension probably has the most comfortable ride onroad and best offroad performace (stock for stock).

I have had all three and the all have pros and cons.

If you have a ball and chain and a few rug rats the Nissan or Cruiser are much more suited to that as for size. I have a D1 now and I had to put draws in the back, because once the fridge went in there was no room left in the back!

As far as parts go as a Panel Beater in a past life, the more common a part is the less you pay( Eg the D/S mirror on a lot of cars is cheaper than the P/S because they sell more of them)
Never had to lay a spanner on the two jap cars (brake downs that is) the landy is another story.
Sold my 80 for 20grand and picked up the rover for six and will all the same things, bar the storage.

Comes down to what you like the look of.

There's a big difference in overall bulk as well as the view from the drivers seat.

depends whats you want it for if for extreme offroad then i would say save some cash and get a rangie fully worked for the price of a stock 80 or gQ. but if its for touring and such go a disco diesel comfort wise are the best and stock suspension a step ahead of the other 2 sorry forgot there where other 4wds other then land rover.

go land rover all the way because they go all the way.

dan

I have a GQ and a 94 TDI Disco now the disco is parked in the backyard with a stuffed head (again)
I am selling the GQ and fixing the disco again
personal choice but much prefer to drive the disco than the patrol

Its a Landrover thing haha

I have a GQ and a 94 TDI Disco now the disco is parked in the backyard with a stuffed head (again)
I am selling the GQ and fixing the disco again
personal choice but much prefer to drive the disco than the patrol

Its a Landrover thing haha

The Disco has a better driving position and view over the bonnet and probably a better ride than the GQ or 80. It also has Land Rover 'character'. It doesnt take bigger tyres or lift as well as the GQ or the 80. As a general statement, the Japanese vehicles will give you less hassles in terms of reliablity and breakages. Comparing diesels with diesels, the Disco has less torque where its needed for off-road use.

The 80 is more refined than a GQ but you pay for it. The GQ has the strongest drivetrain but most people dont break 80 series drivetrains that often either. GQ is probably slightly better off-road due to the tighter LSD. Disco doesnt have an LSD.

If is is for touring and general 4WD work then you could consider the ZJ Jeep Grand Cherokee. I haven't had a Disco but I have had a Rangie, Landcruiser, GQ Patrols and I have a GU Patrol.

I prefer to drive the Grand Cherokee out of all these and similar to the Disco they are pretty cheap. I bought my 96 model for $10 Grand. I will be setting mine up for fairly aggressive off road work but again similar to the Disco's some upgrading needs doing.

If anyone is new to off road then I strongly recommend a LWB GQ patrol. Just stick on 33's and a suspension lift and off you go.

Shane

4WD Stuff wrote:If is is for touring and general 4WD work then you could consider the ZJ Jeep Grand Cherokee. I haven't had a Disco but I have had a Rangie, Landcruiser, GQ Patrols and I have a GU Patrol.

I prefer to drive the Grand Cherokee out of all these and similar to the Disco they are pretty cheap. I bought my 96 model for $10 Grand. I will be setting mine up for fairly aggressive off road work but again similar to the Disco's some upgrading needs doing.

If anyone is new to off road then I strongly recommend a LWB GQ patrol. Just stick on 33's and a suspension lift and off you go.

Shane

No diesel option though.

Not trying to put you off with what im about to say, i do love my rangy, im selling it though, becasue as much as i love it i can no longer afford it, its a late classic so everything is bassically identical to a disco anyway, mine is a v8 and aside from a few oil leaks has let me down twice, one out in the middle of nowhere in the bush with no one around it flooded itself (yes its efi) and i couldnt get it goin for 2 hrs. It has 230,000km on it which i dont think is much, i am now on my 3rd rear diff centre, the orignal auto blew up along with the transfer at the same time, i replaced these with low km second hand (LT230 instaed of borg warner transfer) about 5 months ago, the auto i put in now, as of the weekend, doesnt engage drive it has to be shifted manually, the drive sprag clutch has gone once again same as the old auto, there is also a problem with the tl230, i dont know what it is yet but it doesnt transmit drive, the front diff is locked solid in the housing and the housing has holes in it where it has spat brocken pieces out the front of it, i dont even want to know about the cv's at this stage, and im looking at about close to $4k to fix with 2nd hand parts. And the thing that really annoys me is that i havnt even been off road in 8 months and its all just happened now.

ON another note, i regularly drive a gq, not only is it bigger, it has been more reliable, i put this down to it being just alot simpler than the range rover, yes the RR is a nicer drive, with the leather, sunroof etc etc but its tight when you fill it up, has virtually no boot and rear legroom is tight.

The range rover will be sitting in the shed for a while as im buying a gq ti, you can get nearly all the luxury of the rr in the ti, (it'll never be quite the same) but you also get relability, im not just saying this as a one off experience, i havnt seen too many patrols break at all, most ppl i know drive gqs wit a couple of odd ones having a 80 series, and me the only one with a LR/RR.

Having said all that - they will go anywhere, if not further than a patrol or cruiser will go and more comfortably if its not full of people.

RRV839 wrote:Not trying to put you off with what im about to say, i do love my rangy, im selling it though, becasue as much as i love it i can no longer afford it, its a late classic so everything is bassically identical to a disco anyway, mine is a v8 and aside from a few oil leaks has let me down twice, one out in the middle of nowhere in the bush with no one around it flooded itself (yes its efi) and i couldnt get it goin for 2 hrs. It has 230,000km on it which i dont think is much, i am now on my 3rd rear diff centre, the orignal auto blew up along with the transfer at the same time, i replaced these with low km second hand (LT230 instaed of borg warner transfer) about 5 months ago, the auto i put in now, as of the weekend, doesnt engage drive it has to be shifted manually, the drive sprag clutch has gone once again same as the old auto, there is also a problem with the tl230, i dont know what it is yet but it doesnt transmit drive, the front diff is locked solid in the housing and the housing has holes in it where it has spat brocken pieces out the front of it, i dont even want to know about the cv's at this stage, and im looking at about close to $4k to fix with 2nd hand parts. And the thing that really annoys me is that i havnt even been off road in 8 months and its all just happened now.

ON another note, i regularly drive a gq, not only is it bigger, it has been more reliable, i put this down to it being just alot simpler than the range rover, yes the RR is a nicer drive, with the leather, sunroof etc etc but its tight when you fill it up, has virtually no boot and rear legroom is tight.

The range rover will be sitting in the shed for a while as im buying a gq ti, you can get nearly all the luxury of the rr in the ti, (it'll never be quite the same) but you also get relability, im not just saying this as a one off experience, i havnt seen too many patrols break at all, most ppl i know drive gqs wit a couple of odd ones having a 80 series, and me the only one with a LR/RR.

Having said all that - they will go anywhere, if not further than a patrol or cruiser will go and more comfortably if its not full of people.

I have a twin, I broke 3 diffs, I replaced transfercase and auto with units from a later model disco and they were not right but I am a bit wiser, I got rid of the Rangie and bought a Ti GU Patrol.(However I think the GU sits too tall so the GQ would be a better option if you can find a good one)

I still like Range Rovers but you just have to be prepared to spend a bit of dollars. Having said that, I spent more money fixing up my Landcruiser then I did on the Rangie.

EDIT: Even though I have the GU, I prefer to drive the Grand Cherokee and will be setting this up for off road. It is easier to park, much more nimble, it has a factory 5 Link up front and on rear.

Shane

Dual fuel V8 disco... what's the economy like on gas?

I won't say what I get on gas for the Maverick

chimpboy wrote:Dual fuel V8 disco... what's the economy like on gas?

I won't say what I get on gas for the Maverick

I have a 110 on gas and get 25/100. With lpg at 69c and Diesel at $1.50, its still to run than most diesel 4WD's on the market.

C'mon Chimpboy!

I have a 74/81 2 door with 350 and C9/LT 95. Gets a smidge under 4k's to the litre on gas with 80% highway (100 km/h), 20% cog swapping. (225 odd k's from 56/8 litres). Using very basic big Impco system.

Towing a boat and trailer (about 1-1.2 tonne) drops this to about 190 k's on the highway at 95 km/h from the same tank.

Could maybe get about 5 k's to the litre with a more advanced system. Others will know.

Mav figures now?

cheers, DL

For the Jeep Grand Cherokee I have averaged 15Liters per 100km for the past 20,000km doing suburb and highway. I do better on highway and worse in the city.

Shane

For the LWB mav, anywhere from 27-30 litres/100km. Gentle driving doesn't seem to help a lot. Petrol is significantly better, more than I think people realise. Still pretty bad, over 20 litres/100km. People claim 18/100km on petrol.

I tend to think it's in poor tune though; I know it needs new points at least. And I got better figures with smaller tyres.

The figure for the 110 is slightly worse than I would have expected but I guess a 110 is pretty massive.

The 110 (its a ute) would be a fair bit lighter than a GQ but the aerodynamics are probably worse. Constant 4WD doesnt help economy either. Its got a stroker motor (4.3l) so similar size to a TB42.

chimpboy wrote:Dual fuel V8 disco... what's the economy like on gas?

I won't say what I get on gas for the Maverick

I don't usually calculate it anymore but just this week I did.
I got 22.5L/100kms with 4 people on board and towing my camper trailer (roughly 700kg). 100% highway and fairly flat sitting on 100km/h.
I was pretty happy with that.

This is with a standard LPG setup. Looking to get the closed loop oxygen sensor setup which should improve things.

chimpboy wrote:For the LWB mav, anywhere from 27-30 litres/100km. Gentle driving doesn't seem to help a lot. Petrol is significantly better, more than I think people realise. Still pretty bad, over 20 litres/100km. People claim 18/100km on petrol.

I tend to think it's in poor tune though; I know it needs new points at least. And I got better figures with smaller tyres.

The figure for the 110 is slightly worse than I would have expected but I guess a 110 is pretty massive.

fit an electronic ignition kit dude, can't beleive people still run points

fit an electronic ignition kit dude, can't beleive people still run points

What is the best electronic unit to fit to a 3.5 rangie?
Where is the cheapest place to get on in Vic?

Is the 3.5 the same as the 3.9?

Corgie Carrier wrote:

fit an electronic ignition kit dude, can't beleive people still run points

What is the best electronic unit to fit to a 3.5 rangie?
Where is the cheapest place to get on in Vic?

Is the 3.5 the same as the 3.9?

I used an electronic distributor and module from a Disco. The drive gears can be different - just check they're the same.