Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi guys - I am new to the world of Landrovers & have found a series 2 Disco T/D that I ma really keen on buying but was wondering if there is anything that I should be on the look out for besides the obvious ( I was a mechanic - Just never had to work on Landrovers)

I am looking for a Daily driver that I can the family camping & up the Beach - Nothing to Extreme

Thanks for any advice

Here is a site that will be very helpful http://www.aulro.com/

As above, plenty of threads on AULRO.

They are generally quite good, however the early model TD5s had a few minor niggles:
flywheel issues
oil-pump bolt
oil in the injector loom

Its great to see that there are fanatic's around for every marque - makes it a lot more interesting than the age old FORD /HOLDEN debate that still rages on

DLT wrote:Its great to see that there are fanatic's around for every marque - makes it a lot more interesting than the age old FORD /HOLDEN debate that still rages on

Well - neither ford nor holden make decent 4x4s...

They don't even make very good cars so I guess that I am glad they dont make much in the way of 4x4's

Had a bit of a look over on the AULRO site - looks like a few scary ($$$$) things can go wrong with these - might have to have a bit of a look at a few other makes as well. I understand that things go wrong wiith all cars but the prospect of a $5000 - $10,000 repair without notice is a bit more than I really want to take on.

well that can happen to any make, i drive a 2000 TD5 disco II and only one fault since new - fuel pump regulator = $550ish part from that happy driving and can't beat it at the bowser!!!!!

Was just a bit worried that it is a common occurence more than a rare thing. As I said I am a complete novice when it comes to Land Rover reliability

DLT wrote:Had a bit of a look over on the AULRO site - looks like a few scary ($$$$) things can go wrong with these - might have to have a bit of a look at a few other makes as well. I understand that things go wrong wiith all cars but the prospect of a $5000 - $10,000 repair without notice is a bit more than I really want to take on.

It may look like it is a "common occurance" however you have to remember that the people with problems are a small cross section of all owners. I would bet that the TD5 is more reliable than the nissan 3.0TD (ZD30)

Now those I have fixed a few of - Are these issues on the motors fitted to the Defenders as well or is it due to the set-up in the Disco?

I dont own a Disco 2 however from looking at many Landrover sites including AULRO and having a friend with a Disco 2 TD5 it would seem the vehicle is as reliable as any other make or model.
Common faults seem to be related to overheating, oil in the injector harness which seems to be a simple and inexpensive fix and faults with the ABS/traction control which is also an easy fix.

When you look at any single make site you will always get a concentration of reported problems. I read forums on Patrols, Hiluxes and Tritons and they all have heaps of reported problems that are more expensive to fix than a Landrover.

Actually, overheating is a rarity in the Disco2. They are massively over radiatored. The Aus spec ones come with a hot climate pack or something that looks after this.

The TD5 oil in the wire loom isn't uncommon. The loom is about $250 and pretty much the TD5's equivilent of a cam belt change. Its not a big issue.

Faults with the ABS/ETC are typically related to using pads that squeel. This seems to upset the ABS system for some reason. If you stick to pads that don't squeels such as factory pads, EBC, Bendix etc then this isn't a problem.

There is a lot of talk about the problems because it is much more interesting discussion than the good points. They are a reliable vehicle though and when things go wrong, they are generally not terminal. One bit of advice though, is that the terminal thing that may happen in the loose oil pump bolt. Have the bolt checked and reloctited again for piece of mind - thats about all.

One thing to watch out for on the TD5 is centre diff lock. From memory (not a D2 expert) the early D2 were able to eaily retrofitted, however at some stage the box changed and this made it more difficult. In the 2003 update the centre diff lock was added back in.

I only mention this because it makes a big difference off road if that is what you will use it for.