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Got about 120K on it but runs without a hickup.
I love my Rover, but am a little PO at my dealer since I just spent $900 for front brakes & rotors at 40K. That is in addition to $300 for rear pads at 25K. Please give me further info about any recall on the brakes so I can complain.
One thing to bear in mind, if you put tall tires and 16" wheels on an ACE truck, you're running a mild risk if you drive it hard in corners. ACE will hydraulically limit body/suspension roll but it can't anticipate how the tires themselves will deflect in hard cornering. Just be careful.
Rover on!
The real issue with any tow vehicle and a heavy trailer is stability, not power. A short wheelbase vehicle like the Disco (100 inches) will have nowhere near the directional control of a longer wheelbase vehicle (like just about every other truck). It is a case of the tail wagging the dog. Serious accidents happen all the time with short trucks and long trailers.
Also, while it is possible to tow 4500 pounds with a rig "rated" for 5000, it is pushing the envelope and you are just asking for trouble. Be very suspicious of advertised trailer weights - they are almost universally lower than reality. The only sure way to know is to take it to a public scale and weigh it. And I have doubts that you will only be carrying 650 pounds of load in the trailer - full gray and black water tanks alone will likely add 350 pounds (and you can't always empty them right away). When I owned a 25 ft Nash, I carried almost 1500 pounds of stuff ocassionally. Drinking water, canned goods, personal gear, sporting goods like bikes, clothes, books, added installed equipment like a generator - it all adds up VERY quickly. I towed my 6000 pound (loaded) trailer with a 3/4 ton 7.4 liter Suburban, and did not feel as if it were overkill, especially in the mountains.
For your trailer I suggest a full-sized pickup or a long wheelbase SUV.
For further comments and opinions visit the various trailer newsgroups, like:
rec.outdoors.rv-travel
alt.rv.pop-up-trailers
You can use this link to search their archives:
http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/deja_announcement.html
Be safe!
I've recently purchased Blizzaks for my wife's
Jeep Liberty, as well as for my own 2001 Disco II.(However, I had only the stock 16" wheels.)
I can't praise these tires highly enough.
These tires are quiet and smooth on the highway
and they are nothing short of amazing on hard packed slippery snow or ice.
Do you absolutely need them for your Disco?
Probably not, a fresh set of stock Michelin XPC's are pretty decent in almost any conditions when combined with anti-locks & traction control.
Still if the conditions in your area warrant them, (Black Ice, etc.), they're well worth the dough, about $125-$130 apiece, mounted.
BTW, the geniuses in the Bridgestone marketing
dept have changed the name of the Blizzak for light trucks to "Winter Dueler",(Ugh!) DM-Z2.
Still, the tire is exceptional.
Important tip: These tires must come off in the
Spring. If you run them in warm weather the tread
will wear out very quickly.
Ideally, you should mount these up on separate rims. By doing this, I have previously gotten three seasons out them on my wife's Volvo.
Odiopus
There are specs for rotor replacement that measure minimum thickness, as well as (I believe) depth of grooves in the swept surface. As for grooves in the rotors, I have got them from picking up stones in river crossings and things, and they have gouged my rotors a little. I just kept using them and the pads mated to the new gouged surface, polished them up with continued use, and all is well. Once they reach minimum thickness however, you better consider changing them... there's the chance a rotor could fail and mechanically lock a wheel at speed.
As to changing the pads... my DI may be a little different than your DII, but it is soooooo simple! Jack up one side and remove both wheels (so you can rotate them front-to-back later) and remove the bolts holding the caliper to the hub. Don't let the caliper fall so it's hanging from the brake hose. Loose the bleed screw for the slave cylinder and push the pads/pistons back into the calipers until the pistons are ALL the way back in. You'll have a mess of brake fluid so haev newspapers down. When ready, close the bleed screw and then remove the cotter pins that pass thru the two pins that locate the pads in place. Withdraw the pins and out pop the pads! Put in new pads (paying attention to any anti-squeal doodads they may have provided) and slide the pad locating pins back in. Install two new cotter pins and slide the caliper back over the rotor, install its bolts and torque. Make sure there's no brake fluid on the rotor or pads, and then bleed the brakes. Simple! When you start driving her again you'll want to take it easy the first few times you brake, so the pads can mate to the rotor surface (100% contact) and you can slowly heat the pads a few times to "set" the compound and not glaze them over. If your brakes feel at all spongy then you need to bleed them again. Make sure you top off your brake fluid reservoir when finished. Oh, and make sure you set your tire pressures: my stock tires were 28psi front and 38psi rear... if you rotate them you'll want to check that.
This is just one of the simple jobs you can perform on your Disco... it's a good feeling to think YOU can work on her!
Best regards, -Bob
Odiopus
Have fun! Remember the new cotter pins.
Today's tale from the frozen North...My good friend called this morning to tell me that his mountaintop driveway had drifted in overnight...
The snow had drifted in about 1.5- 2 feet deep and was packed like concrete. It was bad enough that he was unable to get his Jeep Cherokee thru it, and his John Deere Diesel tractor wouldn't start because it was too cold. So, he couldn't plow it out either.
I said I'd see what I could do...I stopped first to pick up some Kerosene to get his tractor going and then I drove up to his house...
I hestitated at first when I got to the driveway...I didn't know snow could pack this solid...Still I decided to give it a try...The happy result was that I was able to cut two nice ruts for him after running the Disco up and down the driveway three times, and he was able to drive the Jeep out thru them.
The Disco, the traction control and the Blizzaks
all got a first rate test of their abilities and didn't let us down. It's always nice to see what this truck will do when you really need it.
LR: Still the best 4x4xFar
I live in southern appalachia and we have been having some record cold below zero stuff and my disco is having a bit of trouble in the mornings.
-5 degrees is probably a heat wave for nanuk and a few others - any suggestions?
Steve, Host
Just give her lots of time to warm up before you go anywhere... and she will be SLUGGISH. It's actually kind of funny.
Going camping tonight with the Scouts. Sleeping out in snowbanks with tarps, and starting the Astronomy merit badge... we got lots of black nights, white stars and clear skies.
Has anyone had any experience with the following tires to replace the stock 18" Goodyear Wrangler HP's: Bridgestone Dueler H/P ($133.), Kumho Ecsta STX ($98.), Pirelli Scorpion Zero($124)
Any direct experience with these tires would be appreciated.
VIN# SALTY124XXA215314
VIN# SALTW124XA2A737200
I would appreciate all and any help that you may provide.
VIN XA215314 was built 3/19/99, last reported service was at 26,083 miles. Vehicle is a California car. Pretty clean warranty history, just a couple of minor repairs. There is one outstanding recall showing.
VIN 2A737200 was built 7/09/01, last reported service was at 4,771 miles. Vehicle was sold in Georgia. Warranty history is spotless.
Hope that info helps
Thanks...
And thanks for asking!
Steve, Host
Cheers
Pat
Thanx.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=5147&n=158,- 178&sid=178
It looks pretty much like an Explorer to me. They might be testing some stuff in-with-on it, but otherwise... ??
Ford recently announced that Land Rover would be developing thier own vehicles. And though they will surely use some Ford bits (drivetrain) they will continue to be true Land Rovers.
PAG heads have seen the disaster that rebadging Fords as premium brands brings. The Jag X-type has been a complete failure. It is essentially a rebadged Ford Mondeo, a good car, but not at $40k.
Fear not Rover-faithfull! The sky is NOT falling.. yet.
http://www.thelandroverchronicle.com/new_page_337.htm
QUOTE:
A new Discovery is penciled in for 2005. The Discovery III will use an all new platform which will be shared with the Defender replacement also for 2005 and the baby Range Rover in 2006.
Key features: expect more ground clearance, higher approach and departure angles, better on road handling and better off-road ability.
The price for the new Discovery will remain very close to the base price of the outgoing model, but the base petrol engine ( V8 ) will be replaced with a modified Jaguar V6. This new V6 will deliver around the same bhp with slightly less torque than the V8 it replaces. Of course the new V8 will also be from Jaguar and will command a higher price of around $5,000 more than the V6. A new line of Turbo diesel engines will appear ( although probably not in North America ), the new joint venture Ford/Peugeot 2.7 V6 TD will produce around the same bhp as the petrol V6, but with almost as much torque as the petrol V8
The exterior for Discovery will be a revolution rather than an evolution. Key features: Rear mounted spare tire will move inside, new split tailgate similar to Range Rover's, optional long wheelbase, optional air-suspension, overall look much sportier.
UNQUOTE
Let's hope it's right....sounds good to me.
Can anyone else confirm this?
I am holding off on my purchase until I find out about this.....
TIA.
The 2003 Disco II has a fully functional CDL available as an option in overseas markets only. I am really hoping that it will be available here in the USA. It is a very useful feature for serious off-roading in situations where the ETC can get overwhelmed. It also provides a mechanical fail-safe in case of ETC failure while 'wheeling, and a lockable center diff is a requirement if you plan to install limited slip or locking diffs in the axles.
This issue is confused by the recent CDL Placard mistake by LR USA, in which they installed CDL operating instructions in 2003 Disco IIs that did not even have a CDL. Some owners were _really_ mad to find out that their new trucks did not have the feature. As I would have been, had I bought one. Even the experienced salesman I dealt with was fooled.
PAG is the Ford division that runs Jag, Volvo, Land Rover, and Aston Martin.
I was just confused by the abbreviation as it was before I had my coffee, I am quite aware of what the center diff lock does. The diff lock was in the earlier transfer case because it was essentially the same case as the Discovery I. The reason it was not activated was because the ETC software was not written to deal with a locking center diff. It could be manually activated, but would make the ABS and ETC malfunction. In late 2001 the parts inside the case that enabled diff lock were removed as a cost saving measure (no sense paying for components that weren't used)There were 2 different Tboxes developed for 2003 MY, but Diff lock was not included in US vehicles. The labels that the service action was for were for UK vehicles that had the CDL installed, it was a mistake on the production line in the UK that led to them being on US vehicles.
Do you know if the CDL will be an option or standard equipment?
If an option, do you have any idea of the cost and availability (percentage of vehicles produced with the CDL)?
It is interesting that a phone call to LRNA brings zero information on this subject ("We are not allowed to discuss future models"), yet you personally seem willing to talk here. Can you get into trouble by talking about this? I hope not.
I really want a Disco II, but I will wait as long as necessary to buy one with a CDL, as long as I know there is a good chance they will be available. By talking to me about it, LR is not losing a customer.
On the other hand, you might have a good deal there. If the history is clean (no recurring visits to dealer) then you'll save a bundle over the new price and have a truck that will last for YEARS.
I bought my DI at 9 months of age and 11k miles. I saved about $10k over the new price, and I did the dirty work and got all the bugs worked out. It was aggravating (and the DIIs are a LOT better than my '96 in that regard) but now I'm really glad I did it. Your DII will be head and shoulders better for initial build quality than my '96 was.
To consider: at 35k miles you're looking at a transmission service. It's pricey... see if they'll agree to do that service for free when you buy it. It doesn't hurt to ask!
Regards, -Bob
And the money you save will pay for all these toys as well.
Just my $.02 -Bob
Any suggestion on what kind of tires that is best suited for Disco II. I need to change the two front tires. I'll be moving the rear tires to the front and have the 2 new tires installed at the back. I have 34K miles on my truck and I am here in the Bay Area
Thanks for the help