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Rover took the 4.6L power plant from the ’02 Range Rover and put it in the Disco boosting the HP to 217 hp from 188 hp. That’s not Indy Racing League material but, in my opinion, the Discos have suffered from a lack of power for city/highway driving until now. There is a noticeable difference between the models now.
All of the other issues were minor inconveniences but were cleared in years between ’96 and ’03 – rear cargo area room increased, rear seat belt attach points anchored to the seats and thus lift clear of the floor when folding the seats forward, pull handle door releases on the outside, rear side and alpine window gaskets modified, rear self-leveling suspension available, remote fuel door opener, turn indicators on dash show left and right, better driver left foot-rest position, taller windshield for driver visibility, better thigh support on front seats, central locking switch for both front occupants, factory tinted glass, steering wheel mounted radio controls, more rear legroom with redesigned front seat-backs, better rear visibility with lower spare tire, and probably a few more.
Since I am obviously fairly finicky about my vehicles based on the foregoing issues, I decided to take the plunge on the new ’03. There was nothing wrong with my ’96; basically I just wanted a new Disco with all the new bells and whistles.
Many on this board that go off-road will tell you that the Disco I models are tops for that but I do not go off-road and so I do not need the center differential lock or better departure angle ability of the Disco I. CDL is back in ’04 though.
As far as the rust is concerned, you will never get rid of it especially since it is in the location you mentioned. You can do superficial repairs on the surface but it will always lurk beneath and come through again and again.
I could not really tell you a fair market price for a ’98 with 125K but Edmunds TMV service shows that a Texas based dark green ’98 Disco LE with 125K in clean condition should be about $12K in a private party transaction. What is she asking?
You should look in detail at the differences between the original design and the Series II. That will be your guide as to what works best for you and what way to go.
Good luck.
Just recently purchased cert. pre-owned 2000 Disco II from LR dealer with 40k miles on it. So far I am happy with the truck and I enjoy driving every minute of it. I replaced a break lamp on my own and every now and then I had to recalibrate the digital compass on the rear view mirror. I have a question to all the Disco owners. I use premium gasoline every time I go to fill up gas ($2.10 per gal in NYC!!). Do I need to use products like STP Gas Treatment in the winter time?
Thanks.
After the service was complete, the dealer told me they replaced the water pump. I noticed water in the garage, but I thought it was the climate control system (AC). They didn't do a great job in the replacement because I had to bring it back in to bleed the water line. We heard water swooshing around in front of the dash!
I also noticed a squeaking sound on the driver side window, which I asked them to fix at the 15k service. Soon after, the window made a pop and it wasn't functioning properly. Turns out they had to replace the window assembly.
It was an inconvenience to have to bring the Disco back in, but I called on a Monday morning and they said bring it in, we'll fix it right away. I was impressed with the fact that they were able to do the service in such short order, and it kind of made up for the fact that they didn't do a great job in the first place.
After 15k we have had only these problems with our 14-month-old `03 Disco. Are these the kind of problems that have made some characterize it as an unreliable brand and brought down the Land Rover reliability reputation at JD Power? Not for me! Here is to another rough winter in New England and the boys in England who built the machine that will make it fun! Cheers!
As far as price, when we last spoke about it she was asking $11,5K. From what you mentioned that sounds fair. Of course if she goes down more that would be fine. But either way it appears that I'm going to get a good deal. I will just have to contend with the small rust problem. It doesn't appear to be too extensive, but I will have it thoroughly check out before purchasing.
I'm OK with not a lot of power, my last car was a 528e BMW, and it was a little sluggish too. Too much power in a car has gotten me into trouble in the past so that's not a problem for me.
My hope is that I will be able to afford a used/clean Range in a few years. On my salary I don't think I'll ever be able to afford a new one. My 528e was 3 years old when I bought her, I drove her for 16 years, she has a new owner now and she's still riding smooth.
Thanks again, the detailed info was much appreciated!
Jamia
Windows: my lift mechanism did the same thing... squeaking and then it broke. They replaced it for free under warranty.
Water noises: Same here. If you drain the cooling system it is a pain to get all the air bubbles out. I never took mine back to get it fixed and the bubbles eventually worked out on their own.
"Rust" at the rear side windows: Same here... it's a brown dusty fuzzy buildup and it's not rust. I'm not sure what it is... maybe airflow back there lets the stuff accumulate? It wipes right off. My alpine windows and rear sides don't leak.
Premium fuel: This is important. The ECUs will detect preignition and they will retard the timing to protect the engine... and once it's backed off it will not advance again on its own. The power loss is noticeable. The OBDII Testbook is required to reset the timing back where the fun starts again (at least on the DI). STP is not necessary. Just buy gas with ethanol content and that will suck water out of your fuel system.
Lifters: Discos are notorious for "reporting" lack of proper oil change maintenance by getting tappety in the lifters. If yours are doing it, consider a few frequent oil / filter changes with a strong detergent oil like a synthetic. That cleared my lifters when Anuqa was tapping when I first bought her. Now, no worries whatsoever.
"Reliability" concerns: I think you're right, people see squeaks and a drop on the garage floor as grounds to scream LEMON and threaten litigation. All things considered these are very minor problems. I have several relatives and coworkers who experience MUCH more severe problems with their SUVs. Jeep Grand Cherokees blow transmissions and axles, Dodge Dakotas and Durangos do the same, my buddy's Toyota Sequoia blew the air conditioner module and pump and evaportator, all at 8,000 miles. My brother's Chevy needed the front A-arms, driveshaft and tie rod ends replaced at 10k miles. Meanwhile my Rover just keeps churning along.
Cheers!
Apparently the video link was so popular, the site was overloaded and webmaster has asked visitors to download it vs. linking to it from so many sites. It is a big file at about 7MB.
Go to:
http://sajeeps.billmcgaw.com/
Select VIDEOS on the top menu, then scroll to the H2 photo credit at the bottom.
Any inputs on the mistakes made by the driver? Any Discos with the same blowout?
He said they have since changed that design which is why the newer models don't have the thick seals around the rear side windows anymore, obviously another improvement Land Rover has made to the Disco.
When I saw it on other D1's and got his explanation I felt quite relieved!
Jamia
I am new to Discos and I have never driven a brand new Disco before. My cert pre owned Disco II has hard shocks, meaning I can feel all the bumps on the road. Also, the breaks are soft, meaning I have to put more effort into it than other SUVs. I used to own a Honda CRV and driven Passport. The ride comfort feels more luxury on those vehicles than Discos. My question is that are Disco IIs supposed to have hard shocks and soft breaks? Forgive me if I am using wrong terminology.
Thanks again. Your suggestions have been helpful.
Take a look at this picture. You can clearly see the tie rod ends are stock. Hmmmmmm... a little careful analysis tells me the driver was doing something wrong too, so apparently it's not limited to H2 owners!
Since Rovers eat brake pads it may be yours were replaced recently and someone didn't bleed the system right after doing so. That always contributes to mushy brakes. If you "pump" them coming to a stop do they do better? If so just bleed the air and all is well. Simple (messy) job.
Suspension on Rovers is likewise a big part of their offroad prowess. It has to be soft enough and have enough travel to follow the contour of the terrain and keep the wheels planted. Stiffening up your suspension may improve ground clearance and look cool but you nearly always lose offroad capability... you lift a tire with open diffs and you're stuck. So then you go to lockers of some kind and you're set once more. Crawl under there and see if you have Rancho shocks? Those are common and some are adjustable. Stock shocks or "stockish" OME shocks should not be too stiff... but it will also not be soft and squishy. It won't feel like an SUV designed for road use and flying around corners.
Now I gotta go play in the snow! YAHOO!!!
(Steve: that is NOT an endorsement for another web site!)
Strangely enough though, soon thereafter the problem reoccurred and they traced it to the water pump again. I even went to the garage bay and listened to it with the “stethoscope” and sure enough, it was true. They replaced it a second time and the noise finally went away for good.
Not sure if this is the same potential noise source as your problem since our model years are far apart but the basic engine has been pretty much consistent over the years.
By the way, the regional Rover service guy was consulted on the situation and he was pretty baffled by the whole vent.
As usual though, the warranty service and Rover support was outstanding.
Budget constraints may force me to buy a used 2003 S Disco. Has anyone had any experience installing the Jump Seats themselves? If yes, what was the level of effort required? Where did you buy them from? Cost?
Thanks,
Was that picture taken in Australia? Looks like he’s driving in the “land down under” ;-)
Thanks nanuq.
The three-point seat belt mechanisms, head restraints, overhead liner design, and floor mounts, to name a few, are all specific to the (H)S(E)-7 models.
Steve, Host
On the way back to work I thought that I had felt the same "shuddering" but was on some bumpy roads and couldn't be certain. Yesterday, Wednesday, I stayed home sick with the flu but had to take my kids to school, it's a 10 mile round trip. In those 10 miles the "shudder" happened 4 times.
I called the dealership back and let them know. I'm waiting to hear back from them. This morning LRNA customer satisfaction called and I let them know as well.
Back to square 1. Not sure what they'll come up with next. If it's not the transmission the other things I can think of are bad spark plug wres, bad spark plugs, fuel injectors(not likely though).
I still think the tranny is the culprit though.
We're getting a nice scatter here, and I've been out playing. I got home last night with the underside caked in snow and pulled into the garage. Curious this morning to realize I have no floor drains in the garage of our new home so there was Lake Disco out there. But all is well, a little sweeping cleared it out into the drive. Where it froze. On the hill.
TIME TO GET OUT THE SKIS!! (making lemonaid here)
But my baby brudder has them and he seems to like 'em. They ARE adjustable, but will they last? I'd rather spend the money on Old Man Emu and know they're good for the long haul.
I put jump seats in back of my DI and it wasn't too bad at all. I imagine the DII is far more complex. It took about 2 hours per seat. I got aftermarket seatbelts and I was REALLY careful making the cuts in the panels and they came out nice. No rattles. They do cut down on useable space in back, but I can still get 2 mtn bikes in there with the jump seats folded up.
I think I spent $175 at a wrecker for the seats, another $90 for fasteners and belts and miscellaneous... presto! 7 seats.
I am looking to buy a pre-owned Discovery II (for the cost savings). Many of them seem to come in the seven seat configuration. Is it difficult (everything is possible right?) to remove them? Will it look like something is missing (i.e. holes in panels)? I do not need the two extra seats and would like all the cargo room I can get.
Thank you!
Paul
The DII is doubtless different, but really the jump seats on mine, when folded, don't take up that much room. They just fit into the "map pocket" recesses at the rear sides and are pretty flush to the sides. But if you need an extra inch of room to get something rigid like a mtn bike in there, the room is taken.
One plus, you could probably advertize those jump seats and get a pretty penny for them. I paid $175 the pair and I've seen them for $200 apiece sans linkage.
One plus, the seats make "shelves" in back and provide access to lower level stuff meanwhile letting you stack more in there. For example I can load the back with packs and then put stoves and water bottles beneath the seats. Opening the rear hatch, I can pull out a stove without unloading all the packs.
After I had the water pump replaced in my 2003 the belt squeaked like mad the first start of the day. Brought it in and the dealer promptly adjusted it! they said the squeak was caused by small fragments of rubber that wore off?
Thanks.
Can anyone tell me about the 2002 models? Is there anything I should be wary of? I really liked the truck and would love to make an offer. I will be using it for highway driving and off road in muddy conditions.
thanks!
As for DII reliability, I would trust that Disco over any other SUV you could buy. You may have the odd minor annoyance but the hard parts (drivetrain, chassis, suspension, etc.) are built to last. Almost every other truck or SUV in my personal experience has driveline trouble, sooner rather than later. Those are EXPENSIVE problems, and you just won't have those with a Rover.
You'll find the old stories about Rover unreliability are, 99% of the time, just that... stories. See if the salesman or service manager can pull up the vehicle's service history by VIN. They have the capability and it will reveal that specific truck's life until now.
Cheers!
I don't remember ever seeing such a wide disparity in recommended tire pressures between front and rear tires as there is for that Disco. 10 pounds seems like a big difference.
Steve, Host
I went ahead and set my tires at 34 all around, then 38 all around, and got better mileage and never saw any adverse reactions. But I also don't drive the beast like an Indy car either.
Now I'm running Nokian tyres (I know it's silly, but I am required to spell it like that... it was part of the paperwork when I bought them) and I keep them inflated to 55psi. The top rating is 85psi and they work great right where they are.
Going camping this weekend! Wahoo!!!
The factory does a lot of testing to come up with their inflation numbers. You'll be safe with what they publish, but in my humble opinion you'd be fine at 34/38 too. A good check is to go for a nice fast drive then jump out and feel your tires. If they feel hot then chances are they're flexing too much and are underinflated. You'll also start to see wear patterns at the tread edges and not in the middle. Conversely you'll see wear in the middle and not at the edges (and they'll be nice and cool) if they're overinflated.
Hope this helps!
From wearing my pads to a nubbin, I've wound up with some concentric grooves in the rotors. I just bought new pads, put 'em in, bled the brakes, and drove it. I let the pads take a good long time to "bed in" to match the contours of the small grooves, and in a couple days my brakes were good as new. The grooves polished right up to a high gloss.
If the grooves are pretty bad, I'd say yeah... replace the rotors. But if they're minor I'd drive it. But do pay attention to the minimum rotor thickness. You do NOT want a rotor to come apart while you're driving.
I bet your son gets half the pad life that you do for good reason. *wink* My pads last about 15-18k miles and I drive pretty reasonably.
I'm still on my original rotors at 84k miles... I haven't heard of overly soft or flawed rotors.
http://www.tirechain.com/P255-55R-18.htm
Kevin
Installing jump seats, really isn’t that bad either. LR actually has instructions on the RAVE CD on how to install them. The main items needed are the two seats, rear panels, and the mounting brackets onto the floor. You should be able to make the conversion in less than a day. If you purchase the items thru LR you will pay a few thousand dollars but I have seen these for sell on ebay on discoweb.org for $1000 or so.
Hope this helps.
It sounds like removing them is actually not too difficult and nets a good amount of storage space. I can then not worry about excluding seven-seaters when I look at used DIIs.
Thank you.
I used the dealer kit for my hitch but you can really go with the $65 shop special. The Rover wiring kit attempts to translate the bizarre European wiring methodology into US wiring and then the dealer had to add a non-Rover adapter to convert from the Euro converted line to the U-Haul standard (yup, pretty unusual). Bottom line was that the wiring looked like Rube Goldberg did it even when I had the Rover dealer install it.
Just make sure your shop supplied hitch has the correct drop so that your trailer rides on an even keel and make sure the shop tightens the ball with a torque wrench to the recommended torque. Don’t want that trailer flying away!
Have fun.
If you feel uncomfortable removing the seats, tell the dealership that they will have to remove them for free as well. Can you them put them in your garage for future use or sell them for $1K or so.
Good luck.
1. what lights in the rear are supposed to come on? On mine the left side turn signal lite is lighted and on the right side the red light next to the turn signal is lighted?
2. Is this correct for the rear fog lights and has anyone ever used this option on there disco?
thanks for any help....