Somebody slap some sense into me; I can't stop looking at Land Rover Discoveries

I mean, $3k buys you a much nicer Disco than, say, a comparably priced 4Runner. And bear in mind that my current DD is a, '88 GMC 1500 with a rubber floor, crank windows, no radio or a/c, so "luxury" is a pretty foreign concept to me.

And the Discos have freakin piping on their leather seats (which all seem to be in really excellent condition, even for 15+ year-old trucks). I've wanted piping ever since I was drooling over Lotus Esprits in the early '90s when I discovered British car magazines.

I had a boss that had a few old Range Rovers, and his opinion was that most of the truck's ancillary equipment would start to fall apart before the engine/transmission/chassis/important stuff ever began to falter. And I could care less if a heated seat stops working. (Again, see current DD).

I realize this is a bad idea. Just how bad is it?

I'd love to stop you but the original Discos are on my bad idea list.

heh.. you can have my nightmare with my disco.. I just put an $8000 engine in mine plus another 4 grand in labor. I still had issues as the new engine came with a bad oilpump and I finally fixed the overheating problem.. it was gasket sealer loose in the cooling system (all new cooling system too) getting stuck in the thermostat.

The problem with Discos.. as nice as they are (and I do like mine a lot) is that it is not a matter of "if" the engine goes pop.. it is a matter of "when"

The 4.0 and 4.6 drop their liners, resulting in an unrepairable "head gasket" issue. All rover had to do was machine a small lip into the block and make the liners with a "tophat" and they would have been reliable trucks.. "for the want of a nail"

It seems to me that for the headache you get with a Discovery, and the money you're going to put into it, you're better off buying an older pre-1989 Land Rover. At least then you'll have something which will appreciate in value.

For all the open hate on this board for GM's, Subaru's and VW's, the love for Disco's just astounds me.

Off to my corner to mutter to myself. . . . . . . . .

It seems there are just a few usual suspects who bash on various marques of cars. Compared to other places, this board is tame.

do not get me wrong.. I love my disco.. I had to in order to drop that much money into it.. but like all English cars, you have to enjoy tinkering with them

I stopped driving them when they were too expensive for me, both in time and money for parts. I was the lead master tech at a Rover dealer at the time. That should say everything you need to hear.

I am standing next to a man who served ten years as a tech at the local land rover warranty shop. The guy has severe PTSD traits and will rattle off a litany of problem areas for each year of the Discos.

Pretend you're at the club - look but don't touch

3k buys a nice 4x4 Tahoe or a XJ Cherokee. Just saying

Start burning hundred dollar bills to toghen yourself up, then go for it

I can't explain it. I did roadside assistance in the 90s for Land Rover and picked up many Discoveries, some mere miles from the dealership on their first voyage. I still think they and the G-wagens are sweet trucks.

pimpm3 wrote: 3k buys a nice 4x4 Tahoe or a XJ Cherokee. Just saying

I've driven both an XJ (wife used to have one before we got her a Range Rover) and a Discovery.

They're not really comparable, although one is likely to break slightly less often.

The first Discovery Series II at my dealership was the first one I did an intake gasket on. It leaked all the coolant out ON THE SHOWROOM FLOOR.

They don't leak, they just mark their territory.

Word from the UK is - if your LR doesn't mark its territory, something needs to be topped up.

I picked up all kinds of coolant leaks. My favorite was helping a salesman tug one off of the little test track at the dealer with a Defender while I was dropping a truck off after the shop closed. I would also love a yellow Defender 90 but damn are they expensive.

I begin to think that aside from my engine problems... I got a very good one. Knock on wood, but very few leaks, no electrical issues, everything works.. just need to repair the clear coat and the headliner on mine

mad_machine wrote: The problem with Discos.. as nice as they are (and I do like mine a lot) is that it is not a matter of "if" the engine goes pop.. it is a matter of "when" The 4.0 and 4.6 drop their liners, resulting in an unrepairable "head gasket" issue. All rover had to do was machine a small lip into the block and make the liners with a "tophat" and they would have been reliable trucks.. "for the want of a nail"

So if I came across one with a bunch of top end work, including new heads...?

In reply to mad_machine:

That's like saying aside from the oozing sores on my hootus it was a good weekend.

In reply to alex:

It probably still has dropped liners?

Wally wrote: My favorite was helping a salesman tug one off

Jeez, PHRASING, WALLY!

There's a reason they're cheap, and it isn't a good one. The only way I could see owning a Land Rover anything (Series/Defender excluded, maybe) is if you just wanted the body for whatever, that is, replace everything between the crank snout and tires.

Disco, Disco DUCK.

alex wrote:

mad_machine wrote: The problem with Discos.. as nice as they are (and I do like mine a lot) is that it is not a matter of "if" the engine goes pop.. it is a matter of "when" The 4.0 and 4.6 drop their liners, resulting in an unrepairable "head gasket" issue. All rover had to do was machine a small lip into the block and make the liners with a "tophat" and they would have been reliable trucks.. "for the want of a nail"

So if I came across one with a bunch of top end work, including new heads...?

it still has a dropped liner. Head gaskets do not go bad on these trucks.. the liners drop. Pulling the heads, machining them, and putting in new head gaskets is only a bandaid