Anyone an expert on Discovery Is and IIs?

"Bandit" (2bandit) 07/12/2015 at 11:14 • Filed to: None

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I kind of like the idea of replacing my Blazer with one. Do they have the awful air suspension like Doug’s? And what are some major things to lookout for? I’m trying to find ones around 3000 - 3500 or so (which means around 100,000 - 130,000 mi).

Chinny Raccoon > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 11:19

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Only the D2’s with ACE have air suspension, most models are coil sprung. Both suffer from Rust, mainly to the body on the D1 and chassis on the D2.

jkm7680 > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 11:20

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Not a good idea :P

Bandit > Chinny Raccoon 07/12/2015 at 11:30

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And what is ACE?

My citroen won't start > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 11:31

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You will love it at first, and it is going to let you down a couple of times, if your will is strong enough you’ll keep it, if it isn’t you’ll sell it and buy something Japanese, but deep down you’ll always cherish the moments you had with it and never really stop loving the Disco.

Chinny Raccoon > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 11:40

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Active cornering enhancement- It looks like this was in addition to the air suspension, which was standard from 01. The Coil sprung versions tend to be the lower spec models- not sure what the international configurations were. Lots of people have put coils in now they are older.

Bandit > My citroen won't start 07/12/2015 at 11:50

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I just need a 4wd truck/suv for around $3500 that isn’t trashed. And these Discos are in the price range and appear to have better quality than similarly priced American trucks.

My citroen won't start > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 11:58

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Those aren’t particularly reliable, but they are more capable and vastly superior in materials and build quality.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Chinny Raccoon 07/12/2015 at 11:59

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Not necessarily true. Lots of D2’s have SLS (self-leveling suspension, or rear air springs) and not ACE.

Funktheduck > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 12:11

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I actually know of a Disco 2 for sale around that price. Not sure if they've sold it yet or not but I did see it a couple weeks ago. Doubt you wanna come south though

and 100 more > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 12:14

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Why not a Rodeo or 4runner? Both are far more reliable, parts are cheaper, both can off-road well in stock form (and both have a large community of modders), and you can get a fairly well-taken-care-of example of either well within your price range.

Bandit > and 100 more 07/12/2015 at 12:18

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Local 4runners are all extremely overpriced (about 7k for one that isn’t rusted out) and the ones that are cheap are 200k+ miles which is just too high for me to be comfortable. Also because we need something bigger than the Blazer because we tow and carry stuff, so the rodeo is out.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 12:26

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Some D2’s have rear air springs only, or SLS (self-leveling suspension). But that is a minor concern and isn’t dependent on having ACE. The bags are relatively cheap and very easy to replace, or you could just install coils instead.

Biggest problems are head gaskets and engine failures. They all need head gaskets every ~75-125k. Engine failures, due to cracking blocks or dropping cylinder liners aren’t uncommon, but do not affect all of them. D1’s seem to have fewer engine failures in my experience. Avoid ‘03, those are the worst, but interestingly ‘04 is much better. Both of those came with the 4.6 rather than 4.0 V8. Along with head gaskets, valve covers leak. Oil pans leak. Sometimes front cover gaskets will fail and let coolant into the engine oil, but that’s not terribly common.

Sunroofs leak, however cost of parts is well under $200 and the labor is pretty easy, it’ll just take you a weekend.

Tie rod ends and a few random bushings might wear out on higher mileage models.

D2’s have shitty crank sensors that will cause stalling, but parts and labor are easy to stomach. I would just replace this preventatively.

Throttle heater plates on D2’s will fail and cause you to lose all of your coolant if you’re not careful. But again, cheap and easy. Do preventatively.

Oil and trans cooler lines on D1’s leak on higher mileage models.

Occasionally, transfer case front output bearings will wear and cause a clunk, but usually nothing worse than that. Though the transfer cases do leak a bit also.

D2 front drive shafts suck. The u-joints wear and fail, and if not caught in time will fail spectacularly completely ruining your month. These are very difficult to rebuild. Aftermarket options are available, specifically Tom Woods, and those are awesome but not cheap.

Not every truck will have anywhere near all of these problems, but they will all have head gasket issues. If you still want one after reading this try to find one that had already had the heads done. Also, these are pretty easy to work on, especially if you get a ‘99 or earlier (D1 or ‘99 D2), without secondary air injection. Because that is a problematic system (pumps mostly) that just gets in the way because it has extra piping of of the heads near the exhaust manifolds and extra piping behind the intake manifold. You could do most everything yourself, even head gaskets.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions about what these jobs entail. They’re really great trucks when they work and you will fall in love with them if you get one, which can be dangerous because they may hate you. Service records ataree definitely your friend here.

Bandit > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 07/12/2015 at 12:32

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Thank you so much, this is exactly the information I wanted to know. I’ll certainly be asking you more questions as I get closer to purchasing one (if I go the LR route). These are the two I’m interested in right now:

This ‘99 http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/5077706061…

and this ‘97 if I could get the price down http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/5097071683…

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 13:23

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Any time. I would be inclined to go with the D2. It looks cleaner and already has some tasteful mods. D2’s also drive better. But at least you know what to look out for now.

tickitytickityTANK > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 13:24

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The solution to all offroad problems is XJ. It will run everytime and bailing wire and duct tape are considered acceptable oem replacements.

KatzManDu > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 13:24

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The ‘99 looks better. Occasionally car lots in Fountain Square will have will have stuff that isn’t on-line. Cruise down Shelby and Madison and the south side.

and 100 more > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 13:38

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Oh jeez! Where are you? Are you moving up from an S-10 Blazer, or a C/K?

boxrocket > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 13:58

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Do it!

You deserve something better.

Also consider an XC90: well-built, not too crazy to buy and maintain, safe, and pretty good off-road, though not to Land Rover levels.

Bandit > and 100 more 07/12/2015 at 14:08

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A 2000 automatic S10 2WD 2-door blazer that is about as base model as you can get.

Bandit > boxrocket 07/12/2015 at 14:11

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Can those tow and be found for around $3500? And are they 4wd? We have some awful roads in the winter. We want something a little bit bigger than my S10 Blazer.

and 100 more > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 14:33

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Well, not to belabor the point, but speaking from experience, you can get more stuff into a 1st gen Rodeo than a 2001 Blazer, for what it’s worth.

That said, I can totally see wanting something bigger, at least in the power department.

boxrocket > Bandit 07/12/2015 at 14:51

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The XC90’s FWD-based AWD system is pretty good in snow and off-road (Jeremy Clarkson did the Olympic challenge thing in one against James May in an Audi Q5 on Top Gear), and can tow, especially with the 2.9L or 3.2L I6 and the Yamaha 4.4L V8, though finding the V8 in your price range will be difficult. The earlier XC90s (pre 2006) can be had for under $4K, and since the car stayed mostly the same for the dozen years parts are plentiful and not horrendously priced.