Land Rover Disco's: are they really that shite?

[hpi_matrix]

Thinking about calling time on my Vitara, its been fun but I would really like diesel 4x4.

 

I know they rust like buggery, but what are the mechanicals like? And are parts cheap?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Yes they rust, but they're as complicated as a shovel, even I can fix them and the back up and enthusiast support is second to none. Every town and village in Britain has at least one bearded , oily jeaned bloke that will sell you a bit of Disco for £30 and will probably help you fit it.

[Asimo]

The V8 engines are quite good but there is no room at all in the back seats.

[twosmoke300]

The horror , the horror !

That's from a 90 owner too

[Longblackcoat]

Series 1 are agricultural and rust like hell, Series 2 are much better but have added complexity. Both are cheap but need frequent attention for broken bits. Disco 3 are bloody brilliant (I've had two) and can be expensive to keep running.

[sutty2006]

I've had discoverys for a while now. Mines had lots of welding between both number plates. Mechanicals are simple. They either work, or are seized. I'm sick of fixing my 300tdi but it gets some hard punishment off road. I have a disco3 for using daily and towing.

[dollywobbler]

Funnily enough, I was just thinking of Discos...

 

The rose-tinted view is that I still would love it back. The reality is that it rarely completed a journey in my ownership without breaking. Catsinthewelder seems to have got on with it rather better than I did! A great off-roader though, and pretty pleasant (in an agricultural way) on it too. I never quite forgave it for seizing a wheel bearing when I tried to drive to Shitefest '13 in it though.

[twosmoke300]

A lot of the problems with all landrovers is the piss poor quality of some of the pattern parts - yes they are cheap ( britpart im looking at you ) but they are rubbish and will let you down .

[dollywobbler]

To be fair, mine had hardly been well looked after by the previous owner either. Let's remember Sauron the gearbox sump plug...

[Guest Hooli]

Well.....

 

 

They sink

 

 

They fall over

 

 

They drive down waterfalls

 

 

And they kill frogs

 

 

I thought mine was great & would have another if I intended to play offroad/green lanes again.

[Guest Lord Sward]

I moved from an very early Disco V8 to a run out TD5.  They are simply terrific.  But they do require regular maintenance, just like the original Range Rover did.  Currently showing 134k on my TD5 which really works for a living. They are irreplaceable today.

[forddeliveryboy]

I love early ones, after Series Landies then 90s they were a revelation, especially with the TDi 35mpg and easy 90mph cruising. Forever needing simple fettling, about the polar opposite of a LandCruiser but as dependable if you can be bothered with decent maintenance.

[catsinthewelder]

There is an unkillable nature to them.  The ex-DW 200TDi has gone wrong in a whole variety of ways but always makes it home under it's own steam eventually.  It currently has knackered brakes, a flat battery and a resident mouse and it is still near the top of the queue for being fixed.

 

[TRW]

Even the worst one, at the bottom of the Adriatic has to be better than my Freelander. Of note I will add, has just ate its Clutch. Lovely.

 

I moved from an very early Disco V8 to a run out TD5.  They are simply terrific.  But they do require regular maintenance, just like the original Range Rover did.  Currently showing 134k on my TD5 which really works for a living. They are irreplaceable today.

I don't know why, but every time Sward posts I can see him doing it sat in that rusty Freight Rover 200 in his avatar, on a Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570


* Sent from my typewriter in my brakeless Montego Countryman.

[Cavcraft]

Have always seen them as one of those cars you'd love to own, but probably won't because they're effing rubbish. I can't think of a single person I know personally who's owned one that hasn't caused major trouble somewhere along the line.

[95 quid Peugeot]

I know they all get slated more than a disco. But Mrs 95 quid and I have a gaylander TD4. Touch wood for such a high mileage one its only had 1 minor hiccup ... still running with both propshafts. BMW engine faultless

[michael1703]

 

Discos have shit turning circles, I can turn my p38 into any parking space whereas you need 3 goes with disco shit steering

 

They're very small inside, the switch gear is horrible, the ergonomics are crap

[HMC]

Because of how they rust, and how theyve often been "repaired" it's really important to check the inner structure. Ours was quite rotten, yet looked nice on top with its ally cladding hiding the horrors beneath. It never went wrong but being an early 200tdi there was nothing really to go wrong. Previous cack handed repairs to the body tub made it suitable only for parts in the end....

[AMC Rebel]

Discos have shit turning circles, I can turn my p38 into any parking space whereas you need 3 goes with disco shit steering

 

They're very small inside, the switch gear is horrible, the ergonomics are crap

D3s are much better for this.  I have a RR classic (which is basically the same as early Discos) and the turning circle is awful - but my D3 is much better, despite being longer.

[richardthestag]

disco 1 is a Range Rover classic from the cheepseets, no abs, air suspension, anti rollbars, self levelling, comfy seats  etc

 

disco 2 still classic rr underpinnings but got a whole lot more complicated electrically and mechanically mainly for the US market I am sure! probably

 

disco 3 / 4 I wouldnt touch with yours! a "small man complex" vehicle is ever there was one!

 

Disco 1 rusts as bad as a classic but panels and expertise are available. 

 

Special tools consist of some huge sockets and a 2foot breaker bar. Oh and three different sizes of hammer

 

Before buying any spare part in a blue box ask is there is another more expensive alternative? If stuck with blue box, keep the packaging, receipt and evidence of when fitted and mileage. Take note! any moving part in a blue box such as ball joint will be supplied (in my experience) with the absolute bare minimum of lube, do yourself a favour and pop off the rubber boot and pack him out before fitting.

 

Disco 1/2 turning circle is impacted by comedy spacers, tyres and rimz, get him back to standard and all normal service will be resumed!

 

Early 3 door disco on 3.5 pez or 200 tdi on a manual box is fairly high up my want list.

 

200tdi is a fucking marvellous engine, torque to pull the car up a 45degree slope almost at idle. it suits the disco like chedder cheese on a jacobs cracker

300tdi is complex, heavy, more powerful than 200tdi but comes with more expensive billz I wouldnt bother

TD5 is Disco 2 territory and have never driven one

 

3.5 is my comfort zone, thirsty but powerful, lpg would be simple single point close loop system. where to put the tank is the issue. underneath will double up a rock sliders, in the boot destroys the usefulness of dropping the seats and "slipping in a length"

 

so for me is prob has to be a early 90s at the newest stickered up 3 door with a 200tdi, fucking lush

[AMC Rebel]

 

disco 3 / 4 I wouldnt touch with yours! a "small man complex" vehicle is ever there was one!

 

 

Not sure where I fit in this - own a D3 and RR classic (and am many things, but small isn't one).

 

I like the D3 - it's highly competent, but the RR classic appeals for a whole different set of reasons - and the RR classic definitely has a shite turning circle without relying on any mods for it.

 

I agree about an early V8 Disco being very appealing though.

[andy18s]

Use to own g252uyk which was a black 3dr 3.5 v8 on cards. 12mpg as a rule but sounded fantastic when booting it...

2nd was a late 3.9v8 on lpg,which Skizzer has at the mo

Same sort of mpg but being half the price meant it was usable as a daily

Both had a robustness feel built into them

Granted they both had issues but no more than any other older car

Britpart has played it's part in the vehicles seemingly unreliable reputation as their parts are made to a cheap level and fail soon again

Plenty of other suppliers out there though

D3 is a fantastic motor but are now at the age where gearbox or electronical issues can finish them off

Not the most inspiring to live with,a simple bulb failure is enough to panic the whole system into Omg suspension lowered/gearbox failure/nuns and kittens will die type scenarios...

If you're not spending 500 a month on repairing it,then you need to save 500 a month for when it does need work

We sold ours after the wife decided she couldn't drive it without the fear of it bing binging at her for something trivial....

[Supernaut]

If you get a D2, please please please AVOID one that's had the rear air suspension replaced with coils.

 

My parents used to have a D2 TD5 that had had that done to it by a previous owner, and if you were sitting anywhere other than the very front seats, you'd get sea-sick. Even the dog threw up almost every time he went anywhere in it. Eventually, galloping chassis rot killed it off after about 5 years in their ownership. They replaced it with a Subaru Legacy Outback. It still has AWD, a low-ratio transfer 'box and is capable of towing a fair weight...

[Longblackcoat]

My last Disco 3 was great, but I did have to get the torque converter refurbished and a new turbo. Not terrible at 150k. One annoying fault which borked the suspension for a while was some frayed wiring (rubbing on something and eventually wearing through) which confused the hell out of the ECU. Tracked it down and sorted, all was fine.

 

Other than that, pretty uneventful. I fitted poly bushings, which was a mistake as it made everything a bit firmer - I should have used standard parts?

 

26mpg was the rule, and even with a chipped engine (up to around 220-230hp) it was slow. Cruising over 80mph was a bit of a chore.

[barmatt]

I'm a serial disco licker, had 5 so far and I'll soon be buying another unless I win the rangie roffle on saturday.

 

So long as you accept that they aren't a car, they're basically a small tractor and treat them to regular maintenance they need you can have many, many miles of trouble free motoring. I personally prefer the 300 as it's slightly more refined and a bit more powerful than the 200 but the v8's are a hoot. Apart from the rust issues I bloody love 'em and will have more of them.

[John F]

michael1703, on 03 Mar 2017 - 07:48 AM, said:michael1703, on 03 Mar 2017 - 07:48 AM, said:michael1703, on 03 Mar 2017 - 07:48 AM, said:michael1703, on 03 Mar 2017 - 07:48 AM, said:michael1703, on 03 Mar 2017 - 07:48 AM, said:michael1703, on 03 Mar 2017 - 07:48 AM, said:

Discos have shit turning circles, I can turn my p38 into any parking space whereas you need 3 goes with disco shit steering

 

They're very small inside, the switch gear is horrible, the ergonomics are crap

 

Disco 1s have much better turning circles than Defenders.

 

They're bloody enormous inside if you need to move boxes of shit piled up to roof height from one place to the next, not so large if you need to move a load of fat people around. Make the fuckers walk instead, the exercise will do them good.

 

 

richardthestag, on 03 Mar 2017 - 09:31 AM, said:richardthestag, on 03 Mar 2017 - 09:31 AM, said:richardthestag, on 03 Mar 2017 - 09:31 AM, said:richardthestag, on 03 Mar 2017 - 09:31 AM, said:richardthestag, on 03 Mar 2017 - 09:31 AM, said:richardthestag, on 03 Mar 2017 - 09:31 AM, said:

200tdi is a fucking marvellous engine, torque to pull the car up a 45degree slope almost at idle. it suits the disco like chedder cheese on a jacobs cracker

300tdi is complex, heavy, more powerful than 200tdi but comes with more expensive billz I wouldnt bother

TD5 is Disco 2 territory and have never driven one

 

200 TDi and 300 TDi put out the same power at 115 bhp, and IIRC they've got essentially the same bottom end. They're both excellent old-school turbo diesels with mechanical fuel injection, there's not much to go wrong with them. The 300 TDi is more refined but slightly less tough due to stupid design flaws like placement of the thermostat housing above the level of the coolant header tank, necessitating a very careful coolant bleeding process. Also, some 300 TDi engines tend to suffer OMGHGF on cylinder 4 at some point in their career, not a big deal though because it's a pushrod engine. Vacuum pumps can occasionally leak oil, they're supposedly not serviceable but they are really, just drill out the rivets, rebuild the seal with silicon & bolt back together with M5 bolts.

 

TD5s are absolute bastards to work on, and include such gems as the oil filter being sited right next to the red-hot turbo. Alternators can also fail due to being positioned in just the right spot to scoop up loads of silt when wading.

 

Disco 1 gearboxes (LT77 in the 200, R380 in the 300) have excellent ratios for the engines / vehicles, but aren't the toughest in the world. 2nd gear synchros can fail on the R380, leading to crunching on fast gear changes.

 

Also, contrary to what has been said above, Disco 1s do have anti-roll bars and are available with ABS, electric sunroofs, leather interiors, etc. I wouldn't bother getting one with sunroofs though, they all seem to leak.

 

Other people have mentioned rust. Yes. Buy a welder & lots of sheet steel. Disco 1s suffer rot in front inner wings, sills, rear arches, boot floors and rear body crossmembers. Also occasionally on the bottom of the chassis rails just in front of the rear axle. Disco 2s are the other way round, the body is much improved but the chassis rots instead. Also, they're full of electronic junk that fucks up. No idea about Disco 3s and beyond, they weigh more than the moon and are chock full of electronics so are probably more useful as a tow vehicle than as a true off-roader.

 

My 300 TDi has been fairly demanding in terms of upkeep, but it's also one of the best vehicles I've ever had. It's as happy taking a load of building waste to the tip and green-laning in winter as it is crossing continents - I've driven mine to Austria and back 5 times now, it'll sit at 80 mph for hours at a time in pretty good comfort.

 

Summary: recommended, with certain caveats. And don't forget to buy that welder.

[twosmoke300]

"200tdi is a fucking marvellous engine, torque to pull the car up a 45degree slope almost at idle. it suits the disco like chedder cheese on a jacobs cracker

300tdi is complex, heavy, more powerful than 200tdi but comes with more expensive billz I wouldnt bother"

 

John F beats me to it but the 200/300 is almost the same motor with the same power output and i cant see them being more than 5kg different in weight

[richardthestag]

 I fitted poly bushings, which was a mistake as it made everything a bit firmer - I should have used standard parts?

 

 

I had red polybush on my current RRC and it was harsh! changed to blue comfort polybush and what a difference. better than the original rubber bushes because I am not having to change them every 20k miles

[0ldCh0d]

Do Discovery 1 & 2's suffer from steering box issues? Like LDV Vans? I ask because about 10 years ago now, i bought a 1997 P Registration Discovery, 2.5 TDi (I think it was a 300, but i am unsure) & the steering was pretty much non responsive, I did drive ok though...just was like a boat when cornering.

It also (Unknown to me) had quite bad rot on the rear boot floor.

 

However, i stuck it on the Bay of E, &  A big, huge, bodybuilder type guy came down from Aberdeen & Bought it.

 

Never had one since. I did have an old 1993 Suzuki Vitara for off roading & that was fucking awesome. But that is another story.

 

A Video of me & My Vitara....The white one. It really was superb off road.

 

[gdhaydock]

I've had 8 of them :-

 

1994 200 TDI Auto, pulled like an absolute train, killed by body rot in the end

 

1994 3.9 V8 Manual with LPG - Fantastic motor, sold to go back to diesel as the underslung LPG tanks weren't good for green laning

 

1994 300TDI manual - Still own this, has had pretty much the entire underbody refrabricated, head gasket replaced, now on 200000 miles and presently resting due to a mouse eating part of the wiring loom and sending it into meltdown. 

 

1991 200TDI manual - bought as a stop gap during the weldathon on one of the others, it was a mint looking early 3 door, but got rid of it just before the test ran out due to rot starting

 

1998 TD5 auto - Nice car, but the complexity scared me, sold it after the auto box shat itself

 

1995 300TDI manual - Bought on here as a stopgap whilst fixing the OMGHGF on another one, sold to JohnF for the "ex MissF" now currently "resting" with another mate who is in the process of performing a weldathon to the entire underbody which is as rotten as an overripe pear

 

1996 300TDI Auto - Not sure why I bought this one, but it did 12 months good service before being sold to another mate who is still using it

 

2002 TD5 Manual - Acquired recently at a very favorable price, possibly a stopgap whilst the wiring/mouse issues in the current 300tdi are resolved. Long term not sure, as it works well and is remarkably "not rotten" in the chassis department.

 

Yes, they are great cars, but as everyone says, keep up to the maintenance and welding.

 

For reference - there is no link between a Disco 2 and a RRC - not a single part is shared between the 2 vehicles and the D2 has a completely different suspension setup. The Disco 1 (200 & 300TDI) is pretty much mechanically identical to a RRC though.

 

Also, there is little difference between the 200 and 300TDI other than those mentioned by a couple of other people above. Power outputs are the same and bottom ends are virtually identical. The later 300's with an auto gearbox were slightly different as they had electronic control on the fuel pump and a few more sensors to make it all work.

 

In terms of polybushes, I prefer standard bushes (genuine LR, not aftermarket) as they seem to last a lot longer and give a nicer ride.

 

If you have one that's got a suspension lift, change it back to standard, they ruin the handling and unless you intend to drag it around a "pay & play site" there is nowhere in the UK where you'll really need it. I've done a lot of greenlaning in the past, and there are very few places a standard disco won't go

 

Not had anything to do with a Disco 3 or 4 though