Am I mad for considering a LR Discovery 2 TD5?

[Pig benis]

Hi all

Over the years I've had a fair share of money pits, I mean, Land Rovers and for some reason, I have a craving for another.

The previous models I've had are -

x2 Disco 300TDI
x1 Defender 200TDI

There are two reasons why I'm wanting another 4x4, I'm moving to a remote area where part of the village is totally cut off when it floods and secondly, there will be a lot of nice green laning near the house (Salisbury Plain area).

However, whenever I've looked at any D2 for sale, the MOT history mentions a lot of rust, which is very concerning.

Is there anything else which would be good off-road and doesn't suffer from rusting?

Thanks
PB

[tr7v8]

My Brothers Mk2 is more weld than metal & he lives on a metal boat in a boat year with a welder on tap.

My 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ had zero rust & was a 1000 times nicer to drive. Probably why WJ prices are on the up.
I know where my money would go & it isn't a LR product despite them being a customer for the day job.

[Pig benis]

tr7v8 said:

My Brothers Mk2 is more weld than metal & he lives on a metal boat in a boat year with a welder on tap.

My 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ had zero rust & was a 1000 times nicer to drive. Probably why WJ prices are on the up.
I know where my money would go & it isn't a LR product despite them being a customer for the day job.

That I can relate to - my Defender threw a £2,000 MOT repair bill on rust. It truly was a pile of crap, but I adored the thing and would love to have another at some point.

That is a very good shout - I don't know anything about Grand Cherokee's, but I've heard the 4.0 IL6 is a peach. Is there anything you'd look for when buying one?

PB

[camel_landy]

Pig benis said:

That is a very good shout - I don't know anything about Grand Cherokee's, but I've heard the 4.0 IL6 is a peach. Is there anything you'd look for when buying one?

The GC & the 4.0 is lovely but it does like a drink. Mind you, it's not as thirsty as the old v8, those things are thirsty, even by American standards!!

M

[scrw.]

'02 or later WJ/G Grand for me too, good build quality, my 4l did 260k miles without falling apart. My v8 was nicer to drive (not a HO one so ~230bhp IIRC), the extra power was nice, v8 averaged 19mpg, the 4l 22mpg, I would go v8 again over the 4l. Also the Quadratrac auto LSDs is a really good system, the only time I wheeled with a TD5 Disco was at Hawkstone and on the climbs it was getting places a stock TD5 couldn't (both on ATs)

IMAG0132 by Old_Chad, on Flickr

[scrw.]

My much missed v8. All I did with this was put on some +2" springs, otherwise stock.

IMG_20160911_152338871_HDR by Old_Chad, on Flickr

Edited by scrw. on Friday 19th February 20:09

[scrw.]

One thing to note is the euro WJ's (WG) were built by Styer in Austria and actually got decent underboady seal, the ones built in the USA didn't and they rot alot in the rust belt areas.

[tr7v8]

Pig benis said:

tr7v8 said:

My Brothers Mk2 is more weld than metal & he lives on a metal boat in a boat year with a welder on tap.

My 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ had zero rust & was a 1000 times nicer to drive. Probably why WJ prices are on the up.
I know where my money would go & it isn't a LR product despite them being a customer for the day job.

That I can relate to - my Defender threw a £2,000 MOT repair bill on rust. It truly was a pile of crap, but I adored the thing and would love to have another at some point.

That is a very good shout - I don't know anything about Grand Cherokee's, but I've heard the 4.0 IL6 is a peach. Is there anything you'd look for when buying one?

PB

My brothers 51 plate TD5 had rusty rear spring mounts together with a heap of other rust. His boat yard welder welded it all up, It took him a day and a half & his comment afterwards was "Never, ever ask me to do one of those again" punctuated by a lot of swear words.
Mine was a 4L they convert well to LPG although mine wasn't. The 4L design dates back to very early 60's. There is a great facebook group for WJs.
I ran mine for 6 years going from 82K to 125K It was super comfy & had a stack of room, more than the Cayenne I run now.
Mine was in General AT2 & felt unstoppable.
Most of the things are standard stuff for old cars, seized callipers, leaky rads & knackered rubber bushes.
A common area of complaint can be blend doors, which mix hot/cold air for the heating. All UK cars have dual left right A/C.
Mine did 3 rads (all cheap Euro Car parts ones) and around 4 callipers which seized. Parts from the US are generally pretty cheap and only take 2-3 days to arrive.
Fuel averaged around 16MPG. The 4l is 190 BHP & is certainly quick enough day to day. The V8 is 1-2MPG lower but is quicker.

[300bhp/ton]

Pig benis said:

Hi all

Over the years I've had a fair share of money pits, I mean, Land Rovers and for some reason, I have a craving for another.

The previous models I've had are -

x2 Disco 300TDI
x1 Defender 200TDI

There are two reasons why I'm wanting another 4x4, I'm moving to a remote area where part of the village is totally cut off when it floods and secondly, there will be a lot of nice green laning near the house (Salisbury Plain area).

However, whenever I've looked at any D2 for sale, the MOT history mentions a lot of rust, which is very concerning.

Is there anything else which would be good off-road and doesn't suffer from rusting?

Thanks
PB

What sort of budget are you looking at? I'm also assuming you want something the size of a D2?


The D2 is a good vehicle. It is the chassis that rusts, but careful buying should find a good one. You can also buy replacement chassis for them if it is to be a keeper. So I wouldn't completely rule out a D2.


Of a similar era is the p38 Range Rover. These don't seem to suffer the rust issues, although the electronics on them are a bit more complex than the D2's. But IMO the p38 is the better vehicle, only lacking the option of ACE.

The D3 and and RRS or even an L322 are also down to similar prices now. These are all bigger vehicles, but still highly capable. More car like on road and less rugged. But they are a level of complexity higher.

I also like Jeeps. The XJ Cherokee is getting on a bit now. But they are frankly awesome vehicles. The facelift ones shouldn't be too rust prone either. The Grand Cherokees are good too, bit more space, but still a bit more compact than an RR/Disco. The only thing with the Jeeps, they usually want a small lift kit to match the Land Rovers off road. From the factory they tend to ride a bit lower.


Bit older maybe, but the Ford Explorer and Chevy Blazer are both quite capable 4x4's. The IFS somewhat limits them off road compared to the Jeeps and Land Rovers, but not in the context of laning. Only more extreme stuff. You might also be able to find an import with a nicer engine too if you don't mind LHD. But both the Explorer and Blazer were sold in the UK with RHD.

The Mk1 Touareg is also quite a capable 4x4. It will probably wave wheels in the air a bit off road, but is a solid capable off roader. The E53 BMW X5 is also better than you might think, as it was co-developed with the L322 Range Rover and shares quite a few design elements. The RR is better off road and more wafty, but the BMW can tackle the rough and is more road biased.

[Rushjob]

I've got a D2 TD5, my second one. Yes the rear chassis on them rots - I spent €45 on some laser cut plates and another €15 on some 2mm steel plate and after a day's work the rear chassis is more solid than when it came out of the factory. Buy a good one, scrupulously clean the chassis, sills and inner wings, and give it a good going over with a decent quality rust prevention underseal and it will last you for years.

[Test driver]

Another vote for the Jeep WJ 4.7 V8 here, fantastic value for money and much better made than the Solihull stboxes.


All TD5’s I have seen have been rotten, gutless and with 3 amigo’s faults.

[Thebaggers]

Pig benis said:

Hi all

Over the years I've had a fair share of money pits, I mean, Land Rovers and for some reason, I have a craving for another.

The previous models I've had are -

x2 Disco 300TDI
x1 Defender 200TDI

There are two reasons why I'm wanting another 4x4, I'm moving to a remote area where part of the village is totally cut off when it floods and secondly, there will be a lot of nice green laning near the house (Salisbury Plain area).

However, whenever I've looked at any D2 for sale, the MOT history mentions a lot of rust, which is very concerning.

Is there anything else which would be good off-road and doesn't suffer from rusting?

Thanks
PB

Yes you are mad. Next question. And get a Jimmy or something.

[Walter Sobchak]

An undersealed Landcruiser.

[TiminYorkshire]

I bought one about 4 years ago already with a replacement rear chassis.

Strangely fond of it.

The rear suspension has just started to leak, new Dunlop air springs for the rear £120 delivered for the pair seems not bad value and look pretty easy to fit.

I'll see if I'm still fond of it by this time next week!

There's a bit of why I like it here:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Edited by TiminYorkshire on Monday 8th March 21:37

[neutral 3]

TD-5 for me. Yes, I’ve had to throw ££ @ it, but used parts are easy and £ cheap to find.

[Rushjob]

neutral 3 said:

TD-5 for me. Yes, I’ve had to throw ££ @ it, but used parts are easy and £ cheap to find.

It's also the last one that is relatively easy to work on yourself....

[TiminYorkshire]

Given my ineptitude, the fact that I managed to change out the rear airbags does seem to agree with the post above.

[g7jtk]

You could also consider a discovery 3

[Walter Sobchak]

g7jtk said:

You could also consider a discovery 3

He's probably better off with a nice 2 in terms of simplicity to work on and amount of issues, the 3 is a nicer car to drive though, just speaking as a previous mk1 RR Sport owner there can be a lot of pitfalls!.

[Rushjob]

Walter Sobchak said:

He's probably better off with a nice 2 in terms of simplicity to work on and amount of issues, the 3 is a nicer car to drive though, just speaking as a previous mk1 RR Sport owner there can be a lot of pitfalls!.

Totally agree, the D3 is a better drive - no doubt in that - I absolutely loved mine.....but again, as said, but so complex that most home mechanics might find it a bit too much to repair and there is definitely big bill potential