Discovery 2
- Thread starter sarfarm
- Start date
tylercollins
New member
I absolutely love mine! I bought a well maintained and fully documented TD5 2004 Discovery 2 with a full service history about 7 months ago now and I've had zero major issues after 15000 miles. The previous owner had the underside & chassis protected many years ago so it doesn't suffer from any rot in the usual places.
I've already took the liberty to replace the common problem items; replaced the seals on the injectors, oil pump bolt in the sump, bypassed the MAF sensor, and a few other things, call it preempted maintenance. At the end of this month I'm also heading over to Scotland to drop the car with someone to get the chassis resealed just for peace of mind.
My advice if you do want to buy one; buy one that has been well maintained and looked after and if you continue to do the same, you'll have a very little issues.
I've already took the liberty to replace the common problem items; replaced the seals on the injectors, oil pump bolt in the sump, bypassed the MAF sensor, and a few other things, call it preempted maintenance. At the end of this month I'm also heading over to Scotland to drop the car with someone to get the chassis resealed just for peace of mind.
My advice if you do want to buy one; buy one that has been well maintained and looked after and if you continue to do the same, you'll have a very little issues.
DiscoDavis
Explorer
The Td5 is legit, the V8 is nawt.
The 4.0/4.6 can have issues but that depends on how the vehicle was maintained. In its day the industry considered it a great engine. Time and technology changes have relegated it to "old".
Totally agree with you,the V8 is a superb engine and I have two RR P38 with 4l version and have never had a problem,seems these occur due to lack of servicing.
Its interesting to note that the V8 fitted to the later RR was of BMW origin and everyone I know who has one has had major engine problems,so maybe sticking to the old Buick designed engine has its benefits,have owned these engined vehicles from the start of the RR and the only problem encountered was with the Strongberg carbs on the original,easily sorted by fitting a Holley unit.
LuxuryDesignerCamping
New member
Edit: Just noticed you are from the U.K., so removed U.S. vendor from post.
Fantastic vehicles. Before I make some comments, I just want to write that D2s are not that hard to work on and can be maintained on a modest budget if the truck you start with is a good example and you are willing to work on it yourself. Who knows, maybe you can afford a shop to do the work? If so, find a shop that specializes in Rovers, as they are very much different from other vehicles and can burn out mechanics that don't know their common issues.
The V8 Rover used in these trucks has a reputation for being "charming," to put it kindly. Expanding on the above comments, these engines are an absolute nightmare if previous owners skimped on maintenance or used cheap fixes. Even when meticulously maintained, they are temperamental and need constant attention.
Though many D2 owners will have their own suggestions about what perils you may face, look out for:
-overheating. Check that the coolant level is correct on the cold engine as a first check on a D2. Take the cap off the overflow reservoir and look for evidence of stop leak. I would run, not walk, away from a D2 with cooling issues. Unless you are a glutton for punishment or just plan to potentially swap engines, cooling issues cripple these trucks and send them to the junkyard on a regular basis. This could be anything. Really. The engine blocks are notorious for cracking behind the cylinder liners and can be very difficult to diagnose. Typical presentation will be the truck runs fine until under load, then starts overheating shortly after putting in gear and starting on your journey. If you get a D2, people recommend monitoring the coolant temp via scangauge/ultragauge/OBD2 Bluetooth adaptor and Torque app on smartphone, etc. This is because the temp gauge stays in the middle until the engine is already overheated to the point of serious damage. Only once you have cooked it will the needle budge. I got a bluetooth adaptor for $20 and an android tablet for $30. Cheap insurance.
-ticking noises that could be anything from a lazy lifter to a cylinder hammering away the head gasket fire ring. The former isn't really a worry, but the latter issue will eventually require engine replacement or repair with flanged liners. Flanged liners are favorably discussed at length all over the web and are viewed as a panacea for what ails these engines by some. I used flanged liners in one of my D2s and can't complain. A machinist will have to install them, though, which costs about $2k in my case, plus the $600 or so for the liners themselves.
-3 amigos (3 warning lights for traction control, ABS, and hill descent control that all illuminate together signaling entry into the elite D2 owner's club). This could be a wheel bearing, an ABS shuttle-valve failure, or a slew of other issues. An Autozone code scanner will not tell you what it is or allow you to read or clear codes. If you get a D2 and do your own work, there are scanners you can buy for modest prices to read and scan these codes. The alternative of throwing parts at the truck can run in the thousands of dollars if using genuine parts.
-electronics that don't work (specifically, the door lock actuators fail often). Like all cars, electronics fail.
-and vibrations when driving. If you get a D2, check the front driveshaft. If it has non-greaseable u-joints, swap in a shaft that is greaseable and grease it every oil change. A common failure mode on these trucks is the front driveshaft fails without warning on the highway and smashes expensive holes in the transmission and passenger's side catalytic convertor.
None of the things that go wrong with a D2 have to be expensive if you are willing to get your hands dirty. Every problem you will likely encounter has been discussed many, many times in forums and there is still an active community of people that are chuffed to bits to own these trucks. I own 2. Best vehicle for comfort and capability for less than $50k, if you ask me. Just be sure to go in with your eyes wide, wide, wide open.
A final note on servicing D2s. Owning a D2 and feeding it quality parts will save you lots of heartache. My experience, and the experience of many frustrated people posting in forums, usually underscores the intolerance for poor-quality parts on a D2. Buy quality parts to service a well-maintained truck (with records from new, if possible) and you might just fall in love with it.
Good luck and happy Rovering!
Fantastic vehicles. Before I make some comments, I just want to write that D2s are not that hard to work on and can be maintained on a modest budget if the truck you start with is a good example and you are willing to work on it yourself. Who knows, maybe you can afford a shop to do the work? If so, find a shop that specializes in Rovers, as they are very much different from other vehicles and can burn out mechanics that don't know their common issues.
The V8 Rover used in these trucks has a reputation for being "charming," to put it kindly. Expanding on the above comments, these engines are an absolute nightmare if previous owners skimped on maintenance or used cheap fixes. Even when meticulously maintained, they are temperamental and need constant attention.
Though many D2 owners will have their own suggestions about what perils you may face, look out for:
-overheating. Check that the coolant level is correct on the cold engine as a first check on a D2. Take the cap off the overflow reservoir and look for evidence of stop leak. I would run, not walk, away from a D2 with cooling issues. Unless you are a glutton for punishment or just plan to potentially swap engines, cooling issues cripple these trucks and send them to the junkyard on a regular basis. This could be anything. Really. The engine blocks are notorious for cracking behind the cylinder liners and can be very difficult to diagnose. Typical presentation will be the truck runs fine until under load, then starts overheating shortly after putting in gear and starting on your journey. If you get a D2, people recommend monitoring the coolant temp via scangauge/ultragauge/OBD2 Bluetooth adaptor and Torque app on smartphone, etc. This is because the temp gauge stays in the middle until the engine is already overheated to the point of serious damage. Only once you have cooked it will the needle budge. I got a bluetooth adaptor for $20 and an android tablet for $30. Cheap insurance.
-ticking noises that could be anything from a lazy lifter to a cylinder hammering away the head gasket fire ring. The former isn't really a worry, but the latter issue will eventually require engine replacement or repair with flanged liners. Flanged liners are favorably discussed at length all over the web and are viewed as a panacea for what ails these engines by some. I used flanged liners in one of my D2s and can't complain. A machinist will have to install them, though, which costs about $2k in my case, plus the $600 or so for the liners themselves.
-3 amigos (3 warning lights for traction control, ABS, and hill descent control that all illuminate together signaling entry into the elite D2 owner's club). This could be a wheel bearing, an ABS shuttle-valve failure, or a slew of other issues. An Autozone code scanner will not tell you what it is or allow you to read or clear codes. If you get a D2 and do your own work, there are scanners you can buy for modest prices to read and scan these codes. The alternative of throwing parts at the truck can run in the thousands of dollars if using genuine parts.
-electronics that don't work (specifically, the door lock actuators fail often). Like all cars, electronics fail.
-and vibrations when driving. If you get a D2, check the front driveshaft. If it has non-greaseable u-joints, swap in a shaft that is greaseable and grease it every oil change. A common failure mode on these trucks is the front driveshaft fails without warning on the highway and smashes expensive holes in the transmission and passenger's side catalytic convertor.
None of the things that go wrong with a D2 have to be expensive if you are willing to get your hands dirty. Every problem you will likely encounter has been discussed many, many times in forums and there is still an active community of people that are chuffed to bits to own these trucks. I own 2. Best vehicle for comfort and capability for less than $50k, if you ask me. Just be sure to go in with your eyes wide, wide, wide open.
A final note on servicing D2s. Owning a D2 and feeding it quality parts will save you lots of heartache. My experience, and the experience of many frustrated people posting in forums, usually underscores the intolerance for poor-quality parts on a D2. Buy quality parts to service a well-maintained truck (with records from new, if possible) and you might just fall in love with it.
Good luck and happy Rovering!
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DiscoDavis
Explorer
I have one vehicle with a Tdi, and one with the 3.9 215 family V8 and guess which one is more expensive to maintain, is more difficult to maintain, and is thirstier.... And the Td5 is even better than the Tdi if you do not mind a few field serviceability trade offs.
Get a Td5, a decent tune will blow the doors off the old rover V8s, and will actually be a modern and well thought out engine. Everyone recommending the V8 I am going to presume is USA market based and has never driven the Td5 models. If they did they would say what I am saying.
Get a Td5, a decent tune will blow the doors off the old rover V8s, and will actually be a modern and well thought out engine. Everyone recommending the V8 I am going to presume is USA market based and has never driven the Td5 models. If they did they would say what I am saying.
MLu
Adventurer
Well, since the question was "in comparison to other offroad vehicles"... I've had mine for a few years now, and gone on a couple offroading trips. It holds up well, especially when comparing stock (with M/Ts) to stock. I was surprised to see how well it did when driving a really sloppy wet snow trail (well, straight through the forest, I don't think there was much trail at times...) and keeping up with some mildly modded Grand Cherokees.
You'll lose to the Defenders on account of angles and clearance, but otherwise I'd say it will compare favorably to any Rover, especially with a few choice modifications and a bit of experience.
On-road it's comfortable, and probably one of the most spacious vehicles around (we've moved and renovated apartments twice since owning it...).
You'll lose to the Defenders on account of angles and clearance, but otherwise I'd say it will compare favorably to any Rover, especially with a few choice modifications and a bit of experience.
On-road it's comfortable, and probably one of the most spacious vehicles around (we've moved and renovated apartments twice since owning it...).
Just to add the V8 cooling problems are pretty typical for aluminum engines, this is compounded by the idiot gauge on the dash it moves up once things are really bad not before. The simplest fix is buy a cheap Bluetooth ODB reader and pair it with a cell phone, it is handy when looking a trucks too just plug it in the port under the dash and you monitor when you test drive. But really they are 14 year old trucks with unknown service histories for the most part. Things will need to be done. If you can get one without sunroofs you are better off at 14+ years they may well leak and it is a lot of work to fix. Not hard just time consuming.
I love mine it goes pretty much anywhere, and while it is not easy on gas it could be worse.
It has not given me any serious trouble in the 18 months I have owned it, and that big engine compartment is as others have noted is easy to work in.
I love mine it goes pretty much anywhere, and while it is not easy on gas it could be worse.
It has not given me any serious trouble in the 18 months I have owned it, and that big engine compartment is as others have noted is easy to work in.