Preparations, Discovery 2

[MLu]

My wife and I decided to go visit some friends in Spain next summer, and figured we'd take the car instead of flying. Maybe spend a month or so to get there and back (from Helsinki, Finland). Not necessarily anyone's idea of an expedition, it's not like we're going to discover any new tribes in the jungles of Germany, but still.

I seem to recall there being an excellent thread somewhere on the interwebs with a pretty much complete list of things to check, replace and do on a Discovery II - fluids, grease, electrics etc. Like a ten-year service. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I've only had this thing for a year, and so far only replaced whatever has literally fallen off or otherwise been in need of immediate attention, and oils.

I have admired some of the builds here, there are some pretty nice interior mods done. I don't, however, seem to recall anyone having done an area for two persons to sleep IN the vehicle. Where do we put a small cooler, for example? We're not really enthusiastic about camping, so at most we're likely to spend every other night in the car and otherwise use AirBnB or similar services, but it still needs to be comfortable to a point where we're not hesitant to just pull over in a parking lot for the night.

We actually briefly considered converting a Sprinter van or similar and going for the full-on campervan experience, but based on previous experience driving the tiniest rental Peugeot you can imagine through French villages and up and down small mountain roads, even that horrible little thing felt a bit big at times. Besides, I already have a Land Rover.

EDIT: List of preventive maintenance and general service resources for Discovery II

Collection of forum posts from Aulro http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-2/130519-buying-d2-td5-2002-2004-a.html
Link to RAVE and Workshop Manual for D2 and various others http://www.landroverresource.com/
List of service points (for V8, but many general as well) http://landroverforums.com/forum/discovery-ii-18/major-service-29020/
Anything you need to know about Td5 http://www.aulro.com/afvb/good-oil/...l-fpr-injectors-changes-alt-not-charging.html
Solutions to some typical D2 issues, tutorials, hints... www.discovery2.co.uk
Another site with an extensive technical forum (requires registration to view) http://www.thed2boysclub.co.uk/
Everything about oil http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical...-we-set-up-definitive-list-3.html#post1308575

 

[mtnbike28]

I can't help on a maintenance plan. But I like your sense of humor!

Simplest sleeping platform, Figure out how tall your small cooler is and build a platform just tall enough to fit it under. Remove the back seats, 1/2 or 3/4 inch plywood and support legs (some use 2x4, metal pipe, or plywood on edge.) then get a mattress - lots of folks like a futon mattress because they are cheap and comfortable, then use regular bedding instead of sleeping bags.

Sounds like a great trip!

 

[454]

What engine are you running?

For the U.S. petrol engines, I would recommend a thorough service of the cooling system. Also, the front driveshaft should have greasable fittings. The factory sealed units (or an ungreased aftermarket unit) can fail and when it does it will knock a hole in the transmission. Have you had a recent flush of the brake fluid? Plenty of room on a credit card?

 

[MLu]

It's a -99 Td5, automatic. Yes on the brake fluid, one of the pipes failed and well yes obviously on the credit card, I drive an old Land Rover. I would prefer not to use it though, thus hoping to do a bit of preventive maintenance.

 

[454]

Sorry. It would've helped if I had read you signature.

I have no clue on the Td5 idiosyncrasies.

 

[dcproven]

If you make it to Spain, check in the CLRTTE forum, the Spanish LR club will point you to anything you may need while down there. It's only in Spanish but you can figure it out with translate and similar webs.
Td5 Disco IIs are a hit or miss kind of experience, I have friends that have been both lucky to have one (no problems) and very unlucky (one in particular, has had all the problems you could think of, regardless of he keeping it very well maintained). So before you start your trip, I recommend you take it to really good expert on Td5, there must be one around your place, they can check all the typical problems (oil in ECU cables, Diesel cooler and so on) to make sure you have a great experience. Also, you may want to repro the ECU, it will make the trip more enjoyable.

And remember you may not find a new tribe in Germany, but you may find one, a little more to the south

 

[Jwestpro]

Where do we put a small cooler, for example? We're not really enthusiastic about camping, so at most we're likely to spend every other night in the car and otherwise use AirBnB or similar services, but it still needs to be comfortable to a point where we're not hesitant to just pull over in a parking lot for the night.
.

A real fridge like an ARB or similar can make the road trip and camping experience so much nicer by providing convenience for whatever you like to eat along the way. They are also efficient enough that you won't need a 2nd battery to run it if driving even just a little each day. It can just be tied down by it's handles.

The Discovery 2 is great for interior sleeping with it being about 6" longer than the Discovery 1 and plenty tall floor to ceiling in the rear 2/3 for the roof. I've spent many nights in mine over the years.

You might appreciate some window screens for the 2nd row windows to allow air flow while keeping bugs out. That can make or break how fun it is camping.

 

[99Discovery]

I was going to say the greasable front drive-shaft; however, the failure is that the cat converters are so close to driveshaft they cook the lifetime grease and the bearing fails due to lack of lubrication. This is because the V8 has two mini-cats tucked right up next to the front drive shaft U-joints.

This shouldn't be the case on the TD-5 right? So the lifetime shaft should actually be more reliable than a serviceable unit. Anyone know of failures of the TD-5 front shaft?

You might want to inspect the flex disc on the rear driveshaft, it may need to be refurbished.

Other than that, I'd LOVE to have a TD5 in my Disco! .

 

[MLu]

If you make it to Spain [...]

IF we make it? Talk about taking a realistic view on reliability . Thanks for the hint, though. In reality, this has been my daily driver for a year now so I'm fairly confident in it. It has only left me stranded like three times (brake pipe rupture, steering fluid breakage, transmission cooler line rupture, a couple of incidents with bad tire valves exploding). I don't have a problem with trying to MacGyver things on the side of the road, but I prefer to avoid it if I can. The only thing I'm genuinely worried about is finding out and preventing preventable no-go scenarios, like.. I don't know, the Oil & ECU issue and the airsprings in the rear frankly scare me a bit. Not enough to switch to steel, but enough that I would like to know what I'm dealing with.

@Jwestpro I've been looking at some "brand" fridges, but finding a place for a good-sized fridge while sleeping two people is a bit daunting. I suppose you could pick it up and move it to the front seat at night, of course...

 

[dcproven]

Well,
you may want to get yourself a Nanocom anyway, that can become handy, specially if you want to attempt repairs or want to know what is going on with the Td5.
Also, Td5 owners change the front shaft for greasable ones (at least I know a few that do, specially when they start with lift&tire upgrades), so if you don't have that already, may want to consider it... that problem will stop your trip vary fast.
And I didn't want to imply you wouldn't make it to Spain, I've been wheeling with friends (and occasionally driving) on Td5s around Spain and Africa (mostly Defenders though) and they are amazing, specially when tuned, so go for it and have fun!
... and post pictures of course

 

[MLu]

No implications taken, but it did get some of my insecurities in motion, so to speak The Nanocom is probably a good idea, I've been putting it off waiting for something to break that would warrant the investment. The front propeller shaft was actually changed by the previous owner, but I haven't checked if it's greasable or not.

 

[pricey]

Check out aulro.com for solutions to any td5 issue. There is a section called "the good oil" which has solutions to all the common issues (which really aren't that bad). Don't get rid of the rear air springs. It's one of my favourite things about my disco. If properly maintained the sls is pretty reliable in my experience. I'll continue to take my td5 into outback Australia for many years to come. It doesn't get much more remote in a touring sense. Stress less and do preventative maintenance and you'll be fine.

 

[MLu]

Here we go... that's what I was looking for. Thanks! I'm going to go ahead and steal some of the links and put them in the first post so I know where they are.

 

[lynx40]

Disco 2

Hi also check out D2BC.co.uk lots of useful information on technical / servicing and everything Discovery 2 just register (free) and enjoy 😎

 

[pricey]

Here we go... that's what I was looking for. Thanks! I'm going to go ahead and steal some of the links and put them in the first post so I know where they are.

Glad you found AULRO useful. Another great site is http://www.discovery2.co.uk/ with plenty of pictures and descriptions to help you out. I've used it heaps.