First, what year, how many miles on it, what will you use it for?
What happens if it is not a head gasket but a cracked head or dropped sleeve?

 

Thanks for the replay, its an 02, the ad does not list the miles, it will be used as a daily driver for my girlfriend. I have not considered where it was anything other than the head gasket as I have not contacted the seller yet.

 

I have to say that if I were to give my gf a ''new'' untested D2 to she would probably be my new ex-gf

Franky

 

How much are they asking for it???????????????????????????????????????

 

Well I got lucky she actually enjoys wrenching. I brought my first Disco for 1200 and we worked on it together.

They are asking 2400. I think I could get it for 2000 maybe 1800.

 

So, you want to buy it as if it doesn't have an engine in it and you need to remember you will need to put $500 to $1000 into it before she drives it.
I would look at $1500 plus as a range to stay in if the rest of the truck is really clean.

 

Cool are there any specific questions I should ask the seller.

 

make sure it runs before you buy it. A head Gasket shouldn't prevent it from being started. Take a code reader with you and read all the codes from her. Check the service history as best you can. I would ask why the seller why they think its the HG, what are the symptoms and why they don't want to fix it. When you go see it check everything, Power windows, interior lights (mind still don't work), check if you turn on the wipers they start immediately. The main problem might be the head gasket but the seller might not want to fix it because of a laundry list of other little problems. These can all be fixed but will cost and gives you a little more bargaining power. Read disco mikes major service list at the top of the post. I would also ask about he abs, traction control and hill decent lights, find out if they are on.

 

Thanks guys I'll let you know what happens

 

I also found one with a broken timing chain, is this something i should consider?

 

Nooooooooo!

I would say 'absolutely not' but it depends if it's cheap enough. I just bought my 91K mile '03 for $3000, so what you need to do is find someone who is scared of owning an English car and wants out.
Anything is worth buying if it's cheap enough, but do you really need all the extra hassle? My advice would be to find a straight one....

I have a Land Rover badge with no Discovery attached. Apart from that it's fine. You interested? :lol:

D2

 

Why the desire for to buy broken Discos? Is it because you like the Disco and it's just a question of price or do you specifically want a project car?

I would avoid project cars at all costs if I was trying to buy a daily driver. The cost of maintenance, parts, and gas is enough to push any driver (and lets be honest, particularly a female driver) over the edge with an LR. Even if cost isn't an issue then the inevitable times that the car is down and you need to bum rides around town will blow. If your budget is only a couple grand, look into a domestic Jeep/Ford/Chevy truck. They will be far less costly to operate and probably less likely to break.

However, if you are stuck on a Disco (who can blame you?), try to find one that's cheap because of paint or body damage - basically anything besides engine trouble. While the seller may claim "blown headgasket", it could just as easily be a cracked block, slipped liner, warped heads, or anything that could lead you deep into $3K repair territory. Without road testing the car and seeing how it responds, there is simply no way to know what is wrong with the motor.

Good luck man.

 

I'm not part particularly looking for broken Discos, just curious because I have been seeing a lot listed on craigslist stating they need head gaskets. I purchased my first Disco as a project ( we had two other cars ) for $1200 and with about $300 into it became her Daily because she did not want to drive anything else. Unfortunately a driver ran a red light and totaled our beloved Disco. She walked away with out a scratch. Cost is not an issue as well I was considering getting an LR3 but like the D2 a little better. Maintenance isn't an issue either as I do my own maintenance and what ever I can not do I have a buddy who owns a shop. I guess I was just thinking that if I picked up something cheap that needed some work I could satisfy my need to tinker with things and her desire to have another disco.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll find something that does not need any engine work...

 

Go for a Disco in need of repair. I did the same and picked up an 01 that needed the head gaskets done. It did run when I purchased it, and everything went well. I figured these trucks are going to require a head gasket job eventually, might as well pick one up and save some money vs buying a runner then having it blow shortly after purchase and cost even more. Sounds like you like working on your own rigs, so I'd go for it. If you like to go off road, or are considering doing some mods, you might want to limit your search to the 01 and prior model D2s that you can utilize the CDL which was not available on the 02 and 03 models.

 

I agree with DiscoKline, As long as you know what you are getting yourself into and are doing the work yourself you can save some cash. I would also take heed of DiscoMike, for budget purposes assume the worst and budget accordingly. Don't just assume it's the head gasket, assume its will need a new engine. Once you get it apart if it is just the head gasket then great. if its totally shot you will have assumed that anyway. Good luck with it. Please let us know what you end up doing.

 

Any thoughts on any of these:

1998 Land Rover Discovery
1997 Land Rover Discovery
2000 land rover discovery II....$900

 

The 98 sounds like way to much work for the money. The 97 D1 looks like a pretty decent deal with the extras it comes with. It looks to have a lift, winch bumper with a winch, basket on the roof and a ladder out back. Lots of money in extras that most all of us on here look for. The 2000 D2 sounds like a decent deal as well. The timing chain is not that difficult to do, and not to expensive either. I replaced mine when I did the head gaskets since i was most of the way there already repairing the leaking front cover.

 

So I went look at the 2000 this morning. The body is decent there are cracks on the bumpers and grille. The interior is clean, the passenger and rear windows do not roll down and the back door will not open. I turned the key and the TC, ABS and Hill Decent lights where on. The guy said that he purchased it from an auction and it broke down with in a day of driving it. He said He'd let it go for 700. Any thoughts?

 

Your in for some work with the 2000, but for $700 it is hard to go wrong. Pick it up, and start knocking off the issues one at a time with the big hitters first so that you can at least drive it.

Mike has listed out many of the items to do to a Disco, and you should fit these in as you are working on it as well.

Have fun working on it with you better half!

 

I went ahead and picked up the 2000 for 700 bucks...Whats the first thing I should do?

 

If you focus on getting it running first you'll be able to enjoy it while you mess with other things. Never done so much to a disco but refreshing 5 porsches has taught me it's more fun working on them when you don't have to push them around

 

Why did he think it needed a timing chain? Have you tried to start it, or checked the codes yet? Focus on the engine work first, but do some basics first like compression testing to see if in fact the timing chain has broken.

You can rent a code reader from Autozone, I'd go ahead and do that as your going to need one for a while. You can also get a cheap one from Harbor Freight, which also isn't a bad idea as the Discos tend to throw codes often.

Get the codes read and report back what you have. In the mean time download the Rave manual as you will need it as well.

 

He said his mech told him so. Today I pull off the value cover and turn the motor over at the crank and the valves moved. Under the valve cover there is a lot of sootie build up.

Also, I took some pics of the spark plugs the driver side plugs where black

but the passenger side looked really bad:

I plan on reading the codes tomorrow and will report my findings.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

I read the codes and got p1668