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BigWheels



Member Since: 21 Mar 2010
Location: Somerset
Posts: 1405

United Kingdom 2008 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Tonga Green
Discovery 1 & 2
As Martin's specific forums don't cover Disco 1 & 2...

I'm interested in buying an automatic Disco 1 or 2. Which model & engine would be best? Which are most likely to be in good condition? Rather have coils than air shocks, as the former I'm familiar with... Land Rover Defenders. 67 years heritage, minimal appearance changes, still going strong all over the world. Not a fashion vehicle, but fashionable to own. Made for the needy, not the greedy. Ta ta Defender
Post #198811 4th Jan 2013 12:42am
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speedymarktd6



Member Since: 02 May 2011
Location: Worcestershire
Posts: 102

United Kingdom 2009 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Epsom Green
My dad use to have a silver d2 v8 auto es model it was a great motor to be in and drive but it only averaged somewhere between 10-15 mpg but that was irrelevant

Most have probably been converted to coils by know
Post #198814 4th Jan 2013 12:51am
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Nick T



Member Since: 29 May 2011
Location: Bolton
Posts: 203

England 2010 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 HT Galway Green
Pull carpet/soundproofing up in rear load area Whistle if it's a 5 door check rear wheel arches.
Post #198824 4th Jan 2013 4:30am
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JeremyJ



Member Since: 16 Nov 2011
Location: Aylesbury
Posts: 1758

United Kingdom 
Rust rust and rust!

Disco ones rust on inner wings, sills, rear body x member, rear wheel arches and boot floor.

Disco twos rust on the chassis.

Disco two wasn't full eas, only on rear axle. If in good condition it's a nice system.

200 tdi auto is underpowered, its quicker to walk
300 tdi auto is better but still not really going to get you any speeding tickets
3.5 v8 auto nice
3.9 v8 auto lovely Cool

Td5 auto possibly best all round
4.0 v8 auto, nice and uses the Thor injection system

On both Disco one and two v8's tend to be better looked after

What's your budget?
Post #198827 4th Jan 2013 7:59am
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MartinK



Member Since: 02 Mar 2011
Location: Silverdale (Lancashire/Cumbria Border)
Posts: 2664

United Kingdom 2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Orkney Grey
My last LR was a TD5 Disco 2. I owned it for 187,000 miles, over 10 years. Awesome.

At 10 years old, there was some surface rust on the chassis (and I waxoyled it once professionally, and then topped-it-up myself). I've used Dinitrol on the Defender Thumbs Up

ACE cornering system should be taken-off if it's installed (it will give trouble, but with coil springs, it doesn't really have much effect anyway)...which leads me on to:
7 seats have air suspension (on the rear only IIRC), likely to be troublesome, worth upgrading to sprongs and remove ACE.

The "Three Amigos" is a common issue. It's often caused by wheel bearing failure. Wheel bearings are pricey (~£200), but they last for 100,000+ miles (well 3 of mine were replaced, one was still original at 187k miles).

If it has a sunroof, it WILL leak.

If you want to go offroading, and there's no diff lock, Ashcroft do a kit for upgrades,

The front double-cardon prop shaft is also a weak point, so have a look at that (and get a Gwwn Lewis one)

Other than that, the best ones are later than 2002, when lots of early faults were ironed out.

You should get a decent 2002 onwards td5 for ~£3k...maybe slightly more for Auto... Defender "Puma" 2.4 110 County Utility (possibly the last of the 2.4's)


Last edited by MartinK on 4th Jan 2013 9:46am. Edited 1 time in total
Post #198831 4th Jan 2013 9:20am
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Mountain_man



Member Since: 09 Dec 2011
Location: Right side of Offas Dyke
Posts: 756

Wales 
How many seats do you need? I am currently selling my TD5 Commercial Disco. Let me know if you're interested.


Mark
Post #198834 4th Jan 2013 9:28am
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BigRuss



Member Since: 15 May 2010
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 2785

United Kingdom 2010 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Santorini Black
Ive had a manual 300 TDI and a Auto Td5 in the past and my brother has had a manual Td5 in the past.

I found the auto to be great on long runs getting 550-600 miles out of a tank but had a lot of issues with the gearbox and 15-18 mpg driving round town! My brothers manual Td5 was a lot quicker of the mark.

HTH Russell
2011MY 110 XS USW Black
Post #198836 4th Jan 2013 9:39am
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blackwolf



Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 16893

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey
I have a 2002 TD5 (manual, on coils) and love it, a cracking truck! Bought new it has now done over 200k miles. Problems - virtually none, the sunroofs have never leaked, and it's still on the orig front propshaft with orig ujs. The ACE works fine. All wheelbearings are original, and I have only had to replace 1 faulty ABS sensor in that time.

Things to watch for: rust as already mentioned, but also on side door window frames esp rear. There's a threaded plug sealing a cooling gallery in the block just under the exhaust manifold which tends to leak, any easy repair but hard to get to. There's the oil migration issue from the injector harness of course, but search this forum for my permanent solution to this (don't just fit a new harness, they still leak). Watch for Genuine Parts recon steering boxes, they're of very variable quality and most are not fit for purpose.

I've never driven an auto but heard good things about them. The awful R380 gearbox is the least nice feature of the car and possibly if I was to buy another D2 it would be auto. I would avoid air suspension by choice. The Disco 2 suspension with coils and ACE was probably the "best" and most sophisticated (yet simple and reliable) beam axle suspension the world will now ever see.

I know several people who'd buy a new Disco 2 like a shot if they were still made but (sensibly IMHO won't buy a D3 or D4).

Overall I reckon that the TD5 Disco 2 is probably the best dual-purpose vehicle of all time.
Post #198846 4th Jan 2013 10:39am
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MartinK



Member Since: 02 Mar 2011
Location: Silverdale (Lancashire/Cumbria Border)
Posts: 2664

United Kingdom 2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Orkney Grey
blackwolf wrote:
I know several people who'd buy a new Disco 2 like a shot if they were still made but (sensibly IMHO won't buy a D3 or D4).

Overall I reckon that the TD5 Disco 2 is probably the best dual-purpose vehicle of all time.


Agree Thumbs Up I've spent a while getting the Defender to drive like the Disco2 (noisekiller, suspension upgrades).

If the Disco2 had 6-speeds and a few niggles sorted-out it would be perfect Thumbs Up Defender "Puma" 2.4 110 County Utility (possibly the last of the 2.4's)
Post #198853 4th Jan 2013 11:19am
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