$40,000 Later: I Found The ONLY Way To Make My Land Rover Discovery Completely Reliable!
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- Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
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In this video we take an in-depth look at a super cool 2004 Land Rover Discovery, and how the owner Charles made it reliable!
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#LandRover #Discovery
These are so freaking good looking. Landrover should have stuck to this design on the new Dicovery. Just like Mercedes has done with the G class
They're selling like hotcakes. They made a good business decision with that.
The new Landrovers are all soccer mom suvs
@@myrongaines5542 I don't know if I would go as far as saying that "all" are. The new Defender is a very tough and capable off-roader, and you won't see yourself driving down the road.
g class. worse than l/rover. only landrover to buy,is a 110 diesel.. but..its still a landrover.. bronco,built ford tuff,,14 yrs,,thrashed,no probs.. 351c. , zf 5sp. sas., lockers. owes me 12k..all up.
Pray they remodel it, ill be running mine on steam with a coal furnace on the back. When we run out of oil of course.
Charles is being very modest because not only has he completed a complicated conversion but he has made it look like factory finish..... simply awesome....
You should convince Charles to start a RUclips channel that talks about how he did this because nobody is out there providing long-term solutions to keeping the Disco 2 on the road I've got one sitting in my garage that I want to start working on with my oldest daughter to turn it into a long-term keep around vehicle
Get a td5 desel one like we get in Aussie all good then ooh a few issuess yet way better then v8, you were stuck with
This
Nobody? You're wrong there mate.... there are a few out there, "Lost Cause Ranch" are one, using the "Alternative Conversion Engineering" kit as has the guy in this video...
@@niallkarger1057 people say all discos are bad, had a td5 for 3 years, that car stayed outside 6 years in pretty rough weather and hasnt been started, never had a problem with the engine except the batter and the alternator, its been running like a dream ever since, i just dont get why so many toyota butthurts keep saying "gEt A lAnD cRuiSeR"
Yep, the TD5 was probably the best engine they ever produced.@@niallkarger1057
This dude is awesome. I have rebuilt so many vehicles. Sometimes it seems that you never finish. A word of advice... YOU have to fail a lot before you get it right. Do not be afraid to fail.
Well said.
Or you just perpetually rebuild your Land Rover because they're made to fail.
@@veganpotterthevegan Yep!
@@veganpotterthevegan bollocks. Only a ham fisted cretin can break one
@@philiphawley2915 So all men?🙃
I have a 2020 Discovery and I’m jealous. Lol. I really like the early 2000 Discos and what he’s done in remarkable.
7:49 Well, in a vehicle like this, it's not about horsepower and speed. It's about torque and crawling.
Glad someone said it
@@Ross_gitar_bas But still, having 330 hp in a D2 seems A LOT to me. Shouldn't it pull like crazy? My TD5 D2 came out of the factory with 139 hp :)
@@oberkrainerrock7996 Yeah
I got 187Hp in my D1
No need for more
Tommy still tryin’ to hide the fact he’s sad he sold his disco and dint do this instead. 😂
He only regrets selling the Gladiator; has said so in another video.
Don't even like Land Rover, but this is the best episode on the builds, humble owner, super dope build, great job guys!
Good to see them keeping them going.
good to see someone have a actual humble appeal
You don’t like LR ? Philistine!
@@philiphawley2915 probably a die hard jeep Nancy boy
Nice build! This dude has some knowledge and he isn't arrogant about it. Get that thing on the trail in a video.
The first thought that came to mind reading the title was "Did you swap in a small block Chevy?" Too funny. That's a lot of well done work, wow.
I feel proud to be a discovery owner got my own 04 with 133k kms, it's amazing how much they increased in value over the last year I could easily double my money if I sold it
True enough.
When I started thinking about buying a D2 I could have picked one up for £2000.
When I finally bought one I paid £3500 for it.
Now, I've seen D2s in similar condition to mine going for £7000 or more - even as high as £12,000! 😮
u wanna sell ur Disco ? :D i need it
9:17 There is probably a conversion kit to install an LS engine into any vehicle ever made ever.
Or just spend half of that on a 2005 Hummer H2 like we did.
@@normt430 most people want cars that actually look good though
@@thomasclark6642 oh, it gets the looks alright. Making Jeeps quiver in the H2's presence.
@Jack K All old Suburban 2500 for repair parts. Prius cringe for sure!
Fabulous conversion! The AC Engineering kit uses the LR transmission and the GM computer controls the engine only. Prolly a little less involved.
Keeping an r380 is fine, if you've got the auto it can't handle the power plus it's a very average gearbox when it's working.
What a beautiful, great build! Hopefully he comes back for a trail day.
What Land Rover discovery2 need is a reliable owner. A owner that reads the manual, twice at least. The coolant has a lifetime 2 years,not 10 years it needs to be changed. The oil should not be synthetic, the engine is from the 60’s it needs certain additives that are not in synthetic oils. If you own a disco buy the proper manuals, read it again and become a RELIABLE owner. Your unreliable discovery will love that and become much more reliable.
Mine absolutely loves Castrol synthetic high mileage
Over here in Aus, we get the TD5 diesel as well which is a lot more reliable
Some people scale mountains, other sail the high seas, then there are those who with loving care convert their Disco to an LS. Son you have guts Im over 80 and would just love to convert mine. It only has 76k original miles on it and was a southern Cal driven car. It mover to Oakland 2 years back when I bought it. Im thinking I better sell it and get something new that tells me when to wake up and after listening to your story Im convinced of it, I just haven't the time left. But they are such wonderful vehicles and in my estimation beautiful. You did yours right.
Someone in the Bay area step up and help this gentleman!
@@JF-lt5zc agree 100%!!!!!
get the cybertruck sir ?
@@levelazn Wat is a cybertck
Had to laugh...depends if my wife is asking!!!! 🤣🤣🤣 I get it....my wife (after 32 years of marriage) had given up asking!!!!!
Great build man.
Mike 🇨🇦🍁
Definitely have him attend some of your trail rides!
Turns out the only thing you need to make a Land Rover reliable is an extra $40,000 cash laying around.
I'm currently at 10k and climbing, including the purchase of the LR lol
Easier to just buy a Silverado and stick a Land Rover sticker on it. They you don't have to worry about all the other failing Land Rover bits not associated with the drivetrain
Or buy a manual TD5.
@@tommurdoch2989 Not available in the U.S. unless its 25+ years old
LOL. Get an 80 and spend the rest on a couple of nice Stumpjumper Evo’s and call it good
The market has gone crazy for discos. I paid $500 bucks for my 2000 with blown head gaskets 5 years ago.
Good option for Land Rover builds with high budgets. A Gen 3 5.3 LS can be swapped in the Disco 2 for about $5k (engine included) with the Alternative Conversion kit using the factory Land Rover transmission, which is a lot easier and less expensive swap overall.
Unfortunately, that price assumes you are using a junkyard 5.3 LS with who knows how many miles on it. Still a good option, but it'll cost a lot more than $5k for a good swap unless you can rebuild an engine and install it. I still might end up doing an LS swap, but I expect to pay at least $10k.
@@BeagleFerretTime There are plenty of good junkyards out there that you can get an LS from a vehicle with a known history and mileage. You pay a little bit more for them than your typical junkyard engine, but I think it is well worth it to know why the vehicle is in the junkyard and how it was cared for. Even with a 100k miles, an LS still has a lot of life in it if it was well cared for. I’d trust a junkyard LS any day over a junkyard Rover V8.
@@BeagleFerretTime yeah, I hear you. I got my 5.3LS for $500 and it had perfect compression. But I still didnt trust it. So I rebuilt it for about $600. I went with the ACE Kit for my 2004 D2. That was another $2400. Then the other stuff for the swap was about $1000. I did brand new OE parts for everything except the Coils and injectors. I went for longevity here. All in the swap cost me $4500. But the biggest thing anyone can achieve over the 4.0 or 4.6 is reliability. I would put a months salary as a bet to say the junkyard LS would outlast the 4.0 or 4.6. I have a D2 4.0 that I am planning a 2.8 Cummins swap this winter.. That one is a pretty penny. but crate brand new with every accessory.
True but I really like the idea of a 6l80e transmission to go with the LS
@@BeagleFerretTime the last LS vehicle I owned had 342k on the original motor.
I've had good luck with my LR2 (4.0l) since swapping out to the "lower temp" thermostat - standard running temp from OBD2 port indicated 212 degF and now its about 206 degF.
Wonderful stuff and can completely relate. I have a 2004 TD5 and whilst a bit rough a round the edges compared to todays diesels, with CDL and TC leaves most modern compatriots behind in the dust/sand.
Yep, and they're as easy to modify as any other 4b, and easier than some others. They do somethings in a peculiar way, but they are interesting, my brother and I love them, if they didn't have an auto box we wouldn't have one.
I avoided doing all that process, i bought 4 years ago the Discovery 2 TD5 1999 series, with the 2.5 original diesel turbo in it ( New Zealand ), lots of torque excellent for towing, now 228.000 km or 140.000 miles, never spent $ 1 in repairs in 4 years, only service once a year. I will keep it till it dies.
Had mine since 2001. Same model. Never given me an ounce of grief! Not sure why that is? Pretty stock other than i removed the air-suspension that LR wanted to charge a crazy amount for. Just done a 4380km trip a couple of weeks back. Blew the pipe between the intercooler & turbo. Cost very little to replace. Hoping to keep this truck a long, long time. The new ones to me are ugly as Sin - the latest Discovery is bloomin awful, don't want it. The new Defender maybe....at 2/3s the going price!
Hope yours lasts a long, long time!
Plettenburg Bay, South Africa
@@stuartvorster4911 I also removed the air suspension at the rear, it was working fine but i was worried about a possible failure in a remote area, towing a caravan it would have been a disaster. Installed HD coils and now is three inches higher. Also we don't need to worry about the timing chain, it's an extra large/thick chain that is unbreakable, made for heavy duty tractors. Enjoy !
yup. ill keep my u.s fords,dana spicer. reliable as a rock.. only good l/rover,is a diesel one..
Good man
This video is now saved in my Permanent collection. My brother was just asking me the other day what I'm gonna do with the 'Rover' (my 04 Disco). Right now it just holds my driveway down and gets started every once in a while. I need to re-gasket the valve covers, front cover, and replace the heads with refurbished ones so replacing the head gasket every 60k miles goes away (been done 3 times on here and it's at 167k). and replace the front-left O2 sensor harness, because the valve cover oil gusher has rendered it useless.
I think that's it.
I LS'd my Defender too. Honestly, nothing else will make it reliable.
Were you able to keep the ABS traction control with the engine swap? ABS in general?
@@jworthe My Defender didn't have it but it should be fairly easy to keep. On a pre 2007 the abs is mostly standalone, a puma would need a bit more as you will keep the original ecu operational anyway to run the gauges and AC. Talk to Nick at rw-eng he's a great guy I'm sure he can sort you out.
Td5's are very reliable
Td5's are (relatively) one the most reliable engines came in Defenders, but frankly they're all bad, they can't survive 300k kilometres which is bearly half life for an LS engine. A td5 will blow a head gasket before an LS will need a set of spark plugs.
“I’m not a very strong mechanic”…rrrrriiiigggghhhhttt
I like those mechanics
Humility
I think this is one of the best discos I have ever seen. Very nicely done. Hope to see him four wheeling with you guys in the future.
Hey! I also have a "Nice Jeep Peasant" sticker!
Great job Charles! You basically built an ICON Discovery and saved $160,000. Your wife should be happy.
Icon Builds and Fabricates every part of a build with military and marine grade parts lol this isn’t even close
@@randyparmesan1383 Close enough, but I doubt the sum of those parts justifies the $160,000 price difference. Hey TFL, why don't you guys buy an ICON Land Rover, take it to Moab, and do a proper comparison. I would certainly watch it👍
@@F_Rank_Renkinjutsu ok Jabroni
British on the outside, American on the inside. I love it!
4x4 version of Shelby Cobra 🤣
@@michaelatkin2562 same as the original v8 which was a Buick
The 4.6 nightmare should have been a class action against Land Rover .
We have the 3.9 and the 4.0 v8's in the Uk (i'm literally looking at buying one) are those just as crap as the 4.6 do you know?
Another great interview review Tommy. Your questions and explanations of his LRD build was enjoyable to watch. I love these serious to please keep these coming.
I'm thinking of an LS swap for my Disco 1, mostly for towing. This has me even more convinced it's a good idea! Thanks for the vid.
My 1998 Disco 1 is a real faithful albeit rattly old chunk. I drove it from Cornwall to Plymouth, got the ferry to Santander, drove from Santander to Denia then ferry to here, Ibiza.
It has a raised second floor in the back so my dog and me could sleep in the back. It was a hell of a trip and worth every mile. Mine has a fair lift kit, wader kit, snorkel, winch and bumper and a load more I don’t know about..😊 flew through the mot in August with No advisory’s. Love this old chugg.
What an absolutely beautiful build. Thank you for sharing!!!!
Excellent interview Tommy.
Why can't a manufacturer make a car that looks this good and performs like a Toyota?
Loved this. My wife found a DII 2003 on a lot in Sarasota for $3,300 k (HSE in almost mint condition). after 157k miles head gasket went, New cyliner haead and upgraded gasket, original 4.6L, still loving mine. Saying ... you own a Landrover long enough you end up with a new vehicle.
Loveing this build .. it looks sweet.
Well only thing i need from that build in my Discovery 200tdi are gears and lockers. :d
this was an excellent interview and topic, especially for us that didnt know how much work is actually needed in a ls swap
Best looking Land Rover by far in my opinion ever, I loved my 3.9 UK spec one. It had liner issues but I fixed that with a product that went into the cooling system and they literally welded aluminium around the loose liners and you then flushed it out and put coolant back in. Even the 4.2's were too big for the original blocks and had problems.
Very clean look, nice engine. I like how he did it himself, makes it even more of a personal truck.
Love how you guys interact with all of us!
I knew it was an LS swap just reading the title, haha!
Very cool build..!! Just curious if the owner had thought about a diesel engine option?
America...
My 08 sequoia is good to go with a 5.7. I’ll live without solid axles for the wheeling I do. Kinda a lot for a disco, 42k plus 12k. Wow. Nice ride for sure.
One of my favorite episodes yet! What an awesome build!!
sorry, but this guy is an experienced mechanic and or had many friends that new what they were doing to get this swap done!!
Willing to bet he is a mechanical or electrical engineer.
My 4.0 v8 has been reliable with 178 000 miles on the clock. No issues just regular mantainance. Reliable and dependable.
Well done you deserve a medal.
I’ve got a 98 D1 from new, 370,000km still
Going strong. If the motor does pop then the LS is the route forward. Electrics should be / hopefully easy prince of darkness 14 CUX 😂
Always thought they looked cool, but I'll stick with my 80 series. Reliability and peace of mind goes a long way.
I just removed my saggy headliner and bedlined it. Highly recommend
Lovely truck 👍
Having had a number of high mileage RV8 engined Discoverys, Defenders & currently P38 RR, NONE have or had head gasket issues. The solution - we tend to run factory recommended coolant. Not just water. I know many US LR owners will get serviced, but have seen many examples with even mechanics in the US just using water.
The other reason this comes up, and this is with the greatest respect to the old Buick, is that it tends to use a bit of water. Often discovered late on a trip and no coolant to hand. So in goes the water. When home again tricky to drain so this gets left. Repeat next trip :/
This was great to see. I just had to salvage my 01 because the frame rusted out. Yes Roman it was my daily driver for nine years. Hope to see that on the trail.
Looks great, but you should have put a Mercedes-Benz Diesel with a manual transmission
This is a favourite in the UK ,OM606 with a big turbo or Cummins swap.
Nicely done. The stock 4.6 V8 was junk. I had two of those engines....in one vehicle, my 2004 Discovery. Sold it for parts after the block cracked in the second engine. Now I'm in a 2013 LR4/Discovery 4 but I'd go back to a 2004 D2 with a LS V8 in a heartbeat. I wish there was a professional shop that did these conversions for retail sale - I'd buy one.
Lucas the prince of darkness strikes again ... 2004 owner here. Enjoy your ride 🎉
Such a nice conversion.
Here in dubai a lot of discovery's had engine conversion but they install the legendary lexus ls400 or lexus ls430 engine.
i have a standard 2.5 landrover no extras only steel bumpers. if any car hits me they are wrote off and my baby has never let me down. It is by far the best jeep you could own. 166000 miles and still roaring down the road. i have pushed it to 190 kmph on motorways took it off road on multiple occasions and pulls trucks off of building sites that get bogged. it is a one of a kind machine and completely bulletproof.
Man, what a great build!
My wife had similar reservations... and actually watched this video before me. I love that woman. :D
An LS even seems like a natural upgrade / modernisation considering that the Rover V8 originated with Buick.
Nothing wrong with the Rover V8 engine. They usually fail due to long term neglect, especially of the cooling system. The problem with these are not the engine, but indeed electrics. Oh and, a healthy Rover V8 sounds much much nicer than any LS (which mainly makes NOISE..)
100% agree
Agree
LOL!
Love those land rovers. Such a great looking vehicle. But, I’m no mechanic Toyota for now lol
That's an EXCELLENT build .
Very logical line of questions and thorough answers. Thanks for addressing costs as well. Great video.
Nice truck, thanks for sharing! My 4.6 D2 engine has 185,000 miles on it and it's still running, but I'm gonna swap it out for sake of engine noise (sleeves ticking at idle). I'll swap it out with a flange sleeved, gas flowed heads, and upgraded cam 4.6 soon though (unless I do an LS swap, of course). Reliability isn't the best reason for the LS swap over an updated 4.6 though, as long as you don't overheat the engine (by getting the inline thermostat modification and monitoring the temperature manually). The only real gain at that point, with an LS conversion, is power. Sounded beautiful though.
p.s. The headliner isn't nearly as difficult as the owner seems to believe. I've done two so far (one with rear air) and it gets easier every time, but shouldn't take someone like this owner longer than an afternoon.
*Update: I've soured on the 4.6 after it overheated and the fact that a sleeved replacement is both unavailable and more expensive than the LS swap (with no corresponding improvements). I'm doing an LS swap as we speak using Alternative Conversion Engineering's kit. Wish me luck...
How did the swap go mate?
TFC. Only one better would be to swap an Aston Martin Vantage 4.7V8 instead ? Less complicated fitment plus power ! V.
Not known to last , mine was a year 2000 model , used it , enjoyed it then sold it 3 years ago for the same price . Only sold it because it had engine modifications and done 17 miles on a gallon ,
and I could see that the fuel price was going to go up a lot
I've owned one. Was freaking awesome when it wasn't broken down. But it was always broken down.
“Completely reliable“ lol I was expecting a 5.7 tundra motor or some variant of Toyota….🤷🏻♂️
The GM LS1 is a very popular swap due to cost, availability, and relatively maintenence free. Obviously the Toyota V8 is not.
@@normt430 not to mention packaging reasons. The LS Series engine is physically smaller than a lot of other V8 with similar displacements. For instance, the 5.7L LS in my F body looks physically smaller than the V6 in my 4Runner. The V6 has dual overhead cams and all that crap and is physically wider than the LS.
Plus they offered those engines in SO many vehicles, they're so easy to find.
Awesome build!!
I’d just swap out the plastic coolant tank for a Carrs4x4 aluminum one before it cracks 👌
I had an ‘01 years ago. Liked the capability. Hated the unreliability. I would like one just like this!
Badass dream rig right here. I would pay funny money for this thing.
Nice LR, but I'm going to stick with my 100-Series Land Cruiser. Don't knock the LS swap, it works and is very reliable. They are becoming as common as belly buttons though.
Palindrome Spencer?!Get a70’s Range Rover. The original and best
This was the best!
I finished my gen 3 ls swap on my D2 a few months ago and wish I had the 6l80e to match. After seeing this, I feel like building a new engine & transmission combo to swap in next year.
I wonder if I should just stick to what I've got now for a few years though, and then do an electric swap? 🤔
I think an electric swap would be the ultimate fix for the Disco.
amazing job and beautiful car.
Great job on the front end. Those driving lights really look great how they tie the headlights together. Nice you were able to keep dash original also.
I must have an anomaly. 2000 Disco 194,000 miles. No problems.
I've had mine with a terrafirma 2" lift some 32 " tires and I go anywhere in my disco it's my daily and weekend off roader I can literally say I give her hell and she has not give me trouble other than the water pump and fuel pump Wich is a breeze to change out ! I love my disco 2
Sweet ride.... If you have the money, you can build anything.
Great work Charles and good find Tommy
Oh dear. A Brit here. The basic Buick V8 engine that was fitted to just about EVERY British Rover / Land Rover V8 car is generally considered to be quite a reliable engine. So much so that it was a common swap for the Triumph 3 liter V8 fitted to the Triumph Stag (subsequently so much done that the original Truimph 3.0L cars are now worth more).
That lightweight Buick engine ended up in EVERYTHING this side of the pond (Rover / Land Rover / Range Rover / TVR), and is essentially the 'English V8'. I have a recollection that it started out as an engine for marine applications, and because it was small, and light, it was considered perfect for smaller English cars (which had smaller engine bays).
Still, I've owned a Land Rover, and I would never, ever, rely on one to get me home (great fun, but take out breakdown insurance).
I love my rover v8! It has been reliable to me as I’ve had to clean it up a bit since the previous owner. Seems the disco 1 for some reason is a loads more reliable than the disco 2 though, which is the builds I see mostly in the states like this one.
The late run done by BMW was faulty, there were issues with the castings and metallurgy. A D1 or defender from the 90s is more likely to have its original block than an 03 or 04 dii. The D1 was the better off road truck anyway.
The Buick V8 was over-worked by the time BMW got ahold of it for these trucks- that they designed. The LS is really a perfect replacement- still a "GM" V8- not designed by BMW's terrible engineers with the same problems they design into their own vehicles- so it's almost like going back to the original source that Land Rover used before BMW took over (however briefly). It's a aluminum V8- just reliable engineered- easy to fix and parts are cheap. In my opinion the Discover is still the most handsome SUV on the road anywhere- if we can keep more of them reliably on the road (and off-road) then this swap is a no-brainer. I have a new 4.6 sleeved motor in mine because these swaps were not available 6 years ago- but believe me- I'm pulling that POS out and putting an LS in it as soon as I can. Might video the whole process too- since no one has done that yet.
The disco 2 is still one of my absolute favs. I think a desirable classic in the future.
Charles, you are the man!! What an absolutely beautiful vehicle you have there.
I LOVE that "nice Jeep peasant" decal 🤣🤣
Wow. Want that. He needs to show all docs so I can do it.
Got me a 2004 Td5 disco down in the carribean and have been doing a lot of work to get her back in shape. I wish we got the Td5 back stateside, looking to do a tune next!!! Makes me want to get one stateside to throw in a Cummins R28!!!
Thanks Tommy, good review. Worked at a Land Rover dealership, loved the Defender, think swap out old engine with Toyota V6/V8
Charles is one of those guys that's priceless to have as a friend. What a gorgeous well put together vehicle... This is the only Land Rover I would ever buy.
I have a disco 1 owned since 2004 miles and miles of dirt, I have a l33 on a stand in the shop...and yet I'm building a rover 4.6 to go in it. Nice job on the swap maybe we'll meet on the trail someday.
Bought a 2001 a year ago
3500$
Just grabbed a 2000
1000$
The ‘00 in better shape that the ‘01.
Daily the ‘01 to work 160 miles round trip. Made the ‘01 mechanically sound for about 2500$. Cosmetics and lift to come. Engine so smooth I won’t touch it til it pops. 288k miles and counting. Best vehicle I’ve ever owned and I own a few.
The ONLY difference between the 4.6 and the 4.0 Land Rover V8 is the CRANK. That's it.
I need proof
@@fyneyoungstunna check the bore and stroke dimensions for a clue. Then take several of them to pieces and put them back together again
D2's are awesome. Great interview. Love more Rover stuff on the channel.
He did a great job
Always liked those and the Montero sports
Love the way he talks about the gen 4 LS and gen 5 LT, huge Lt fan myself but I couldn't agree with his analogy so well, this swap is perfect