A fairly expensive start

Hi folks. So I thought I'd post a thread to introduce myself and my first Land Rover purchase - a 1999 Discovery 2.

Excitedly, I bought it in a hury, I drove it away from the guy I bought it from, and did about 200 miles in it. Then it broke down! I'm no mechanic (infact, I barely know where the oil goes), and I bought a dud and got a bit screwed, I'm just posting so I can get it out of my system. I'm quite happy to pay for it to be professionally fixed and I know that I could not have done this work myself, so not looking for advice there. It was a private sale too, and it was 2 months ago now, I'm not looking to get my money back via trading standards or anything.


The symptoms that I experienced were, after driving it for about 2 hours at 70mph down a motorway, was that it suddenly lost almost all power. The engine temperature indicator on the dashboard shot right up to the lower red section and for a moment the red temperature light came on too. I found a place to pull over and parked it up.

I've got AA membership, so I called them. Bummer, thought I.

By the time the AA van turned up, there was time enough for the engine to cool down. I popped the cap on the water tank and it was empty. ****. The AA guy filled it from dry - it took many, many litres. Now what he pointed out was that I hadn't spotted was a bit of dirty golden deposit around the cap of the water tank. Apparently that means the previous owner knew the head gasket has probably gone, and filled it with k-seal. Bummer.

I limped it home - stopping every 30 miles and filling it up with water. I got it booked into a local garage and waited for the worst. Well, they found the following;

• Yup, the head gasket has gone. The cause was a crack in the "coolant return pipe".
  
• The rear crossmember has delaminated and corroded so badly that it needs replacing too.
  
• The fuel cooler assembly is missing, and had been totally bypassed. I need to research what that means.They're going to source a replacement and get it fitted.

So, it's an expensive start! It's a bit of a kick in the teeth, but a I absolutely knew I was buying a car that would require some work. I just underestimated how much work would be needed immediately! I don't mean to be vulgar, but I'm lucky to have the money to fill in for my lack of research[/intelligence], and these are jobs I didn't want to attempt myself

The car to me is going to be an "adventure fun car", less of a project to learn how to become a full time mechanic (I have a job, thank you very much!). But with that being said I will certainly go buy some basic tools if there is a job I think I could do myself Until it's fixed up, I'll be driving my more reliable 2011 VW Polo!

Welcome to the asylum! Nice that you have introduced yourself, although the awkward squad on here will tell you it's in the wrong bit - should be in the introduce yourself department but never mind. It's also nice that you haven't immediately asked for free help and that you are prepared to pay to get done professionally - you can always ask on here for recommendations for a LR specialist if needs.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck - whether you have bought a crock of **** depends on how much you paid for it. Buying in a hurry is often an expensive mistake but if you really like the car nothing will change your mind about be prepared for lots of bills or a steep learning curve in the spanner/welding department.
Apart from the rear crossmember, if it is relatively rust free (search on here for where to look) it can be worth it.

heads likely knackered if its run dry, getting very expensive

If that's Farnborough in Hampshire, I think the nearest local indy LR garage is Keith Gott in Alton.

Sorry to hear you're having grief already. I must confess to buying mine ignorant of the 'features' of the D2, just checked what you'd look for on any car, and only since being on here have I realise we've been very lucky with what we bought.

Sorry to hear you got off to a bad Land Rover start A bummer like you say.

You could try these guys, they are in Tongham so a lot closer than Keith Gott and possibly cheaper too.

Challenger 4x4 | Land Rover servicing, repair and preparation for on and off road

I'm sure they could fix whatever you don't fancy doing yourself, or supply the parts if you fancy having a go yourself.

Graham

Ah, thanks chaps I've got it in Challenger 4x4 right now.

Looking forward to getting it back in the next fortnight, then we'll see what it needs to get it through its MOT in August!

Oh yeah, forgot about Challenger!