Buying advice D2

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M

Mikeossy

New Member
Posts
6
Location
Burnley, Lancashire. UK
Hi all,
Hope you can help or offer advice - i am in the market for a D2, i have the choice of two but they are quite different so would like to hear thoughts

1, D2 2001MY 4.0 V8 AUTO with a working LPG kit, 151K miles, Straight through exhaust - justr had clean MOT, pretty standard and solid chassis, all usual accessories non leaky sunroof.

2, D2 2004MY TD5 Manual with a Lift Kit, 91K Miles, remapped and straight through exhaust, MOT Oct 2019, had plating underneath along centre and over back axle.

As i said both quite differing, whats the scope with the TD5 what are the main issues with this engine? Head gasket?
TBH not keen on the lift kit but dont know what peoples experiences of these are? I know th ACE can be troublesome so with this on it eliminates something else that could go wrong!.

Any help appreciated as this is my first LR D2.

Thanks
 
For your first D2 my advice would be to go as stock as possible (at least initially). That way you are dealing with a known baseline that you can easily get advice on. Don't buy someone else's bodge job. If it has been modified then see if there are receipts from a professional.
But the two most important things to look at are the chassis and engine.
Try and find someone with a known good chassis and spend sometime getting to know what it looks and sounds like when tapped with something metallic. Get to know the rear half especially as that is where most rot. Then start looking - you will be shocked at how many "clean" D2s have a rotten chassis. This includes many of those being sold by dealers as "immaculate" for well over £6K.
V8s can have head gasket issues but are decent to drive. An LPG conversion would give you TD5-like economy, but check who did the installation and make very sure it doesn't have one or more blown head gaskets. If so walk away.
The TD5 for me makes more sense as you can get diesel anywhere (for now at least), you should get around 25mpg, they can be tuned to not far off an early V8 and if well maintained can be reliable and long lived. Early versions had issues with the head dowels - check these have been replaced, and with oil pump bolts not being thread locked - you can replace these yourself if you drop the sump during an oil change.
If you are set on buying a TD5 then invest in a Land Rover diagnostic tool now and use it to assess prospective vehicles. You will need something like a Nanocom or a Hawkeye; they are not cheap, but TD5s are not OBDII compliant and it will quickly pay for itself especially if you have avoided an expensive mistake with it.
 
Sound advice thanks, I am pretty mechanically comfortable having restored several cars and foing my own maintenance work since I started driving.
Appears there doesn't seem to be a set of rules to go by and all discos are differing.
I'll have to just sniff out the good from the bad !

Si Click said:
For your first D2 my advice would be to go as stock as possible (at least initially). That way you are dealing with a known baseline that you can easily get advice on. Don't buy someone else's bodge job. If it has been modified then see if there are receipts from a professional.
But the two most important things to look at are the chassis and engine.
Try and find someone with a known good chassis and spend sometime getting to know what it looks and sounds like when tapped with something metallic. Get to know the rear half especially as that is where most rot. Then start looking - you will be shocked at how many "clean" D2s have a rotten chassis. This includes many of those being sold by dealers as "immaculate" for well over £6K.
V8s can have head gasket issues but are decent to drive. An LPG conversion would give you TD5-like economy, but check who did the installation and make very sure it doesn't have one or more blown head gaskets. If so walk away.
The TD5 for me makes more sense as you can get diesel anywhere (for now at least), you should get around 25mpg, they can be tuned to not far off an early V8 and if well maintained can be reliable and long lived. Early versions had issues with the head dowels - check these have been replaced, and with oil pump bolts not being thread locked - you can replace these yourself if you drop the sump during an oil change.
If you are set on buying a TD5 then invest in a Land Rover diagnostic tool now and use it to assess prospective vehicles. You will need something like a Nanocom or a Hawkeye; they are not cheap, but TD5s are not OBDII compliant and it will quickly pay for itself especially if you have avoided an expensive mistake with it.
Click to expand...
 
Mikeossy said:
Sound advice thanks, I am pretty mechanically comfortable having restored several cars and foing my own maintenance work since I started driving.
Appears there doesn't seem to be a set of rules to go by and all discos are differing.
I'll have to just sniff out the good from the bad !
Click to expand...

Beware of chassis plating, some folks just slap some tin over the top and call it done!

I would go V8 personally, the diesels are getting hammered for city centre pollution zones so at least the V8 means you can drive where you like without being taxed into oblivion. Not to mention clean and solid chassis and having never been off road, I'd wager that many miles would be easy motorways where as the 151,000 of the diesel and being off road ready says walk away, thrashed and abused much as my motor is, you don't spend money on goodies without intending to use them to their fullest.
 
dieseldog69 said:
Beware of chassis plating, some folks just slap some tin over the top and call it done!

I would go V8 personally, the diesels are getting hammered for city centre pollution zones so at least the V8 means you can drive where you like without being taxed into oblivion. Not to mention clean and solid chassis and having never been off road, I'd wager that many miles would be easy motorways where as the 151,000 of the diesel and being off road ready says walk away, thrashed and abused much as my motor is, you don't spend money on goodies without intending to use them to their fullest.
Click to expand...
Thanks, again some sound advice, leaning towards the V8, as stated the 151K miles is probably all on roads motorways and the chassis is pretty sound.
Im unsure on the diesel as i havent seen underneath yet! but the lift kit puts me off and the plating.
Any major issues with V8 ? i take it this is wide used Rover lump?
 
Mikeossy said:
Thanks, again some sound advice, leaning towards the V8, as stated the 151K miles is probably all on roads motorways and the chassis is pretty sound.
Im unsure on the diesel as i havent seen underneath yet! but the lift kit puts me off and the plating.
Any major issues with V8 ? i take it this is wide used Rover lump?
Click to expand...

Superb engine and easily repaired as well as parts being cheap when you need them, same as used in the P38a 4.0 and others.

Not to mention that second hand lumps are cheap as chips should you feel inclined to buy one for a rebuild and freshen up to replace your original.
 
Why have you only got a choice of 2? there are plenty out there to choose from. Keep looking till you find the right one. Personally I'd go for the diesel . TD5 is a brilliant engine and less problematic than the V8 and a hell of a lot more of them to choose from as they were much more popular.
 
I would say 151k on a v8 is very, very leggy. I dont have experience of a gems v8 admittedly but certainly most rv8s have a rep for poor oil circulation and gumming up. Would be worth an inspection of its service history as they need regular oil changes. Liners slip also. But as i say i had a 3.9 not a 4.0.
I would get a lower mileage v8 if you can afford to run it. Auto with all the trimmings would be very refined
 
Interceptorxj said:
Why have you only got a choice of 2? there are plenty out there to choose from. Keep looking till you find the right one.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I looked at about 15 before I found mine and that doesn't include the vast numbers of obvious dogs I ignored on t'internet.
A good one is a joy (as long as you stay on top of the maintenance), a bad one will break your heart and empty your wallet. Take your time and know what good looks like.
 
Quick update, I have discounted both, will be looking at a few more in the coming days 1 of which has had no MOT advisories in 6 years - on another note, whats best for a bit of green laning, manual or auto?.


Thanks for everyones advice so far
 
Mikeossy said:
Quick update, I have discounted both, will be looking at a few more in the coming days 1 of which has had no MOT advisories in 6 years - on another note, whats best for a bit of green laning, manual or auto?.


Thanks for everyones advice so far
Click to expand...

Auto I reckon as you can crawl them below 1st gear speed
 
Having had a manual D1 and now an Auto D2 Id take the auto. You lose a little engine braking down hill maybe but in low range it allows you to select manual mode which works well.
 
If you are not too bothered about manual or auto I would just buy on the condition of the vehicle rather than transmission choice. I've had both but think I prefer manual (until I'm stuck in traffic that is.)
 
I think you will struggle to find a solid d2 tbh, they are going to the scrappy at a vast rate because of this! Just be very careful
 
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