Disco 2 buying guide help needed. Td5 disco

hi guys, going to look at a few disco td5s this morning. Looking at some facelift 52 plates and a 53 plate vehicles. Is there anything major I should be looking out for when going to view. Obviously tyres, bodywork etc, but is there anything on the 4wd system I should be looking for? Engine noises? Excessive smoke. Etc.

What commonly goes wrong with these?

Any help would be appreciated. Cheers, Nick

There's loads of info already in the Forum, with the 4wd check H and L ratios and if fitted diff lock engages/disengage.
And of course engine noises and excessive smoke, and etc what ever that maybe.

withnick said:

hi guys, going to look at a few disco td5s this morning. Looking at some facelift 52 plates and a 53 plate vehicles. Is there anything major I should be looking out for when going to view. Obviously tyres, bodywork etc, but is there anything on the 4wd system I should be looking for? Engine noises? Excessive smoke. Etc.

What commonly goes wrong with these?

Any help would be appreciated. Cheers, Nick

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Yes there are things you should check for,the main one is rust,rust,and more rust.The rear chassis section is the most common place for it,but check the chassis thoroughly,take a screw driver and have a good prod about.

Check that all the electric things work properly, it can be difficult and/or expensive to repair some of them.
Did anybody mention rust?

don`t forget to check the red ecu plug ain`t swimming in oil

brian47 said:

Check that all the electric things work properly, it can be difficult and/or expensive to repair some of them.
Did anybody mention rust?

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possibly,but just to make sure,check for ruuuuuust.

In my opinion the newer the TD5, the worse the chassis seems to tolerate the rust.
Everything else on the TD5 is DIY fixable.
But factor in the cost of either Nanocom or Hawkeye to assist with diagnosis

biggeeeee said:

In my opinion the newer the TD5, the worse the chassis seems to tolerate the rust.
Everything else on the TD5 is DIY fixable.
But factor in the cost of either Nanocom or Hawkeye to assist with diagnosis

Click to expand...

My TD5 was a 51 reg,and the whole chassis was rotten,but it had been living at a seaside location in Scotland for most of it's life.

biggeeeee said:

In my opinion the newer the TD5, the worse the chassis seems to tolerate the rust.
Everything else on the TD5 is DIY fixable.
But factor in the cost of either Nanocom or Hawkeye to assist with diagnosis

Click to expand...

Engine specific is it, so the petrol version of the D2 is better? i'm so glad I didn't buy a D2 with the issues they have down the line and I went else where

Not engine specific,as far as I know,but someone on here said,that some chassis were stored outside in all weathers,and some were stored inside,so were better protected.

I would check to make sure all the warning lights on dash light up then go off , this is to make sure someone did not "fix" the lights so they don't light up like the ABS , hill descent , traction control i.e. 3 amigos. it a dirty trick but i have seen it. Check for rust above windshield. and not to change the subject but could someone explain the " 51,52 and 53 plate " to identify different discovery's for me please.

After the changes to the registration plate formats back in the 1990's to the system of 2 letters, date code then 3 letters, the 51, 52 and 53 generally refer to the date of registration as 2001, 2002 and 2003. Other reg plates can show 01, 02 and 03.
Returning to the topic, did anybody mention RUST?

Rust on D2,surely not,RUUUUN,run for the hills.

I just bought a D2, lots of surface rust underneath but no rot.

Luckily I will be removing all the surface rust soon and spending lots of money and time on it (as I will hopefully be keeping the car for most of my life), but if you don't have the time, tools and money to sort out any rust problems then don't do it.

don't forget to check for rust!