It done gone pop!

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

I nearly bought a 300 TDi Disco at some point in the UK if my mobile-bidding-while-driving-to-Cadwell-Park skills hadn't been this crap. In the last ten years it made sense to buy one in the UK simple because they get at least 10mpg more and 15mpg imperial isn't really sustainable at the prices over there.

One other reason people in the UK like the diesel LRs is that they usually don't fully loaded so there is less electrical crap to go wrong. A friend of mine who is/was a production engineer who helped set up the production line for the Disco I owns a Diesel Disco that's all manual - seats, windows, the lot. Much more reliable than the regular ones.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

Great points for modern Britain, but I still say for the U.S. that it doesn't make sense, especially for a vehicle that is currently V8 powered.

BTW, we always had van versions, plastic seats, rubber floor mats, the most complicated bit of wiring was for the two, yes we upgraded from one to two speakers for the AM/FM radio, I think we got really fancy and added a cassette deck to the last one. So non of the electrical complexity you were talking of.

I spend my time hanging out with off-road LR owners, not the mall terrain crowd. For them, the ability of a diesel to happily run underwater and the chug chug chug torque are significant features. Plus a lot of them are running Series trucks that had negligible horsepower to start with. This enthusiasm transferred over to the Disco owners, who were usually the same guys anyhow.

spork wrote: Honestly, I'd just do the heads again, address everything on the way through, and keep driving. The cylinder liner issue is pretty limited to the '03 and '04 MY, due to end of run production and poor tolerances.

that is the problem.. mine is an 04.

Awww, sad. Best test is to remove all the spark plugs and pressurize the cooling system. If coolant comes out of cylinders 3-6, block is toast, as only the end cylinders can have water jackets leak into the cylinders through the head gasket. Upon disassembly, after cleaning the block surface, use a fingernail and check for spots where the liner is high or low in relation to the block deck. If you look closely at the liners, you'll probably see that the cylinders are machined as much as 1.5 mm of center.

Can you re-sleeve the block with top hat liners? Yes its machine work to the block but you could then do other things to the motor and not worry. LA Sleeve likely has something that could be fitted.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I never understood why they ran on premium. Unless it's a high performance engine, I don't see why they can't run on 87.

Those engines gum up the valves and detonate something fierce on 87. 93 helps with the valves and cures the detonation.

Driving it like you did likely dropped a liner if it wasn't bad already. Find an EARLIER 4.6 out of a Range Rover to avoid the end-of-run front cover machining misalignment that causes the oil pump to eat itself. They all drop liners at the same rate. Not sure why anyone would think a late 4.6 would be worse except that the ECU tune was more sensitive and picked it up sooner.

Good luck.

well.. my disco went off to the mechanic today. Waiting for it there is the new engine, a new radiator, all new hoses, new serpentine belt, new engine mounts, new thermostat (warm weather version) and a new torque converter seal.

While she is there, he will also change out all the fluids to be replaced with redline, and finally fix the windshield wiper motor that has refused to "park" since I bought it. As Bruce (the mechanic) has on his business card.. "work done right, or not done at all" he is a true mechanic and a dinosaur in this day and age just throwing parts at a car till the CEL goes out.

I will probably see my disco in 2 weeks.. hopefully purring like a kitten again

mad_machine wrote: well.. my disco went off to the mechanic today. Waiting for it there is the new engine, a new radiator, all new hoses, new serpentine belt, new engine mounts, new thermostat (warm weather version) and a new torque converter seal. While she is there, he will also change out all the fluids to be replaced with redline, and finally fix the windshield wiper motor that has refused to "park" since I bought it. As Bruce (the mechanic) has on his business card.. "work done right, or not done at all" he is a true mechanic and a dinosaur in this day and age just throwing parts at a car till the CEL goes out. I will probably see my disco in 2 weeks.. hopefully purring like a kitten again

Congrats, you will now be like a kid on the run up to Christmas

spork wrote: And use a factory thermostat, I've had the aftermarket ones fail closed on me NEW

just for fits and giggles … how 'bout one of the "fails in the open" position … do they make one for the Disco ?

it is a factory thermostat.. just one made for warmer climes. Trust me, if it was aftermarket, it as the best aftermarket thermostat ever, came in a LR box, and was one of the most expensive thermostats I ever bought. (aside from the all aluminum Fiat ones)

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Congrats, you will now be like a kid on the run up to Christmas

And he'll play the role of "Parent after xmas waiting for the first broken thing" after getting it back.

except for it being the most expensive part that could have broken... it has been a very reliable vehicle for the past two years. With the new engine, I can see it reaching 200,000 miles

OK, so we're at eight days not two weeks, but any update. I'm loving this and can't wait for the outcome.

And the outcome is?...........

still waiting on my mechanic. Talked to him two days ago.. he got flooded with small jobs and his helper is off for two weeks,

well, good news! The work has begun! I hope to get her back by the end of the week