New-to-Me '04 Disco II

[jh.]

I picked up my Disco II today and drove it 300 miles home. Incredibly happy with it as a platform for my next project. It's replacing my pickup as a toy hauler and filling the void left when I sold my TJ about 5 years ago. Been wanting a Rover since the day I turned 16 - although a 110 was always the dream.

Impressions:
- Being used to Jeeps (TJ, XJ, and WJ), I was expecting a similar ride on the highway. I was wrong. Much more comfortable and tight in the Disco. Also...I actually appreciated being under 6' and there was little to no appreciable fatigue.

- It won't beat much off the line, but it pulls hard (drove up and over 9600' feet in snow without an issue). Dumb question but pressing the "Mode" button adds an "S" to my dash panel - this can't actually mean "Sport," can it?!

- The low beams are just awful. But the high beams may be the best stock lighting I've ever had on the road.

Surprises:
- I knew going into this purchase that the Disco throws a 1412 and 1415 code but it ran very well, leading me to believe everything I've read about the 1412 and 1415 codes are true. The SAI fix should be easy and it really didn't affect the drive home.

- Wasn't expecting to see 18" rims - which means I'm now in the market for 16" steelies. What size/offset am I looking for? (plan is to add a OME suspension after I do all 100k mile preventive maintenance (plus drive shaft work) - should probably also ask: heavy or medium duty? Roof rack, flooring, front bumper, winch, tow bar, lots of lighting, and interior storage plus fridge will all be added...assuming heavy.)

- I appear to have some electrical gremlins but nothing too bad yet. The green trailer light began flashing with my right turn signal at one point. The woman I bought this from told me the horn didn't work and she included the part (which I haven't looked at yet), but because NOTHING on the wheel works, I'm wondering if it's something easier - fuse? The cruise control didn't work (which was annoying on the long ride) and the radio controls didn't either (although with the aftermarket stereo that doesn't surprise me). The speedo also didn't match up with my Garmin. It's new too, so I really don't know who was at fault - but the Garmin did work pretty dead on with my Subaru.

- Brakes demand a heavier foot than I was expecting. Nothing terrible, but I may end up working on these. The Disco grew up in New York so there is visible rust on the rotors.

That's it for now....hopefully the bulk of the project is done by summer. :Mechanic:

Thanks for letting me lurk before making this purchase sight unseen. Wouldn't have done it without this site.

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

JH.
Nice looking truck. Love the color. Curious, though — those rims are LR3 18's. The lug pattern should not work on a DII. You must have adapters on the truck to accept those rims. You may check to make sure they didn't do some type of hub swap.
I do agree that the steelies will look much better on that truck.
D

 

[Rovertrader]

Actually the LR3 wheels will work on a D-II, but the reverse, aka D-II rims on an LR3, will not. Forget the issue- lug nuts I think, but regardless, you cab sell the LR3 18s and easily get your 16s. I have some D-II 16" alloys should you want to trade ;-)

 

[MedicalCowboy]

Hey welcome bud! Nice rover!

 

[Daryl]

- It won't beat much off the line, but it pulls hard (drove up and over 9600' feet in snow without an issue). Dumb question but pressing the "Mode" button adds an "S" to my dash panel - this can't actually mean "Sport," can it?!

LOL, yes....it does mean "S"port. All it does is change the shift points so you suck down even more fuel. It can be safely ignored, as long as you leave it off.

- I appear to have some electrical gremlins but nothing too bad yet. The green trailer light began flashing with my right turn signal at one point.

That can be as simple as removing the turn signal bulbs and cleaning them and the socket. The trailer light comes on when there is higher draw then what it expects (which it assume are more lights attached via the trailer plug).

The woman I bought this from told me the horn didn't work and she included the part (which I haven't looked at yet), but because NOTHING on the wheel works, I'm wondering if it's something easier - fuse? The cruise control didn't work (which was annoying on the long ride) and the radio controls didn't either (although with the aftermarket stereo that doesn't surprise me).

It's not a surprise that the radio controls don't work with an aftermarket stereo but you probably could solve that. Many better stereos have aftermarket interface boxes to make that work. That being said, I doubt it's your problem if NOTHING is working.

First things first.....did you turn on the cruise control? There is a button on the binnacle that needs to be pressed in before the steering wheel control for cruise will do anything.

But if that's not the case and nothing at all works it's probably the "rotary coupler". Hopefully that's the part she gave you.

Before tearing into it, make sure you disconnect the battery and let it sit for at least 10 minutes so the airbag won't go off if you touch the wrong things.

The speedo also didn't match up with my Garmin. It's new too, so I really don't know who was at fault - but the Garmin did work pretty dead on with my Subaru.

How far off is it? Most speedos are calibrated to read high.

- Brakes demand a heavier foot than I was expecting. Nothing terrible, but I may end up working on these. The Disco grew up in New York so there is visible rust on the rotors.

In general they are pretty heavy. But absolutely give them a good service and swap the fluid. They may still feel heavy/dead. Could be worse......could be D1 brakes.


Looks like a nice truck. I'm sure you'll be able to get the little stuff sorted out in no time.

In case you don't have it yet, here's were you can download the factory service manuals:
http://macassemble.com/lrm/

 

[Colin Hughes]

The speedo may be set for 16" wheels. The trailer light always flashes for an instant when you use the indicator stalk. Steering wheel controls won't work with an aftermarket stereo unless the stereo can take a special harness and the special harness is installed.
Yes, low beams suck, hi beam is great. I'm back in a D1 after having an 03 D2 and the lighting is so much better on the D1.
Enjoy.

 

[David Harris]

Actually the LR3 wheels will work on a D-II, but the reverse, aka D-II rims on an LR3, will not. Forget the issue- lug nuts I think, but regardless, you cab sell the LR3 18s and easily get your 16s. I have some D-II 16" alloys should you want to trade ;-)

Those LR3 wheels look pretty good on there. . .

 

[cosmiccharlie]

Nice looking D2

The speedo may be set for 16" wheels. The trailer light always flashes for an instant when you use the indicator stalk. Steering wheel controls won't work with an aftermarket stereo unless the stereo can take a special harness and the special harness is installed.
Yes, low beams suck, hi beam is great. I'm back in a D1 after having an 03 D2 and the lighting is so much better on the D1.
Enjoy.

The speedo isn't affected by the size of the wheels, the tire size is what would make a difference. If the 18's have a tire that is close to the height of the stock size tire on 16's the speedo should read the same. I have an 04 and my trailer light never flashes when using the indicator. My trailer light only comes on when I have trailer lights plugged in. Take the advise above and clean the bulbs and sockets.

 

[ZG]

My speedo is off by around 10mph at 65, so when it says 65, I'm actually going 75.

 

[cosmiccharlie]

Looks like you have taller that stock tires, so the speedo should read slower than actual speed. I am curious what mine reads now. I'll check against my GPS later. The OP's tires look to be about the same size as the 255/55/18 on my D2.

 

[jh.]

Curious, though — those rims are LR3 18's.

Just 5 minutes ago I saw an LR3...and sure enough it had the exact same rims.

I have some D-II 16" alloys should you want to trade ;-)

If I didn't live in the middle of nowhere and have to pay for shipping...I'd be game. Will probably just sell them locally as a package with the tires since I was originally planning on selling the tires anyway (against my better judgement, I'm getting mud tires - living in a winter climate doesn't mix well with that rubber - oh well).

Hey welcome bud! Nice rover!

Thank you!

That can be as simple as removing the turn signal bulbs and cleaning them and the socket. The trailer light comes on when there is higher draw then what it expects (which it assume are more lights attached via the trailer plug).

Great advice - thank you! I noticed one of the lower taillights was out too so I'll just go through them all.

First things first.....did you turn on the cruise control? There is a button on the binnacle that needs to be pressed in before the steering wheel control for cruise will do anything.

Yup - the cruise button turns on and shows the little orange light, but the SET and RES buttons do nothing.

But if that's not the case and nothing at all works it's probably the "rotary coupler". Hopefully that's the part she gave you.

I hope so too - I'll find out this weekend.

How far off is it? Most speedos are calibrated to read high.

Seems to differ based on speed. And unfortunately this is the other way - I'm going much faster than the speedo indicates (like the post above). Around 45 it's within 1-2mph. Up around 65 it was off by almost 10mph (Garmin said I was doing 75+). I got a ticket in the National Park 2 weeks ago and with the night time 45mph limit and no cruise control, I was driving uber conservative.

In case you don't have it yet, here's were you can download the factory service manuals:
http://macassemble.com/lrm/

Before my trip I downloaded a RAVE manual and put the PDF on my iPhone...just in case. Thanks for all the help!

The trailer light always flashes for an instant when you use the indicator stalk. Steering wheel controls won't work with an aftermarket stereo unless the stereo can take a special harness and the special harness is installed.

I'm much less concerned about the stereo controls as I am with the cruise control. This was meant to be a road tripper and I have a heavy foot. The trailer light actually blinks with the right turn signal, so it's not an instant flash.

Those LR3 wheels look pretty good on there. . .

They don't look bad, that's for sure. But 16" tires are just so much easier to come by.

The speedo isn't affected by the size of the wheels, the tire size is what would make a difference. If the 18's have a tire that is close to the height of the stock size tire on 16's the speedo should read the same. I have an 04 and my trailer light never flashes when using the indicator. My trailer light only comes on when I have trailer lights plugged in. Take the advise above and clean the bulbs and sockets.

My first thought was the wheel size but then I thought the same. Thanks.

My speedo is off by around 10mph at 65, so when it says 65, I'm actually going 75.

Sounds awfully familiar to mine...

 

[jh.]

Looks like you have taller that stock tires, so the speedo should read slower than actual speed. I am curious what mine reads now. I'll check against my GPS later. The OP's tires look to be about the same size as the 255/55/18 on my D2.

Close...255/65/18. After the OME lift (and now 16" wheels), I had planned on going 265/75/16.

 

[jh.]

The New York owner certainly wanted bling...larger wheels, fancy but useless fog lights, illegal tints, fancy iPod friendly (albiet not iPhone 5 friendly - bluetooth works though) Alpine stereo. I guess the good news is that I can relatively safely assume he didn't do any hardcore wheeling. The owner in between him and I only had this for 6 months and barely put 1,000 miles on it. The other 109k came in the Northeast.

 

[Daryl]

Seems to differ based on speed. And unfortunately this is the other way - I'm going much faster than the speedo indicates (like the post above).

Based on this information and the other poster's comments that those are LR3 wheels I think I know exactly what is going on. The stock tire size for a DII with 18" wheels is 255/55 R18 which is a 29" tall tire. The LR3 had 19" wheels also shod with a 255/55 tire, but obviously an R19. A 255/55R19 is 30 inches tall. That's definitely going to throw off your speedo (3.4% slow according to the tire calculator). If it was a bit off to begin with this is only going to make things worse.

 

[h2os2]

Nice looking D2!