taking a disco td5 to cape york?

[known2]

after reading that the new disco 3 didn't make it and knowing that rovers hate water crosings.

makes me wonder if a td5 disco should be takin that far away from civilisation?
has anyone done it, i know defenders have but there a bit diferent?
what preperations did u take?

[gidget]

Mate it will be no worries, where are you ?? a trip prep before you go by a good landy mechanic & you will be no wrries.
I had my td5 disco in plenty of water & mud with out an issue, But we never got to the cape in it ....life is so busy http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/images/icons/icon6.gif
But we are off to the gulf in our Disco 1 (went backwards to get a toy http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif ) in a bout 3 weeks.

[known2]

cheers gidget. spoke to the guys at arb and they said get a cruiser as u will allways be fixing things in a disco and reliability is a majour isue. as i've had no real experiance in them i'm not sure. other than i know they have electrical drama's

[DiscoveringAuz]

Mate, the guys at ARB wont you to buy a landcruiser so they can sell you thousands of dollars of gear to bring it up to the capibility of the disco.
A serviced disco is reliable, a 100 series IFS crusier is waiting for a suspension failure.

[Mikey0211]

cheers gidget. spoke to the guys at arb and they said get a cruiser as u will allways be fixing things in a disco and reliability is a majour isue. as i've had no real experiance in them i'm not sure. other than i know they have electrical drama's

BULLS#$T!!!! go and talk to some actuall landy owner if you want some real advice...

Every vechicle has its problems, the key is to keep you maintenance up to scratch.. I'm sure cruisers are good vehicles but they are not invincible..
If landys were as bad as what everyone says they are i'm sure they would be off the market by now...

90% of bad things said about landys are from people who have never owned them and have just heard stories...

They are extremely capable 4x4's even in stock form

[wazza73]

Known2

where are you located? I am sure i could point you in the direction of any number of land rover guys that can show you their rig and explain what they have done.

Also join aulro.com and they have a wealth of knowledge on these subjects

Cheers

Warren

[Reddo]

Never had an electrical problem in our D1, despite Lucas electricals, and the car has been drive repeatedly under water - well over the bonnet many many times. Only failures have been due to fair wear and tear, eg., alternator brushes at 180000Ks, and cracked dissy cap, leads (precaution) and control module at the same time. Cost, around 300 all up.

Seen plenty of 80 series with wiring, (expensive) alternator and hard to diagnose relay issues - so don't believe the BS about LR, and remeber people often compare 15 year old LRs to modern Yotas` - don't ask me why but they do, all the time - probably because it took that long for the Japs to cath up:)

[gidget]

I agree ... the most people who bag landy's have never experience it them selves & to be honest that gives me the shits.:mad:

Keep the landy mate, look after her & she will look after you :thumb:

[99disco]

hey guys i have a 99 disco 2 td5 manual and love it to bit looked at 100 series but could not justify the extra 15 grand and not even get cruise control in a gxl my td5 has 4 inch lift and 33inch tires and its a great all round car its done 250000km now and the only prob is the spiggot bearing on the clutch but like they say its just maintainance.
anyway go for the td5 you will love it

[known2]

hey wazza i'm on the gold coast aswell. i have a mate with a 95 tdi and it's so comfy to ride in and economical. but he has his drama's with it.

gota sell my 80 1st but the rover looks like the go as u don't get much in a 105 for the price.

[Grimace]

spoke to the guys at arb and they said get a cruiser as u will allways be fixing things in a disco and reliability is a majour isue.

Thats f'n bullshit and another reason why I wont be praising anything to do with ARB.

p.s. even if the disco did give you dramas on your trip the extra expense would be removed by the saving in fuel. (Approx 15-20%) ;)

[Grimace]

gota sell my 80 1st but the rover looks like the go as u don't get much in a 105 for the price.

You get alot in a 105.... ALOT OF DEAD WEIGHT! The 80series is a far superior vehicle. Trust me my parents have owned more than their fair share of landcruisers (including the current 100series peice of crap). And been round the cape and the kimberleys in our old 80series.

If I had to own a non LR vehicle it would be a late model deisel 80series.

[Disco98]

Even a D3 would do it easily. Set your vehicle up correctly and drive within the vehicles capabilities and you will be fine.

[known2]

d3 scares me a bit.

sourced a nice 2004 hse td5 for 38k.
seems like alot of gear that comes on them. duno wether it is all necesary mainly the self leveling suspension . i would asume that would have to be removed when i lift kit went in?..

there is a show on nat geo channell that starts october 3rb called odysee driving aROUnd the world and they take 4 td5 disco's thats gota say something. show starts at 8.30pm

[Disco98]

d3 scares me a bit.

sourced a nice 2004 hse td5 for 38k.
seems like alot of gear that comes on them. duno wether it is all necesary mainly the self leveling suspension . i would asume that would have to be removed when i lift kit went in?..

there is a show on nat geo channell that starts october 3rb called odysee driving aROUnd the world and they take 4 td5 disco's thats gota say something. show starts at 8.30pm

The D2 is a top vehicle, car like handling, yet awsome off road ability, the D3 scares quite a few people but there are people taking them into some seriously remote areas without a drama, the 100 Series Cruiser blew its diff on the 4wdoty test, so does that mean you shouldnt take it into the more remote areas of australia? No, no matter what vehicle you take there is just as much risk of something happening.

If you buy the D2, and have it serviced by a land rover specialist (not a dealer) then it will never let you down. Some land rovers have things that need understanding and knowledge of in order to keep the running reliably. For example on my D1 the line from the lift pump to the fuel filter is a tad to short so it puts pressure on the fittings on the lift pump which in turn fail, sure it shouldnt happen, but any normal mechanic will simply replace it, i know a bloke who has had his replaced 4 times. Mechanics who dont work with them everyday tend to fix the problem and miss the cause, in this case the cause costs $6 to repair with some longer fuel line and it never happens again. Find a good land rover mechanic who will look after you, and if you can do as much as you can yourself so you learn the vehicle in and out so that in the event of a failure or electrical glitch you know what to do.

Enjoy it mate, i wanted a D2 but couldnt stretch the budget that far at the time, that is a good price, you will love it. Matt

[MickG]

there is a show on nat geo channell that starts october 3rb called odysee driving aROUnd the world and they take 4 td5 disco's thats gota say something. show starts at 8.30pm

Hey known2, I can't find any listing on Foxtel for this programme but very keen to see it. Do you have nay more info on the programme at all?

Cheers, Mick

[MickG]

Found it: Odysee Driving - The Launch, 9.30pm 3rd October Nat Geo Adventure Channel.

Cheers known2, great find and looking forward to it already.

[Diff]

We took three TD5 and one TDI Discovery to the Cape in 2005 at the same time as the 4wd Monthly crew were there. Met them on the old telegraph track when they were all bogged in the first creek crossing.

All had no problem with the tracks or the vehicles themselves. What broke was a starter motor solonide which is actually the same as the cruisers and a nipindo part and the total failure of an auto gear box.

The box actually had issues back in Bowen with a cracked fluid line. The loss of fluid must have damaged the auto internally so cannot be blamed on the tracks to the Cape.

[known2]

i notice there r allmost no d2 manuals.
is it recomended to use a larger oil cooler for the auto when running offroad?
and can it be strengthened at all.

[Diff]

Auto is more common but manuals can be chipped futher.
I haven't seen and Disco's with cooler problems or larger ones.
The are built to go from IceLand to Saudi Ariba.
Modifications, How big is your wallet?
A D2 on 33' will shame a 100 series on 35'

[MickG]

I have a '99 manual TD5 bought stock standard on 18" rims about 4 years ago. Took it to Landcruiser Park to test it, having done VERY liittle 4x4 before. It simply went everywhere I pointed it with the most extreme on the trip being coopers corner. It got through no trouble and whilst running 40psi in all tyres (was very new to 4x4:o )

Now it has changed a lot and runs on 33" muds, 2" spring lift, full bar work, chipped etc etc......it now goes so well off road and rarely will not do what i want it to do. I do not flog it, and am not stupid with where I point it (I know it's limits) but I do love to challenge me and the car as far as possible.

Other than some normal servicing/wear and tear issues like batteries, radiator, clutch etc, it has never let me down. I service it religiously every 7-10,000k's changing oils and filters at this time and also have my mechanic (specialist LR mechanic) check it over every time he has it in for a service and normally change/replace things as I go, just to be safe. Have probably spent more than required on servicing but I know what condidtion everything is in and treat the car accordingly.

It amazed me how far it went stock on 18" rims with no lift but now that I have been bitten by the modification bug, it amazes me more at how much further it goes.

As I have never owned another make of 4x4 I cannot comment on reliability issues of them, but I would suggest that any car looked after well and driven with respect will do what it required of it.

Love my D2 to pieces as it gets me to where I want to drive in superior comfort, drives over, under, through, around almost everything I throw at it and then drives me and my family home again as if it has just been to the shops for the groceries:D Will never sell it and would not hesitate to take it to the Cape or anywhere else.

Aye, Mick

[DiscoSteve]

A D2 on 33' will shame a 100 series on 35'

My D2 with 31's shames my mates 100series with 35's and lockers:thumb:

[Slunnie]

Auto is more common but manuals can be chipped futher.
I haven't seen and Disco's with cooler problems or larger ones.
The are built to go from IceLand to Saudi Ariba.
Modifications, How big is your wallet?
A D2 on 33' will shame a 100 series on 35'
Re the chip, its not really the case anymore with the auto/manual thing. I'm chipped + intercooled with an auto, though to do this well you need to have an additional high pressure ATF cooler added.

Also, the Aus spec Disco2's come from the factory with oversized radiators for the hot climates. I've had my radiator almost totally plugged up from what I've been told, and it never overheated.

Oh, and you should see what a D2 on 35's does. :)

[Slunnie]

Oops. Re the main question... I've done Simpson E-W, S-N, Cape York, Central Oz etc and the D2 will be fine. I guess you need to question why 4WDMonthly killed the D3 up at Cape, and yet a hell of a lot of other Disco's have no problems.

http://www.slunnie.com/coppermine/albums/CapeYork06/normal_CapeYork0271.jpg

http://www.slunnie.com/coppermine/albums/CapeYork06/normal_CapeYork0420.jpg

[known2]

thanx guys this has been reasuring.
what is required to run 35's?
allthough i'll probly only run 33's

[Grimace]

My D2 with 31's shames my mates 100series with 35's and lockers:thumb:

I think a stage one military lr will put a 100 series to shame.

And reguarding the tyre size, I would persoanlly aim for the 33" max.

35s = alot more stuffing round and cutting :D

[davidl]

hi all got a series 2 td5 manual and love it it now has 260000 ks on it we live in north qld been to the cape out to weipa the burke and wills track
never let us down the body is 95 percent good motor just purrs the electrics are a bit unreliable but nothin a bit of common sence dont fix rovers build quility is not as great as toyotas but they dont rust as rule but like any vehicle do the maintance i cant stress enough check all hoses under the bonnet inc. air con power steer the top radiator hose has a habit of rubbing on the air con if it goes and you dont realise in time its a $10000 mistake and thats for a second one all in all great truck and ya can get em at the right price cheers