Very difficult to advise because there are two camps out there, those who wouldn't touch one with a bargepole, and those who think the sun shines out the tailpipe of LR's and won't hear a bad word said about them, no middle ground here.

It's all fixable, but the only way to own one of these unless you have deep pockets is to be handy with the spanners yourself or have a reasonably priced indy on tap, if you are good with the spanners then they can be a good bet because the aftermarket spares industry is fantastic for them and fanstastically cheap, though arguably it has to be.

Several chaps where i work have them, the amount of work they've had done to keep them in shape is frankly ridiculous, all underneath, the bodies on Disco 2's look fine for years, it's underbody and mechanical where the horrors lie.

Before you start spending on this vehicle in any way, spend a while underneath with a wire brush and cold chisel scraping and chipping the corrosion off the chassis, particularly rear end to see what the general condition of that is, if thats falling apart and they do then you could end up needing a new chassis or massive refurb to start with @ £££, it might be worth asking a LR forum recommended specialist to give the car a full appraisal before you spend a single pound.

Edited by gordonbennet on 12/02/2017 at 10:23

I also have a Disco 2 td5 auto. See below the links to two very helpful websites, particularly the 2nd one as it covers most common faults. Disco 2s do have their niggles, but they are rarely enough to let you down and are almost always easy fixes. Landyzone is probably a better place to get info.

www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/

www.discovery2.co.uk/

What RPM is the engine at at 70? It should sit on 2,500rpm if the road is flat.

Whilst you're under the bonnet, check the ECU plug, it's a very common issue with td5s where oil goes down the wiring loom and causes all sorts of problems that people start fixing without realising it's all rooted in a £20 part (a new wiring loom).

I recently fitted Hankook tyres to mine. Would have preferred pirrelli scorpions though. Forzeum are the cheapest i think.

Auto gearbox is a tricky one, 3 schools of thought on that, some say leave it as it will cause a problem if you put new ATF in, others say do a flush, others say flush is too aggressive and just do a change. But, as it's already haivng issues in yours by the sounds of it, probably time to change it. Worst comes to worst you can get a rebuilt ZF transmission from Ashcroft transmissions.

As for the leaks, just replace the applicable gaskets. The car is 17 years old and probably running on original seals so it's understandable.

When you say air removed do you mean it has had a conversion to coil springs at the rear? Careful doing that as if it's a 7 seater insurance is only valid if it has air suspension. 5 seaters used coils. If its just a leak then bags need replacing, only £80 each. Don't leave it as it will kill the compressor and become more expensive.

The ACE system is brilliant when its working and is generally reliable enough, (these leaned less in corners than a contemporary BMW X5!) it costs a bomb to have it sorted, someone else summarised your options well:

"1. Ditch the ACE altogether and run with std arb's;

2. Replace corroded pipes with LR ones, suitably painted to avoid them corroding again;

3. Get hydraulic pipes made up but they are likely to be more bulky;

It is worth remembering that the ACE system works at very high pressure - up to 135 bar - so rubber pipes won't work.

The most difficult bit about this repair is, apparently, getting a good, reliable seal into the valve block under the drivers seat."

As for rust, the body on land rovers is made from aluminium, the chassis from steel, so you'll almost never see rust on the body.

www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/

www.discovery2.co.uk/

**** Before you try any expensive solutions to the surging, try unplugging the MAF sensor. Once unplugged the ECU takes a default setting. Often it can be the cause of surging, loss of power etc.