new to group - questions about purchasing a Discovery

Hi,

Working on the principle that you are Canadian I will assume that the Discovery we are talking about will be a V8 auto and I will forgive you for using the JE*P word in this group! :)

Be warned if you get the Discovery it will not be transport, it will become a way of life! You will forgive it it's occasional electrical gremlins and the odd spot of oil on your drive and then you will give it a name.

They can be very reliable, but I would advise finding out where your nearest non-franchised LR specialist is as dealers are expensive and seemingly not very good. If you post your location some helpful north American will tell you where your nearest is.

The manual transmissions have a bit of a reputation of failing but the auto box is a standard ZF one and usually gives no trouble. The V8 will last forever and a day with fresh oil and the correct mix of coolant, but will probably need a new cam and valve job every 100 - 150k miles but it's an easy job.

I'm a little biased, but if everything checks out, buy it!

Have a look at the following if you need more convincing:

Enjoy and feel free to ask any other questions here, you'll find people always willing to help you and to take the piss! :)

Thanks for the reply eh... (ya I'm Canadian)

I won't use the J*** word again in this group!

I'm close to Edmonton, there is a dealer there, but I'm hesitant to use a dealer for anything, preferring to do it myself if possible. I'm not sure if there is a "specialist" shop around but it should not be hard to find...

Yes it is a V8 auto, and I just talked to the owner, trans was replaced as someone had run it low on fluid and overheated is, it has 190k+ kms on it and new timing belt, but unknown about the cam/valves. He did however say he had spent about 1800C$ on electrical repairs and told me that could be an issue with the D's.

So... if time permits I'll be looking at it this weekend, if I get it expect to see lots more of me here...

thanks again eh

The electrics, like most 'new' vehicles can prove costly. You may very well find someone who has an Autologic/Testbook machine - this is what interprets and manages the configuration of the on-board computer.

As far as spare parts go, there should be few issues. If you're prepared to roll your sleeves up (and don goggles) you be pretty well on your way toward many years of happy ownership. Speare can always be ordered via the 'web' and you'll find most of the larger (especially UK) suppliers will ship worldwide for less than you'd have thought.

The V8 is quite simply the best engine in the history of engines. I have three of them, two in Land Rovers, and one spare ;-)

Martyn

Good luck - if you're willing to have a go yourself they are fairly simple vehicles with amazing capability and my American friends tell me they love having something a bit different, unlike here where having anything other than a LR is 'different'!

Hello there, I'm also looking as a secondhand Discovery, at the the other end of the planet though. (Australia).

It's a 1996 300tdi with manual transmission and 130,000km on the clock. It appears to be in very good condition, only things I could pick are a few marks on the seats, cups holders won't stay retracted and the rubber seal around the passenger side rear (fixed) windows has split in two places. (Hard to replace?)

As far as I can tell it has had the the pulley kit to fix the timing belt problems installed.

Is there any specific things I should look for? Are there any items that fail around this amount of kms? (Brother-in-law lost the water pump on his Disco at about 135,000kms.)

Tim

The transmission will be about ready to pop. Mainshafts wear - you can check the wear by removing the PTO cover plate and peering in. Transmissions are the weak link, so budget for a clutch and gearbox swap (maybe A$3000 all in).

Look for corrosion in the rear wheel arches, under the rear lights, under the alpine lights and on the inner wings around the battery tray. All fixable, but you need to know about it if it is there.

Check that the back door opens and closes cleanly - they have been known to sag.

HTH

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i

"T.R.H." wrote >

replaced as

Been waiting for someone to comment. AFAIK this engine does not have a timing belt.

Huw

You're right of course... Mind you, at 130,000 miles it may have needed a new chain and tensioner.

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i

Knowing this engine, it is quite possible.

Huw

Hello Tim, thanks for the info. Did the test drive before the post. Very nice truck, drive really well. Gearbox very smooth and precise, no vibration, no clutch shudder. Engine started easily with no smoke, pulls well. The manual box seems to make thing so much more spritely then the auto box , is it that much more unreliable? Is there anything that can be done to make the box more reliable or a sutiable alternative?

No sign of any corrosion but one of the rear window seal was split and the front windscreen has a very small leak. (The windscreen had just been replaced.)

Back door opens easily but gets stiff at the end of full travel, I gather this is part of the lockout to stop is swinging shut while you are loading.

The things that let it down were really stupid, both front doors failed. Could not exit the drives door unless open from the outside and passenger door failed to unlock and failed to lock with central locking. The cup holders would not stay retracted which obscured the transfer case level and some plastic trim fell of the passenger side seat. Oh yes, the glovebox fell open and hit my wife's knees a couple of times. Possible bigger issue than an about to fail gearbox.

Is it best to skip the manual and go with the auto?

Tim

All the R380 manual boxes of that vintage have a design fault, in that the mainshaft doesn't get properly lubricated. It was rectified later in life. They generally get very sloppy at about 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometres). Failure of the gearbox is as inevitable as death and taxes - some go sooner, some go later.

The door locks are another common issue, and simply need either complete replacement or a new spring (not available as a separate part, but some people have improvised or made their own). The rear door is a real PITA to get to....

The plastic side panels on the seat runners also fall off - they get kicked and the plastic retainers break. Put them in the bin with mine!

The cup holder can almost certainly be fixed for a few quid.

If you don't have major corrosion issues then I'd say you have a solid vehicle and several good bargaining points. There are a few issues that would make it fail a UK MoT (the doors in particular), so you want 3000 dollars off for the gearbox swap and the cosmetics sorting out.

I would prefer the auto every time, but it's a matter of taste. Mine is manual, and it would be much better if it wasn't.

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i