Disco S1 V8 info

[4X4V8]

HI, I'm looking for info on the 3.9 V8 manual 5door from about 96 to the end of S1 (98).

Is there a local Disco 1 forum?

I know or have heard about potential problem areas - Alpine window rust, poss inner front guard rust, heater core leaks, sagging headlining (three I've seen so ar have this - any pattern replacement available locally?) and I know they're thirsty. I'm expect 14.5L/100km on the hwy if I'm lucky, up to 22L/100km in traffic.

Any other traps for the unwary? Any help greatly appreciated.

Also anyone out there buy one recently? It's hard to establish market prices at the moment as they seem to vary so much from what I've seen...

[dragonwagon]

Greetings

Dashboard tops warp, engine mounts break ( cheap repair ), check for wet carpet from water leaks at windscreen,alpine windows & rear where roof joins body side panel/rear panel. Discos used hard offroad are also prone to cracks at body mount at drivers/front passengers feet, lift carpet to check.

14.5 lt/100km sounds a bit light, my auto on LPG struggles to get 20 lt/100km on the highway,double that for low range.

cant help with prices, sorry

Good luck finding the right truck, there are lots out there

Greg

[BennieDaBlade]

Hello,

I bought one at the weekend. 96 with 180km for $6000. Looked at quite a few online, not so many in person. No problems so far, apart form the central locking on the rear doors!

Cheers

Nigel

[rsrichie]

i have a 96.5 and have had it since 99 here are some of the things i have had problems with.
Window regulators (stupid little plastic bush that can be replaced through the aftermarket suppliers rather than buying a complete reg)
hood lining ( take it out and buy some good quality contact adhesive spray and re- attach it yourself)
ABS (pull the fuse and use the brakes normally)
Door trims split in the sun (replace)
Sunvisors tear away from hinge mechanism (replace with D2 items)
Air conditioner drains clog with sand and dirt causing water to leak into cab from behind center console as there is about 1 inch of sound deadner under foot water can sit in there and rust the steel floor joints pull up carpet and check (take a philips head) drains are easily cleaned climb under car and you will see two rubber pipes either side of trans tunnel. just pop the ends out with your fingers and rinse the ends out the place back in, done.
Alternator at about 190000klms
If it doesnt have oil leaks worry as it proberly doesnt have any oil.
remote door locks dont work all the time due to suseptability to interferance but can be locked by key.
100ltrs of petrol will get you about 400-450klm
dont use a thin synthetic oil like mobil 1 you will burn it up quickly (higher milage motors that is)
Rust around the alpine windows is a easy fix and in my vehicles case which is silver the paint comes in the pressure packs as a ford colour.
Air intake elbow between the air box and the injection becomes brittl and cracks. Easy fix with replacement.
check for oil leeking from shocks as the genuine shocks are rubbish and will most likley need replacing.
rear flex drive lasts about 200000 cheap easy fix replacement.
heads carbon up and nee to be removed and decarboned and valve grind this happened at 120000klms on mine but i have heard of others going for much longer. so every 4th tank run some sort of cleaner and premium fuel it seems to do the trick.
there has been lots of other things that have gone wrong over the years but most is down to normal wear and tear or driver/user error, i hope this doest discourage you from getting one as they are a great thing and really good value at current prices.

[Utemad]

Originally posted by BennieDaBlade
I bought one at the weekend. 96 with 180km for $6000. Looked at quite a few online, not so many in person. No problems so far, apart form the central locking on the rear doors!

I'm currently looking for a S1 update V8 myself in Qld. I think it would be easy to get one for that price up here. However there are still some poor deluded people asking over $10k for them (private and dealer). Some even asking around $15k. I saw a ratty and rusty one in a dealership asking $19990 :roll:

I'd hate to have bought one just before the petrol prices went up, up, up. That would have been before the V8 prices went down, down, down https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

[4X4V8]

Thanks for help - I feel like I've got a much clearer picture of what to look for now.

I'm not worried about the problems that have been mentioned - it seems that the Disco is pretty easy to work on and compared to other imported vehicles, parts do not seem expensive. All cars, esp as they age, have problems... So long as the Disco I buy doesn't have everything go wrong at once!

As for prices, yeah they seemed to have dropped like a stone. I've heard trade prices are as low as $1000 for 200k km Tdis. Im hoping that I'll find a 94 to 98 5dr manual S or SE with low kays and service history and maybe the dual airbags and ABS option for around $8k.

I haven't got to the point where I've offered on a car but I know it'll be awkward if it's one where the asking price is over $10k...

[BennieDaBlade]

There are plenty around. I swore off dealers after having two laugh at me, all I asked is if they were negotiable, didn't even mention a price. Gave me a line I hadn't heard before. "If I can sell it to another dealer for this price, why would I move even one dollar for you!" Guess business must be good for them.

Dealers are so arogant.

The chap I bought it from had bought it 2 years earlier for $17500!!

Found the problem with the central locking, the actuators were buggered. Bought one of those kits from Autobarn and used the actuators as replacements. Not quite finished, but looks like an easy fix.

Anybody know where to download the wiring diags for a 96 D1 V8 4 door?

Nigel

[Utemad]

Originally posted by BennieDaBlade
Anybody know where to download the wiring diags for a 96 D1 V8 4 door?

You can buy RAVE CDs which should have that info.

http://www.aulro.com/modules.php?name=Shop...=category&cid=3 (http://www.aulro.com/modules.php?name=Shopping_Cart&file=category&cid=3)

[BennieDaBlade]

Thanks UteMad,

I'll get one ordered.

Cheers

Nigel

[Utemad]

Not sure what State you live in but here is a nice little fixer upper in Victoria.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/LAND-ROVER-DISCOVER...1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/LAND-ROVER-DISCOVERY-1994-AUTO-LANDROVER-N-R_W0QQitemZ4632503877QQcategoryZ96714QQrdZ1QQcmdZV iewItem)

I'd be going for a look if it wasn't 1300kms away :x

[BennieDaBlade]

I forgot to mention, the guy I bought from said he looked at trading it on a new Peugeot 307, and was offered $2000.

Ouch!

[barney]

as far as fuel consumption goes, expect no better than around 17-19l/100km for a 3.9l in good condition on a economy highway run. i've got a 4.0L in my 110 thru a LT95 4 speed. i managed to get 15.45L/100km on a run from sydney to cooma at around 90km/h (to save fuel) with the aid of a fuel catalyst that improves my economy by around 10%.
i got 22l/100 fully laden crossing the simpson from east to west with this motor, then 26/100 driving around alice springs.
good luck

[4X4V8]

I drove S1s 3.9s when they were new, regularly, and I remember slipping into the high 14s on an easy cruise. I guess it's pretty much irrelevant, to me anyway, unless I do more than the 5000km or so a year that I expect to.

FWIW, I remeber Overlander did a comparison of both 3.5 and 3.9 Disco V8s when the 3.9 came out, and the 3.5 was much more thrifty - something like 12L/100km compared to 14L/100km driving for economy (don't quote me, my grey cells are getting even more grey these days).

Even S2s are getting into the mid-teens or less price-wise. Almost worth going for one of those...

[barney]

mine only gets driven after work and on the weekends
on average i only use about $50 a week

[Ralph1Malph]

Originally posted by Utemad

I'd hate to have bought one just before the petrol prices went up, up, up. That would have been before the V8 prices went down, down, down https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

Pick me for doing that :cry:
Didn't see the oil price hike coming but she is on LPG now so the pain is bearable. 8)

I'll be her proud owner for quite a while to come :roll:

Ralph

[Quiggers]

Had a 95 3.9 auto Rossignol from new, did lots of highway at 22 mpg, but around Sydney town, a tank lasted only 320km.

My current 93 3.5 shows 16.6 l / 100km as it has for the past three years...(country running, we don't have traffic lights up here around Lismore), ran it dry recently, the tank ran 550kms.

GQ

[lestraw]

Hi,

l have recently bought a 98 Disco with an underfloor LPG sytem, new transmission in immaculate order inland from Sydney for $9,200 with 180K on the clock. Drives beautifully and on a recent trip to Fraser Island got 18ltr/100km on the highway (remember LPG uses about 15% more than petrol) and 24ltr/100 avge on rough tracks and the beach.

l looked at all the websites over a 3 month period, went to some auctions in Brisbane and found this to be a good buy. As per the other posts my dealer removed the air-con drain pipes as it had been leaking into the pasenger footwell and upon removing the carpet there was considerable rust, easy to cut out - but yes take a Phillips head screwdriver with you to check this or poke around underneath the floor plan.

The vehicle has the standard oil leaks, just get it pressure cleaned b4 a roadworthy.