Just Bought an '89 Rangie

[richzx]

I just bought an '89 Range Rover off my brother so I can get up to the snow with our baby in the back so my old diesel Triton ute has been sold. I'm getting a roadworthy tomorrow as it came from NSW. Its Caspian Blue and a 3.5 Auto with 2(!) build dates on it one says Feb 89 and the other April '89! Anyway I am a noob in the 4WD scene and I'm from a performance car background so I find it pretty damn slow! It seems to have been fairly well looked after but has a little bit of rust in the firewall of all places.
First job is going to be replacing the factory headlights with some aftermarket H4 ones so I can see where I'm going.

Any tips, advice or comments are welcome.

Cheers

Rich:)

[Scouse]

Welcome :).

You should find the April date is the Compliance date, not build.
H4s are standard so it's strange that someone would have retrofitted something else.

[richzx]

It has some sealed beam Lucas things in it that I've never seen and they aren't real good! I replaced the lights in my Triton with some aftermarket ones as well and it made a world of difference.

[Camo]

Hi Rich

Welcome to the joys of rangies.

I'm sure you will love your new toy. Had mine for nearly 5 years and will never sell it.

Great bunch of people with info on this site.

Camo

[richzx]

Thanks for the welcome guys I appreciate it. I have been scanning the site for a few days and you're right there appears to be a wealth if knowledge regarding Rangies on here so I'm sure when I have some issues then the members here will be able to solve it.
I've only driven mine around the block because it's not registered as yet however, I'm finding the 3.5 pretty uninspiring and it appears from what I've read they are not that reliable either given the age. There's no such thing as cheap power with these either is there, I'm used to giving my sedan a bit of extra turbo boost to have it the way I like it, but na engines like this are different. To be honest I've driven it once and I'm already considering an engine conversion to say a 1UZ Toyota V8! I take it a decent 4.6L motor and loom + ecu isn't easy to come by?:(

[Scouse]

There's no such thing as cheap power with these either is there, I'm used to giving my sedan a bit of extra turbo boost to have it the way I like it, but na engines like this are different. Easy - whack it in low range & it'll give the rice burners a run for their money.







Until you hit 50-60 kph :p.

[Rangier Rover]

I just bought an '89 Range Rover off my brother so I can get up to the snow with our baby in the back so my old diesel Triton ute has been sold. I'm getting a roadworthy tomorrow as it came from NSW. Its Caspian Blue and a 3.5 Auto with 2(!) build dates on it one says Feb 89 and the other April '89! Anyway I am a noob in the 4WD scene and I'm from a performance car background so I find it pretty damn slow! It seems to have been fairly well looked after but has a little bit of rust in the firewall of all places.
First job is going to be replacing the factory headlights with some aftermarket H4 ones so I can see where I'm going.

Any tips, advice or comments are welcome.

Cheers

Rich:) Gday Rich, Same year and same colour as mine.:cool:
The 89 is a good choice in a RRC. Nice interior and not to many electronics. The 3.5, viscous, smaller cv's and 10 spline axles are the worst part of them especialy if your putting 33s of 35s on(You can change all that in time)

The 3.5 and ZF auto in mine has proven to be very durable and reliable.
Ive done some long trips in mine on 31" tyres and has been quite manageable and will cruise at 120 kmh if you want to. Just have to drop it out of overdrive on the hills a bit. The 3.5 will run a 4000 rpm all day if it has to.:D

On head lights I'm thinking about magnified inserts and HID conversion for mine as low beam is not real flash when a car come towards me at night.

Enjoy your Rangie:) They win you over in time.;)

Tony

[Rangier Rover]

Easy - whack it in low range & it'll give the rice burners a run for their money.







Until you hit 50-60 kph :p. Ha Ha. I do that in mine often:D Its bloody funny as most can't work out how you get the jump on them off the mark.
Problem is the ZF won't hold top gear in low range and kicks back to 3rd as you hit red line:eek:

[Rangier Rover]

Thanks for the welcome guys I appreciate it. I have been scanning the site for a few days and you're right there appears to be a wealth if knowledge regarding Rangies on here so I'm sure when I have some issues then the members here will be able to solve it.
I've only driven mine around the block because it's not registered as yet however, I'm finding the 3.5 pretty uninspiring and it appears from what I've read they are not that reliable either given the age. There's no such thing as cheap power with these either is there, I'm used to giving my sedan a bit of extra turbo boost to have it the way I like it, but na engines like this are different. To be honest I've driven it once and I'm already considering an engine conversion to say a 1UZ Toyota V8! I take it a decent 4.6L motor and loom + ecu isn't easy to come by?:(

HSV;)

[richzx]

Well I just took it for a quick spin up this big hill near my place in the dark and it does go quite well! It will certainly do the job of getting me to the snow this year.

It's funny, my brother said he was sad to see it go so it obviously grew on him and it will on me as well I reckon.

Can someone help me out with how to get the interior lights working as neither my front or rear ones are working and I can't work out how the cover comes off?

I see Ebay have upgraded 7 inch replacement headlights with HID for about $345 which isn't too bad. I did find with my Triton that these replacement lights with some decent globes was all it really needed.

I can't see myself going for the big tyres and stuff but you never know. How do I tell if I have viscous gear ot the other sort?

[richzx]

Well I just bought some Narva replacement headlights for the Rangie with 100/55w bulbs. I'll try and get these fitted this weekend . Does anyone know if I need to upgrade the wiring with a relay to run the 100 watters or is the standard set up ok?

[Scouse]

Can someone help me out with how to get the interior lights working as neither my front or rear ones are working and I can't work out how the cover comes off?

How do I tell if I have viscous gear ot the other sort?The lenses rotate about 5mm then drop off (or you might need to lever them out if they are tight). Have a look at the fuse for the interior lights - does the horn work ? (my 87 has the horn & interior lights on the same fuse)

Check your transfer case knob. If you can move it sideways & it says 'diff lock' then you have the early transfer case. Standard on the 89 is the viscous though.


Well I just bought some Narva replacement headlights for the Rangie with 100/55w bulbs. I'll try and get these fitted this weekend . Does anyone know if I need to upgrade the wiring with a relay to run the 100 watters or is the standard set up ok?I'd run relays for those for sure, on the high side at least & you'll probably get a better light on low too with a relay.

The RR wiring won't be what you expect though as each light has it's own circuit & fuse: left high, left low, right high, right low.

You can either fit relays to the RH side & run both headlights from here & leave the LH disconnected or fit relays to both sides. Both sides would be preferable IMO due to the fact that you can lose both sides if a fuse blows.

[richzx]

Thanks for that Scott. I spoke to my brother and he had trouble with the interior lights and disconnected them so I will have to check it all out.
With that info I have the viscous transfer case which sounds suitable for my purposes.
The headlights sound like an unusual set up so I will get a couple of relays to make sure I have no dramas with them.
It's funny, I took the Rangie in to get a roadworthy for rego and the place I took it to had someone come in and ask if it was for sale! Lol.
The more drive it the more I like it, it just needs more grunt!

[richzx]

Well I pulled the old headlights out and they were rubbish, they had 100/80W bulbs in them and the spotties came on with the high beam as well! I don't think the electrics liked that much so I put the new lights in and they are WAAAYYY better and I pulled the spotties off as they were UV affected and not giving off much light either. I will take it for a run tonight and see how the lights go.

[buzz66]

Don't change the engine bloke.
The ZF tranny is designed to be lazy and get the best in fuel efficiency.
If you want the old girl to go just drive it like a manual and dont let it change gears to early.
The engines last forever. Only problem is head gasket. It will more than likely have already had a gasket change anyway. If not it wont be long before you notice water consumption. Aside from that the engine is bullet proof.
Once you get used to four wheel driving you will learn to hate the the Viscous transfers case.
You will ony break the CV joints if you fit a locker. Mine has lockers and the older stronger CV's and I have still broken a CV. The locker is the thing that will break the CV's and the axles. The worst part of the Range Rover is the Differentials. Hard core off roading will ALWAYS break a rear diff. If you are on a budget but good with your hands I recomend removing the diff and tack welding the shaft to stop it spinning.
The shaft spinning in the housing wears an elongated hole then the gears dont mesh properly and well you know what happens after that.

Cheers Buzz

[superquag]

It would have been cheaper and better to replace your H4's with 'Plus-50' uprated globes. Better beam control on low-beam, less glare and easier on the eyes colour.

HID's may make your car 'unroadworthy' over there, apart from being a source of uncontrolled glare for other road users... I removed my HIDs for that reason.
Also, according to ADRs, if the lamp output is above 2000 lumens, then it 'must' be fitted with an automatic washing device...

Probably a bit late now, but it would make more sense to sink that money into decent driving lights.

cheers

[Scouse]

HID's may make your car 'unroadworthy' over there, apart from being a source of uncontrolled glare for other road users... I removed my HIDs for that reason.
Also, according to ADRs, if the lamp output is above 2000 lumens, then it 'must' be fitted with an automatic washing device...

If you have a Hiline/Vogue model Range Rover, then it has headlight washers as standard.
Technically, it also has a load leveller fitted which is also a requirement for HIDs.