Thread: Considering a D1... Pluses and Pitfalls

Hi damned67,
Have owned 3 Disco 1's,2x 92 editions(200tdi's) and 1 300tdi
All have been pretty easy to fix-have workshop manual for 200tdi + Rave for the 300tdi
Parts can be a little expensive,but no more than Toymota or Snissan.
Both the 200tdi and the 300tdi are both mechanical.Its the td5 that came out with all the electronics.The 300tdi came out late 94/early 95 not sure.
Except for the timing belt that needs changing every 80 thousands k/s,the vehicles are pretty bullet proof.
Change the oil and filters every 5000 and you should have a good run.
Expect that some parts will be coming to the end of there working life and you will have to replace them.
MAKE SURE YOU GET SOMEONE THAT KNOWS LANDYS to check over the vehicle before you part with your hardearned.
Have a read through the Disco 1 section for info.
Good luck in finding one.
cheers

Get under it and check for oil leaking/dripping from the rear of the transfer gear box. Every D1 I looked at had this leak. In the end I gave up and bought on with the leak by was otherwise in perfect condition. It cost 1500ish to get it fixed by modifying the shaft and a plug to prevent it ever happening again. Its a design flaw, apparently.

My ownership list runs,
UK
Series 3 2.25 diesel (loved, overhaulled the engine before selling),
D 90 200TDi (did heaps of chassis work and general mechanicals),
D1 1991 200TDi (bought at 190k MILES (yes Miles) sold at 220k Miles. I did almost nothing to this mechanically, bought with noisy release bearing and didn't do anything else to it),
D1 1997 300TDi auto with EDC bought with 100k km (japanese import in the UK)
AUS
D2 1999 V8 with 170k km, fixed amigos, crank sensor, exhaust, water leaks....
D1 1995 300TDi 180k km, snafu release bearing

Only mentioning so that you can see I have a balanced opinion (at least across the rover range!).
I really like the TDi engines. They are easy to work on, pretty reliable, it's the bits attached that often cause issues. I get about 11L/100 in the latest one, though on long runs in the UK I used to get about 35mpg out of the 200TDi.

I've not worked on or owned a TD5, so I can't comment on those, the V8 is too thirsty for my tastes (though I love driving it!).
I love the extra space in the D2, I notice it in the D1 because I can get from one to the other on the driveway.
If you want something that doesn't require some specialist tools to maintain then the TDI would be my choice, if you are content to spend out on things like nanocom, and the bit of extra cash, then a D2 TD5 could be a good choice, since you mention 4 + baggage.
I'd avoid the V8s because of fuel costs and range (and it was range that has caused me to swap back to diesel really). Don't be sucked in by how much better they drive....
Inspect any vehicle very closely, bring the ovies, hammer, volt meter and other stuff and get down and dirty checking it. And also remember to check all the extras, like windows, lights etc.
Lucas electrics are somewhat rightly griped about, and getting a vehicle that requires loads of fiddly electric issues can be time consuming and annoying!

I ave my trusty V8 disco 1 it is fun to drive but as others said they lack range and they drink but no worse than any other similar class 4wd and they sound so much nicer.
We also have a 300 tdi bought that of a farmer for $1000it had a dud head was planning to fix it and flog it off for nice little proffit were still driving it more than 2 years later an 30ooo odd km other than oil's we had spent nothing on it sicnce the head till last week when the altinator bearing went so we got new one and power steering pump too as that was sounding a bit average. Been a good little runer gets about 800 km to a tank and seens to go well off road. Its a simple little truck to work on and dobt that it will give much in the way of issues.
The other car the 04 td5 it's pretty nice we have been using it as our lond distance tourer its quiet fast comfee and almost corners like a sports car, well compaired to the other 2. It gets good mileage not like the tdi but up round 650km round town bit more on the long roads, has a lot more room even if on paper its only someting like 100mm in length at the rear cargo area.we have draws and 2 wacos an arc battery pack in the back a colman stove an jam the swag on top of the 2 fridges no chance of that in the D1's (might be a pic of that in album)
The rear suspension for me is a let down where on road it workd quite well off road it wont compaire to the A arm of the D1's the watts link suffer when loaded going through rough tracks as they reach the limit of travel much sooner.
The D2 has a bunch of nice features that the D1 dosnt have like traction control and ACE the ace is nice makes a good bit of diference when on road and even off road as dose then traction. The second battery for a disco 2 is much smaler than what you can shoe horn into a D1 managed to fit 2 n70's in the 1 where as the D2 has an n70 i think standard and the aux is about 2/3rs the size hence why we run the battery pack when we have the 2 fridges in the back


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damned67 are you close to the eastern side of Brisbane, if you are i can bring around show you my average 300TDi and show you some tricks with them. it is still better than the 85 MK patrol i had before

G'day Damned67

The D1 is basicaly a first series Range Rover (70--95 RRC) chassis with a new body, tried and proven beastie,the 300TDI in Auto should get about 9/10litres to 100klm but don't discount a 3.9ltre V8 on GAS if it has scuber tanks in the boot with a false floor and still has it's original tank it is a very handy vehicle, daughter just bought a 98 for under $6K and 186,000klms I drove it back from ACT last week it gets about 350klm for under $50, I have an 85 RRC that has been on gas since 1996 goes well at 254,600klm. as well as a 300TDI Auto D1 with 330,000klms up.

Look for water leaks around the glass and on the floors,sunroofs in particular,and split rubber window seals from sun damage,steering should be positive with no free play and no wander,and if an auto the 4spd ZF should change up and down smoothly.if there is a clunk on take off or on slowing it could be the "A"frame ball joint,which can wear, an easy fix but frightening to a newbee.


cheers

another tip for the ZF auto, test drive it from cold, some will hold on to 1st gear when cold, besides being really annoying, it can be a sign of wear within the transmission

Originally Posted by UncleHo

G'day Damned67

The D1 is basicaly a first series Range Rover (70--95 RRC) chassis with a new body, tried and proven beastie,the 300TDI in Auto should get about 9/10litres to 100klm but don't discount a 3.9ltre V8 on GAS if it has scuber tanks in the boot with a false floor and still has it's original tank it is a very handy vehicle, daughter just bought a 98 for under $6K and 186,000klms I drove it back from ACT last week it gets about 350klm for under $50, I have an 85 RRC that has been on gas since 1996 goes well at 254,600klm. as well as a 300TDI Auto D1 with 330,000klms up.

Look for water leaks around the glass and on the floors,sunroofs in particular,and split rubber window seals from sun damage,steering should be positive with no free play and no wander,and if an auto the 4spd ZF should change up and down smoothly.if there is a clunk on take off or on slowing it could be the "A"frame ball joint,which can wear, an easy fix but frightening to a newbee.


cheers

That clunk; might it also be evident when you start to accelerate again after braking/deceleration and if so, wouldnt it also be heard when the cruise control kicks in after coasting down a hill to get up the next one