Thread: Discovery Advice

I can't speak for the petrol engine because having owned a diesel for the past 10yrs.

The main thing on the earlier discos was electrical gremlins. Have a good look over it and look for any dodgy back yard fixes, they can create more headaches.

Over time the drive train can get backlash but they all do that. The earlier discos had the same 10 spline axles as the classic ranges so aren't quite as strong as the later 24 spline discos.

If it hasn't been subjected to backyard mechanical patch ups and has been looked after then you should be fine.

I'm sure the others will add to this.

Matt

'97 will be 24 spline.


Electricals are fine in these cars. The engine might be getting a little tired (usually camshaft) at this sort of mileage but can/does soldier on for years.


Check the floors (front footwell & sides of loadspace) & alpine light areas for rust. If the alpine light rubbers are wrinkly, it's usually rust bubbling up from underneath.
The doors also suffer from cracked paint where the window channels fit which can result in surface rust - lift up the rubbers here & have a look.

Thanks. I appreciate the guidance.

As per Scouse the electricals on post 95/96 models were vastly improved over earlier models, if you can live with the fuel consumption then they are a whole lot of car for little money.
If you plan on any touring then i would look for a dual fuel vehicle preferably with twin under floor tanks.

My bad, I read 91 for some reason. Yeah, in 1996 they swapped from Lucas to Bosch electrics, mine is 1998 and has been great.

The beauty of the v8's is the engine repair/rebuild costs are far lower than that of a diesel, donor cars can be picked up for next to nothing, not because they were bad but because fuel economy is quite poor so these days with high fuel prices they can be had pretty cheap.

Thanks for all of the good advice, but it seems I was too slow. The car only came up for sale yesterday and I was being sensible and avoiding impulse purchase today by thinking about it and seeking input, and regrettably someone else has bought it.

C'est la vie; I guess there will be another.